Intro to AWAC, for the new folks:
The cast:
Capt Doug “Bear” Traversa (me), USAF, editor and ringmaster
Capt Doug “Rat” Templeton, USAF, my hut mate and regular contributor
Maj Steve “Odie” Odum, USAF, contributor
Capt Mike Toomer, USAF, another hut mate and contributor
Capt Drew Morton, USAF, another hut mate and contributor
1st Lt Dany Barcan, Romanian Army, fellow soccer player and contributor
SSG Carrie Sawyer, US Army, contributor
Maj John Rogers, USAF, contributing photographer
Hamid, Han, and Wali, CMA interpreters
The setting:
Camp Phoenix, Kabul, Afghanistan, home for most of us
Central Movement Agency (CMA) - Afghan Army transportation base where I work
Logistics Command - Afghan Army base where Rat, Mike, and Drew work
ANA - Afghan National Army
KAIA - Kabul Afghanistan International Airport
11 April
Listening to Baroque Dreams for Flute
You can never have enough Jingle Truck photos
My GIMAIL account has been down for maintenance for over a day. I’ll check it tomorrow for letters to the editor and winners of quote of the day. If you sent something to that address, you can send it to Douglas.traversa@arnold.af.mil. Sorry.
Almost as cool as a Jingle Truck
Now that Wali and Han are reading AWAC regularly, they will be doing fact-checking for me. Wali stressed to me the important difference between Mujahideen and Warlords. The term “Mujahideen” is used to refer to men fighting to throw out foreign invaders, so it applied to the armies fighting against the Soviets. However, once the Soviets left Afghanistan, the term no longer applied. The civil war was between warlords and their armies, not between Mujahideen. It may be a subtle difference, but one that is important to Wali and Han.
Today I will give you pieces of conversations Hamid and I have had over the last couple of days. They don’t all flow together nicely, but they are the highlights, as it were. Enjoy.
If Hamid Came to America:
“Hamid,” I began, “Let’s make a few suppositions. Let’s assume you were able to immigrate to America, and that you got married, and that you had children. Then let’s assume you could come over to our home to visit. How would that work? Would you let your family come over and visit with us? Would you let your wife talk to me?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And I don’t mean just saying hi and asking about her health. I mean sitting down at the same table, eating together, and talking at length. Afterwards, we might play a game together, all four of us. Or we would just sit and talk. Could you do that?”
“Well, you would not need to talk to her much. You could just talk for a little bit.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. The women aren’t going to go into a separate room. We would all be together. Would you do that?”
Hamid thought for a bit. “Yes, with you it is OK. I would not mind if she spoke with you. You would not be thinking, er, you would . .”
I laughed. “You wouldn’t be worrying that I wanted to commit adultery with your wife.”
He laughed too. “Yes, you are a good man, so it would be safe for her to talk to you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. But if you ever came to America, things would be so different. Do you think you could handle it?”
“You are right. Whenever anyone lives in America, and then they come back here, they are totally different. They are never the same. Still, I would go if I could.”
Hamid on Greed:
I do not understand why everyone is so greedy. If I have one Pepsi, it is enough. I don’t need to take two.
Hamid on Rituals:
God does not need me to pray five times a day. This is for my benefit. I am better if I pray like this. I am better if I wash before I pray, because I am clean. It is good for me, not for God.
Hamid on Tough Questions:
“I went to the Mosque yesterday. I wanted to ask the mullah about the tough questions you asked yesterday.”
“Well, good for you. What did he say?” I asked.
“I got there, but I was afraid to ask the questions. I thought he might think I was not a good Muslim, and he would get angry with me. Or maybe he thinks I want to leave Islam. So I decide not to ask.”
I laughed. “That was probably a good idea. It has been my experience that religious leaders don’t like you asking the tough questions. They may say they do, but after you ask a few, they find it annoying and tell you to have faith. You are probably better off not asking any questions.”
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Dog Stuff:
Anna Lyman, who has been a winner of fame a few times, reminded me that I did foster a third dog for Pom Posse, which she adopted. Grendel was indeed with us for a couple of weeks, but it was supposed to be a couple of days. Anyhow, here he is at his new home, and playing with Kojack.
Tonya, Rat’s wife, said I have to stop putting cute dog pictures on the blog. Well, that just encourages me, so expect to see more.
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Blog Watch:
We got an ubertacular shout out/link from The Rossman, which not only links to AWAC, but includes six photos (which he used without permission; my lawyers are already on it). Because of this, Mike and Rat were immersed in his website this afternoon, and we spent much time reading the best bits out loud over our walls and laughing uncontrollably. So you can check out the link to us here, but beware, you may become addicted if you read too much.
http://www.therossman.com/newstuff/index.html
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Care Packages:
Two more big boxes from Marieanne D’Antonio, making three in total. She sent stuffed animals and clothes for Dany’s Kids. Dany sends his thanks.
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The William Arkin Obscene Amenity of the Day
Named for William Arkin, the blogger who thinks the military is made up of mercenaries, OR EVEN WORSE, that have an obscene quantity of amenities being shipped to them. Only his sage words protect the country from being overrun by rabid, militaristic fanatics.
The sad face of Obscene Amenity withdrawal.
The WAOAD is still on strike today. SSG Sawyer promises one tomorrow. Feel free to write her at carrie.sawyer@us.army.mil and encourage her. She made the mistake of walking by our table at dinner, and I was able to encourage her myself. Mike helpfully added, “And now you know what it’s like to be browbeaten.” Thanks, Mike.
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Five Seconds of Fame:
Yesterday’s quote, “In Ireland a man sleeps in a bed, not in a bag” is from The Quiet Man, Maj Apple’s favorite movie. I will announce winners tomorrow.
I also need to add that Dany guessed the Matrix quote a couple of days ago, but I forgot to list him. Sorry, Dany. Now you are famous too.
Remember, you too can be famous. Just identify the quote (without using Google) and send me an e-mail. You can also send a photo of your choice to be posted.
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Quote of the Day:
Listen! Do you smell something?
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Soaking up the sunshine of another great (dare I say ubertacular?) day
- Bear
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Here’s Rat -
Listening to Mike ranting about some injustice in the world.
I read an interesting article this morning on the Sandbox that got me to thinking. It was written by a soldier in Iraq and he was pondering who had walked the same ground that he had walked during his time there. He chronicled the history of the region and the many possibilities of who those people could have been. Some recorded in history some in the Bible and many whose names and presence would never be known.
This made an impression on my always active and somewhat introspective mind. Who has walked on the same ground I have walked and what impressions had they made? I sat today and stared at a footprint I had left in the soil and began to ponder my existence in this place. What other impressions had I left behind? This footprint will most certainly be erased by the wind or rain and evidence of me being in that very spot gone forever the same as those who stood there before me.
How will history record my being here? As we all know history is written usually by the victor and usually in very broad strokes, so who that will be here, is still yet to be determined. In most cases the smart money is on the more technologically advanced force that has the more sophisticated weapons and the capability to force the enemy into submission, but this part of the world is different.
The only chance for success is through the impressions we have left on the Afghans we have had contact with. Those are the impressions we will leave behind and with any luck time and the elements will not erase our footprints here. Governments and or processes may change but the people will remain and they will have to continue walking the path we have started. Unlike the prayer we have left two sets of prints in the sand, we did not carry them, we walked together, but one day there will only be one set as they walk alone. My hope is they keep going forward and do not turn back. Only future history can record their direction of travel and whether or not we gave them good directions.
Ratman, road builder in the sand.
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Here’s Odie -
Three days and a wake up, so says...Me (sorry guys, I'm short and not responsible for what I say right now)
I am in serious danger of becoming a germophobe over here. Not only do I take a daily antibiotic (presumably to fight malaria and I did see a mosquito once), but hand washing before every meal is MANDATORY. And I don't think I've ever seen any one skip this step. I have likely washed my hands more in the last four months than in the previous four years. I'm afraid I'm starting to act a little like Monk (do you know where that's been?). Well, if I'm going to become a handwashing freak, at least we get the good stuff (cue obscene amenity theme music, something from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous or Masterpeice Theatre). Here is some genuine Cleanor Qrange hand washing soap.
Do not be fooled and mistake this for common Orange hand soap which can be found anywhere. Nothing leaves your hands softer, cleanor, or smelling vaguely like artificial oranges like Qrange, made only in China.
Again, that's Cleanor Qrange...
Soldiers ask for it by name!
I spent a good part of the day working on my LOE. My boss was a great guy and actually wrote the thing (rarely happens in AF circles, you generally write your own) and then he sent it to me and asked me to make it fit AF style. So I spent a good part of the afternoon taking something that was written in good, simple English and Air Force-atizing it. In the end I had created an absolute monster, full of emdashes (--), semicolons, awkward abbreviations, and sentence fragments; without any white space at the end of the lines; and only using one sub-bullet; unreadable to the uninitiated and exactly what the Air Force is looking for. I was very proud. Everyone else in the office (save one AF Lt Col) was aghast.
I also have to explain a couple of things about the pictures from two days ago. First, as I explained to Bear the unfortunate look on my face is known in singing circles as Bass Face (low choir part, not the fish) and it absolutely can't be helped when singing bass. I also can't help but point out the chaplain has his tongue sticking out a little with the effort to free the doves...priceless. The picture of the dove is excellent, a good indicator that I didn't take it. Public Affairs did and it made the Stars and Stripes today. Finally, an observant reader has pointed out that in previous posts I made much of the kinetic quality of the choir and we appear fairly motionless here. mid-sway, but alas, the truth is, we were not moving. The choir has changed a bit since my last post. We've added two new members which helps me not stand out as much as before and, minutes before the performance pictured here, the director made the reluctant decision NOT to sway and clap with this song as she had noticed that some members have trouble swaying and singing at the same time. No, she did not mention me by name, so I'm sure she was referring to someone else. The choir has been a highlight of my stay and I will truly miss the super-friendly people who made it great.
Now I have to go before I impinge on anime time (very serious offense in the AWAC universe)!
Cheers!
Odie
I am glad Hamid didn't discuss your serious conversation with his Mullah. I really think that it would have gone badly and I like his participation too much for him to get in trouble over an exchange of ideas.
Posted by: Lynette | April 12, 2007 at 10:58 AM
I know I've said it before, like a lot of other people, but I really enjoy hearing from Hamid (and Han and Wali too). I enjoy reading their perspective.
I think I know the blog post you're talking about, Rat. Was it the one written by Teflon Don? He's got a great blog too.
Soldiers ask for it by name. Haha. :-)
What a fascinating postscript about Mike's post. Now I'm intrigued.
Posted by: Matti | April 12, 2007 at 12:47 AM
Always great to hear about the goings on in the obscenely luxurious lifes of AWAC. Doug I really admire your foster care of the dogs. Wish I had a picture to send you of one of our riders who takes his Chihuahua riding with him, complete with miniature goggles. It was so darn cute, I figured my cat should learn how to ride along with me. Doc says the stitches should come out next week. I think the eyepatch gives me a somewhat dashing look though. ;)
Posted by: Solo | April 11, 2007 at 08:23 PM
I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your blogs after being directed here by Michael Toomer, the man I watched play Spider Solitaire every day during our three years of law school. I especially enjoyed his post about volleyball. I knew military life was exactly like "Top Gun"! I'm glad someone finally admitted it. Be safe.
Posted by: Alison King | April 11, 2007 at 08:19 PM
Nice quote, but I prefer, "Forget MIT or Stanford now. They wouldn't touch us with a 10-meter cattle prod."
Posted by: Teri Centner | April 11, 2007 at 03:25 PM