111112 Remembrance Day

111112 Remembrance Day

Yesterday was Remembrance Day here (also known as Remembrance Sunday)  This is Commonwealth version of Veteran's Day and is held "to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts".

The ceremony was divided up so part of it was in French and Dutch,  then translated.  It's fall here and as you can see there were trees all around.  Also its not hot at all but regardless about halfway through the ceremony an American soldier next, next to me hit the ground hard (i.e. he feinted).  He seemed to 'come to' rather quickly with a 'what happened!' look on his face.   He was attended to on the ground for about 10 minutes before somebody had the sense to say "get up and move to the back". 

Also in the pics you can see the flyer that was handed out.  We had to sing as a group and uh…that didn't go too well.  Other pics are of soldiers, the poppy pin being sold for a donation and the wreaths that were part of the ceremony and a pic of me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Sunday

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_poppy

R/Chris

111012 Flanders Poppy, Marine Corps Birthday 

Today is the USMC birthday and so there'll be cake at lunch time.  Otherwise, it's another day.  Also the Brits have been 'selling' these poppy pins (see pic below.)  Actually you just make a donation of anything and you get a poppy pin.  Tomorrow is Remberance day and it's a big deal for the the Brits, French, Italians, New Zealanders, Australians, etc.  Uh, the Germans are not selling any poppies though. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_poppy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_rhoeas

R/Chris

110912 Previous correction and life in the dorms

110912 Previous correction and life in the dorms

In a previous post (below) I mention the cat 'Danger' and the fact that I've been scratched many times by her.  I also state "..but it turns out that she has rabies, I'm dead." I should have said "...but IF it turns out that she has rabies, I'm dead."  I really should proof read my writing more.  The cat (and me) seem to be doing fine so it's I hoping 'no rabies'.  Rabies does kill about 1500 people a year in Afghanistan so it's certainly not something to take lightly.  I've not allowed myself to be scratched since.

http://www.indexmundi.com/afghanistan/major_infectious_diseases.html
 
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/afghanistan.htm

Also the I live in a dorm-like facility here.  It's a big 'mortar-proof' building with solid steel walls, a kevlar roof and blast doors.  As far as I know this base has never taken a mortar hit (unlike Iraq where it was a daily occurrance.)  The US bases outside of Kabul do get mortared all the time but being so near 'down town' Kabul makes it very difficult to aim a mortar at this base
Right now on the first floor of Freedom Hall (where I bunk) there are 3 working bathrooms (two on one end and one on the other end.)  The other bathroom has been 'Being Fixed' since I got here.  I wonder if it will be fixed before I leave?
R/Chris

102612 If this cat has rabies, I'm dead.

102612  If this cat has rabies, I'm dead.

 

As a contractor in Afghanistan I'm bound by many (but not all) rules and regulations in place for military personnel here.  One of those rules is General Order 1A which says a bunch of stuff and among all that stuff it says that no personnel are permitted to "feed or have contact with the animals" here.  Per some of the attached link "the risk of rabies in Afghanistan is among the highest in the world ... Very severe illness; fatality rate higher than 50%".

 

Above are pics of "Danger".  Danger has been hanging around for a good 6 months or so behind the building where I work and I think Danger is sill a kitten. So when you pet her, she seems to think of it as play and scratches and bites a bit.  She doesn't bit or scratch hard but it is enough to draw blood, and she has done so several times.  She is still a good cat, but it turns out that she has rabies, I'm dead.

 

R/Chris

102212 Group Pic, Power Outage and Contractors drinking...

102212 Group Pic, Power Outage and Contractors drinking...

 

Yesterday we did a group pic.  Why we did so, I have no idea.  Someone said it was needed.  Of the 13 people in the pic I'm the second oldest and the youngest is 27.  Of the 13 people, 11 are prior military (7 Army, 2 AF, 1 Navy (me) and 1 USMC).  Of the 13, 4 are either never married and/or don't have any kids.  All of us are contractors and as you can see the 'average' contractor is pretty much someone you'd see on the street in any anytown, USA. 

Today we also had a power outage.  In Kabul (and on ALL bases here in AF) power comes from big diesel generators which are loud.  Kabul as a city periodically has brown-outs (like Mexico City, Manilla, Cairo, etc.).  Unfortunately when the generator 'went' the backup generator didn't go online so we were in the dark for about an hour.  In Iraq, it was a daily occurrence for the generators to trip once a day or so but the backup would be up in minutes.  Things are just different here.

I've been asked a few times if I worked for Jorge Scientific.  Uh, no.  In all my time in Iraq and Afghanistan I've never seen anything remotely like what is portrayed in the link below.

http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/video-shows-contractors-drunk-high-in-afghanistan-1.193608

But if I had, I'm not sure what I would have done either.  Doing the right thing would have meant no employment. I have no idea where these guys are in Afghanistan but I'm sure they're gone now. 

R/Chris

102112 Seattle and Rattlesnake Ledge

102112  Seattle and Rattlesnake Ledge

 On my R&R I also visited Seattle (where I'm from.)  Seattle is really a nice place in the summer as it's very green and usually not too hot at all.  But then again it's nice all year round to me.   Anyway one of the things I wanted to do there was hike Rattlesnake Ledge (see pic.)  It's a good hike at about 1200' elevation increase and generally crowded with tourist from overseas!  AND, there are no rattlesnakes west of the Cascade mountains so why the heck is it called Rattlesnake Ledge?   I hiked it with my friend Harvey (10 years my junior) and after maybe a third of the way up, Harvey needed to rest.  Then again, Harvey did say I had an unfair advantage since living in Kabul (elevation 5800) already aclimated me to such a hike. 
 Rattlesnake Ledge was also in the national news a while back since some nut-job, killed his family, burned the house down and hunkered down in a bunker somewhere here.  See link.

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2018093698_bunker29m.html

And in one of the pics across the valley is Mount Si.  Which back in the 80s was....Twin Peaks.  North Bend (the town of Twin Peaks) is down in the valley and the cafe where black coffee and cherry pie is still there.

R/Chris

 

102012 Trip to Chicago

102012 Trip to Chicago

 

As a contractor I get a break every six months.  This is pretty typical for most contractors but it can be more or less often.  It just depends on your contract.  Anyway, I got my break after about 9 months here and was in the states about a month back.  I went to a couple of places but really wanted to visit Chicago to see the Field museum and 'Sue'.  The Field is quite a place and I'm certain that I'll go back for the other exhibits.  Heck there is even a dinosaur at the airport!

Any way, here are some pics.  I've also not posted as much since I've been in a funk since I've been back and have been busy.  It just gets lonely here at times and I'm not immune to it.  It is what it is.

R/Chris