For those following...here's a bit of a recap.
More of the same classes; Dari for an hour in the morning followed by cultural awareness for the rest of the day. If you (meaning all of you reading this site) get a chance, check out "Inside the Green Berets" Monday May 25th at 5 pm (not sure what standard time), on the National Geographic Channel. It is a documentary on the missions of US Special Forces troops in Afghanistan. It's a real look at what is going on in Afghanistan and the dangers present within. I have a tremendous amount of respect for these soldiers. Also, you might be able to look at snippets of the documentary on the National Geographic website. Just search for the title above.
The night ended with us hitting up Famous Dave's BBQ. A slab of ribs and a cold beer...good night indeed. (The pictures above are of my meal and of Lach, one of our team members, admiring his birthday ice cream.)
Day 20 (Saturday April 18, 2009)
Not a completely free day for us. We began with Dari...again, and ended the day watching half of the movie "Lawrence of Arabia". The movie is riddled with examples of how military advising should and should not be handled. After all, military advising is our job over in Afghanistan. Nice day...done at noon. The rest of the day was free for us. I worked out and did nothing but sleep. I know...party animal.
Day 21 (Sunday April 19, 2009)
No work today!!! Commander Lach (pronounced "Lock") Noyes (pronounced "Noise") put together a little steak, burger and hot dog BBQ for us at the local MWR. He is the general surgeon going to Kabul with our team. Great guy. The MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation) is a building on most bases with computer access, big-screen TV, BBQ pits, pool tables, etc. Needless to say, steaks were great, beer was cold and company was good. Some of the Afghan instructors came over and shared in our outing. Good times...good times.
DJ, this is so cool that you are doing this Blog. Having my brother serve two tours in Iraq and going back for this third you have no idea how wonderful it would be to get updates like this. While you will be busy on your deployment please keep us posted. I know it's tough over there but it's comforting knowing how you (and our men and women serving) are doing. Thanks for taking the time. Know that when you leave I will be putting my "Godspeed" bracelet back on until you and Val (my brother) return.
ReplyDeleteChotor asty. (If you've been paying attention in Dari class, you should know what that means). Or if you have access to Google, you might also know what that means. ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with all the good eats? Ribs one night, steak the next. Are they trying to fatten you up before you get put on the MRE diet? Of course, I'm sure there's a "Famous Dave's" themed MRE. And it bet it's goooood.