Bureaucracy is how NOT to win a war

Since the day I got here one of my goals was to get ISAF to purchase equipment for my teams. Currently, my guys are using their own equipment to get the job done and being in a combat environment in a dusty, dirty country, their equipment is taking a real beating.

I put together a list of gear and submitted it through our Public Affairs requisition person. I have checked on it numerous times and been told over and over again, “it’s in the process.” Today was the last straw as I wanted to know where this purchase currently stands! And just as I feared, it’s gone nowhere fast.

The purchasing office had an old e-mail address for the former requisition person so the month old message saying, "additional paperwork is required" never made it into the right hands. To make matters worse, they say once the paperwork is received, it will take 6-months for the purchase order to go through. Hell, the war will be over by then.

I just want to beat my head against a tree.

Welcome aboard!

I have a new member on my team and he arrived by accident. Sgt. Stefanos is in the Greek Army. He was ordered to report to the Public Affairs team but nobody knew he was coming and they had no job for him.

I have plenty of work and too little of a staff so I adopted him as our International member of the MPPAT. “Stefanos now edits ISAF Update and Ask ISAF. This is great because I don’t believe our incoming replacements are broadcasters.

While he’s our official editor, until he got here he had never edited a frame of video before. I gave him a “how to edit” video and he’s mastered it like a pro.

A great personality and an outstanding work ethic, I’m thrilled to have him on the team. Welcome aboard Sgt. K!

Snow and plenty of it

It snowed here yesterday. I hate snow. From the picture of the picnic table, you can tell we easily got more than three inches of fresh powder. And as the sun pops out from time to time, the melting snow has turned into gigantic puddles of muddy water, the biggest one right outside my dorm. I have to wade through it to get inside. It’s ankle deep... and cold. Again, I hate snow.

Little surprises

More and more boxes continue to show up here at my base in Afghanistan. And each of these boxes contain little surprises for me and my staff. First and foremost I want to thank everyone who has sent me a box of medical supplies for the hospital. As for the little surprises, I want to send out a special thank you to Don Becker. Don included in his box the latest Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and three good cigars. Don, very cool, thank you.

While a dozen men have already leafed through the pages of my magazine, I have a special plan for the cigars. I'll smoke the first one on my last day here in Afghanistan. I'll smoke the second one when my plane touches down back in the U.S. My first stop on the road home is a week of "in-processing" in San Diego. As for the third one, that's reserved for the night I get home in Tennessee. I plan to smoke that one while sitting on my back patio drinking a beer, snuggling with my wife and watching my kids play.

Again, thank you every one of your donations… and the little surprises.