I officially have a new favorite FOB. This place does it right. It’s a small base, which means everything is close, convenient, and personable. Fluor has its own separate complex. Most of the tents house eight people, which is roomier than normal because they also double as offices. Right next to the bed – yes, an actual bed with mattress and frame – is your desk, complete with power and internet connections. I literally rolled out of bed and was at work! Some people I told about this arrangement weren’t too fond of the idea. I really enjoyed the setup during my two day visit. It was convenient and reduced the number of people in the office. There might be upwards of 30 people crammed into the same space at BAF. And unless there’s been a radical staffing change, I’m quite sure nobody wants any part of that!
Getting out of the base wasn’t too bad either; only a two hour wait at the flight line. What’s even more impressive is how fast I got out of KAF. Being a large base, similar to BAF, I figured I was in for another endless wait at the terminal. Thursday, 24-Dec-09, I got to the terminal at 0645. My luggage and body armor was checked in, weighed, and x-rayed. I even had to empty my pockets and go thru a metal detector. NATO bases sure operate differently. I felt bad for the soldiers. They typically have every available pocket stuffed full; must have taken five minutes just to empty them. Don’t really understand the point of that. They let me keep my leatherman, knife, and water bottle. How ‘bout them apples, FAA! I’ll just have to remember to leave all that here when I board the plane for R&R. Last thing I need is a security crisis at the Dubai International Airport.
At 0900 we were told to gather our bags and head out to the runway. No way. Could it be? Already!?!? I figured this was just to palletize luggage. Miraculously enough, this was our boarding call. We didn’t even have to wear body armor. Everything was stowed in the aft cargo hold as we made our way to the stairs. By the way, this was a Dash 8; a thirty passenger STOL (short take off and landing) plane that seemed like a Gulfstream at this point. I had my own window seat and nobody next to me. In contrast to the C-130, where you sit in the open fuselage, on a narrow canvas bench, facing the side of the plane, and have to constantly maintain balance. The Dash 8 flight was an excellent way to conclude my two weeks of travel. Even reminded me of being back in society on a commercial flight! That is, until I looked out the window. An hour and twenty minutes later I arrived at BAF. It felt good to be “home” and, even though it’s a cot, sleep in my own bed.
I’ve now been to eight FOBs and will soon be making monthly rounds to many more. Once my boss returns in January, we’ll put together a schedule and hire several new Finance employees to assist in this massive undertaking. But, before I head out again, I’ll be enjoying a different variety of travel – R&R!! I’m a week away from the official one month countdown. Italy has no idea what’s about to happen.
Here in BAF, it’s very sparse as many people are out on R&R. Christmas seems to be the most sought after time to get back home. Those of us stuck here enjoyed similar events as Thanksgiving. The DFAC put in extra hours preparing another fantastic meal. I was able to limit myself to only eating lunch.
My afternoon and evening was extremely busy. Many of the tier three and four employees (other country nationals) aren’t issued laptops. Consequently, they do paper timesheets and have to turn them in to HR/Finance. There was a revolving door of people dropping off their timesheets and asking millions of questions. The biggest issue we faced was dealing with the language barriers. Even though everyone on the project is required to speak English, there’s a vast range in fluidity. Bosnians seem to be the Mexicans of the US. Meaning, they are by far the most populous group we have over here aside from Americans. I’m attempting to learn the language. Figure I’ll save a whole bunch of time and confusion this way. And, I must admit, there are some beautiful Bosnians coming in. Very nice!
After all the chaos settled down and my shift was over, I opened a few presents I received from someone I’ve never even met. John’s grandmother heard that he had a friend over here and asked if she could send me a care package. Of course! Everything was perfect and will be used daily. I got waterproof gloves, neck/face fleece “thingy” (for lack of a better word), hand warmers, and a beverage heater. Thanks, John’s grandmother! Never met you, but you’re a wonderful person in my book.
I’m hoping to resume my normal routine this week. It took a few days to settle back in and get caught up on everything here at BAF. As fun as the FOB-hopping was, I really enjoy getting a workout in before bed; helps me sleep much better. I found myself relying on Rip-Its (energy drinks) to compensate for all the odd travel hours. That probably explains why I was an insomniac a couple nights throughout my travels. One benefit was having time for extra movies, phone calls, and emails during those wee hours.
I hope everyone enjoys another short work week. Make sure to have a drink for me at your New Years party. I might even splurge and have a Beck’s near-beer – then again, probably not. I hear they’re just a tease and don’t even taste good. I’ll survive until R&R, which might be 37 days and a wake up away; if anyone’s keeping track!!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Southbound
Took my first HOT shower! Not sure if the happiness outweighs the stupidity responsible for cold to warmish showers thus far. There were a couple new plumbers in the office who overheard complaints about our facilities never having hot water. They decided to go take a look. Come to find out, only two of the four hot water heaters were turned on. How does that happen; especially after all the complaints? Things like that frustrate me to no end. But I’m über excited about having hot showers on a regular basis!!
I’m back to feeling 100% and have a couple weeks to catch up on as I began my travels last Sunday and didn’t have an opportunity to add anything until now. The trip was supposed to last one week; however, it has evolved into at least a two week ordeal. Not surprising once you discover all the uncertainty that surrounds intra-country travel here.
I needed to visit four FOBs, all located in the South. Kandahar Air Field (KAF) is a large NATO base that serves as the main hub for that region; equivalent to BAF in the North. I scheduled my flight from BAF to KAF for Sunday, 13-Dec-09. My business dealings would only require a day at each FOB. In theory, I shouldn’t have any problem making it to each of the four FOBs and back to BAF in a week tops. Now, remove all logic and reasoning, leaving only a chaotic mess and you have the reality of the situation.
My show time for the flight to KAF was 0330. I packed Saturday night and got to bed early in hopes of getting rested for the upcoming trip. That didn’t exactly go as planned due to all the noise and commotion in the tent. I woke up at 0300, stuffed my sleeping bag, gathered all my gear, and headed outside to the pick up location. Ops showed up and told me there was already a delay. Show time was now pushed back to 0500. They said I could go over to the terminal early or stay at my tent and get picked up later. I decided to go ahead as scheduled since I was already up and packed. They got me checked in and manifested on the flight. 0700 was the estimated boarding time.
Surprisingly enough I was wide awake and initially didn’t mind waiting around. I did some reading and had a couple cups of sub-par coffee just for good measure. At 0600 they called for all passengers on my flight to palletize our luggage. Anything we didn’t want to carry on was placed onto a large pallet to be stowed in the cargo hold of the plane. Afterwards, I took a break from reading and watched some TV. ESPN was hyping the Heisman ceremony. An hour later they finally announced the winner then switched to college basketball. This was the most TV I’ve been able to watch since my arrival in Afghanistan.
Even that got boring after a while. People watching was great; civilians and military personnel from all over the globe packed into one place. If you’re here long enough you develop the ability to distinguish between soldiers. The way they carry their weapons indicates whether they are in active combat or just stationed on base. Beautiful women and Special Forces operators stand out the most amongst the sea of people.
It was now 0900 and quite obvious that the flight was delayed, if not cancelled. Ops showed up just as the announcement of our plane’s maintenance issues was given. We were then manifested to a new 1200 flight. I’ve learned to keep a stash of food in my backpack for times like these when you can’t make it to the DFAC. Power bars, trail mix, and poptarts served as breakfast and lunch.
Finally, at 1230, they instructed all passengers on our flight to come to the service desk and collect our IDs…wait for it…because the flight was cancelled. Shocking! The only thing that made me feel a little better was hearing a couple other guys say that they had actually flown all the way to their destination, circled, and returned the previous day. What a joke. We then waited outside the terminal for Ops to pick us up and return to our tents.
An hour later I was dropped off and told the new show time was 1600. I grabbed something to eat at the DFAC and then took a nap. Just as I was getting up and about to go to the pick up point, one of the other guys said our show time was pushed back to 2300. I headed to the office to check my email, charge my phone and iPod, and then back to the tent to get some sleep. Once again, that turned out to be a wasted effort. I got up at 2230, stuffed my sleeping bag, gathered my gear and once again headed to the pick up location.
Back at the terminal, I watched some NFL games, read, and listen to some music. Hours later our flight was changed for the fifth time. Operating on maybe six hours of sleep makes that kind of announcement even more frustrating. Wheels were up at 0700 on the C-130 Hercules military plane. The flight was an hour long and most people fell asleep. I listened to music and shifted positions the whole flight. The vest and helmet we have to wear are far from comfortable. However, when it comes to toting them around, it’s much easier to wear than carry as 50lbs of dead weight.
There you have it – a little insight to the joys of traveling here in Afghanistan. Whether it is a charter or military flight, there are always changes. I’ve since made it to two other FOBs (via marine CH-53 and charter MI-17 helicopters) and am back at KAF awaiting my trip to the forth. The problem is that the last FOB has limited accessibility and it will probably take a week to make it there and back to KAF. I will be lucky to get to BAF by next Sunday.
My time at the various FOBs has gone as expected. The setups are far better than BAF. The most obvious difference here in the South is the terrain. It’s in the middle of the desert and mostly flat, wide open plains in all directions. The temperature is noticeably warmer as well. Just before my trip, snow had actually fallen on the base in BAF. Here in KAF, it’s in the 50s during the day, which is very comfortable.
That’s about all I can think of to catch everyone up on the last couple weeks. I’m posting some more random pictures…
I’m back to feeling 100% and have a couple weeks to catch up on as I began my travels last Sunday and didn’t have an opportunity to add anything until now. The trip was supposed to last one week; however, it has evolved into at least a two week ordeal. Not surprising once you discover all the uncertainty that surrounds intra-country travel here.
I needed to visit four FOBs, all located in the South. Kandahar Air Field (KAF) is a large NATO base that serves as the main hub for that region; equivalent to BAF in the North. I scheduled my flight from BAF to KAF for Sunday, 13-Dec-09. My business dealings would only require a day at each FOB. In theory, I shouldn’t have any problem making it to each of the four FOBs and back to BAF in a week tops. Now, remove all logic and reasoning, leaving only a chaotic mess and you have the reality of the situation.
My show time for the flight to KAF was 0330. I packed Saturday night and got to bed early in hopes of getting rested for the upcoming trip. That didn’t exactly go as planned due to all the noise and commotion in the tent. I woke up at 0300, stuffed my sleeping bag, gathered all my gear, and headed outside to the pick up location. Ops showed up and told me there was already a delay. Show time was now pushed back to 0500. They said I could go over to the terminal early or stay at my tent and get picked up later. I decided to go ahead as scheduled since I was already up and packed. They got me checked in and manifested on the flight. 0700 was the estimated boarding time.
Surprisingly enough I was wide awake and initially didn’t mind waiting around. I did some reading and had a couple cups of sub-par coffee just for good measure. At 0600 they called for all passengers on my flight to palletize our luggage. Anything we didn’t want to carry on was placed onto a large pallet to be stowed in the cargo hold of the plane. Afterwards, I took a break from reading and watched some TV. ESPN was hyping the Heisman ceremony. An hour later they finally announced the winner then switched to college basketball. This was the most TV I’ve been able to watch since my arrival in Afghanistan.
Even that got boring after a while. People watching was great; civilians and military personnel from all over the globe packed into one place. If you’re here long enough you develop the ability to distinguish between soldiers. The way they carry their weapons indicates whether they are in active combat or just stationed on base. Beautiful women and Special Forces operators stand out the most amongst the sea of people.
It was now 0900 and quite obvious that the flight was delayed, if not cancelled. Ops showed up just as the announcement of our plane’s maintenance issues was given. We were then manifested to a new 1200 flight. I’ve learned to keep a stash of food in my backpack for times like these when you can’t make it to the DFAC. Power bars, trail mix, and poptarts served as breakfast and lunch.
Finally, at 1230, they instructed all passengers on our flight to come to the service desk and collect our IDs…wait for it…because the flight was cancelled. Shocking! The only thing that made me feel a little better was hearing a couple other guys say that they had actually flown all the way to their destination, circled, and returned the previous day. What a joke. We then waited outside the terminal for Ops to pick us up and return to our tents.
An hour later I was dropped off and told the new show time was 1600. I grabbed something to eat at the DFAC and then took a nap. Just as I was getting up and about to go to the pick up point, one of the other guys said our show time was pushed back to 2300. I headed to the office to check my email, charge my phone and iPod, and then back to the tent to get some sleep. Once again, that turned out to be a wasted effort. I got up at 2230, stuffed my sleeping bag, gathered my gear and once again headed to the pick up location.
Back at the terminal, I watched some NFL games, read, and listen to some music. Hours later our flight was changed for the fifth time. Operating on maybe six hours of sleep makes that kind of announcement even more frustrating. Wheels were up at 0700 on the C-130 Hercules military plane. The flight was an hour long and most people fell asleep. I listened to music and shifted positions the whole flight. The vest and helmet we have to wear are far from comfortable. However, when it comes to toting them around, it’s much easier to wear than carry as 50lbs of dead weight.
There you have it – a little insight to the joys of traveling here in Afghanistan. Whether it is a charter or military flight, there are always changes. I’ve since made it to two other FOBs (via marine CH-53 and charter MI-17 helicopters) and am back at KAF awaiting my trip to the forth. The problem is that the last FOB has limited accessibility and it will probably take a week to make it there and back to KAF. I will be lucky to get to BAF by next Sunday.
My time at the various FOBs has gone as expected. The setups are far better than BAF. The most obvious difference here in the South is the terrain. It’s in the middle of the desert and mostly flat, wide open plains in all directions. The temperature is noticeably warmer as well. Just before my trip, snow had actually fallen on the base in BAF. Here in KAF, it’s in the 50s during the day, which is very comfortable.
That’s about all I can think of to catch everyone up on the last couple weeks. I’m posting some more random pictures…
Monday, December 7, 2009
People Pictures
What a LONG week! It’s always hard to follow a holiday weekend (granted, we don’t have weekends here – every day is a Wednesday), but I’d dare say this has been the longest week I’ve had in quite some time. For one, I expected to be out FOB-hopping by now but there’s a hold up until we hear back from the home office with further direction. Second, I’m sick again. Caught some sort of head cold right after finally getting over my nagging cough. Third, and this is just a guess, I’m in the middle of Afghanistan! However, 84 work hours later, my week comes to a close and all is well. Mostly. I still have the cold, but I’m certainly better off than many others I’ve seen around here.
Friday is payday and that immediately improves even the worst of days. I just had an epiphany related to my taxes; seriously, this is a bit alarming. Quick segway…one perk to working overseas for a year is that you can exclude from income up to $91,400 (don’t even ask how the IRS arrived at that number) of your foreign earnings. That’s fantastic. No Federal Taxes owed on this portion. I can definitely live with that! Here’s the kicker. A glance at my check stub indicated that over the course of the next year I’ll end up paying nearly last year’s salary in Federal Taxes. I was dumbfounded. Then I realized what was happening. Our payroll system isn’t set up to account for the tax exemption. Consequently, I’ll end up drastically overpaying and get a nice refund and/or forced savings account. Perfect, hello Ducati!!
I imagine you can tell it’s been an uneventful week when the only real highlights include getting a cold and tax talk.
Inside Delta Force is a great read and only gets better page-by-page. Having never been in the service, I have absolutely zero ability to relate on a personal basis. Yet, in some uncanny way, it seems to make perfect sense. My theory remains that seeing and hearing all the military activities on a daily basis provides this mysterious connection.
Never would’ve imagined the day when running and reading would become events I eagerly awaited on a daily basis. Aside from a few days off from the gym to cope with this cold, I’ve maintained a steady routine. I’m just past the halfway mark of my book. Anyone have good suggestions out there? Figure I might as well get my fill while I’m here and in the practice. Besides, I’ve confirmed a suspicion of mine – we cannot access any sort of streaming media. No Hulu, YouTube, or anything. Since I can’t keep up with my TV shows, why not read?
Finally, here are pictures of some coworkers and me. Everyone appreciated the first album I posted but wanted people pictures. Ron is the guy I mentioned last week. He reminds me so much of my late Uncle Dan. It’s nice having a reminder of him around, especially since Dan had such a thoughtful, clever, entertaining personality that was ever so contagious!
Friday is payday and that immediately improves even the worst of days. I just had an epiphany related to my taxes; seriously, this is a bit alarming. Quick segway…one perk to working overseas for a year is that you can exclude from income up to $91,400 (don’t even ask how the IRS arrived at that number) of your foreign earnings. That’s fantastic. No Federal Taxes owed on this portion. I can definitely live with that! Here’s the kicker. A glance at my check stub indicated that over the course of the next year I’ll end up paying nearly last year’s salary in Federal Taxes. I was dumbfounded. Then I realized what was happening. Our payroll system isn’t set up to account for the tax exemption. Consequently, I’ll end up drastically overpaying and get a nice refund and/or forced savings account. Perfect, hello Ducati!!
I imagine you can tell it’s been an uneventful week when the only real highlights include getting a cold and tax talk.
Inside Delta Force is a great read and only gets better page-by-page. Having never been in the service, I have absolutely zero ability to relate on a personal basis. Yet, in some uncanny way, it seems to make perfect sense. My theory remains that seeing and hearing all the military activities on a daily basis provides this mysterious connection.
Never would’ve imagined the day when running and reading would become events I eagerly awaited on a daily basis. Aside from a few days off from the gym to cope with this cold, I’ve maintained a steady routine. I’m just past the halfway mark of my book. Anyone have good suggestions out there? Figure I might as well get my fill while I’m here and in the practice. Besides, I’ve confirmed a suspicion of mine – we cannot access any sort of streaming media. No Hulu, YouTube, or anything. Since I can’t keep up with my TV shows, why not read?
Finally, here are pictures of some coworkers and me. Everyone appreciated the first album I posted but wanted people pictures. Ron is the guy I mentioned last week. He reminds me so much of my late Uncle Dan. It’s nice having a reminder of him around, especially since Dan had such a thoughtful, clever, entertaining personality that was ever so contagious!
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