Meetings

A large part of what we do here involves holding meetings with locals. The meetings for us, in the engineer section tend to be with, either Afghan government officials or local contractors who are working on our projects. The very first meeting I had here was with the governor of Logar province, Governor Wardak. We had dinner at his house so we could all meet and discuss the issues for us, the new team on the ground. Two weeks ago Governor Wardak was killed by a roadside bomb in the northern part of his province. That served to remind us that the violence here is not just aimed at NATO forces, but also those who work too closely with us.

Nonetheless, even with the constant threat of violence here, locals continue to work with us toward the common goal of making Afghanistan better. Just this week, I had a meeting with the Gardez city mayor, the Director of Power and the Director of Water Supply to discuss an in depth plan to provide paved streets, power, fresh water and sewer to a large portion of the city. Unlike many of the meetings we had, all parties came together with ideas and a willingness to genuinely work together. Like all meetings here, I left not completely sure what course this project might take. However, I did leave with an unusual optimism and hope is a valuable thing in Afghanistan.

Thank you and God Bless.

Slow Days

The days here are almost always the same. The only thing that varies is whether you go on a mission or not. If I don’t have a mission, I wake up at 6:30 to go running, then shower and head to breakfast at 8:00. After breakfast we go in to the office and work until lunch. Sometime after lunch is gym. After dinner it’s reading, watching movies, playing games and bed. It’s the same thing everyday, which can be good and bad. That routine really helped me get back into the swing of things after leave. But lately it has gotten too predictable and really boring. In fact I didn’t realize just how boring it is until I wrote it all down and read it again.

Mission days are more exciting, due to the fact that it’s more dangerous, there is more open space to cover and there are different places and people to see. However, as we get closer to leaving, nobody seems to want to go on missions, as though having something bad happen in last few months would be even worse. So in the remaining time we are stuck, not looking forward to the days that go by the fastest and hoping for boring days on the FOB.

Thank you and God Bless.

Afghan Fall

Recently I got back from a week long mission to the border region and aside from the daily missions far too close to Pakistan, it was the first time that it has felt like spring here. Where I am at, in the mountains, the weather has been pretty nice all summer long. It would usually get up in the 90’s during the day and cool off to the mid 60’s at night. In fact the weather in Gardez is by far its most endearing quality. However, over the past few days there has been a cool breeze during the day, and at night it has gotten to the point that a jacket is almost a necessity. It feels more comforting when the weather starts to get cool here; for one thing the violence tends to drop as it cools and all the fighters head back to Pakistan for the winter. For another the fall has always been my favorite time of year, so even if there are no trees with colorful leaves, it still reminds me of fall days in Vermont. Fall also means that we are getting closer to going home for good, and that above all else, is the most comforting part of the changing weather.

Thank you and God Bless.

The Big Push

Well it has been almost two full weeks back in beautiful Gardez Afghanistan. The first week went by painfully slow, but the routine has started to come back to me. Just before I left for leave we got around $20 million in projects funded. With that, there has been a big push to get them all under contract, which started a few weeks before I left and is just finishing up now. That has helped to keep our engineering shop busy and being busy always helps the time go by. Some parts of this job are more rewarding than others, however, getting projects funded that you spent countless hours on, has to be one the more rewarding feelings so far. Not to mention that the two I worked the hardest on, a sustainable hybrid power system and a micro water treatment plant, will do great things for people who have never had power or reliable drinking water. All in all, with the big project push, meetings and missions, the focus still remains on the time left and getting everyone back to their family and friends.

Thank you and God Bless

Refreshed?

Well I have been back in Afghanistan for a few days now and figure it’s time to restart the blog, if anyone still reads it.

Coming back after fifteen days of leave has been quite an adjustment to say the least. I had left here sure that the break would do me well and help to reenergize me for the final stretch. Leave was great; I had a blast and loved seeing everyone. However, I have not exactly hit the ground running over here. I’m not sure if it is lack of motivation or a slow readjustment the eight and a half hour time difference. I thought being home would be weird for the first few days or hours at least, but it never was. That was when I realized that home was normal, and here, well it’s just not… at all. With that said I’m hoping that it just takes a week or so slide back into a routine.

We are “short” now with the bulk of the deployment over, and seems like everyday someone (a lot of the time me) is stating just how many days are left. It really doesn’t help make the time go by any faster, but it is what most people are focused on now. We are all trying to finish up strong and get everyone home safe, and not lose focus in the last few months.

Thank you and God Bless.

My Leave

It is less than a week until I head out on leave. It will be interesting to see what the view of Afghanistan from the US is. As far as plans for leave, I don’t really have many, but I hope to see as many friends and family as possible. I won’t be keeping up with the blog while I’m in the US, but I will fire it back up when I return. I hope I will be refreshed and write more regularly.

See you in a few weeks!

Summer Time

The new pool right outside my door.