Chicken Street

Didn't see any chickens, but I did have a wonderful time shopping and hanging out with friends I met while in language school back in the States.

I lived with friends, Muhammad and Zarghoona for three days, and the last day we went out for a bit of shopping. From jewelry to clothes, from rugs to knick knacks, chicken street had it all.

Of course, this area had food all over the place! One of my favorite things about Afghanistan!! I did NOT sample the lamb hanging on this cart, but I did enjoy the freshly roasted corn from the vendor in the picture. He roasted it in a pot of sand. No grit and a whole lot of flavor!

My favorite part of the day was seeing the kids, following us like we were rock stars. I practiced my Pashto along the way and was schooled by them all. The girl pictured isفاطمة‎ or Fatima (fa-tee-ma, accent on the "ma"). Her name is famous in the Muslim...it is the name of their prophet Muhammad's daughter. What a doll! I bought some gum from one of the little girls and then we chewed it together (not the same piece). She didn't like it and spit it out after a few minutes. : )

For three days, I dressed in traditional attire like pictured here. So comfortable!! All I need is the beard, right?

More to come on my new job in a few days...

Pride goes before destruction...

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

----------------------------------------------------

It rings true again. The saying, "If not for the grace of God..." comes to mind. Not sure how I feel about it. I listened to the President in silence last night. It is was 11pm here and the end of a long day...that made it seem much longer. I'll take a few days to digest it before I start to realize what impact it will have around here in Kabul.

The article that started it all is posted here. Worth a read to see inside the man, the myth, the legend.

I'm just glad to be blogging again...

Postulate 2 - Plan early, plan twice

I'm no longer going to Kandahar as I described a few blogs ago. I will be staying here in Kabul working for U.S. Forces - Afghanistan led by GEN McChrystal. My job will include some travel around the country, so I hope to see some interesting sights and meet some interesting people, while developing my language skills.

I'll update more after I get settled in at my new compound. Picture of officer's club below...not really. Already thinking ahead to next summer and a Disney Cruise!

Engagement that counts

"Now, this is engagement, Muscle-jan. Gizab, Dai Kundi, the Heart of Afghanistan"

----------------------------------------------

I recently got this email from a fellow Afghan Hand that is deployed in the heart of Afghanistan. The pictures say it all. He told that the people there have decided to take back their land from the insurgents that plague this country. I wish they would all gain the courage to follow suit.










Take a few minutes to read the army Times article linked above. Good stuff. Glad to be here doing a part with this organization.

Carry on, Jason. You are doing great things, brother!

رسول ... Messenger of God

"Allah. There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? ... His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme in glory." Qur'an 2:255

I recently had an opportunity to visit a sports store out in town Kabul. Looks the same as any other except the games have changed. Here, like the rest of the world outside the U.S., they play with their feet, not their hands...except for the game of cricket which is closer to baseball! I picked a bat and couple of cricket balls as a token gift to the cadets for teaching me the game.

Well, still hoping to excite them about the game of baseball, I gave them a baseball which I signed with a sharpie. The cricket ball and baseball are roughly the same size, covered in leather and weigh about 5oz. They will never hit the baseball because I wrote "Go with God and do great things!" Muslims are very particular about taking care of anything that has the name of God on it. We can all take a lesson from that!

So, what does that have to do with the “Messenger of God?” Another short antidote…In the Muslim world, my name is pronounced "ru-sool" and is written in Arabic like this: رسول . It means "messenger of God." So, it is another name or descriptor of their prophet Mohamed. The cadets just think it is so cool that my name is so famous and they cannot understand why I am not a Muslim. Another post on religion later, but the reader's digest version of this is that I signed my name in Arabic on the baseball to further preserve the leather and laces!! They would not dare mistreat it now. : )

These cadets at the academy are great kids and part of what can potentially be a great future for Afghanistan's armed forces. They have a long road to hoe!! I'll miss being around their "youth" as I head to my new job very soon.

Flag Day - June 14th!

Ok, we know it's the most beautiful flag in the world. Go find one and just watch it wave today!

Now, more importantly, it always helps me remember that Rhonda Kay Whitaker became my wife on flag day...24 years ago. That's right, we are enjoying the first day of our 25th year together. Don't ask her what her's was like. The 2nd day will definitely be better from what I hear. ha!

Also sending out a "hoo-ah" to my Army brethren who celebrate the army's birthday today. Being around them everyday and wearing their uniform gets old, but I lov'em just the same.

Russell Jana, chery ye?

Well, that's how you say it in Pashto. It means, "Russell, where are you?"

I took a few days away (ok, 5 if you are counting) from the Academy and went to a camp in south Kabul named Julien. It is home of the Counter Insurgency (COIN) Leadership Course. It is where I began my journey in Afghanistan and it was good to get back there. You can re-look my blog from 26 May to get a few pictures from the Camp. The focus was to capture some lessons learned from all of the Afghan Hands so they can make the program better for future deployers.

I will take a few hours tonight to convey my experiences there and around Kabul, and to update you on my future employment...

"Ta da qoom zie yee?"

The translation is, "Where are you from?" One of the interesting things about this month has been the wide variety of Afghans with which I have worked. The Afghan National Army and the Military Academy is [intentionally] a melting pot of ethnic diversity! Everyone must be represented in this infant republic.

The translation is, "Where are you from?" One of the interesting things about this month has been the wide variety of Afghans with which I have worked. The Afghan National Army and the Military Academy is [intentionally] a melting pot of ethnic diversity! Everyone must be represented in this infant republic.

So the word ځای (or "zie") means "place." Can anyone name all 50 U.S. states? "Of course!" you might respond. You might need a little jingle or a few minutes with a pad of paper, but you can do it. What if I throw 34 new ones on ya? Well, I've been studying this map of all the provinces for a couple of weeks now and it is finally starting to click. So when they say "I am from Badakshan," I will know they are Tajik and speak better Dari than Pashto, and that they might not care for President Karzai because he is Pashtun and has former close ties to the Taliban.

Let me back up. There are three main groups ~ Pashtuns, Tajiks and Hazara. There are others, but that discussion would lead to another blog. Let's just suffice it to say there is enough angst among these groups to last many, many years. Most Afghans are very proud of their heritage and their family's geographic origin. So when I meet them, I ask them, "Where are you from?" That usually starts a good conversation, and gives me a frame of reference to know what language they probably speak best, what their family does for a living and even where they stand politically.

One example. The Hazara's ancestry comes from Northwest China, but the people speak an archaic form of Persian. They have been discriminated against for many years, partly because they belong to the Shiite religion (followers of Shia Islam) and live in a country dominated by a Sunni Muslim population. If you want to get a picture of this discrimination you want to pick up the book or DVD of Kiterunner. I am not saying it is factual, but it will show you one side of the story. Be ready for some disturbing clips of life in Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

Ok, now to wrap up. All I am saying is with a bunch of different people groups, another 200,000 foreigners and some outside trouble-causers, you have the stage set for conflict. Welcome to Afghanistan! Now, back to my map...

New chapter

Today marks one month in theater...exactly! Not that I am counting. Ha! Now it is time to go to work. Next Sunday I head south to Kandahar. The biggest difference right away will be the weather...

Just to give you an idea ~ Tomorrow in Kabul, the high will be 75 degrees. In Kandahar, it will be 97 degrees. It will climb to 105 by the time I arrive, with no looking back. I told someone tonight that I was going to drop my winter weight with no problem!

My job? I don't know details, but I will be working with the Afghan National Police (ANP) in a mentorship role, coordinating between the Coalition general in RC(S) and the Afghan Army general in charge of the entire southern region. The U.S. military has shown great progress building and mentoring the ANA (Army), but the police is a new mission taken back from Dept. of State. This is another step in getting the Afghan people to fend for themselves. They must begin securing the local populace!

A major complication in building a police force is the rampant corruption that exists throughout the existing police force. See link for a sobering look at how it plays out day to day.

Well, I have some work to do before I leave lovely Kabul, so I better get some shuteye. Feel free to post questions about different topics you are interested in, and I will try to include a post with helpful details.

My personal collection in Afghanistan

Since 2001, every top desk drawer, in every office in which I have worked has included a small stack of almost square cartoons assembled from Gary Larson’s Farside series. For more years than I can remember, my Christmas stocking has always included a daily desktop calendar featuring his cartoons. Like so many of you, his sarcastic, sometimes weird sense of humor brings a smile to my face, and often reduces me to tears of laughter. I can be doubled over in laughter, hand one to my wife and she might say, “I don’t get it,” and toss it back to me as she walks away. Either you like him or you don’t. Yet, faithfully she produced…excuse me…Santa produced my expected office accessory.

So back to this small stack. Larson retired in 1995, so I began to assemble my “favorites” into a collection that would carry me through until someone would come along that would match his nature and sense of humor…impossible. As I packed my last bag to drag around the globe, I tossed my alligator-clipped stack of cartoons in, knowing I would regret not having them during the year long deployment.

I have never examined them as Larsons’ anthology or as a memoriam, or even arranged them in order. I simply take off the clip and flip through them from time to time to get a “pick me up” when I need it the most. Today would be different. Repacking for my next move in theater, I paused at my desk, and unclipped the stack. It turns out there are exactly 50 in the stack. The oldest one is from 23 January 2001 and the newest one from 16 October 2007. Not the first time any single one had been in print, as his works have been syndicated and re-published time and time again in numerous calendars and books. But this is my collection of the “best” of Larson…a snapshot of when it stood out to me. Like reading a good book or the Bible, and a passage jumps off the page that you had read dozens of times before. This stack has been so assembled. There are three dates that have two selections from different years. Some months have more than others – April only has one.

They are all in chronological order now, as if I have my own special calendar, with only 50 days. I’ve included a sample for those living in a cave during the 80’s and 90’s. Not the funniest in the stack, but it made the 50 for me. Love him or leave him, my stack goes with me through Afghanistan and beyond, and will probably bring me to tears many times over. Thanks, Gary.

One Heartbeat At A Time - SCC

You're up all night with a screaming baby**
You run all day at the speed of life
And every day you feel a little bit less
Like the beautiful woman you are

So you fall into bed when you run out of hours
And you wonder if anything worth doing got done
Oh, maybe you just don't know
Or maybe you've forgotten

You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time

With every "I know you can do it"
Every tear that you kiss away
So many little things that seem to go unnoticed
They're just like the drops of rain over time
They become a river

And you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
How you're changing the world
You're changing the world

You, you are changing the world
One little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh, you, you may not see it now
But I believe that time will tell
How you, you are changing the world
Oh, I believe that you
You are changing the world
One little heartbeat
At a time
----------------------------------

**Steven, ours aren't babies anymore,
but thanks for writing about my wife, Kay!

The Pacific

No, I haven't moved again. I'm into this book on my Nook that was developed into the HBO miniseries...that you all might be watching back home. If you are, I won't ruin it for you, but one of the characters is Gunnery Sgt John Basilone. The Wiki is excellent on this guy! If you have a few extra minutes, please read the link.

So, what's on my mind is a post Memorial Day reflection. How is it that so many men gave their all...for years...during WWII, and I sit here in my air conditioned room on a guarded base in Afghanistan wondering how I will make it for eleven more months? On Memorial Day, I posted on my facebook account that I was "Unworthy today." After more reflection about my brothers who battled in the Pacific, I am still unworthy.

My pledge today is to do my best no matter what I end up doing here. Colossians 3 says, ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Thanks to all my Marine brothers...semper fi!