---------------------------- AWAC ----------------------------

Persecution

2 Sep

KAIA, the airport where I spent many happy days, was just attacked. Story below

   

Afghanistan Without a Clue (AWAC) was created in August 2006 to chronicle my adventures on a one-year tour in Afghanistan.  In February of 2007 fellow military members started contributing, and it became a massive job producing daily posts.  Most of us returned home in May 07.  I will keep AWAC running to provide information for folks deploying to Afghanistan, as well as for new readers who recently discovered the joys of the AWAC world.  I’ll post occasionally so the old-timers can keep tabs on my adjustment to life in the states, as well as any news I receive from Kabul.  If you are new to AWAC, the best thing is to start from the beginning.  Just wander over to the archives (they are over there to the left) and enjoy.  Be warned, there is a huge amount of stuff over there, and rumor has it that people have become addicted.  I can only hope.

   

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 worked

Logistics Command - Afghan Army base where Rat, Mike, and Drew worked

ANA - Afghan National Army

KAIA - Kabul Afghanistan International Airport

   

We passed 66666 hits this week.  Sounds ominous, doesn’t it?

   

     Persecution is a funny thing.  I’ve discovered that the vast majority of people think they are either being persecuted or in danger of becoming a persecuted minority.  Those of you who have been reading for a while know I spent many years in Conservative Christian (CC) circles.  A vast majority of CCs believed that our government was dominated by secular humanists who wanted nothing more than to reduce Christianity to a quaint hobby, with the modern-day relevance of horse buggies.  Both in schools and churches I heard over and over again the dangers of both our government and liberal religions, who were working hand-in-hand to marginalize our faith, if not destroy it completely.  The concern, if not outright fear, was ever-present.  These were the days of the Moral Majority, as Christians fought to get more involved in government.  Yet even with the sweeping wins of Ronald Reagan and a large number of Republicans, there was a continual frustration with the make-up of the Supreme Court.  The fact that abortions were not outlawed, and prayer restored to schools, continued to prove that Satan was still powerful.

     Flash forward to 2007.  Having been exposed to the other side, that of the scientists and skeptics, I find exactly the same thing going on.  Scientists just shake their heads and fear that superstition will end up dominating our culture.  They can’t believe that anyone seriously thinks the world is only thousands of years old, or that there was a literal Noah’s Ark and a world-wide flood.  Obsessions with alien abductions, ghosts, magic, and an endless stream of pseudo science frustrates them no end.  Liberals fear a conservative Supreme Court will turn our country into a theocracy, or at least give religion a major say in how our government is conducted.  Their concerns are remarkably similar to those of the Conservatives.   I get the feeling everyone is afraid.

     And lest you think I am overstating the case, let me give you a very real, very current example.  The last two weeks Jancy and I went to a Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church.  UUs are a very unusual group, and not what you would normally think of when you think of a church.  They don’t try to convert you to a way of thinking.  They don’t have a creed or statement of faith.  They welcome anyone who seeks truth, and they believe that truth can be found in many different ways.  So here you have a church where atheists, agnostics, pagans, Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and anyone else who wants to come in are welcome.  At this church, the speaker gives a talk (as opposed to a sermon), then we break for coffee, and then return to the circle for a discussion.  It’s all pretty innocuous, though the ideas presented would certainly not find the conventional Christian mode.  I enjoyed my first two visits, and this week I’ll be speaking on Islam. 

     So what does all this have to do with persecution?  Many in this small group of about 30 people have a very genuine fear that if they told their co-workers what they really believed, or where they went to church, they would be blackballed.  Some fear they would lose customers, or lose a chance at promotion. Why? Because we are in the rural south, where most people at least profess to be Christian.  Whether their fears are well founded or not, I can’t say.  But the fear is very real.  I have to admit, this took me aback.  I shouldn’t be surprised, since both Jancy and my son Ryan have said this was true.  Ryan has told me several times that girls would not date him, simply because he was not a Christian (though not surprising, as this is standard CC thinking).  Because he makes no secret of the fact that he is not a Christian, he says that he does get treated differently by some, and it does make it harder at school.  But I am proud of him for not being afraid to state his beliefs and stick to them.  Sad to know that in our land founded on freedom of religion, sticking to your beliefs can lead to such problems.

     But on the bright side, at least we don’t live in Afghanistan (or any Muslim country), where such beliefs will get you executed.  As I’ve said before, many times, there is no freedom of religion, indeed, no freedom of thought, in Afghanistan.  In fact, the very concept of freedom of religion makes no sense to many Afghans.  As Hamid would say, why would anyone want to leave Islam, since it is a perfect religion?   

     So what’s my point?  We need to avoid a tyranny of the majority, whether that majority be Christian, Muslim, or Secular.  Freedom of thought, without fear of reprisal, should be a permanent foundation of our country.  Whenever a group wishes to impose their beliefs on others, whether it be a theocracy like Iran or a secular dictatorship like the Soviet Union, nothing good comes of it.  All Americans should be more afraid of what happens if their group does gain total power, instead of fearing what happens if they don’t.

- Bear

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

News from Afghanistan:

     KAIA, the airport where I worked for several months, was attacked by a suicide bomber.  Here’s the article from CBS news, and the link.  I spoke with Belgian guards every day that I worked at KAIA.  This story hits close to home again.   

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/31/terror/main3223457.shtml

     (AP) A suicide bomber in a car targeting a patrol of German soldiers blew himself up outside the gates of the Afghan capital's airport Friday, killing an Afghan soldier and wounding four Belgian troops, officials and witnesses said.
     The blast missed its intended target and tore into a group of Afghan soldiers waiting at a checkpoint outside the military wing of Kabul International airport, witnesses said.
     The German Defense Ministry said that the blast damaged two of their vehicles, but that no German troops were hurt.
     Belgian Defense Minister Andre Flahaut said four Belgian soldiers were slightly wounded in the attack, with one suffering minor burns. Others suffered hearing damage.
     Some 300 Belgian soldiers, serving with NATO's International Security Assistance Force, are in charge of security at Kabul's airport.
     "A car drove fast and blew up next to a crowd of people, including Afghan National Army soldiers," said Mansur, a witness who only gave a single name. "A lot of people were left laying on the ground."
     Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said at least one Afghan solider was killed and two others were wounded in the attack - the latest in a wave of insurgent-led violence in the country.
     Other officials at the scene said one soldier was killed and at least six others, including two civilians, were wounded.
     Ambulances ferried the wounded to a hospital, while NATO and Afghan troops secured the area. Debris from the car was widely scattered.
     An Afghan noncommissioned officer said the bomber tried to ram a convoy of cars carrying foreigners. Instead, most of those hit were members of Afghan National Army, on their way for training in Italy, he said.
     "All the shrapnel came toward us," said the soldier, who also declined to give his name.
     Another soldier walked away from the scene holding a pair of bloodied boots and two green berets worn by Afghan National Army members.

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

Tiny Update: 

     Tiny, the Pomeranian we are fostering, is now in the critical stage of his heartworm treatment.  The worms are all dead, and slowly decomposing inside his body.  He has significant heart congestion right now due to this, so we have to keep him quiet and resting.  Tiny has decided that he must be with me at all times, so if I ever leave a room his is sleeping in, he wakes up and starts barking until he find me.  He can’t climb stairs, so I’ve gotten into the habit of picking him up and taking him up and down the stairs with me, otherwise he sits at the bottom and barks.  Yes, he has me trained well.  And no, telling him to shut up doesn’t work.

Another exhausting day for Tiny

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

Blog Watch:

    

     Two more blogs have linked to AWAC, and I’m happy to return the favor.  Funny how things just keep growing:

Mail Call! Supporting the Troops

http://journals.aol.com/kasee267/SupportingtheTroops/

Safrang

http://safrang.wordpress.com/about/

Evan

6 Sep

     I am posting out of my weekly cycle because of some tragic news I wanted to share with all of you immediately.  Frequent AWAC contributor Maj Steve Odum (Odie), just sent me this post.  I turn it over to him:

-----

     I have been putting this off for weeks now.  As I sit and type tears roll down my face yet again making the screen hard to see.  Precious Evan is gone.  On July 23, two months and a day after I first held him, I sat weeping in a hospital emergency room holding his still, little body for the last time.  He died in his crib during his afternoon nap.  Anessa went in to check on him and he wasn’t breathing. 

     At 5:36 in the afternoon, I was at work rushing to finish up when the phone rang and I saw that it was from Anessa.  Her sister was flying in to meet the twins and help set up a nursery for them so I knew the call would be with info on her flight for me.  Instead I got the sickening news that Evan had stopped breathing.   Because she found him so quickly and started CPR, we thought the paramedics and doctors would save him.  After getting to the house, I ran to a neighbor’s and got him to drive me to the hospital since the police wouldn’t allow Anessa to leave until they finished a cursory investigation.  Outside the curtain, the doctor met me and told me Evan didn’t make it.  The last thread of hope was gone.  I went in to see him and he looked like he was sleeping except for the tube from his mouth.  I stroked his forehead and it was still warm like normal.  Then, the hardest thing I have ever done, I picked up the cell phone and called Anessa to tell her our little boy wouldn’t be coming home.  Soon, the police, determining that everything was done correctly, allowed her to join me.  We sobbed together and held and rocked his tiny body one last time. They took us to do paperwork while the workers cleaned up his body and removed all the wires and tubes, then they let us go back in to say goodbye.

     Now I know why I have delayed writing this as long as I have.  Even now, when I go to work and act normally, even laugh and joke sometimes; thinking through the events to write about them has reduced me to a blubbering mess.  I’ve heard it’s therapeutic.  I hope that’s true.

     When we got home, we picked up the kids from a neighbor and I got to do probably the second hardest thing in my life; explain it to Erick.  Erick is four and a half and he was very close to his brothers – especially Evan.  We encouraged him to aviod picking a favorite, but Evan and Erick both start with E and they had been dubbed “the ‘E’ Boys.”  Beside which, Evan was always smaller than Sean so Erick thought he needed extra attention and hugs.  Erick cried for hours that night; said he needed to hug him one more time.

     I’ve never known pain like this and I’m getting quite the education (“Welcome to Grief 101 Mr. Odum, we’ve got a seat for you right here on the front row”).  And if it’s that hard for me, I can only imagine what Anessa is going through… 

     I didn’t want to eat for several days.  I had a little bread and some water and juice just because I knew the family needed me strong.  Oddly enough I had trouble finding clothes to wear.  Anything with a logo or sports team or college seemed annoying and frivilous and I wanted to wear only plain, drab shirts without writing.  We had very little time to decide where to bury his body.  Most people, like me, just don’t make plans on where they want to bury their children.  It’s just not the proper order of things…  With no large family plot and families split between Montana and Georgia, we finally decided on Jefferson Barracks, a military cemetery on the banks of the Mississippi in St Louis.  They should have his permanent headstone up soon so we will probably go back in the next few weeks to see it.  With the funeral over, the grief didn’t end, but healing did start.  Until the funeral, I was very driven.  I felt a very strong sense of duty as his father to make sure his body was laid to rest with honor.  Until then there was a sense of unfinished business .  With that accomplished, the focus turned more to the rest of the family and taking care of them, and I was able to eat again.

     I will write more on the family and our progress in the future.  This is enough for today.

- Odie

od1kenob@aol.com

   

     PS Though they will likely remove it in the next few days, Evan’s obituary can be seen at www.schildknechtfh.com (right below Noah Allen, another boy from our church who died three days after Evan – it’s been a tough Summer) or at the Belleville News-Democrat Obit by typing Odum in the search

 

 

This is me holding Evan just a day after we got back from the hospital.  He is only three days old in this picture.

 

This is the only real posed family portrait we have.  Anessa had planned to call for a formal sitting during the very week that Evan died.

 

Here are the brothers together.  We have tons of these.  They really seemed comforted by one another.  Evan is on the left.

If I Were King

9 Sep

   

Afghanistan Without a Clue (AWAC) was created in August 2006 to chronicle my adventures on a one-year tour in Afghanistan.  In February of 2007 fellow military members started contributing, and it became a massive job producing daily posts.  Most of us returned home in May 07.  I will keep AWAC running to provide information for folks deploying to Afghanistan, as well as for new readers who recently discovered the joys of the AWAC world.  I’ll post occasionally so the old-timers can keep tabs on my adjustment to life in the states, as well as any news I receive from Kabul.  If you are new to AWAC, the best thing is to start from the beginning.  Just wander over to the archives (they are over there to the left) and enjoy.  Be warned, there is a huge amount of stuff over there.

AFSOTR - The Russian Compound that became Camp Phoenix

      

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 worked

Logistics Command - Afghan Army base where Rat, Mike, and Drew worked

ANA - Afghan National Army

KAIA - Kabul Afghanistan International Airport

    

     In case you missed it, there was a special post by Odie on Thursday night.  It’s in the archives, so make sure you go back and it it too.  Tonight Jancy (my wife) contributes to AWAC, and all you anime fans will be delighted to see I have another edition of Afghanime for you, with not one, not two, but three reviews!  And for those of you who couldn’t care less, I’ve put Afghanime at the very end, so you can just skip it if you so choose.

     Yesterday I was catching up on some blogs I used to read, and was saddened to see that one more family has broken up, due at least in part to the strains that war and military service puts on a family.  Once again I count my blessings at having come through this relatively unscathed.  I don’t say this lightly.  I am amazed we don’t have more divorces and suicides than we do in the military.  It’s a tough life.  Since I’ve written on this topic many times before, pardon me in advance for beating a dead horse. 

     The military is made up of people.  Sometimes I think we lose sight of that.  How many marriages can survive an endless series of deployments into a war zone?  How many spouses can hold down the fort for 6 months, a year, 15 months, then adjust to having their spouse come home, help them to get through their readjustment, and then do it all over again next year?  It is a tough thing to do, and takes a very special breed of person to do it. 

     There are those who say, “So what?  They joined the military.  What did they expect?”  In one sense, that is very true, though until you’ve experienced it, you can’t fully appreciate how hard it is.  But what makes it harder is knowing, at least in the Air Force, that we continue to reduce the size of our military.  I’ve mentioned before that our final goal is to reduce the size of the Air Force by 40,000 people.  So on one hand we have Airmen filling Army positions, as I did, to help them out, and on the other, our leaders are cutting our numbers by 40K.  How do you think that affects morale?  Here’s a hint: not in a good way.

     If I were King, there are two things I would do, no matter what the cost (and when one considers how much we’ve spent on wars recently, cost is not an object).  First, I would increase the size of the military, much as Ronald Regan did.  The world is not going to get safer, and I feel pretty confident when I make that assertion.  We need to be ready for future conflicts.  Secondly, I’d break our dependence on foreign oil.  It would be irresponsible to assume that we will always be able to rely on these sources.  The Middle East is unstable, with enough kooks wanting to start a nuclear war that it almost seems inevitable.  Imagine what would happen if Israel were hit.  Or a US city.  Things could get ugly fast.  Tough decisions need to be made, and serious money invested, to free us from any reliance on the Middle East. 

     Last Sunday I was invited to speak at the Unitarian Universalist church.  In fact, I was actually invited to speak the first week we visited.  I mentioned that I had been in Afghanistan and learned a lot about Islam from my interpreters, and “BAM!” I had an invitation.  I love speaking to groups, so it was not terrifying as it might be to many people.  Both my talk and the discussion period afterward went very well, and many people had their eyes opened to what life is really like in an Islamic country.  Naturally, I shared my conversations with Hamid, Wali, and Han, and that human element was the thrust of my talk.  Instead of telling people what Muslims believe, I told them how our interpreters practiced Islam, and how it affected their lives.  Afterwards, several people commented that they were more keenly aware of how good we have it here, both because of our freedom, and because of our standard of living. 

     Although a bit off-topic, I’ll also share that I’ve really enjoyed our three visits to the UU church.  Here are a group of people who have no desire to make you believe anything.  What they want to do is share ideas, and treat each other with respect and kindness.  To them, there is no such thing as a non-believer who needs to be converted.  To many of you, that may border on heresy, but to me it is utterly fantastic. Not that they are any better than anyone else, or any friendlier, or any more beautiful, or any more kind.  I just love being with folks who like to ask tough questions, and are always seeking answers, and who don’t insist that you must believe the way they do.  In fact, the motto on the sign outside the church says, “To Question is the Answer.”  Well put!

- Bear      

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

     I’m delighted to have Jancy contribute to AWAC today with this book review:

    Doug suggested that I write a book review for his blog, and here it is.  I am an avid reader, and though many of the books I read are good, there are few I find worth heartily recommending.  Infidel by Ayann Hirsa Ali is worth a two thumbs up, three smiley faces, etc.

     Infidel tells the story of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali woman, who managed to get refugee status and later citizenship in Holland.  Later, she was forced to flee to the United States because of death threats from Muslims in Holland. Why? Because she dared to speak out against Islam. 

     The book begins with Ayaan’s story of her childhood among Muslims in Africa.  This gives the reader a glimpse into the Islamic mind set, that mysterious enigma to westerners.  The fear that permeates their entire society is like a blanket of hopelessness that will never be lifted.  When existence is perceived to be a continual trial on your long and arduous trudge through life, it is no wonder that death is the only bright spot.  Total submissiveness to Islam is demanded; questions are forbidden.  Otherwise, eternal damnation awaits, yet one more source of fear for her people.

     Of course, she is only able to tell the story from a woman’s point of view, and the helplessness of Muslim women is disheartening. She does introduce us to several strong women that had somehow managed to escape the total domination of a man, but these are few and far between. Once Ayann is able to flee to Holland, she is able, through sheer determination, to integrate into Dutch society. 

     Many Muslims that make it to the west form their own Islamic society within the country offering refuge.  The author points out the fear that the Muslims refugees bring with them, causes the people to be so submissive to Islam they are unable to reason for themselves for fear of going to hell.  Instead of willingly integrating into the western society, they just set up another repressive Islamic sub-culture within the host country.

     Infidel is a cautionary tale of being too tolerant of Islamic ideas.  Theirs is an intolerant belief and will destroy, if allowed to go unchecked, the very society that seeks to help them.

     The book was an easy read and included a lot of food for thought. The ideas put forth in this book help explain why the United States is having trouble bringing peace and democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Blog Watch:

     Here’s yet another blog that has been so kind as to link to AWAC. Right back at ya, Rogue Gunner:

http://rogue-gunner.blogspot.com/

     Even Wikipedia has a link to AWAC now.  If that isn’t fame, nothing is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milblogging.com

     Here’s a great site about a guy who drops soccer balls to kids in Afhanistan.  Fun to read, lots of photos, and a terrific way to send support.  Check out  Operation Soccer Chopper at: http://osc2007.wordpress.com/latest-reports/

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

Afghanime - Anime Reviews from a guy who used to be in Afghanistan

 

Dual

 

     Yes, gentle readers, it’s time again for some anime reviews.  I have indeed been keeping up with my anime viewing, but have not been so diligent in sharing my discoveries with you.  My apologies to the five or six of you who care.  But I will make it up to you now! 

     First up is Dual, a 14 episode, four-DVD set featuring Kazuki Yotsuga, your standard high school wimp who is about to be thrust into a world of giant robots and cute girls.  It seems poor Kazuki is haunted by visions of giant robots fighting throughout the city, but he is the only one who sees them.  He records his visions as fiction on the internet, and is soon approached by Mitsuki, the cutest girl in the school, who says she loves his stories.  She takes Kazuki home to meet her father, who turns out to be a slightly crazed (instead of totally mad) scientist, and he accidentally sends both Kazuki and Mitsuki into an alternate dimension where, you guessed it, the giant robots are really fighting it out.

Kazuki and Mitsuki

   

     Additionally, Kazuki is able to pilot these robots, which is normally something only women can do.  Add a few more cute girls (who all adore Kazuki, of course), a pair of goofy villains from the Ra Ra Empire (I couldn’t make this stuff up), and you have a very enjoyable little series.  It must be taken with tongue firmly in cheek, but in its own way, it is quite charming.  Top it off with a great opening theme, and I give it an “8” out of “10” and a coveted position on my list of recommended anime (it’s over there in the left column somewhere).

Dad, the mad scientist, and his loving assistant

Now some anime to avoid:

   

The Daichis - Earth Defense Family

     I’m always a sucker for anime advertised as an over-the-top comedy, so I had to try this one.  A truly dysfunctional family of four are suddenly, and for no reason ever explained, given special combat suits and told that they will need to start protecting the earth from an alien monster invasion in oh, say, the next 24 hours.  Dad is a fat, slobby, wimp.  Mom is a chain smoker filing for divorce.  Sis does all the housework because Mom and Dad don’t. And the smart mouthed little brother just annoys everyone.  But the fate of the world rests in their hands, so they somehow mange to stick together for 13 episodes to fight the monster of the week. 

     I will give the show credit for not taking the easy way out and having the family come together in the end.  Rather, the show leaves many questions unanswered, clearly waiting for a season two.  Further, it would probably be better for the parents if they did get a divorce, or at least that’s the way the show pushes you along.  I kept expecting some form of unlikely reconciliation, but it never really came.  The artwork was excellent, with one of the best transformation scenes I’ve seen (that’s when the combat suits weave themselves onto the family members).  Finally, the music is pretty unique in anime, sort of a rockabilly style, very hard-driving, which went very well with the show.

     However, on the down side, you find it hard to like any of these characters, and they yell more than they speak, which gets old quick.  There are way too many unanswered questions at the end, and frankly, I would not be compelled to buy season two (if there ever is one), as I just don’t care.  I also couldn’t figure out who the target audience was. At times it seemed aimed at elementary school kids, then it would shift gears with some foul language or sexual innuendo, which only left me wondering who came up with this mess.  A thumbs down on this one, and a “4” out of “10.”

   

Starship Operators

     Wow, with a catchy title like that, how can this not be a winner?  Seriously, who was doing the translation on this one?  Starship Operators has all the zest of  “Starship Janitors” or Starship Crew.”  How about “Dull People on a Starship?”  With a title this lame, the series deserves to fail if for no other reason than the dolt that came up with the title would be fired and sent off to spread boredom somewhere else.  I only made it through five episodes, so it is theoretically possible that it got better, but I doubt it.

     Sadly, the dullness of the title matches the insipidity of the series itself.  This is a shame, because the premise had potential.  A crew of cadets are on a state-of-the-art warship on their final training cruise.  A neighboring empire attacks, and their home planet surrenders without firing a shot.  They are ordered to leave their ship, and the real crew does so quicker than you can say “pacifist wimp,” yet they leave the cadets on board.  At this point credulity is being stretched to the breaking point.  Give it a minute, it gets better.  The cadets have a discussion about what to do, showing all the passion they might have if they were deciding where to eat dinner that night.  They decide to buy the ship (yes that’s right, buy it), and to fund this they will sell the rights to their adventures to a pan-galactic TV station, and their fight will become a reality TV show.  Credulity just snapped in half.

     This could have been played for laughs, and might have succeeded.  Instead, we have a largely hapless crew of cadets who nevertheless manage to keep defeating the bad guys, even though the TV network televises their actions live during the first battle! Ouch.  At least they manage to negotiate a tape delay for future battles. My head hurts. May I stop watching now?

     While the artwork is excellent, facial expressions are minimal.  In the English dub, vocal inflections are also minimal.  Most characters have a bored monotone, which is odd considering the ridiculous danger they are all in.  It was a real yawner, even worse that the Daichis, since I at least finished that series.  So I’ve done my civic duty and warned you about one more to avoid.  I’ll give it a generous “3” out of “10,” just because I’m a nice guy.

A*W*A*C: the Book

16 Sep

Just passed 70,000 hits!

   

Afghanistan Without a Clue (AWAC) was created in August 2006 to chronicle my adventures on a one-year tour in Afghanistan.  In February of 2007 fellow military members started contributing, and it became a massive job producing daily posts.  Most of us returned home in May 07.  I will keep AWAC running to provide information for folks deploying to Afghanistan, as well as for new readers who recently discovered the joys of the AWAC world.  I’ll post occasionally so the old-timers can keep tabs on my adjustment to life in the states, as well as any news I receive from Kabul.  If you are new to AWAC, the best thing is to start from the beginning.  Just wander over to the archives (they are over there to the left) and enjoy.  Be warned, there is a huge amount of stuff over there, and rumor has it that people have become addicted.  I can only hope.

   

Of all the photos on AWAC, this shot from Neon Genesis Evangelion gets the most hits by far

   

    Tough crowd last week.  Despite a guest review and a special Afghanime, nary a comment from anyone.  This week is a bit of a hodgepodge, since I took a week of leave to focus on preparing an AWAC manuscript for submitting for publication.  More on that in a bit.  Fall weather finally hit, and once the weather turns nice, Jancy and I love to be outside.  We’ll each take a book and sit in the back yard reading until the sun sets.  This weekend is gloriously beautiful, and it’s much needed after a record-setting August where almost every day was 100 degrees or more.  Tiny, our foster Pomeranian, is through the worst part of his heartworm treatment, and has developed a healthy appetite.  He’s gone from 4.5 pounds to over 6, and it looks like he’ll make a full recovery and be ready for adoption soon.

     As I mentioned, I took a week of leave so I could get serious about editing AWAC into book form.  I had to spend a lot of time on the earlier posts, as they were originally written as e-mails, and really weren’t in anything near publishable form.  The problem with trying to spend a week working on a book is all that tedious sitting in front of a computer hitting keys.  After what seems an eternity (but is probably only twenty minutes) I get distracted.  Perhaps I should check my e-mail, or check the weather forecast.  Let’s see if there are any hot news stories on CNN.  Hmm, I should probably clean the house or put the dogs out.  Yes, writing was easier when I was in a tiny plywood hut with little else to do. 

     Yet despite my lack of focus and interest in almost anything other than actually writing, I managed to wade through the early posts and beat them into a more bookish format.  I also went through 200 pages of potential literary agents researching which ones might actually want to represent my book.  I can actually see this whole thing coming together in the near future.  At least I’ll be able to tell agents that the books is already written (you’d be surprised how often only an outline and/or first chapter is submitted at this stage). 

     I’ve been reading Infidel by Ayann Hirsa Ali, the book Jancy reviewed last week.  Here are a couple of excellent passages that help illustrate why many Muslim women are willing to wear the Burqa:

1.  As women, we were immensely powerful . . . The way Allah had created us, our hair, our nails, our heels, our neck, and ankles - every little curve in our body was arousing.  If a woman aroused a man who was not her husband, she was sinning doubly in God’s eyes, by leading the man into temptation and evil thoughts to match her own.  Only the robe worn by the wives of the Prophet could prevent us from arousing men and leading society into fitna, uncontrollable confusion and social chaos.

    And this, when the author wore a black cloak to cover her body for the first time:

2.  It had a thrill to it, a sensuous feeling.  It made me feel powerful: underneath this screen lay a previously unsuspected, but potentially lethal femininity.

That’s it for this week.  Let’s be careful out there.

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

Blog Watch:

 

     AWAC welcomes Signaleer  and The Lemon Stand as the lastest blogs to like to us.  Thanks for your support!

http://signaleer.blogspot.com/

 

The Lemon Stand

http://lemonademadedaily.blogspot.com/

   

     And he’s a fascinating site from a Canadian living in England dealing with lots of old English thingies, and yet it links to AWAC: 

Genevieve’s Journey

http://bend-gules.livejournal.com/

Clueless at Columbia

23 Sep

   

Afghanistan Without a Clue (AWAC) was created in August 2006 to chronicle my adventures on a one-year tour in Afghanistan.  In February of 2007 fellow military members started contributing, and it became a massive job producing daily posts.  Most of us returned home in May 07.  I will keep AWAC running to provide information for folks deploying to Afghanistan, as well as for new readers who recently discovered the joys of the AWAC world.  I’ll post occasionally so the old-timers can keep tabs on my adjustment to life in the states, as well as any news I receive from Kabul.  If you are new to AWAC, the best thing is to start from the beginning.  Just wander over to the archives (they are over there to the left) and enjoy.  Be warned, there is a huge amount of stuff over there, and rumor has it that people have become addicted.  I can only hope.

     I moved back into my original office this week, and I hung up all sorts of stuff from Afghanistan.

Here are my Afghan flag, the giant Romanian flag Dany gave me, and my jingle truck

   

Many of these items have been seen before from my Afghan photos

    I’ve started watching the news a bit more, and am not surprised to see cynical posturing by politicians and newscasters alike.  If your point of view can’t be presented logically and rationally, but must instead be supported by name-calling, yelling, and smugness, you are a failure.  Oh, you may be rich, you may have good ratings, but what are you accomplishing?  Some of the news shows are as comical and meaningful as professional wrestling (yes, the fights are scripted).  I have a few points I’d like to make, and maybe, though probably not, some good will come of it.

     Did anyone hear that Osama Bin Laden declared jihad against the President Musharraf of Pakistan this week?  Or was that news lost under an endless barrage of crap about OJ Simpson?  You see, the Taliban and Al Qaeda are holed up in Pakistan, and this might just provoke the Pakistan government to get more serious about dealing with them.   This could be pretty significant, yet when my wife told me about this, I went to the CNN website, and couldn’t find anything (though the next day something had finally shown up). 

     I am also tired of the talking heads and politicians (many who never served in the military) calling anyone who wants to end our involvement a “quitter” or “unpatriotic.”  Remember, we had troops in Lebanon when Reagan was president, and after a while, we packed up and left.  It wasn’t because we had succeeded so wonderfully either.  Was Reagan a quitter?  Was he unpatriotic?  In so many ways our discussion of serious matters has boiled down to “If you disagree with our policy, we shall call you names and insult your honor.”  If you can’t understand how someone could be opposed to our involvement in Iraq, yet still be a red-blooded American patriot who wants to fight terrorism, you need to do some more reading on the subject.  There are plenty of great Americans who were opposed to going in, and are opposed to staying.

    Just for the record, I am not saying we should pull out of Iraq.  What I am saying is that flinging insults is not intelligent discussion.   Good people, and very bad people, can be found on both sides.  If you want to find anti-war idiots, you can.  But you can also find pro-war idiots.  The “General Betray Us” ad is a great example of flinging mud and insults.  MoveOn.Org has rightfully gotten a nice black eye for their smear campaign.  Any cogent arguments they wanted to make have been lost, as they are repeatedly attacked for their crassness.  Ironically, the pro-war crowd now uses this ad to their advantage.  Should our policy in any way be determined by the ad?  Of course not.  But look at how much time has been spent on it in the news.  Almost as much as has been spent on OJ. 

     Don’t let your views be dictated by blowhards on either end of the spectrum.  When you determine where you stand on military issues, think for yourself.  Seek the facts as best you can, and the next time you see anyone debating on TV, pay attention to how much presented is factual, how much is an emotional appeal, and how much is mud slinging.

Tiny:

     Tiny, our foster Pom, continues to improve.  Here’s a before and after shot so you can see how nicely he has fattened up.  His fur is filling in too.  He’ll be a pretty handsome guy soon.

Before

After

   

Blogwatch:

     There was a very funny (though sadly unintentionally so) article on the Columbia University website.Idris Leppla writes about her brother getting accepted into the Naval Academy, and then the efforts of her and her mother to get him out, once they realize he’ll be joining the military.  Yes, they fully knew what the academy was; they even went to visit before he accepted, though one wonders why they weren’t paying attention during their time there. The article concludes with this paragraph:

     My brother ended up liking Annapolis and he has decided to stay. While it has been difficult for me to accept that I have a brother in the military, I must allow him to pursue whatever path he is drawn toward, and he has admitted to me that he feels called to being there. However, for anyone else out there considering a career in the academy, let it be known: the U.S. Naval Academy is not an elite college; it is first and foremost a branch of the U.S. military and the prestige comes at a big price—it taxes parents, siblings, and participants if they do not understand what they were signing up for

     As stupid and yet priceless as this paragraph is (how can you NOT know what you are signing up for?), the real treasures are the 400 plus comments that come after it.  It is tempting to think of this as a joke, or perhaps an experiment to see how many of us think that a student at Columbia could be so clueless.  But I think it is genuine, and the staff of the Spectator, the school paper, are to be thanked for running such a story.  Even better, this was supposed to be the first of a four-part series.  It shows just how far out there some people can be.  Sadly, the site has been taken down, no doubt due to high number of hits it must have been getting (it was certainly making the rounds amongst us military types).  If it comes back up, I’ll post a link. 

Impending Doom

30 Sep

     Afghanistan Without a Clue (AWAC) was created in August 2006 to chronicle my adventures on a one-year tour in Afghanistan.  In February of 2007 fellow military members started contributing, and it became a massive job producing daily posts.  Most of us returned home in May 07.  I will keep AWAC running to provide information for folks deploying to Afghanistan, as well as for new readers who recently discovered the joys of the AWAC world.  I’ll post occasionally so the old-timers can keep tabs on my adjustment to life in the states, as well as any news I receive from Kabul.  If you are new to AWAC, the best thing is to start from the beginning.  Just wander over to the archives (they are over there to the left) and enjoy.  Be warned, there is a huge amount of stuff over there, and rumor has it that people have become addicted.  I can only hope.

   

 

I found a sight that specializes in humorous “motivational” posters.  I made one of my own, and it’s posted on the site.  Check it out at:

http://militarymotivator.blogspot.com/

   

     Today we completed the final item of my summer/back-from-the-war list of things to do.  Yes, we finally had the long-awaited yard sale.  We’ve been storing all sorts of “stuff” in Elise’s old room all summer, and I spent the week moving it all into the garage.  It wasn’t in the garage to begin with because we actually put our cars in the garage.  I’ve always been of the mind that a garage makes a great place to put the ping pong table, bicycles, work benches, lawn mower, etc., while the cars fit nicely outside on the driveway.  Jancy is more of the tidy, keep the cars out of sight philosophy, so I made a concerted effort to clean it up and make room for both cars.  This may seem trivial, surely not worthy fodder for AWAC, but keeping the garage clean has been a significant emotional event for me, and I’m only now getting used to the concept.

     Last week I spoke at the Unitarian Universalist Church again.  Once again I enjoyed it, and since I have fun doing it, and am a willing speaker, I suspect I’ll do it again in the future.  Pretty soon they’ll teach me the secret handshakes.

     On a more serious note, I am still reading Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (though not nearly as fast as I should be).  She spent her youth in several countries, including Somalia, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia.  She was in Somalia when it collapsed into civil war.  The situation there was similar to the civil war in Afghanistan after the Soviets left and the warlords started fighting each other.  Society broke down, clans were all armed, corruption was rampant, and the infrastructure of the country was slowly destroyed.  Yet if they could get across the border into Ethiopia, suddenly they were in a country with paved roads, electricity, and a functioning government.  The parallels between this and Afghans fleeing to Pakistan were striking.

     As I am reading this cheery tale, I managed to catch the tale end of a special news story on TV dealing with what might happen if terrorists attacked our electrical grid and/or power plants.  What followed was a bleak description of society falling apart.

     Naturally, this got me thinking about the precariousness of our society.  Imagine something like Hurricane Katrina, but on a national level.  Would human nature cause things to revert to the sort of chaos seen in Afghanistan or Somalia?  While many would no doubt like to think we are different, I really doubt it.  I still marvel that our increasingly complex society manages to survive.  The more complex a society becomes, the more vulnerable it also becomes to a devastating attack. 

     Know what?  I’m not going anywhere with this.  Be thankful each day for the society we have, the rule of law, the ability to have your basic needs meet with relative ease.  The poorest Americans are better off than a huge chunk of the world’s population.  I hope we continue to be so fortunate.  There are certainly those who want to take us down.  Never, never doubt that for a moment.

   

Blogwatch:

Comics: Legends and Heroes is a comic shop that had donated some books to us. I sent them a thank you note and photo of the library.

http://comicscare.blogspot.com/