On the road...

Starting the 30th, I am going on a couple of trips which could have me on the road for more than a week. As this is the only way many of you keep tabs on me, please do not worry if you don't see this site being updated. I expect to be back around the 6th or 7th.

It's working

Readers of this blog know I have been working hard to establish a network of media teams across Afghanistan. I now have in place crews in two of the three regional commands and as expected, they are turning out stories like hotcakes. ISAF has never had so much product coming into the headquarters from the outlying areas like this before. My boss Captain Windsor recently sent me this short e-mail, "David, excellent work. I am impressed with this new direction. Thx!" I'll take credit for deploying the crews into the field, but the results belong to my teams. You guys are doing a GREAT JOB out there. Many thanks for the hard work.

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you're going to be away from your family on Thanksgiving, this was the place to be. While this is an international base with people from 43 different countries, yesterday the main dinning facility was closed to everyone but Americans so we could enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with our fellow countrymen. And boy was it a feast! The menu included 27 roasted and deep fried turkeys, sweet potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese, rolls, pumpkin pie, apple pie and Baskin Robbins ice cream. The room was decorated with American flags and traditional Thanksgiving colors of orange and brown. I didn't have my family at the table with me but I was surrounded with my Public Affairs family and we shared plenty of laughs as well as a great dinner. And while your dinners back home probably started with a prayer for us, we said a prayer of thanks for our great families, our supportive families back home. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thanksgiving starts with a bang

It was right around 9 AM that a giant explosion shook my building. Most people I've interviewed during my TV days would say, "It was like a bomb went off." Well, in this case it was a bomb. Just over our back wall no more than 200 yards away from my office a suicide bomber in his car detonated himself and took four innocent Afghans with him. This was right between my office and the US Embassy. I took a picture of the smoke which hung in the air for a minute or two marking the spot. If you look very closely, you can see his disappointed soul discovering there are no 70 virgins awaiting his arrival.

Trivia answer of the week:

And the answer to this week's question is: 29,000. That is the size of the Afghan National Army or ANA. These guys are out there doing the same stuff we do and they're becoming a legimate force.

This from a story I took off the web:

Afghan National Army and police units “are leading in the fight here today,” said Army Maj. Gen. Robert W. Cone, chief of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan. The Afghan army units take the lead “in about 60 percent of the operations they participate in,” Cone said, noting Afghan soldiers have proved themselves to be “an effective fighting force.”

Too funny!

This is a multi-national base and you get to see and experience some interesting customs here. Here's one of the funniest. This German today turned 30. If you're a male and turn 30 and have never been married, you have to continuously clean up wood shavings your buddies keep dumping on your doorstep. The only way he can be set free, is if a female virgin comes along and gives him a kiss. Too funny. I like the Germans.

Lies, lies and more lies

The media is a weapon and both sides are using it. Below are some excepts from the Taliban spokesperson and their news releases.

NONE OF THESE THINGS EVER HAPPENED

[Taleban spokesman] Qari Yusof Ahmadi: Three British soldiers were killed in Haiderabad area of Greshk District in Helmand Province at 1000 [local time] today. According to a report, the incident happened when the foot patrol of the invading British forces were ambushed by the mojahedin of the Islamic Emirate. The three soldiers killed and a number of others which we wounded were later removed by the invaders' helicopters from the area.

[Taleban spokesman] Zabihollah Mojahed: Twelve German soldiers have been killed in a martyrdom attack carried out by Hafaz Akhtar Mohammad, a hero mojahed of the Islamic Emirate in Shahr-e Jadid of Baghlan Province. According to a report, the martyrdom attack in a vehicle was carried out on the invading German soldiers when their convoy of armoured vehicles was travelling through the area at 1000 [local time] today. Two armoured tanks were destroyed and 12 soldiers on board were killed.

[Taleban spokesman] Qari Yusof Ahmadi: Four soldiers of the invading Canadian forces were killed when their military vehicle was destroyed by mine planted by the mojahedin of the Islamic Emirate in Morghankicha area of Daman District in Kandahar Province. According to a report, the vehicle was totally destroyed and four soldiers on board were killed in the explosion carried out by a remote-controlled mine. The area has been surrounded by the enemy, where no one is allowed access.

Going home

Tomorrow, LT Gandy will be heading back to the US to begin her next assignment. She's been here for more than seven months. Last night, one of her local Afghan friends threw her a going away party complete with traditional Afghan cuisine. Jessica, we all wish you "fair winds and following seas." Congratulations on a job well done and thank you for your help during this turnover period.

Help Needed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If there is ever a place on Earth guaranteed to break your heart, it's the Indirah Ghandi Children's Hospital. Yesterday, I went there to deliver some toys for the kids as well as some much needed medical supplies.

This is Afghanistan's ONLY pediatric hospital and there were just 50-60 beds. Beyond that, they can't handle any more. The majority of children are victims of war, children either caught in the crossfire, landmines, roadside bombs or injured from playing with unexploded ordinance they find which ultimately goes off. Many are badly burned and missing limbs. They screaming and crying is non-stop.

This hospital only receives $400 a month from the Afghan government to operate. The rest comes from outside donations. Needless to say they are seriously lacking in many departments. They have no bed netting to keep the flies off the children's burns. They have to reuse bandages and dressings because they don't have enough. Not every patient gets antibiotics because they just don't have enough.

The building is filthy and nasty and the smell is oppressive.

I e-mailed every television station I ever worked for and offered to do liveshots and packages to seek donations for these people. Only one station responded; NBC 24 in Toledo, Ohio. Tim Livingston is the news director, a good guy who is working on a plan for a Holiday fundraiser. I'm a happily RETIRED broadcaster, but this is one cause that could easily get me back in front of the camera.

To check out some video I shot from the Indirah Ghandi Children's Hospital, just click onto this link; http://www.dvidshub.net/vjump.php?vid=50015.

And the answer is....

The answer to this week's trivia question is... 18. Of the 12 people who ventured a guess, only one person got it right! According to NATO, 18 of the 36 provinces are now, "poppie free." Growing poppies for the production of narcotics is big business here and how terrorists fund themselves. The ANA (Afghan National Army) is now burning poppie fields and NATO is offering big money to legitimate farmers grow wheat instead. Slowly, it seems to be working.