Afghan Blues Feb 11 2009


Hi Kids and Critters!

Well the fun never stops!

Last week I came down with the flu. The kind of flu that hits you in the middle of the night, and when you cough, you can actually feel the seams in your skull pulling apart.

I had the achy joints and back, and several fevers.

And I did not have the kind of fever that could be cured by more cowbells. lol

I am blaming this on the living conditions.

This tent I am staying in has about 150 or more soldiers. They call it the transient tent. It hasn’t been swept in years, and the mattresses are the really cheap kind where you feel the springs in your back.

Add the fact that the mattresses are absolutely filthy.

I work about a mile from the transient tent and I walk to and from work every day since there are not enough vehicles.

This tent is so cold you can hear other peoples teeth chatter.

One soldier sleeping near us didn’t have his sleeping bag; he decided he did not want to tote it along.

Big mistake.

When we woke up in the morning, he was sleeping between two mattresses.

He took another mattress in the middle of the night and tried to use it as a blanket. He looked like a giant roast beef sandwich.

The showers are still cold, but at least they have water pressure.

Well.., not really. It is more like an icicle running down your back.

Last night we had a rocket attack.

Right after I got to sleep the air raid sirens and c-rams(counter rocket and mortar) started screaming, so everyone started running for the bunkers.

These systems are loud, and I mean rock concert loud!!

Me and the guy in the rack next to me just rolled over and put the pillow over our heads to drown the noise.

You can always tell the new guys by the way they take off running for the bunkers, even the soldiers.

Those of us who have been through about 300 of these attacks know better.

We just stay in our racks and let our woobies protect us. lol

Then the ‘big voice’ comes over the speakers yelling “Take Cover!! Take Cover!! Take Cover!! Inbound Rocket Attack!!”

After a half hour, everyone was given the all clear with no detonations heard.

Many of the mortars and rockets have no detonation since they are not maintained well by the Taliban.

But the kinetic energy they develop from their airspeed will still do some serious damage.

A non detonating mortar will leave a 5 foot diameter crater in compressed dirt just from that energy. So one can imagine the damage a rocket will do , since they are usually about 4 feet long with many times the mass and weight of a mortar.


In Iraq the food was pretty good. They actually spent some money on the soldiers.

Here the food is beyond horrible.

Two nights ago the menu was pork necks, the next night was pork shoulders, etc…

And they are always overcooked to the point of shoe leather.

Most times the meat is just hockey pucks, shoe leather and grizzle. It is hard to tell what animal the meat came from.

I am pretty sure that the animal is some genetic mutant pig-bull grizzle wart-hog.

The milk isn’t boxed like it was in Iraq, so it tastes a bit better, but given the track record of this new catering company, I am sure it is rat milk or something along those lines.

Yesterday, I had some soup that was supposed to be beef noodle.

NO beef.

No noodles.

And it was a creamy, milky colored broth.

I have never had beef soup that was almost white, if this gives you any idea what it is like.

I feel quite confident that my diet will succeed here…, although I cannot find the energy to work out.

Lack of food, probably.

I am leaving Kandahar tomorrow to go up in the mountains to start my assignment.

12 of us will be somewhere on the Pakistan border. 8 thousand feet up, so it should be cold.

Our scout team is there already and told us that we will be sleeping in the cold, and will be eating MRE’s (meals, ready-to-eat). NO showers either.

What fun!

But hey, the vacations are nice. LOL

I may not be able to write for a while, but I sure appreciate anybody writing back and giving me some news (personal or whatever), since I will not have the fox news channel up there.

More later.

Jimmy B.