Day Off and a Concert

Rocket Status: two today.

Today was busy with the normal things.  We had a staff meeting at 10am and that lasted until about 12pm. Then quickly drove back to the dining facility to eat and then meet with someone at 1pm to discuss the interpreter village and what we can do better and how they can help.  Not holding out much hope for Creedance! (anyone know what movie that's from...it's my absolute favorite).

Then I found out there was a USO concert tonight, so I went over with a couple of friends.  It was Delana from the show Rock Star Supernova...she's the one that came in 2nd.

Here are a couple of pics from today.

Here's the concert...not the best shot with the iPhone.

Afghan Independence Day...No Fireworks!!!

Rocket Status: None today.

This morning I was the first one at the logistics depot at about 6:50am.  Personnel started to arrive at around 7:10am.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the ANA Colonel show up at 7:00am.

We couldn't get things started until about 8:10 for some reason.  You'd think the workers would want to get moving, since we aren't using a forklift...well, we did, but not for the intended purpose...see later.  The temps this morning were great...it was 79F, so you'd really think they'd want to work early since they can't drink water during Ramadan.  We really have to work on this pallet and forklift issue...maybe we could convince them to do it on some items.

Okay, today went pretty well.  The loading went very well and everyone showed up, so today was a good day for progress.  They could have refused, but they did the responsible thing when a war is going on and came in to support the Army when they needed them.  This gives me hope that all isn't lost and they do get it...they just don't always know what to do with 'it' LOL.

The loading looked pretty back breaking and to top it off, a lot of the guys were barefoot since they can't afford good shoes.  I watched these guys heave the 100lb bag up to the guys in the back of the truck, then the guys in the back of the truck would have a guy lean over and they'd put it on his back, and then he'd lean over and carry the bag to the back of the truck...don't worry, he said...there's only like 1,999 more!!! LOL.

Here are some pics of the good day...

It's like Indiana Jones.  I feel like we're in the 1500s.

These guys holding hands is unusual to our culture, but very normal here.  Still makes me chuckle.

This is the inside of a Jingle truck.  Haven't posted any for a while.

Here's how they use the forklift.  The person that came to fix the roll-up door  parked in front of the door we needed to get into to start loading.  He didn't have the keys for the vehicle...how does that happen.  We couldn't believe we were getting held up because there weren't any keys again.  They decided to use the forklift...why didn't they just get the 30 guys to pickup the vehicle...that'd be ridiculous :)

Locked Warehouse Blues

Rocket Status: None tonight.

Today was interesting and frustrating, but still pretty good.  We had a Brigade show up with twenty trucks to load rice, oil, beans, tea and other food items.  Here's the kicker!!!  The only guy with the key to the warehouse...he's not here???  Why would only one guy have the key to the warehouse??? Oh yeah, none of them trust each other.  There was a Lieutenant that had a key, but refused to open it, because the guy responsible would say he would be short 4 bags of rice or missing some oil...they are friends and don't trust each other.  I told the ANA Colonel, we need to break the lock to get this stuff issued.  They said they would, but it took them almost two hours of encouraging to do it.  Then, they backed the first truck into the warehouse and they started loading the rice.  Then the truck driver decided he didn't want to have rice on his truck, so they started taking it off and he drove off...I DON'T GET IT!? A truck driver that doesn't haul rice?  Then they talked him into putting rice in his truck and they started loading again.

Okay, they were making pretty good progress, then the rollup door broke to the warehouse, which means it won't roll up.  That was it, they all packed up and went home...had they stayed an extra couple hours, they would have been done.

They need this loaded by tomorrow, so I spoke with the ANA Colonel about working tomorrow in the morning and loading the truck.  He agreed that they'd work tomorrow morning...I was shocked, because tomorrow is independence day in Afghanistan and it's a federal holiday.  He will have the workers there at 7am...I'm impressed, but will believe it when I see it.

Here's some pics of the day...

"Why is this stuff on a pallet...we don't use pallets.  Forklifts are so slow compared to our hand loading." I'm just guessing what they're saying here.

I think we might have convinced Kabul to stop sending mattresses.  I told them we have them coming out our ears.

Gotta love how they stock the rice. They do utilize their space well.  Of course you can't use a forklift to move it, so it takes 10-12 hours to do the load their doing when we could do it with forklifts in an hour or less...maybe one day we can convince them.  The people receiving the goods want to count every bag of rice and container of oil, because they don't trust anyone....therefore putting them on a pallet is work for no reason, because they'll take it off and hand load it on the truck....SCREAM!!!!

Gate Pass Day...My Frustration!!!

Rocket Status: None today.

This morning started with taking the new dining facility contractor for the interpreters to the Garrison Commander's office to discuss getting a gate pass.  After about 45 minutes of dithering, we were told he didn't have the authorization to make a gate pass and it would have to be done by the Corps commander.  We were told that we should see the Corps Commander's advisor, an Australian Colonel, to have him smooth it over.  I met with him at 2pm today and discussed it.  Apparently the rumor was I pointed a weapon at the gate guards, which is absolutely false and could not of even been mistaken for me pointing it at anyone, but the ANA Corps Commander associates the false information he's been given with this new contractor and is refusing to allow them to enter the base.  The Australian Colonel said he would talk with him and see what he could work out...no promises.  This was a frustrating part of the day.

For the other part of my day...the reason I'm here, there was good stuff.  Units were coming and picking up equipment and goods like crazy today and there were no problems associated with the pickups.  Also, we had some ANA special forces guys come to the logistics depot to order equipment and the forms weren't right, but the ANA Colonel I advise told them he'd accept it and that they just needed the Corps Logistics person to sign the form.  The Corps Logistics officer refused to sign, because the forms were written in English and not filled out properly.  The silver lining in this is that the Colonel I advise was willing to work with them and not just reject it.

The new dining facility is still doing better, but they still need work on cleanliness.  Also, I guess people weren't getting enough meat, so they were complaining.

Today we were driving back from main base Kandahar and stopped at a bread shop...the bread was excellent!  I took a picture of the kids...see below.

Best Day in a Long Time!!!

Rocket Status:  None tonight.

This morning we were working on a gate pass for the contractors.  We went to an office to find out we had to come back with other paperwork...I'm too used to their ridiculous paperwork circle.  Anyway, we planned for another trip tomorrow morning.

When I showed up at the logistics depot, they were off-loading the recent convoy and there were pallets of computers and some printers.  We were in luck, since the advisor and ANA personnel that ordered the computers were already there with a large truck.  I explained to the communication officer that he didn't need to break down the pallet  to count his items and that he could put them directly on the organization's truck.  He didn't like the idea.  He also wanted them to fill out paperwork requesting the computers, which they already did two months ago.  We went to see the ANA commander and without me saying a word, he told the communication officer to load the truck and make a copy of the original order form from two months ago and issue the computers to the organization.  This felt like such a major victory...the fact that he did it the right way without me urging or prompting. Yahooooooo!!!!

Then we had another unit that needed to request 3 months of food for their group in the North.  They showed up and coordinated the pickup of food for tomorrow morning, since Thursday is one of their independence days and they'll be off Thursday and Friday.  The supply Major, my running partner, took care of the food request without any prompting or without me guiding him.  Another small victory!!!

Next, I heard we had approx 13 trucks that were sitting at the basic training location for issue.  The Supply Lieutenant coordinated the offload of the trucks for this evening when it's cooler and the guys can drink water (remember they can't eat or drink during the day for Ramadan).  This was all setup before I knew it was going on...ANOTHER small victory!!!

Lastly, I went to the dining facility to see how the contractor was doing and I was pleasantly surprised by the interpreters happiness with the food.  Almost all of them really enjoyed their meal and there was plenty of food for everyone.  Of course the sheep that was out there yesterday was gone, but they enjoyed it.  They saved some of the sheep for a kabob BBQ tomorrow to celebrate their independence from the UK.  The only thing I could say about the contractor is that he needed to use more bleach and water to regularly wipe down the surfaces and that he needed a bucket for bleach & water that the towels will sit in to keep the bacteria under control.

These all are small things, but in our world here it feels so good to have these little successes.

Sorry I didn't take any pics today.  I'll try to get some tomorrow.

Calm with less Drama Today

Rocket Status: None today.

Sorry, tonight's post is a quick one. I'm going to get some sleep.

Today was pretty smooth.  Helped some special forces guys get uniforms they desparately needed.  It was nice to be able help someone and get them what they need.

We finally had a Jingle truck show up to take eight crates of mis-shipped brackets.   It was a relief to see them  roll out of here, so they can get used in hummers.

Lastly, the contractor for food is starting to clean up.  I could smell bleach when  I walked in, so that was a good sign.  The tables were clean and the floors were clean.  Some of the workers were in uniform as well.  The only large problem right now is they ran out of food.  Most everyone said the food tasted good for once and the 2am-4am meal was good too. We're getting there.

Here's a picture that made me laugh.  KAF is Kandahar Air Field.

Slow day

Rocket Status: One alarm sounded at around midnight, but didn't hear an explosion.

Today, I met with the ANA Colonel for about three hours to get some information for Kabul.  I'm not sure why, but they sent a laundry list of items they wanted and thought I could get it all in around 30 minutes.  Nothing in Afghanistan takes 30 minutes.  Just stopping to say hello takes 30 minutes.  Anyway, I got what  could for the 1pm deadline and sent it...it was half complete.

The food contractor is slowly getting better.  I can tell the workers are trying, but they still have a long long way to go.  Here are some pics of them working.  They are still working on the floor...I told them again, it's not sanitary and they need to work on the counter top they have.

This is how they're storing meat.

Storing the food on the floor is not acceptable either.

Leaving trash on the floor with the food is not acceptable.

Here they are serving food to the interpreters.  The dark specs you see in the rice are raisins.

I'm a logistics officer...not sure what I'm doing in a kitchen inspecting food preparation....LOL.