AF Day 003

As I mentioned earlier, I arrived down range at FOB Smart. I am in a relatively safe location; Qalat is thought to be a Taliban family location, so ISAF personnel around here have potentially less of a threat in the immediate environs (knock on wood). My counterpart from USACE and I have a multitude of Army and Air Force active duty security personnel protecting me whenever I go outside the wire. I have had the opportunity to meet my local commander, as well with certain command and support staff, and certain PRT (construction management) staff. They are professional warfighters and civilians and a feeling of comfort comes easily having briefly observed the tasking of local staff and their demeanor.

Being assigned to PRT Zabul is thought to be a choice assignment here in Afghanistan (AF) by many US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) personnel due to the nature of working directly for a PRT rather than a larger USACE contingent. In lay terms, it would be similar to working for a lean branch office in a private sector construction firm with more overall resources and expertise than one could expect if they were working at a larger district office. I learned recently that I will be direct-managing many active or soon-to-be active projects simultaneously and will be performing both QC and QA for such. This is excellent news for me personally, as I always strive to achieve that which is both difficult in managing and rewarding all the same. PRT Zabul works with 100% Afghan Nationals who perform 100% of the work, so the local language and way of thinking will be a perfect challenge to work through routinely.

Kandahar Airfield (KAF) was hot like a mug the last several days! I did take an amazing sunrise photo over the runway this morning while waiting for my flight. Qalat, being approximately 5200 feet in elevation, is generally 10-15˚ cooler here on average. It routinely hits in the high 120˚s to low 130˚s at KAF (49˚-55˚C). KAF is an amazing conglomeration of more than 30,000 ISAF personnel from all over the world. It is literally a small city with similar benefits of a typical town of that size back home. No swimming pools... but plenty of ice-cold air conditioning.

My recent flights from Dulles to Dubai and the next day from Dubai to Kandahar were quite the long journey. I am grateful to be here and am looking forward to this experience. It goes without saying that I am still feeling the effects of time travel (jet lag) and will be fully rested in several more day/night cycles.

I have a local telephone number that allows me to work and place personal morale and welfare calls aplenty. With modern technological advances we have VoIP phones here that call anywhere in the world from our desk and/or our quarters – I have both. Pretty amazing! It is nice to be able to reach out to K&K, other family, and friends anytime needed.

Check out my blog when you have a chance for regular updates. I plan to take plenty of photos and video of everyday life here and there and everywhere for all to enjoy.

Chow is beckoning...

I love you, K&K.

Good night and good day.