The day has finally come.

It looks like that day is finally here. I was just given word that we are on our way home. We are about to have our awards ceremony and after thatm, we are getting our bags loaded on the trucks to go to the flight line. I just hope that we get to Ft Lewis in time to do the De-mobilization before the Holiday weekend starts. Otherwise, we have to wait there for the post to open back up on the 30th. It was a great year over all. I am, however, looking forward to getting home.

The first order of business will be to get my vehicles from up north and then drive home to Texas. I am especially looking forward to getting behind the wheel of my little MX-5. I only wish that it could have been a month sooner. I would be able to go to the track while up in Michigan, before heading home. Unfortunately, the racing season is over and the tracks up there are closed for the winter. Well there is always next year.
At least I will be home in time for Christmas this year. I am really looking forward to spending the holidays with the family. Not to mention being in my own house for Christmas. This is also my last deployment with the military. I plan on putting in my papers for retirement as soon as we get home. That will put me at 22 years of service. I figure that it is enough. I can hardly wait to be a retiree. Of course there are no real benefits for several years, but, it will come when I will need it most, once I actually hit retirement age.
Well, any way, this is probably going to be my last post on this blog. Like I said, over all this was a great deployment. We accomplished out mission and although some people did get injured over the last year, no one in our battalion was killed and thus we accomplished out mission and survived to tell about it. There are well over a thousand bad guys that cannot say the same thing. They neither accomplished their mission, nor lived to tell about it.

Went on leave.

I am sorry that I have not posted in a long time. I did not want to post on here that I was going home on leave because I wanted to surprise my Mom. And surprise her I did. It was not for sure I was going to be able to take leave. So, I did not tell anyone about it back home. I had been scheduled to take leave several times since April and for one reason or another, it was either cancelled, delayed, or rescheduled. I was tired of putting the family through the roller coaster affect. It was downright frustrating. So, this time, I was told I would be going home sometime in September. I told them that if they cannot get me home by the end of the first week, to not even bother. I would just wait till we were done and go home at that time. It would only be a few more weeks any way.
So, I landed in Dallas on Saturday morning on September 6th. I had a long day planned out, getting to a dealership to buy a new car. It took me till almost 7 PM to get it done and then started to head for the house. I went by my mom's house, but, she was not home. I tried to call her with the caller ID blocked so she would not know that I was home, but, she was out with some friends and so I left a message. She did not get the message till really late that night and E-mailed me to tell me she was sorry that she missed my call and to call her back on Sunday morning. Which is exactly what I did.
I called her from my cell phone. Again, I had the caller I D blocked. She answered her phone and we talked a few minutes. I then knocked on her door. I was on her porch the entire time. She did not hear me knocking on the door so I said over the phone, "I think I heard someone knocking on the door. Who was it?" She said that there was no one at the door. It must have been the cup she put on the table. So I rang the door bell. To which she said "you have really good ears, I did not hear the door, but, someone just rang the bell. hold on I will see who it is." as she pulled the curtain aside from the front window, I just said "Hi mom" as I waived. It took her a second or two to realize that I was not in Afghanistan but on her front porch. I wish I would have had a camera. That would have been a picture worth taking.
I was home for 15 days. It was probably the worst two weeks of the year for me. The weather really sucked. Every time I wanted to go to the lake to do some fishing and or skiing, it would rain. Then, the last time we tried, we discovered that some ASS WIPES stole all the fishing tackle out of the boat. Over $2000.00 worth of poles and tackle gone. I hope the thief dies a miserable death. I hate thieves. And I believe that there is a special place in hell for them.
So, with the fishing trip now officially taken off the table, and the weather not cooperating at all, there was not much to do. I went and visited a few of my friends who happened to have a day off here and there. I spent some of my time catching up on the shows that I had recording while I was gone. That only took a day or two. Then, not wanting to spend too much money, too late, I only went out to dinner a few times.
I did get invited to some friends houses for dinner and so I did have some good food while I was home. If I had to rely on myself for good food, it would never happen. I can barely boil eggs. LOL I also went to my favorite restaurant. I ate at Osaka's Japanese Sushi and Stake. It was everything I remember it and some. A little on the expensive side, but, worth every penny. Great food, great service, and really nice ambiance.
The trip back to Afghanistan was not what I would call quick. We were stuck in Kuwait for 5 days because of maintenance issue from the week prior. They were 4 days behind schedule and were focusing their flight on people going to the states for leave and the resupply runs. They put us on planes as space would permit, with the cargo for the resupply runs. It was, to say the least, a long trip. As you can all see I am back here safe and sound.

The prank of the year

I guess I can talk about it now since it is done with. One of the other E-7's went on leave last month and his guys wanted to pull a prank on him. And what a prank it was. I was asked to build him a new door for his room as part of the deal. We have been saving the water bottles after drinking them. Everyone was chipping in under the guise that we are going to recycle them. As it turned out, all those tens of thousands of empty bottles were used to fill his room to the top of the wall. That is where the door came into play. His original door opened inward and thus it would not work for the gag. I had to make a new door and make sure that it was set to open out into the hallway.
After he left to go on leave, we started filling the room with the bottles. It was a huge surprise to find out that even thought we had several big black trash bags full of bottles, once we had emptied all the bags into the room it was less than half way up the door. We had been saving these bottles for 3 months and now we had only 2 weeks to get twice as much to accomplish the mission. It was obvious that is going to have to do something. Failure is not an option.
I called in some favors from some of my contacts. I went to the Gym and talk to the guys there and had them save all the bottles from the people that were working out. I called a few other offices that asked them to do the same thing. Within a week we were filling the room to its peak. I do not have the video of him going into his room yet, but, I will get it and try to post it once I do.

Today was yet another rather pleasant day.

The weather here has been pretty nice the last few days. It has not gotten over the 110 mark in a while. Since the "mandatory uniform", when in, ACU's, is full dress, (Another words, I have to have the ACU coat on at all times) I was told that I could work in my PT (Physical Training) uniform.

It was great in the beginning, I had two sets of PT uniforms, so while one was in the laundry, I wore the other. Well, that was until Murphy came to visit. The Laundry service lost my bag with all my clothes in it. So now I have only one outfit to wear. Makes it kind of difficult to wash it while I am working in it. I have ordered 7 sets of PT uniforms, but, they are on back order. Luckily, I know the lady that runs the facility here on Camp Dragon. She has been taking my laundry directly into the facility and getting it done overnight. She brings it in with her in the morning at 0730 and I pick it up on the way back to the hut from the showers. She is optimistic that they will find my bag before too long. I, on the other hand, am not so sure of that. But, I will be waiting, none the less, for it to show up someday.


It seems that someone has noticed all the things that have been accomplished since I became "Bob the Builder" or "Bob Villa" as I am sometimes called. I was told to report to a 1600 (4 PM) formation today for an award ceremony. There were three of us that received AAM’s (Army Achievement Medals). It was an Impact Award. That means that it was based on a specific event, as opposed to a time range.


We received it for the work we did back in April, the wall and the tables we built for one of the sections that was relocating to the Battalion area. I was told of the task at around 1400 hrs (2 PM) and once I said that I could do it, they dropped the bomb on me. It needed to be ready by 0800 hrs (8 AM) the next day. I was not so sure I could get it done that quickly,but, I started anyway. It looked like a 2 day job, at least.

I asked them to provide me with one or two people for some assistance and they did. We finished the job at 0530 hrs. We worked through the night without a break because they team that we were building it for was to move in immediately. The two guys kind of complained at first, but, they continued to work, so it was all good. It was nice to get some sort of recognition for all the work that has been done here in the last few months.


Well, it looks like I am going down range after all. In fact, I am going down a little sooner than even I thought I would. I am, however, not going to where I was originally supposed to go. It seems that I am wanted by one of the other 1SG’s that needs some office space set up. This time the plan is to get me to Solerno and convert an open bay hardened structure into individual offices. I am not sure of what all is available there. As it is right now, there is not even any electricity for me to use. I am going to be using a generator to power my tools.

Not sure when my next post will be, but, I will take my laptop with me in case there is a USO there. If there is, it might have Wi-Fi that I can get on the web with. I like the USO, they are very good to us. If ever there was an organization that took care of the troops, it is the USO. Well any way, I will write again when I can.

LIfe is good.

I finally finished most of the projects here at Bagram and I am ready to get down range and start construction on some new projects. The only project left here is to build a rack for the server computers to sit on so they not taking up as much space in the office. I was just informed that I am going to be going down range to start construction on 4 buildings. Two of the buildings for living space and the other two for office space.

Today's project was to build a loft storage over the S-6 (COMMO) shop. The old Russian buildings have 12-14 foot ceilings and so they wanted to be able to store the boxes and cases of things out of the way. Well what better way than to be able to put it up over your head. So I built a loft 7 feet off the ground and that left 6 foot 5 inches of space on the lower level. And 5 foot of storage on the top level. I was told that it would probably take me 6 days. When I said one and a half to two days is all I needed, they laughed. I guess I too was misestimating, it took me less than one day. I also, since I had time, reset a door that was not plumb and thus rubbed the tile floor after it was opened half way.

It is amazing how fast things get done when I am not micro managed and supervised into submission. It looks like the talk with the Colonel paid off. I have noticed that things are going much smoother now that I am left to do things at my pace as long as I meet the dead lines given.

I am looking forward to constructing these buildings that need to be built. It is a good way to pass the time and leave something for the next unit once they get here to replace us. I am also looking forward to going home for a few weeks in September. It is the end of racing season and it would be great if I could get a few races in before the season ends. I want to drive my MX-5 and see if I still have what it takes to kick some butt on the track. My friend Adam has the car and he has placed 1st in every race he entered with my car. I can only hope to do as well once I get to race my car again.

Having dinner with the Governor

We were visited by five Governors from the home, Governor Rick Perry from Texas and Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota were among them. I was able to shake hands with both of them and thank them for coming. It was a great experience to say the least. I will admit I was taken aback by an article I was handed yesterday by one of the CPT’s that I work with. The article was about Governor Pawlenty. It wrote about how he had out smarted his Democrat controlled state House and Senate, and cut the budget despite the fact that the bills that were sent him to sign were the typical Liberal “Tax the small business and spend on the lazy.” He did not just reduce the rate of growth, but, actually decrease the spending in relation to the previous budget. I have gained a new found respect for at least one politician.

Anyway, it seems that the Alamo Forward was a big hit. I was approached by my Colonel and he said he has received hundreds of compliments on the building and how nicely it turned out. I have been asked by a few other Commanders to build some projects for them as well. It looks like I am going to be busy for a long time to come.

It was nice to see and hear our governor. He gave a short speech and then had dinner with us. Of course the dinner was a Texas Style gathering. We had steak and chicken with all kinds of sides to go along. It turned out really nice. The event was only supposed to last about 2 hours but it ran close to 4 before it was finally over. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

The Alamo (Fwd) is almost finished

It is now the final day of the project. I will have to have it done by tomorrow morning. It is starting to look GREAT and I am happy and sad at the same time. It is kind of like seeing your kid go off to college. You are glad he is gone but you miss him. I finally got the electrical part of it set up. It is not up to code as of yet, but, it will be once my breaker panel arrives. I had a friend of mine pick me up an outdoor panel from home and mail it to me. For now, the entire system is running on an extension cord or two. I still have to hook up the wall outlets and the light in the storage room. Once that is done, I am going to put in the insulation and put on the outside walls and that will be the end of the project.

The Facade is done. The "T" patch, which is what we ware on our shoulder to identify what unit we are with, is made of 3/4 inch ply wood with the actually "T" being cut out of 1/2 inch ply wood and secured to the background. And the letters are cut out of 1/2 inch ply wood and individually secured to the silhouette with finishing nails.


I am looking forward to starting the next project. It appears that I am going to be going down range to build an office for one of the teams that is currently living in tents and have no place to do their work. It is a newly established Forward Operating Base (FOB).

Of course, this one will not be anything more than an office building so it is going to be pretty straight forward. 4 outer walls, a few inner walls and a hallway. Hope fully it is not going to interfere with my leave dates. I hope to be done with it before I get to go home on leave. I would hate to leave it half finished and have to return to it a month later. But, sometimes that is just how it has to be.

The sad thing is, that once I get back from leave, I will have only a few weeks to go, before the deployment ends all together. I still have not decided if I want to stay and help the next unit with their transition or if I am just going to go home with my unit and retire. It is another tough choice, since I have been in the military for almost 22 years now and have grown to like it. Retired, WOW, damn, I am getting old. Never thought that would happen. Honestly never really thought I would live long enough to say, "I am retired." Kind of scary.

Well, another day down

Today was an interesting day, to say the least. I have been having some issues with the BN XO. He treats us all like little children. He likes to micro manage every second of every ones day. I finally got fed up with it and blew up. I managed to control myself enough to not say anything wrong or disrespectful, but, I did later go to the Colonel and told him I was no longer enjoying my time here and am losing my motivation to work hard. I explained to him how I was feeling and why and he said he would take care of it. I also explained to him that I function best when left alone to my own devices. I explained to him that if he wants things done, just let me know what he wants done and step back so as to not get hurt as the tornado around me starts to form. He laughed and agreed with what I was saying. He has seen me in action and he did mention that I seemed to be losing a step here and there lately. Now he understands why. It seems that I am not the only one that has complained to him about the XO and his condescending attitude.

I was tasked with another project yesterday and I just finished it. I was tasked with building some picnic tables. I built 8 new picnic tables and fixed the 4 that were already there. The ones that were already there, are in bad shape, but, will do for now. Unfortunately, the wood is not treated and there is no way of getting any sealant for the wood so the sun and the rain just destroy white pine rather quickly. I am going to have to try to get some sort of wood sealant here from home before long. I was told that since it is considered hazardous material, it cannot be mailed and the military does not ship it either. I will think of something. Maybe I can bring it with me in checked baggage or something. Not sure yet.

The tables turned out great. I have received may complements from people that have seen them. Now everyone wants one for their area as well. I was just talking to some people and was wondering if I could maybe build some for sale and take the money and put it into the units MWR fund for when we get home. I have not yet gotten an answer as to whether or not it is legal. I do not want to go to jail or anything like that. I know I can get over $200 a table since it costs around $650 to get one built by the local contractor. I think we have spoiled the locals here with all the money that is being spread around, mostly because lumber is not cheap here. It is rather difficult to come by. Even on post it is now difficult to get. The lumber yard here is not empty. They have not received a lumber shipment in a long time. Usually they get a few truck loads a day.

I am really looking forward to getting to the states. If all goes well I will get to participate in a couple of Autocross events while I am home. That would really be great. It seems that my buddy has been kicking some butt with my car. He has consistantly placed 1st in his category every time he races. So I am looking forward to doing the same.

A new life joins the fray

While I was working on the Alamo Forward. I was surprised to see a little bird at my feet. It looked too tired to fly and so it tried to hop away. I can only figure that it was worn out from the flight it just took and did not know what to do, when I tried to pick it up. I finally managed to catch it and proceeded to the picnic table to let it rest and calm down. After a few minutes it started to calm down and I tried to give it some water. I would dip my pinky into the water and hold it over the little birds head. It, at first, did not move. I then put the dangling drop of water directly onto its beak and it gobbled it right up. So I did it again and again. After a few times, it started to reach up and get the drop of water right off of my pinky, as I was holding it over its little head. Then, out of nowhere, the mother bird came and sat on a branch directly over my arm. She was making a heck of a racket chirping and fluttering her wings and then PLOP. A large drop of POOP landed right on the back of my hand, in which I was holding the baby bird. I poured some water on it to clean it off and just kept feeding the baby more water, so the mother kept screaming at me. Then out of the blue, the baby started to chirp. The mother quit and moved up a few branches and just watched. It was the coolest thing. I was surrounded by a group of birds, just watching and on occasion chirping and getting a chirp in return from the little baby. After the baby was done drinking water, it just flew up onto one of the lower branches of the tree next to us and moved up the tree a few branches at a time and rejoined the rest of the birds that were up there. It made my day. I was really surprised how the rest of the birds interacted with what was going on. It was a real eye opener. Then I went back to the project I was working on, to complete the Alamo Forward. I will have it done by the 20th of the month. Or, at least, that is what I was told. Only time will tell.

As though there was not enough to do already

I decided to start school while I still had a chance. I know, you are saying, "Hell Sandor, when are you going to have time to do all this homework with your busy schedule and write to the blog and still get all the projects on the list, done?" Well, the only answer I can think of is that there are at least 3 hours left at night that are not really spoken for. I have been sleeping around 5 1/2 hours a night when I truly only need 2 to 2 1/2 hours to be functional so that is how it is going to fit into my routine. I only have school on Tuesday and Thursday nights for now. I am thinking of starting a second class that is on Monday and Wednesday nights too. I am not sure if I can handle that one right now. I will say this though. I am having a blast and the time is flying by like a jet at full throttle with the after burners.

I have now been cut off by the Class IV yard. Well, actually, truth be told, we all were cut off. It seems that they are having problems getting the supplies in fast enough to keep up with the demand. It looks like my building projects have motivated a few other units to start building and now there are new things popping up all over the post and the class IV yard was not able to keep up with the demand. They are now limiting the materials to outlying posts that are being formed to make room for the "Surge" that is not a "Surge." I did talk to my contact at the Class IV yard and he gave me a list of things that I can order and not have too many hurdles to go through to get. Those are things that they have plenty of on hand. Luckily, it includes most of the things that I need to finish the next 3 projects before I go down range to build an office for the unit that requested my assistance.

Things are slowly getting back to normal

Well it has been almost a week since it happened. So I guess it is OK to talk about it since it has been in the news. We were rocketed last Sunday morning. They got lucky and hit right between two B-huts. The blast was way too close for comfort; it hit around 85 meters from my B-hut.

At first I thought it was a Controlled Detonation. That is something that we do whenever the Mine detection team finds a land mine here on Bagram. There are still miles of land here that are not yet cleared of land mines form when the Russians pulled out. I heard that they have found several hundred this year alone. Anyway, as I was saying, I thought it was a controlled detonation. I heard 2 big booms and did not think much of it until a second later when I heard shrapnel and debris falling on my roof. I ran out to make sure my soldiers were OK when I saw where it hit. It was right where some of our guys were staying. And as the news said we lost 2 people and had 6 injured. I will not go into any more detail than that out of respect for the soldiers and their families.

On a more uplifting note, I have finished yet another project. I was asked to build a storage building for the incentives that we pass out to the villagers. Things like Rice, Beans, Cooking Oil, Blankets, and Toys for the kids. I ended up building a 4 compartment structure that is 4 feet deep by 12 feet wide, with each compartment being 3 feet wide and 4 feet deep. That way each team can secure their things without getting them mixed up with any of the other teams. I will post some pictures next time. I have not yet taken any pictures of the finished project.

Every time I do a project, someone else sees what I have done and a new project is born. I was just asked by a supporting unit’s Commander who saw the doors I built and now wants me to build her a door for her room in her B-hut. All I said was “too easy,” especially since I just finished building that exact thing for one of the Sergeant’s Major from the 82nd, just last week. At this pace, I might never be done here. I might not get to go down range and help out the guys there.

It was Christmas in JUNE

I woke up rather sick this morning. I was nauseous, with a headache and could not stop sniffling and sneezing. I was sure that the rest of the day was going to be a complete mess. I went to sick call just to find out that sick call was only a half hour each morning and again in the afternoon. The rest of the day is for appointments only. I had missed the morning's half hour window. I was just about to come back to my room and lay down when I was told, by the mail clerk, that I had some packages come in. He said, "Some tools and stuff" and I suddenly felt like a million bucks. The fever was no longer and issue, the sniffles dried up and I was no longer feeling sick. The nausea was the only thing that did not fully go away. I can live with that.

I had asked Adam, a friend of mine, to purchase some tools and supplies for me. I 10" RIGID compound miter saw, a Milwaukee circular saw and an assortment of Deck Mate screws and an assortment of Paslode nails for my DeWalt Nail Gun. I received it all today. Adam, you are "THE MAN." thanks a million.

One more project in the history books

Last week the Battalion got some new furniture to replace the stuff that was falling apart. The furniture is made here in Afghanistan by the locals. The commanders office received a new wall locker. It s about 4 feet wide and feet tall and has two doors tha swing out with three shelves inside. It looks really nice, but, the stain that was used to stain and seal it has a really strong odor to it. It was causing the commmander to have headaches is was so strong. He asked me if I knew of a way to get rid of the smell and so we put it outside in the sun for a few days to bake it. Well, that did not work, it was still too strong. I then suggested that I could build him one if he wanted. He did not hesitate on second. Thus, a new project was born.


I finished it today. I did add a bit of a personal touch to it. The colonel asked if I could put some shelves on the outside of the wall locker to fill the space on either side of the cabinet, where it is going to be sitting. It worked out better than I imagined. I think I am going to start building things at home once I get there. I think I can refurnish my entire house with some really cool stuff. LOL

My inspiration comes from a friend of mine back home, Don. He lives across the alley from me. He is constantly building things in his garage. His entire house is full of furniture that he has built. I go across the alley regularly to visit him and watch him work. It has paid off. I have accomplish something that even I was not sure I could do. Thanks Don. I learned a lot from watching you do your magic.

It is the Army's bithday this weekend

It looks like we are going to have a cookout this weekend. I am really close to finishing the Alamo Forward. I am still waiting for the lights to arrive so that I can set the wires in the correct places.

Being the Battalion R&U is a great job. I am rather happy with what all I have on my plate now. The only problem is the new mayor. He is on a real power trip. The first thing he did was change the combo on the front door of the mayor cell. Now he is parking the John Deere Gator where I was parking my truck, just to be a pain in my A$$. I think he hates the fact that I got a job that I enjoy and he just sits behind the desk. He hated the fact that I worked while I was the Mayor. It meant that he had to work too.

I can not count the number of times he complained about my projects. He constantly said "That is not the Mayor's job. Turn in a work order and let KBR do it." I saw all the pending work orders and some of them had been pending since we got here. I just went and did the work and cancelled the work orders. That made him mad, but, he has no spine, though. He never tells people anything to their face. He always just talks crap about them to others behind their backs. And when I confronted him about throwing me under the bus a few times, he pretended that he did not know what I was talking about.

Any way, these are the pictures of the latest updates to the project.

We have an interesting predicament.

Today, I was shocked to find out that all of the lumber that I have worked for was gone. I built the Marines a gazebo so that I could have the left over lumber that they ordered. That was the deal I worked out with the Major that was in charge. Imagine my surprise when I went back there to see how much lumber I had to work with for the next project and I found that there was not even one of the 2x10x16s left in the stack. I promptly went on a search mission and found that the lumber had been used to build a deck in between a row of B-huts. And it was not even a deck that is worthy of being called a deck. He nailed the 2x10’s to some pallets and called it good. What a waste of quality lumber.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that the person who had taken all that lumber, without even so much as a please may I, was a soldier in my own unit. I had a talk with the man and he seemed to have no remorse what so ever. He will be surprised to learn, tomorrow, that the lumber will be returned to me one way or another. Especially since that lumber has been planned for this other project for more than a month. The IEW shop has been waiting patiently for their outdoor work platform and I am not about to let them down.

It appears that this person has been known to do things like this in the past. He has no regard for other people’s property. If he wants something and he finds it, he takes it, as though it was put there just for him to take it. Not much I can do about that at this point. I blame it on a poor upbringing. He is too old to retrain now. LOL Not to mention that he, too, is an NCO.

I finally picked up the last of the materials for the completion of the Alamo Forward. I hope to have it done in a few days so I can move on to that project for the IEW Shop. After that one is done, I will probably end up going down range to fill an order for some construction on a few of the FOBs that we are manning. I am kind of looking forward to getting out of BAF for while. I really want to see the country side. It is really beautiful here in the valleys where the water keeps things green this time of year.

Another project complete

While I am waiting for a resupply of materials for the completion of the Alamo Forward, I decided to take care of some of the other projects that were put on the back burner. I make a weapons rack in the arms room to store the 240 Bravo machine guns on. Up till now, they have been just stacked on the floor and constantly in the way. It seemed that every time we needed something out the arms room, it happens to be just where the 240B's are setting. Well that is no more. I made a rack that can hold 26 of them and not be in the way of anything else.

Once I was finished with that, I started on a "shore board" I am not sure how to describe it except that it is a device that is used to measure babies' and young children's height. It is a board onto which you place the baby in the correct position and once you lower the top, the medics can determine the correct height of the child. I do not have any pictures of it yet, but, I will get some and post them at a later date. I will say this. I just saved the Government over $1000.00. As it turns out, the boards that I made cost around $425.00 EACH and it costs $150 a pair to ship.

The only reason this even happened was because it was going to take too long to get the company to ship it out here. I was approached by one of the medical company NCO's and asked if I knew any one that could possibly build a couple of these. I figured I would try. I turned out to be a real success. Just so you know, I love saving tax payer money. There is nothing more frustrating, to me, than to see how much we are charged for the simplest little thing once the seller discovers that it is the "government" that is footing the bill. The sad thing is that we are teaching this to the locals as well.

We have a new Commander

We had a change of command ceremony today. The Battalion Commander (BC) has been called to a new mission and has been replaced by the Executive Officer (XO). We did the formal ceremony this morning. It was not too bad. The speeches were held to a minimum by all the people involved. Of course they all started with the obligatory “I will keep this short" statement and then they all went into a monologue that lasted a little longer than they said it would, but, it was not too bad. And in most cases, the speeches were actually relevant to the ceremony. I have some pictures, but, not with me. I will down load them from my camera later and post them.

I also have some update about what is going on with me here at BAF. I am still the Project Guy here, but, I am also the Mayor again, just not officially. I still do all the Mayor Cell things that I did before, except for the stuff that involves dealing with the Billeting office. That is being handled by my assistant. I am, however, not in my office much lately because of the Alamo Forward. This makes things easier.

The Alamo Forward is coming right along. I have hit a stopping point due to supply issues. It seems that we have a thief on post. I was hit for 35 sheets of plywood and then I found out that the same night some other units also were hit and lost plywood and other things like 2x4's and 2x6's. I now have to wait for a resupply of materials to finish the Gazebo. I will get some pictures of that as well, once I am finished, and post them on here.

It also looks like I am going to be getting leave after all. This in not for sure yet, but, I was told that it is looking like some leave slots are going to open up either in August or September. I do not know if I even want to look forward to that right now with the way things are going. I hate to get my hopes up because things are so fluid here that nothing is for sure until it is actually happening.

The Alamo Forward is coming along

We christened the Alamo Forward today. Today was Memorial day and even though the project is not complete, we had a cook out on the deck. The project is about 60% complete, but, is lacking the electrical work and the roof. I have to wait on the walls until the electrical wires are all run and then I can seal it all up and I will get the roof on this week. Then I can run the wires for the lights once that is done. These pictures are from today. The one with the wall that is swung open, is where the 52 Inch Plasma TV is going to go, once the project is complete. It will swing open when in use and be able to be locked up when not. There is a torn parachute that we used as a temporary roof so as to not be in the sun all day while cooking on the new grill that was made here, for us, by the husband of one of our soldiers. He works for KBR and knows some welder who did him a favor.
I like it so much that I am going to build me something like this once I get home. I will use it for a work shop and storage shed with a deck for sitting outside and having cook outs for my friends and neighbors. I think I can get the material for less than $5K and if I do the labor myself, well then that part is free. It may take a few months to get it done, but, it will improve the home value for when I get ready to sell. I will, however, not use plywood for the outside walls. I plan on using Hardy board instead.

I got fired today

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I seemed to piss off Captains on a regular basis. It seems that I got in the middle, between a Retired One Star and the OIC of Billeting, Captain Cunningham. She, Cpt Cunningham, has been on a power trip since the day I met her. I did everything I could to appease her and tried to help people despite her seeming intentional inconveniencing of the people around her.
From the beginning: I was sent a Retired Brigadier General (One Star) to house in my area, along with his staff. He is the SIGAR (Special Inspector General Afghan Region). Basically, he inspects different units to make sure that they are not doing anything inappropriate. Anyway, he was assigned his rooms and they were spread out throughout the camp. This was, despite the fact the he requested to keep his people isolated from other people due to the possible conflict of interest that could arise from sharing living quarters with someone from a unit that might fall under investigation. Not to mention the fact that the walls are thin and thus, others could hear confidential conversations.
So, be being the go-to-guy that I am, when he asked me to try to get him and his people into a B-Hut that was isolated, I just said “I will do my best to make it happen” and proceeded to try to make it happen. I found a suitable B-Hut that had two vacancies in it and asked the other two people if they would mind relocating into comparable rooms in another B-Hut. One said “no problem” and the other was on his way home anyway so it worked out great. Well, that is when the S#!t hit the fan. Cpt Cunningham had a conniption fit and took away the fourth room and assigned it to some SGM that was not even here yet.
Well, the One Star’s other assistant arrived before the SGM and he moved into that room. As soon as the Cpt found out, she had me place a sign on the door telling him to go see billeting and lock out the guy by putting a lock on the room door’s hasp. Of course as soon as the General got back and heard what had happened he came looking for me. He tore into me as I stood there at attention and then parade rest. As he stopped to take a breath, I interrupted him and explained to him that I had nothing to do with what was going on. He then asked me what I knew about it and I told him. He then blew up and vented some frustration. As I reminded him that it was over my head and I could not do anything for him on this matter.
He then proceeded to the billeting office. Mind you that this is happening after 2200 hrs. (10 PM). He did not go to Cpt Cunningham. He did not even go to her boss. He went to her boss’s boss. Not one step above her, but, two. He got his way, of course. So now we get to me and how I lost my job. Since Cpt Cunningham did not get her way on this, that left only one person that she could take it out on. That one person would be me. She called my 1SG and told him to replace me. The excuse that she used was that I cannot follow orders and contradicting her. She has butted heads with almost everyone that out ranks her. I think she takes pride and great pleasure in pushing people around. I guess that is part of the character trait found in Police. And yes, she is an MP (Military Police).
The bottom line is that I am looking for a new job. LOL well, not a new job. I am still in the army and my Battalion is very pleased with my work ethics and desire to do what needs to be done.

The Project is coming along

Well, I found my camera. Here are some pictures of the project that I am working on. This is the “Alamo Forward.” I have now put two days of work into it and it is finally beginning to look like something. It took me a days worth of work to get the deck done and now I have put up the frame work for 4 of the 5 walls. I have till this weekend to get it semi-finished. I do not think that I will get all the things done because I still do not have all of the electrical supplies for it. I will, however, have it ready for the cookout that is going to happen this weekend. There are several things I need to do for that, but, nothing that is too difficult. The hardest thing is going to be the roof. I am still not sure how I am going to get that put together and make it all work. I guess I will come up with something once I get to that point. It would be nice to have an actual set of blueprints to go by instead of just a few people's thoughts and ideas that I had to implement into the concept. Not to mention that the design has changed no less than 4 times since I began the build. I just hope it does not change again. Or, at least, not the parts that are already complete. I would hate to have to tear it down again.

I finally got my truck back from the shop. It was in for a few days for its simi-annual service. It still does not have a back window, but, that is coming soon. Now, all I have to do is find a stereo system and some speakers for it. One thing at a time, as I always say. Even though I never listen to myself on that one, since I always have at least 5 projects in the works at a time. LOL Any way, I am happy to say that I am still doing my job and loving it. I guess the bosses are happy too, since I have not been fired yet, despite the fact that I have stepped on a few toes in the process of getting my job done. And the toes I stepped on were all MUCH higher on the food chain than I am. It seems that I am good at pissing off Captains and Majors and am getting pretty good at pissing off Lieutenant Colonels too now.

Another project under way

I was tasked with the building of what they are calling the "Alamo Forward." It is supposed to be a place where we can go to relax and just sit around. There is going to be a deck, a Grill for cooking out and a room with a big screen with cable or satellite. I started on that project today. It is underway and going up fast. The footprint is 16 feet wide by 24 feet deep. The roof at the front will be 8 feet off the deck and the roof at the rear will be only 7 feet. That will give it a slight angle for the rain to run down instead of settling on the roof. I do not have any pictures as of yet, because I have no idea where my new camera went. I will get some pictures and post them as soon as I can remember where the heck I put my camera. I am starting to get that CRS syndrome real bad. The “Can’t Remember $h!t” syndrome has affected me quite a few times this last week more so than usual.

There is some good news on the horizon. The building that the mayor cell is in is about to be mine. Right now I have to share it with the 1SG and the CO of HHC. I just found out that they are moving into the building next door and that will leave me more room for all the things I have to store. I hope to also get a vehicle out of this deal. I am working on getting an M1009 (CUCV). For those that are not as OLD as I am, that is what the military used back in the early 80’s. It is a Chevy truck that has been modified from a 3/4 ton Diesel to a 1 1/4 ton. Basically they just added a few leaf springs to make it stronger and rerated the weight capacity. It is old and worn out, kind of like me. And I love it. I drove it today when I picked up the 2x10x16 boards for the frame of the “Alamo” and it did not even whimper at carrying that heavy load from one end of post to the other. It also reminds me of my dad’s “76 GMC ¾ ton truck. It is the same color and has the same interior. All that is missing is the radio.

Another week in the history books

It is now Sunday morning and I am getting to rest for a change. I was going to be building a new project called the "Alamo Cafe," but, it is raining. So I decided to use my day off as an actual day off. Normally I use my day off as a shorter than usual day. So on my days off I only work about 10-12 hours. Not this day. I plan to not work more than 4-6 hours and even that, only because I have some pressing issues to deal with. Otherwise, I would not have gotten out of bed.

We cannot seem to get a reliable weather report to save our lives out here. It seems that they cannot accurately predict tomorrow’s weather today more than about 25% of the time. And they are trying to tell us that 20 years from now we are going to boil to death from this global warming thing. Actually, I just saw a new mantra. In the 70's it was "Global Cooling, the second Ice Age" in the 90's "Global warming" and now, wait for it, wait for it, "Global Climate Change." Shoot, all you have to do to prove that one, is wait an hour (unless you are in Texas, then it is only 5-10 minutes) and YES THE CLIMATE CHANGED. What a surprise. They had to use a new mantra because they just discovered that the world did not get any hotter over the last 3 years. In fact, I just read a report that it actually cooled down a 1/4 of a degree. Besides, who is to say what the temperature of the earth should be. We just know what "we" would like for it to be, not what it is supposed to be.

Anyway, back to Afghanistan. Here, the weather is about to get much hotter. We are entering the "100 day winds." Every year, around this time, we start getting strong winds that kick up a lot of sand and stuff into the air. It usually lasts; you guessed it, around 100 days. Then, the summer heat kicks in. We are actually experiencing it right now. And, in about 2 months, the heat will set in and it will calm down again. It does not get too much over the 120's here. Usually stays in the 110's or lower. The evenings get down in the 70's or low 80's so it is not too bad. All you have to do is drink lots of water and all is well. It also helps you lose weight.

It seems that almost everyone here has lost over 15 Lbs. I have talked to some guys that said they have lost over 45 Lbs since they got here. This is, despite the really awesome food that is served here. This is mostly because we walk everywhere and drink lots of water. The ones that have lost the most are usually the ones that do not drink the soda here, just water with the flavor packets. I was down to 170's and am now back up to 180 or so. Not bad, considering that I was just less than 200Lbs when we left to come here. I have not done any PT for a while and it is starting to show. I am going to start a work out plan next week, once I get some things done and have more time.

Time to eat crow

I finally confronted the former Mayor. I had to talk to him today because it was driving me crazy. I kept biting my tongue all day and could not hold it in any longer. For those of you that know me. You would be amazed as to how long I held it in. But, at around 1630hrs (4:30 PM) I could not stop myself. I knocked on his door, asked to speak to him, closed the door, took a deep breath and began. I am glad I did it. We ironed out a lot of things. I was misjudging him on his actions. I thought he was doing what he was doing, just because he wanted to get under my skin. I was wrong. He was truly looking out for, what he thought was, my best interest. He was afraid that I might be biting off more than I could chew. I did, however, tell him, that although I have been known for doing just that, I am sure I can handle the ramifications of my actions. He apologized and now we are good friends.

I also dealt with the vehicle issue. I reminded him that the vehicle belongs to the Mayor Cell, but, he is welcome to use it when I or my assistants are not doing so. He, at first, tried to “convince” me that I was wrong. That the vehicle in question actually belongs to the Headquarters Company. But, I reminded him that the only reason the Battalion left that vehicle behind with him was because he was the Mayor, not because he was the 1SG and then pointed out that none of the other companies have vehicles for the staff, only the supply section of each company has one. He then conceded that I was right and we moved on to the next topic at hand. I think I am going to like this guy. He seems to try to get over on you, but, if confronted with the facts, he backs down and moves on. I cannot blame the guy for trying. LOL
I also dealt with an irate Lieutenant Colonel today. This one was entirely my fault. We worked a deal between the two of us and I did not come through on my end as he expected. He told me he could get me a bobcat (skid steer) with a bucket loader on it for a day. And in return I would make sure that we spread some rocks out in front of his B-hut so he would not have a mud pit to walk though every time it rained. By the time I finally got the Bobcat, the gravel that I was authorized to get, had been taken away. I was only given a week to make it go away or they would take it and use it elsewhere. It took a week and a half to get the bobcat. There for, I did not have enough gravel to do the job in full and I had to decide whether it was more important to spread the few loads of gravel I had at one B-hut to help one man, or spread it out over a main route and help out that entire section of the camp. He did not like the choice I made. He went all the way up the chain to my Battalion. I had to answer to one of my Majors up there. Luckily I am in good standing with them. Especially since I just built them the wall and door up there. And I was up till 0430hours doing so, because they wanted it done in time for the office to be moved into by the morning shift. I explained to them what had happened and that I would rectify the situation by Close of Business today and problem solved. I went and found some gravel and took the John Deere Gator and a couple of shovels and loaded up the Gator with 2 loads of gravel to spread around the Colonels B-hut. Now we are all happy as can be. I love it when a plan comes together.

Well it is getting late. I will write again soon. Enjoy your freedoms while they last. I hear that they are diminishing rather quickly back home. I just heard that we, the soldiers, are on the terrorist watch list. Gotta love that.

Just call me Bob.

It seems that I have earned myself a new name. I am being called "Bob the Builder" and also "Bob Villa." It looks like I have impressed a few people that had no clue I could make things happen. This is a great place to be for me, right now. At least for the most part.

There is a dark cloud in the sky over me right now. The man that used to do my job here, as Camp Mayor, is back. He tried to go home by pulling some strings back home and getting reassigned. It seems that he does not like the people he has to work for. Well any way, he pulled some strings and went home and the strings got CUT and he was called back in. He is not a happy camper right now. Any way, he is trying to take it out on me. He does not want the job of Camp Mayor, but, he wants all the perks. I am not sure how to handle this one. I know I can leave here anytime I choose. I just need to say the word and I am down range on the front lines doing my job. The one I was trained to do and the one that I was brought back from retirement for. I do not know if I want to pull that trump card just yet. I am kind of enjoying this job.

Here are the issues I have to deal with. 1, since we were told to put the curtains back up in the showers, I decided to have my guys cut the curtains to Knee high. Not a big deal, right? Well he had a cow and ordered my guys not to do it. It seems that he wants to run the Mayor Cell, but, does not want the job of the Mayor. 2, I just found out that he thinks the Mayor Cell vehicle is HIS vehicle. He does not seem to understand that he is no longer the Mayor and is the First Sergeant only, since he did not want to do both jobs. But, the 1SG does not rate a personal vehicle, even though he was using it as such when he was the Mayor. I needed the vehicle for some official business and it seems that he took the keys with him to the hooch since HE does not want people driving HIS vehicle.

Like I said, I am not sure how I am going to deal with this one. It looks like I am going to have to either push against the tide or just step aside and let him have the Mayor cell back and hope he drowns in the work. I know that I have done more in the last 2 weeks as Mayor than he did in the last 3 months. I have received many complements from the local tenants as to how much better the camp looks and how glad they are that someone cares about this camp enough to get things done. The only things that got done before were the things that directly affected his comfort of living.

I guess I will have to see what happens tomorrow when I confront him on this vehicle issue. It is going to get pretty ugly. I guess I will write again soon and pass on what came of it.

I have some pictures of some of the project I have done. There is the water point here in the camp and the wall I built in the Battalion office to separate it for a new work space. there are a few more, but, I do not have pictures of them just yet. I will post them as soon as I get them.

Yet another birthday away from home.

Well, I just turned the big 4 0. It was a rather uneventful day, thank goodness. It was just another day at work. I had so much to do that the day went by in a flash. Just the way I like it, out here. It was just brought to my attention that we only have about 6 months left before we pack it up and go home.

They are telling us that we should be out of here in the first or second week of November. (That is the latest estimate). Truth be told, we have had several people say several things and no one will know the truth until it actually happens. All I know is that my orders say I am here until 4 Jan 2010. That is the day I am looking at being sent home. If it happens sooner then so be it. I am not going through the emotional roller coaster of using the November date and then being let down.

Today, I lost my first battle. Those signs I put up in the showers did not deter the culprit. It happened again on the evening of the 17th. So, the curtains were promptly removed from the showers on the 18th. It seems that some Lieutenant had a fit and went to the I G complaining how traumatic it is for soldiers to not have private showers. The end result was that Base Ops., my bosses, gave in and asked me to put the curtains back up. Apparently the health risk is outweighed by the "trauma" of no privacy.

Other than that it has been a rather productive week. I finished building the new water point. We are going to take all the palletized cases of water off the pallets and putting them into the new structure which is set up for it. It is going to clean up that area of the camp a little bit. Make it look a little better so as to have a little more aesthetic appeal.

Today’s project is to build a Gazebo for the back corner of the camp. That is where the Marines reside. Their Major and I worked a deal where if I build them a smoking area, I can have the left over lumber for the other projects that need it. There are several projects in the camp that need to be done and I hope to get them all done before my time here is up. Hopefully we can leave this camp in better shape than when we got it. At least that is my plan. One can only hope.

I still have not heard word on the Language school. The SGM has not been here for a week or so. He has been visiting the different outposts that we have soldiers assigned. He truly cares about his troops and their well being. That is why I do not mind signing another 5 year contract if he gets me into the language school in Monterrey, California. I know that if I do sign up for another 5 years, I will be working for him for most of it.

Well, it is time to go build that Gazebo. I will write again soon.

What a day. What a day indeed.

Today was my first time to go through the paces on getting material for Camp construction. I had to go through layers of red tape. I thought I was going to skip to the top of the chain once I was put on the Signature card. Wow was I wrong. I did get to skip a few links, but, there are more links to this chain then I could have imagined. It took me all morning to get through the approval process just so I could turn in the paper work to the Class IV yard.

The good news is, that I got the lumber package approved. What I did not know was that this was tried and declined twice already. I found this out, when the Major's level of excitement went through the roof once he heard that it was approved. I am guessing that this will make the Colonel very happy. It seems that this was his BABY. He wants to build a break area at the Battalion HQ that will called the Alamo. Just a little something to leave a footprint behind, showing that we were here. Every unit does something, this is as good a thing as any. At least this one is something that is usable. Most of the units do some stupid project that wastes time and money that is just an ego thing. My Colonel, at least, is doing something usefull. Something that helps all the people in that area.

I also ended up helping my Supply Sergeant build a cabinet for his room. The project turned out better than he expected. The only thing missing was a router to finish out the edges. It is done and looking good. Well, not quite done because it started to rain, but, almost done. Did I mention that I love this job. DAMN I LOVE THIS JOB. There is nothing quite like having a task that no one thinks can get done and doing it below budget and ahead of schedule.

Well, it is Easter

It is now Sunday, 12 April. It just worked out that today was my day off. I actually had a great day doing nothing. The guy in the room next to me works for L3 Technologies and he asked me if I wanted a tour of the facilities where he works. He works with the UAVs as a technical expert. Since I already have a Clearance, it was no big deal to get me on the flight line and check out the operation.

It was a real eye opener. I was permitted to take some pictures of the aircraft. Not opened up, of course. Too many classified electronics to be able to do that. But, I did get a few nice close-ups of the airplane with me in next to it. The plane is amazing. It was nice to see where the intel that we get out in the field, originates.

Other than that, I did not do much. I went to the health spa and got a full body massage. It is only $20 an hour out here. It is 1/3 what I pay at home. They are really good at working out the lower back problems I developed from carrying all that weight up and down the mountain. Last time I was here, I had a standing appointment with the massage therapist every Sunday at 4 PM. And always the same one. Luda, she is the only one that knows how to do a really good deep tissue massage. Unfortunately, Olga, the lady I got today, did not do as good a job. She was just going through the motions, for the most part. It felt more like a back rub than a massage. Which is why she only got a $5 tip?

Wow, what a day

Well, I had a day from hell. I loved it for the most part. Just had one incident that totally boggled the mind. I was approached by one of the camp tenants and informed that "someone" had shat in the shower stall. It seems that some of the local national that live here (cat 1 interpreters) are not adjusting to the modern way of life, all that well. I found out that this is not the first time for this. In fact, it is somewhere around the 15th or 16th time in recent months. So, I got to pondering the situation and a few of us came up with a solution. I posted a sign in all the shower cells' entrances that said if it happened again, I would remove all the shower curtains from all the shower stalls for a month. I sure hope I do not have to do that. But, I will if I have to.

On the brighter side. I did have a great day today. I convinced the commander to put me on the Signature card at the Class IV yard. The class 4 yard is where you get all the building material. This means that I do not have to go through the typical red tape to get things. It eliminates a few of the middle men in the process. I can pretty much skip all the people between me and the top. I LOVE IT.

The first major project at hand is to paint the outside of all the B-Huts. I just ordered 15 of the 5 gallon buckets of Tan Exterior Latex. Then, some small projects that are going to be done for individuals B-Huts. Like Shelving for storage of personal things. I am doing those on a case by case basis, as time allows.

Since most of you do not know, I will describe the typical living accommodations out here. The typical B-hut is 17 feet wide by 36 feet long. There is a door in the middle of each end that goes into a hallway. On each side of the hall way, there are 4 rooms. Each room is 6 1/2 feet by 7 1/2 feet. That is all you get. Not much room for things. In my room, I have the bed on stilts so as to be able to store my Tuff Boxes under the bed, that way they are out of my way. I am still working on getting some shelving in here for more storage.

So in closing, I am happy to say, I think I found my niche in life. I like this type of work. I look forward to getting to work in the morning and seeing what the next challenge is going to bring. But, most of all, I like seeing progress. I like to see things get done. Something I can put a check mark by and move to the next item on the list. There is a great deal of satisfaction in seeing to it that things get accomplished.

The first challenge has come and gone

Well, I was expecting a relatively uneventful day today and I am happy to say it was not the case. The day started off really well. I walked the camp and looked at all the things that needed my attention. There was no shortage of things needing repair. I was pretty pleased that there are a lot of things that I can improve upon. I met with the KBR representative for turning in the work orders as well as the service representative for the Service orders. The first is for things that need doing, the second is for things that need fixing. All of that, went well. Most of them are from Serbia or other former soviet nations and are eager to work as well. Unlike most of the American KBR, where you have to hope to get one that is willing to do anything. They think that work is beneath them or something.

Then came my first TEST, the challenge. Remember I said I have a vehicle that belongs to the Mayor Cell? Well the Company Commander and I had a pissing contest over "WHOSE vehicle is it anyway?" I played politics on this one. I know, I know, those of you who know me are thinking "no way, who is this, writing this blog?" But, I did, and it payed off. I just told him the facts and said "but I am not sure, it is just what I was briefed by HIGHER, Sir." and he later came to me in a much humbled tone and said he does not want to start off on the wrong foot, so he just wants us to SHARE the vehicle. I guess I did OK on this one. I did not bow up to him and so he did not lose face and thus we both got what we wanted. I guess I am getting soft in my old age. LOL

Anyway, we are going to have our next challenge when it comes to occupying the building that we are in. It seems that he wants to take over the entire office and half of the area where people come in to conduct Camp Business. That is the Mayor Cell Building and the previous mayor let him move in to half of the back office because he was not using it and now he is starting to expand into my area. I, yet again, am going to have to plant my feet and start to PUSH against the forces of Nature. I am, however, going to try to parlay this in to a new facility that I want to build not far from the existing one. I am hoping that if I offer to build it myself the facilities manager will let me do it. The lumber is plentifully, it is the cost of labor that we are tightly budgeting.

Well it is time for me to get busy with some on line registration. I am going to sign up for some college classes in order to better utilize my time here. I will write again soon.

The good news just keeps a coming

I was just named the Camp Mayor. It looks like I am going to be staying here at Bagram for a while. From what I have been told thus far, I am going to like this new position. I am good at stepping on toes if I need to, to get things done. I have always believed in "soldiers first" and that is not what was happening here before. I have been told that the last Mayor did a lot of the "what's in it for me" kind of dealings.

One of the most attractive benefits for me is that now I have a vehicle to drive. I got a Ford Everest as the mayor's vehicle. For those of you back home, who have never heard of a Ford Everest, it is basically an Explorer except a little smaller and has a 4 cylinder diesel engine with 5 speed manual. The only thing is with that is that the speed limit here on post is 15 miles an hour. For those of you who know me well, know that this is trouble just waiting to happen.

I did learn that it is pretty sure now that I will not be going home on leave in August. That is not a big deal since I would feel guilty going home in place of another soldier who might be down range and not living as nicely as those of us who are on established bases. To my friends and family who were expecting me home in a few months, I am sorry.

I will post some pictures of this area for you guys to see, once I get my stuff unpacked and organized and get my camera out. I will probably not write as often here now that there really is not much to write about. This post is rather well established and there is not much excitement around here. We do have a lot of activities here on base to keep us busy during our off times. I am going to be signing up for some college classes here in a few days to help pass the evening time. But, other than that, there is not much going on here. I will write again later and post some pics as I get them.

Some good news

Today, I received some rather good news from my Commander. As it turns out, I impressed him with some of the repair work that I have done since I have been here. It seems that he wants me to take over as the Camp Mayor of the camp that we are in right now. I would be in charge of assigning the soldiers a room and taking care of all the repairs that need doing. Not actually doing all the repairs myself, just getting the work orders in and making sure that they are done on time.

This is right up my alley. I love doing this kind of stuff. And actually, I would probably do most of the repair work myself just so it is done right. I also now have my own room and have just gotten Internet run to my room. I am now sitting on my bed typing this blog and loving it. All I need now is a TV and a Phone and I will be right at home.

The TV is rather easy. I can get cable for only $25 a month. I can also do the VOIP if I want to but there is a hell of a delay. The last time I had it, it was around 6 seconds. Most people hung up thinking that there was no one there, before my voice made it to their end. It was rather difficult to talk even if I got through. Well any way, it is getting late here and I am going to have to get up early tomorrow.

I will write again as soon as I know whether I am going to stay here or not.

Still at Bagram

Well it is now the 5th of April and I am still at Bagram. It looks like I am going to be here for a while. This reorganization is going to take a while to get ironed out. Thus, as soon as they know where I am going to be going, I will be told. As is stands right now, no one knows what the Battalion structure is going to look like. We have our Colonel fighting for his idea of what his organization should look like. And we have a few Generals wanting their individual ideas of what they want us to do, and thus it is all up in the air.

I am, however, enjoying this time I have been granted. I do keep busy with office work, but, I also have time to do things that I want to do. I am staying away from the Bazaar and the "Haji shops" because I do not want to be tempted to spend any more money. My goal is to be debt free by the time I get back, and it is looking like it is going to happen. Minus the two houses, of course. I have that laid out on a five year plan.

I weighed myself the other day while in the Mayor Cell Office. They happened to have scale there in the hall way. I was surprised to find out that I weigh 189 with my uniform on and my side arm w/ammo and boots on. Oh, and all the stuff in all my pockets. I figure that all that stuff is around 18 Lbs. so I am now down in the 170's. Not bad considering I left home weighing just under 200 Lbs. I guess that is what happens when you eat One MRE per day for few weeks and do a lot of physical work at the same time.

I will be starting to go to the gym here, if I do not get out of here soon. The food here is really good and I do not want to gain that weight back.

It looks like I am not going to be going home in Aug like I was told I would be doing. I might not be able to go home at all during this deployment as it looks right now. It appears that Battalion does not have enough slots to get us all home for our leaves and thus the higher ranking individuals will not be getting leave. Of course, if you are high ranking and work here in Bagram, where you have connections, that does not apply. But, for those of us who are down range, we get hosed.

Well I have to go. My computer number was just called and my time is up. I will write again soon.

I am back at the beginning.

I just arrived at Bagram Air Field. (BAF) This is were we started our journey, back on the 30th of January. We were supposed to get on a flight at around 10PM last night, but, the CH-47 did not get there until around 3:30 AM. We finally arrived here at BAF at around 5:00 AM and I ended up going to sleep around 7:00 AM. I got up at 9 and started my day. I am now taking a little time to do somethings on line and decided to post this so you guys know what is going on.

I still have not been told where I am going. It looks like I might be able to just stay here at BAF as the company admin clerk. I would much rather do that then go out and do the mission they were talking about.

There is a lot of crap to put up with here at BAF. Like for example, at night, you have to wear a reflective belt when outside. IF you do not have one on you and visible, you get arrested and hauled down to the PMO (Provost Marshals Office) and your commander has to come bail you out and you are fined $75. That is just the most ludicrous one. there are more that I will not go into at this time.

The upside to this place is the Massage parlor, the Burger King, the Pizza Hut (and they deliver), the Subway, the Dairy Queen, and there are more. not to mention the college opportunities that are available. I hope I can stay here. We will see. I am going to try to convince my Commander that I would be a great asset here and hope he lets me stay.

Any way, for those of you that I have been calling via my sat phone. I no longer have one of those fancy little doohickeys and thus, until I get another means of Com's, I will have to just E-mail you on occasion. I will try to get another way to contact you guys as soon as possible. If I get to stay, I will get an Internet connection in my room and get a VOIP phone. I hear that they are pretty cheap.

It is official

I juts got back from the camp that I am based out of. Or, actually I was based out of. I did a complete inventory of the items that I am signed for, and turned them over to the new NCOIC. The man is a real piece of work. I did the process by the numbers and at the end, when I was supposed to get the DA 2062 (issuer's Hand Receipt), he tried to take the equipment and the paperwork. Telling me, that he was going to turn it in and I had no say so in the matter because his signature was on it. I tried to explain to him that the 2062 stays with me and that is my proof to my supply guy that I gave it to him. He could not grasp the concept. So I did the only thing I could do. I took back all of my equipment and told him that I will just turn it in to supply back at the rear and he would just have to go get it issued from there. So he tore up the paper work and threw it at me.

Imagine the nerve. It is like going into a store and signing the credit card receipt and taking the credit card receipt and the equipment. He could not get it through his thick skull that I already signed a 2062 for the nearly half a million dollars worth of equipment and am responsible for it. Until, that is, a new 2062 is used to off set my responsibilities.

The commander had to explain to him that he was a DIP SHIT and he needs to re-do the documents and give them to me. Of course, that was only because I refused to give it to him with out the forms and he has a mission that he needs if for, today. I do not know how someone gets to be an E-7 in the military without understanding the basic principal of the hand receipt.

I also found out why I was getting transferred to this Battalion level, CUSHY, job. It seems that I managed to piss off the local units Intel. Captain. It seems that my refusal to break OPSEC protocol pissed him off and since I would not follow his orders, he had me replaced. Now notice I said "replaced." He could not have me "fired" because what I did was "NOT' break the rules. I refused to send him the Intel he wanted over the radio. One would think that the stuff is classified "Top Secret" for a reason. I guess for these guys, it does not matter.

I just told him "NO SIR," and explained to him that when I leave here, it will be to go home to my house, not to a federal prison. I am not violating NSA guide lines just to please him. He wants the intel, he has to provide a secure means for me to get it to him. Other wise, just wait till I can link up with him every three days or so.

Now they have this new guy. He is new to the intel world and is about to have a rude awakening. I hope for his sake, that he is not as stupid as I think he is. He might not be finishing his Military career the way he was intending to. One can only wait and see. He seemed very defiant the entire time I tried to brief him on the job at hand.

I ran into trouble with him back in the states as well. He was very much one of those guys that is "ALWAYS RIGHT" simply because of his rank. I sat back and watched him berate several soldiers just because he out ranked them, even though they were right. When he tried to run ruff shot over me, I just pushed back. Those of you who know me, know that I am not one for political correctness. I speak my mind. You know where I stand on a subject if you just ask. Sometimes, you do not need to ask and I will still let you know, but, needless to say, he and I did not get along as soon as I stood up to his bullying. The final straw was when he made fun of my car.

I later found out that I inadvertently called his Motorcycle a piece of shit. I was talking to another soldier about bikes and he asked me what I thought of Harley Davidson's and I replied "Hardleys?" as in Hardley a motorcycle. He over heard that and did not much care for the comment since he had just spent over $24,000 on one. Not my fault he is crazy. Maybe these new ones are better, but, the saying is"if it is not leaking oil it is because it has all leaked out" another words, it is a piece of unreliable crap. At least that is my translation. LOL and besides, that much money on something that you can only ride on nice days and even then only for short distances. WOW.

The ride is over

I just linked up with my commander and he dropped a bombshell on me. And I do not mean a "Blond Bomb Shell, " either. I am being moved up to a Battalion level job. I have to hand my team off to someone else. I am not the happiest camper right now. It is not something I was expecting to be told. All I know is that they want me to do some analyst work on the intel that is being collected out here. Apparently they got this big idea that I would be good at something like that. Something about my ability to see things from a different perspective, I guess. Or maybe they just HATE me and want to torture me with a desk job. At least that is what I am envisioning. Not sure where I am going to be going or for that matter, for how long I will be doing this new job. But, I hate it already.

I was just getting used to the idea of having to move to this new location that we were going to. And now, POW, pack up and move again. "Don't ask where, 'cause I do not know." That was what I was told by the commander. Hell, if he does not know, what the hell is going on here. He is supposed to know where all of us are at all times. I think he knows I am not going to like it and he does not want to tell me until we get back to the rear.

Well, any way, I did plan on putting up some really positive info today so here is goes. Yesterday, we had a FANTABULOUS dinner. They were serving T-bone steaks and Scallops with mixed veggies and I made a Root Beer float with the ice cream and A&W Root Beer that was in the cooler. It was like a small piece of heaven had dropped into our laps. I guess that is Gods way of balancing out the week. A few small bad things a few small good things and then a HUGE bad thing. I just hope that there is, somewhere in the very near future, a HUGE good thing to level it out. LOL

I do not know if I am going to have access to the web where I am going to be, so yet again, I will do the best that I can. I am also loosing the Sat Phones in this move, so I do not know if or when I will be able to call home again. Please bear with me back home. I will do what I can to get some phone time.

Another day of rest

It is now Saturday evening and we are still here resting. We are awaiting our commander. He is due to arrive early tomorrow. He wanted to link up with us and it has been a heck of an ordeal to get him here. There have been a lot of delays after delays getting him here from where he is. It is only a 10 minute flight or an hour convoy, but, the op tempo here is do high that they have not been able to get him here. Hopefully this time he actually makes it here.

We are supposed to move out tomorrow or Monday to get linked up with our security element and then go to our next OP. I am looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of things. It is nice to rest, but, it is really not something I can do for too long. At least not before it becomes nerve racking. I do not like to just sit around for days at a time, doing nothing. I need to feel productive. Not exactly feeling that right now. LOL

The mail is also being delayed here. We are hoping that there is going to be some mail delivered here soon. They have told us that the mail is due here today, but, has not yet gotten here. We will see. Hopefully it gets here before we move out. Other wise, it might be a while before we get a chance to get it. Well, it is that time. I have to get going. I will write again soon.