4 NOV
As Americans head to the polls today to cast their ballots for president, I am getting a very up close look at one of the key issues in this race; Afghanistan.
Geography Lesson:
For the next week, I am flying to three of the five RCs (Regional Commands) to meet with my local public affairs counterparts. Today, I am in Mazar-e Sharif in RC North which is the German controlled sector of Afghanistan. Yes, I said German controlled.
The German base in RC North is overshadowed by the Marmal Mountains. It’s cold, cold, cold. Soon the snow will fall, averaging 2 feet on the ground all winter long. And while they live in Afghanistan’s harshest environment, I would be happy to be based here. See, the German’s are one of the few forces that allow their troops to drink alcohol. They actually have several Beer Gardens on the base. Seeing that (and how clean their base was) made me so proud of my German ancestry!
So many Americans think the United States is alone in our fight against the Taliban. The reality is soldiers from 43 different countries are here.
Tomorrow, were off to Kandahar in RC South which is home to the Dutch, Canadians and British. From there, we travel to Heret in RC West with the Italians and the Spanish. By the way, the Americans run RC East and the Turkish run RC Capital... but both PA shops operate out of my base in Kabul and I have already met them.
As we travel from city to city, we have to make supply stops in little outposts along the way. These places look like they are straight out of the Bible! Click onto some of the pictures to take a look.
Breaking News:
A funny but true story; the Romania have announced they are DOUBLING the number of their troops here. They are going from 6 soldiers to a force of 12. Meantime, the US has 51,000 troops here and I am proud to be one of them. But I truly appreciate any country that sends just one guy, the Romanians included.
More to come tomorrow from Kandahar.
As Americans head to the polls today to cast their ballots for president, I am getting a very up close look at one of the key issues in this race; Afghanistan.
Geography Lesson:
For the next week, I am flying to three of the five RCs (Regional Commands) to meet with my local public affairs counterparts. Today, I am in Mazar-e Sharif in RC North which is the German controlled sector of Afghanistan. Yes, I said German controlled.
The German base in RC North is overshadowed by the Marmal Mountains. It’s cold, cold, cold. Soon the snow will fall, averaging 2 feet on the ground all winter long. And while they live in Afghanistan’s harshest environment, I would be happy to be based here. See, the German’s are one of the few forces that allow their troops to drink alcohol. They actually have several Beer Gardens on the base. Seeing that (and how clean their base was) made me so proud of my German ancestry!
So many Americans think the United States is alone in our fight against the Taliban. The reality is soldiers from 43 different countries are here.
Tomorrow, were off to Kandahar in RC South which is home to the Dutch, Canadians and British. From there, we travel to Heret in RC West with the Italians and the Spanish. By the way, the Americans run RC East and the Turkish run RC Capital... but both PA shops operate out of my base in Kabul and I have already met them.
As we travel from city to city, we have to make supply stops in little outposts along the way. These places look like they are straight out of the Bible! Click onto some of the pictures to take a look.
Breaking News:
A funny but true story; the Romania have announced they are DOUBLING the number of their troops here. They are going from 6 soldiers to a force of 12. Meantime, the US has 51,000 troops here and I am proud to be one of them. But I truly appreciate any country that sends just one guy, the Romanians included.
More to come tomorrow from Kandahar.
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