Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Skipping a beat

While many of our Afghan workers are still away celebrating Eid al-Fitr, we're all still here working our daily grind.  What I hadn't mentioned yesterday is that Eid (and Ramadan in general) has become a favorite time of year for terrorists/insurgents to plan attacks.  The actual event during Ramadan is "Lailatul Qadr'" or Night of Destiny/Night of Power where it is believed that Allah will grant the devout whatever they wish.  Although there's some confusion and uncertainty as to the actual date of this commemoration during the month of Ramadan, but what is believed is that individuals will increase their chances of success, martyrdom, and blessings in the afterlife by taking actions during this time.  Since there are conflicting determinations on when this day actually occurs, we brace ourselves for attacks during the entire month, and especially during Eid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laylat_al-Qadr
http://www.30-days.net/islam/basics/night-of-power/
http://library.bethlehem.edu/e-turathuna/Ramadan/index.shtml

In recent years, there has been a backlash of sentiment in the Muslim world against people taking to violence during this time, probably due to a better education of the true meaning of Islam.  According to the Quran, Ramadan is a solemn and peaceful time for sacrifice and self-reflection, to be ended by a blessed celebration of breaking the fast.  Unfortunately, certain factional leaders have perverted their religion by instructing the uneducated masses that this time is for death and destruction to all those who don't believe the way they preach.  Much in the same way that some Christian factions do with the uneducated masses in the Western world.
http://outlookafghanistan.net/editorialdetail?post_id=1701

One of our units came under a suicide attack several weeks ago in the Parwan province, presumably in accordance with their beliefs to coincide with the night of destiny/power.  It's tragic that so many of those killed were actual Afghans themselves.  But then again, an arsonist really doesn't care if the world burns as long as they can satisfy their desires.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/world/asia/15afghan.html

Afghan President Hamid Karzai celebrated Eid by sending home twenty prospective suicide bombers who had either turned themselves in or were caught before their act could be accomplished.  Why is this significant?  Because these were all children being used by the Taliban, and President Karzai sent the children home to be with their families for Eid.  What a great act of compassion and forgiveness.  The president also called for a truce to the fighting and asked the factional leaders to come to the peace table.  That remains to be seen if they accept his offer.
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE77T1SU20110830

We had a scare of our own today.  While we were working, the fire alarm in our building went off, so everyone evacuated to the courtyard.  As we were all milling around, the air raid siren went off, which typically signals incoming IDF (Indirect Fire), which can be in the form of rocket, mortar, or missile.  Needless to say we all scrambled for cover, but within five seconds, a voice on the loud speaker announced "all clear".  Apparently the siren was a mistake.  Since it was now time for supper, most people proceeded into the DFAC, but since my heart was in my stomach, I wasn't much in the mood for food and decided to wait an hour or so.

Wow.  That took me back.  The last time I've had to take cover from IDF was in Iraq in 2007 when we had incoming rockets that passed over our transient tents in my Baghdad FOB and impacted the roof of a DFAC.  Some of you whom I wrote via email back then may remember my description and pictures of the ensuing explosion and fire.  While in Al Anbar, Iraq in 2005 at the height of the insurgency, incoming IDF was a weekly occurrence, although only a few times was it deadly accurate.  I still remember diving under tables in the DFAC being buried between my two burly NCOs and doing a duck and cover move while the walls of the giant tent did a "whoosh" in and then back out.  It's enough to make anyone remember those sounds for the rest of their life, and make their heart skip a beat every time they reoccur.

I can somewhat understand how people feel so violently opposed to something that they feel the need to take up arms, but what I don't understand is the desire to take the things that are still good in the world like holidays of happiness and pervert them to harm others. Organized religion has always been a sore spot to me, not because I'm against religion, but because religion has been used as a tool, cause or justification in the majority of bloodshed throughout our entire human history.  And organized religion dictating what to think to the uneducated masses is the culprit.  So I ask people what they believe in and why.  Do they march to the step of their own drummer or do they blindly follow the drum beat of their political and religious leaders to spread hate and intolerance for everyone who doesn't think and believe as they do.  Try educating yourself on the issues and you may find yourself skipping a beat or even marching to your own.  Enlightenment, pass it on.

More to follow.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Holiday! Celebrate!

Now I've never personally been a big Madonna fan (and some of my friends would chastise me for this), but one of her first songs fits today well:

You can turn this world around
And bring back all of those happy days
Put your troubles down
It's time to celebrate
Let love shine
And we will find
A way to come together
And make things better
We need a holiday

I was surprised with an impromptu award today.  I'd been working on a table display on the side with a group at my base planning the diversity celebration for Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 giving women the right to vote in the U.S..  The guest speaker was the soon to be Surgeon General of the Army, and at the end of her speech, she asked that all those who had contributed to this program to please come forward.  She presented each of us with one of her command coins for excellence.  It was nice to get a little recognition for putting together this diversity celebration.

Today also marks "Eid al-Fitr", the end of Ramadan.  Ramadan is the Islamic holy month of fasting for Muslims, and since it's calculated on the lunar calendar, the exact dates move up every year.  The first time I was deployed to the Middle East, Ramadan was in December, and while I was in Iraq, it was in October.  During the this time, Muslims are not allowed to put anything into their mouths during daylight hours and must refrain from sex and other vices. (Not that sex is a vice...)

Typically referred to as just "Eid", the Arabic word means "festival", and "Eid al-Fitr" means the festival of breaking of the fast and can be celebrated for several days.  According to Wikipedia, family elders will give money and gifts to children. It is also common practice to visit families and friends, which may be difficult to do at other times of the year.  Doesn't sound too different from our Christmas celebrations.

This is the second deployment in which I will be away from home over Christmas.  The first time I spent it away on deployment was in the 90's in Kuwait.  Although our unit did have a Christmas dinner party catered, what I remember most was the people everywhere wishing us all Merry/Happy Christmas.  Not only the locals and third country national workers on the base, but also all the Kuwaiti citizens off the base in Kuwait City seemed genuinely happy to wish us a heartfelt Christmas blessing.  I felt it was probably my duty today to wish all the local Afghan workers on our camp yesterday and today a Happy Eid, or "Eid Mubarak" meaning Blessed Eid.  It was nice to see them smile in appreciation and say thank you.

As I've talked about before, we as service members don't get weekends, days off, or holidays.  We work every day to ensure that our job gets done.  What we do is try to take time where we can and rejoice life's small blessings.  We celebrate milestones in our own history and we celebrate important events, both religious and secular.  Madonna was right, the world could use a holiday.  If we all celebrate, there wouldn't be much reason to spread hate.  Words to live by.

More to follow.

Monday, August 29, 2011

General Orders

In the U.S. Military, we all follow orders.  Orders are enforced to ensure a disciplined force.  One of the most important set of orders for the U.S. Military is the General Orders for Sentries.  Originally there were eleven, but in more modern times, the U.S. Army broke from the ranks of the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard to form a consolidated set of three General Orders for Sentries:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Orders_for_Sentries
General Order #1:
"I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved."
General Order #2:
"I will obey my special orders and perform all of my duties in a military manner."
General Order #3:
"I will report violations of my special orders, emergencies, and anything not covered in my instructions, to the commander of the relief."

Since the U.S. military forces have entered the Middle East over the past three decades, we have had to adjust our behavior to accommodate our hosts.  In 2000, a new set of General Orders was issues for those Service Members serving inside CENTOM (U.S. Central Command) in the Middle East region.  This is known as General Order 1A, and subsequently 1B.  Among the prohibitions are:

No Alcohol.  Since we are in a Muslim country and the Quran forbids alcohol, U.S. Forces cannot partake of alcoholic beverages.  No matter that the majority of our coalition partners still do it without any repercussions with the host governments.  Likewise, many, many Muslims, especially the rich ones have fully stocked bars in their own homes just out of sight of the general public and hide their vice with piousness much in the same way that Southern Baptists do in the United States.

No Pornography.  Pornography is also illegal in Muslim countries, although not banned per se in the Quran.  When Troops have been caught with print form pornography, funny thing is that usually it was the locals who supplied it to them.

No Illegal (Non-Prescription) Drugs.  No matter that Afghanistan is the leading producer of Opium in the world, illegal drugs are also banned.  Not that they aren't back in the U.S., but I think it's probably better just to include it in this list of vices and be done with it.

No Gambling.  Making wagers is forbidden in Islamic countries.  Unless of course you're in one of the wealthy ones like Dubai, Abu Dabi, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, etc. etc. etc. However, that really doesn't stop American Service Members from playing Fantasy Football for a pot of money.

No Sex.  Until just a couple of years ago, consensual sex between un-married individuals was forbidden, although the PX still sold condoms and the TMC gave them away.  Let me clarify that: If you were married and just happened to also be deployed together, you could in theory live together and have sex.  Just in 2008, the ban for consensual (heterosexual sex) was lifted, however, there were caveats.  You may not cohabitate, reside with, or sleep over with a member of the opposite sex, and the door must be open when mixed company is present.  (What is this? The 19th century?)  And a ban on sex with local nationals is still in place.  The ban on homosexual sex is set to be lifted soon.  But we all know that has always occurred just as much as the other.  What is still banned is pregnancy.

No Proselytizing.  Some Service Members feel compelled by their faith to spread it.  There have been cases where Christian churches have sent over Bibles in Arabic, Dari, or Pushtu to hand out and spread "The Word".  When they are discovered, the offenders are disciplined and the foreign language Bibles are confiscated and destroyed/burned.  By stark contrast, burning a Quran is prohibited as it incites violence...

No mascots or pets.  Animals in the third world have a sorry lot in life, and they're often reviled as dirty or unclean by the locals in the Middle East. (Really, have you seen some of these people and wondered if they know what soap is?)  A large number of them are exposed to all sorts of bio hazards, and as such are vectors for diseases, particularly rabies.  Occasionally a story of an animal so extraordinary surfaces that special arrangements are made to have the new pet quarantined and vaccinated in order to have them imported back into the U.S.  These occurrences are rare and require approval basically from the top.

No taking of archaeological or cultural items.  From the specific language of the order: "Removing, possessing, selling, defacing or destroying archaeological artifacts or national treasures." Furthermore, Section 2(k) prohibits "Taking or retaining individual souvenirs or trophies," but "does not preclude the lawful acquisition of souvenirs that can be legally imported into the United States".  This came into play after the looting of Iraq in 2003.

I know to most civilians and non-military types these rules seem silly, but the General Orders keep good order and discipline within the ranks of the U.S. Military.  They provide a framework for acting ethically and respectfully with our host nation's inhabitants, even if most of those locals don't follow those rules themselves.  Leading by example, the U.S. Military.  The greatest fighting force the world has ever known.

More to follow.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

I saw the sign

We live in a world where most things are regulated, and to inform us of that regulation, a sign is the easiest way to convey the information.  This is true in combat zones as well.  Since printing capabilities are limited in austere environments, we make do with what we have.  Our weapon of choice in the advertising wars?  PowerPoint printouts on 8.5x11" paper.  Hey, you work with what you got...


There are signs that inform us of information and events.  They let us know about classes in anger management, Tai Bo, or P90X.  They can be for general health like quitting smoking or which foods in the DFAC are healthier choices.  When we rotate back home, we have garage sales of sorts, complete with advertising of things we need to get rid of quickly.  Sometimes, they tell of upcoming events such as Chapel service times, Salsa dance night or a celebrity visiting on the USO circuit.  Often they advertise for retailers such as the bazaar or the local commercial Internet provider, or that maybe the PX is having a sale on some item because their antiquated ordering system ordered 10x too much of it.  My personal favorite is people who post strict office hours.  We all know that you work 24 hours a day here.


There are signs that warn us of threats to our safety.  I posted some pictures a few days ago about OPSEC, to help us remember not to give the enemy an upper hand.  There are also pictures that warn of impending dangers, such as dehydration or other force protection issues like biological hazards.  Bio hazards could include flora or fauna, or they cold be environmental such as not drinking the ware while in the shower or ensuring you always wash your hands to ensure germs aren't spread.  We also need to be reminded to clear our weapons once we come inside the gates of our compound so that we don't have negligent discharges.  Unfortunately we have other signs that remind us of the enemy within our own ranks to help protect people from sexual assault.  Unfortunately it happens all to frequently in the Military.


There are also signs that enforce regulations.  Although, if someone is going to break a regulation, I'm pretty sure they're going to do it whether a sign tells them it's wrong or not.  According to signs I've seen, writing graffiti on bathroom walls is wrong.  So is not wearing your uniform in accordance with your service's regulation.  No loud noises after 2200hrs. (But did anyone tell them this was a war zone?) Don't feed the animals, don't buy certain animal furs at the bazaar, and for God's sake, don't try to smuggle or mail anything illegal back to the U.S.

And sometimes there are signs that are meant to be funny, albeit still convey a serious point.  Like a sign that states the cafe on the North KIA is now called "Little Alaska" because it no longer has any flies.  (I need to hire their advertising department next time I open up a bistro in a third world country) Or a sign in the bathroom asking to conserve water, and gives you the following jingle to remember: "If it's yellow, let it mellow.  If it's brown, flush it down."  And my personal favorite, banning suspicious packages from the gym, because you never know what those European military are packing in their workout thongs...


More to follow.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The intuition of animals

So we had an earth quake here in Afghanistan last night around 1:02am local time that registered a 5.4 magnitude.  I was up late blogging (shocker) and the bed started shaking for several seconds.  With my headphones on and blanket down covering the bottom bunk, it took me a second to figure out what was going on.  My initial instinct was my roommates were screwing around with me shaking the bed frame, but I quickly realized that both of them were asleep snoring.  I concluded it must have been a quake, but when I looked at live geo-tracking tectonic sites I didn't see anything, so I went to bed.  The next morning, people were asking if anyone else felt the quake, and while most people had slept through it, I had.  I guess I'm no longer an earth quake virgin.  http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005kcf.php

Some of my friends recently experienced an earth quake on the East Coast of the U.S. earlier this week that did a little more damage to structures, including the Washington Monument.  The quake was a surprise to most East Coast residents since tremors of this size are not common in this region.  One population that it didn't catch off guard was a portion of the animal kingdom, that appeared to sense the coming seismic activity and take cover or sound the alarm moments before humans were aware of it.  For example, at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, multiple primate species sounded a vocal alarm minutes before the tremors began.   Some animals took to the air, while others sought shelter in the water where they felt the most secure.  Some climbed trees, while others huddled together for group protection.  Scientists are still not exactly sure what the trigger mechanism is for this phenomenon, but one thing is for certain, humans have lost this instinct through their evolution.

Tonight while eating dinner, a co-worker and I were approached by a stray momma cat and her two kittens that live somewhere on our compound.  As cute as they were, I wasn't about to touch them because I could just see the ring worm all over them.  Aside from that, CENTCOM (US Central Command) has a general order of no pets or mascots, so feeding the animals is a no-no.  As far as feral cats go, they were surprisingly tame and unafraid of humans, coming up to our pic-nic table looking for handouts and even jumping up on the benches.  I'm not particularly a cat person, and neither is my NCO (Non Commissioned Officer, AKA Sergeant) co-worker, so we moved tables to a slightly more crowded part of the courtyard.  Of course the felines followed us out of all the other people as if they could sense that both she and I were big softies and would probably give in and feed them some scraps.  (How does this cat know me?  She doesn't know me! I can be strong and resist temptations...)  Even though they used their powers of super cuteness and "paws on the leg" trick to ask please, I resisted.  I won, damn it.

In as much as adopting animals by Service Members is discouraged and prohibited in this part of the world, it does happen occasionally.  And for good reason: animals have certain talents that humans can find very useful.  Animals in general perform a service to mankind, and can be useful even in war zones.  The cats, for instance, help keep the rodent vector population down, of course when not begging for handouts.  Had people understood this in the middle ages instead of exterminating all he cats they found, the black plague may have not been so severe.  That's a great example of religion gone awry, accusing cats of being demons spreading the illness, when in fact it was flea ridden rats. (But that is a topic of discussion for later)  Dogs not only help us search for explosives, but they're also great at security.  I've visited COPs (combat outposts) in Iraq where they adopted stray dogs as part of their security team.  In exchange for food and kindness, their dog wouldn't let other stray dogs near the compound and always alerted them when strangers, usually Arabs, were approaching.  Arabs in traditional custom consider dogs dirty animals to be reviled, so it was no wonder that the canines took to the American units.

Pets sometimes develop a kind of empathetic bond with their owners.  Service animals are often able to alert others when their master is ill or incapacitated.  How often have we come home to a pet who shares our excitement and wants nothing in the world more than to go out and play with their best friend in the world.  Or maybe still, lays down with us to share our pain or depression when we are unhappy and stays by our side as a best friend would.  Animals sense these things in people and their environment, often better than other humans do.  We keep them around for companionship and to perform essential tasks that normal humans either cannot or will not do.  They have emotions just like we do even if they cannot vocalize them.  Anyone who doubts this, I recommend you read up on the pet of one of the Navy Seals killed in Afghanistan several weeks ago in the tragic helicopter crash.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44271018/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/

As top of the animal kingdom, we must remember our place to be good masters to our subjects.  They may not be self aware or as evolved as us, but they feel and in some cases dream.  There is much they can teach us, from how to take care of offspring, and empathy for other beings, to warning of impending dangers in our lives.  I may not be much of a cat person, but coming back as a dog in a second life, if such a thing exists, might not be all that bad of a thing.

More to follow.

Friday, August 26, 2011

The death of civil discourse

Although I got to sleep in a little today, I had a meeting with a U.S. Military LNO (liaison officer) at the U.S. Embassy in the Green Zone.  In my continuing effort to facilitate synchronization between construction efforts throughout this theater, I wanted to make contact with embassy officials who could then point me to their local counterparts in the GIRoA (Grand Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) Ministries.  After passing through an extensive security screening process I was let into the main building and escorted by the LNO back to his office for the meeting.  I explained my purpose and intentions for setting up the meeting and what I had hoped to get out of it.  He being as new into theater as I was thought this was a great idea, but didn't think a list had yet been compiled.

In all honesty I've never thought of my self as that diplomatic, so I decided that instead of trying to "cold call" each Embassy organizational department I would seek the advice of the LNO first.  The last thing I want to do is to disrespect someone by going around or over their head.  I explained to the LNO that at the risk of sounding like I was tasking him with doing this job, I was willing to do all the leg work if he could just point me to the right individuals to make contacts.  I must have made such a persuasive argument that he said he wanted to do this because he saw how much value it could add to both of our organizations.  I had no idea I could be so persuasive...

After we concluded our meeting and I took a short tour of the Embassy compound, complete with longing gaze at the pool, I returned back to my small compound to start my desk job work.  I was told that my section director had been looking for me, so I knocked on his door.  I explained to him the progress I had made at the Embassy and he seemed genuinely pleased, so I then asked what he had needed to see me for.  He told me that General Allen, the four star who recently took over for Gen Petreus, was looking for someone to become his aide de camp (General's Aide, or personal assistant) for the next year, and my director wanted to nominate me.  I was taken aback by this since, for one, I was a Reservist and not Active Duty, and secondly, I had never seen myself as enough of a political "hob-nobber" or ladder climber.  I'm certainly not diplomatic enough to work that high up, but I suppose my director saw something in me that I don't personally recognize.

Changing directions a little, I've noticed over the last decade a lack of civility when discussing opposing ideas.  You can see it predominately on the "news", which has been boiled down to a number of inflammatory pundits who tell a person what to think without actually discussing the core issues at hand and throwing around hot-button buzz words to inflame the masses.  I'm probably not much better, myself.  After years of holding my tongue and listening to schoolmates and co-workers step all over my beliefs and the tenets in life that I hold dear, I finally decided that I wasn't going to be politically silent any longer.  My main vehicle now for promotion of my ideas is Facebook.

For the better part of my life, and especially while in college, it was expected that you acted and thought a certain way to fit in.  After many years and soul searching, I've realized that my personal morals and ethics and religious beliefs are more important that the opinion of those I'm around.  Facebook has been a good vehicle to keep in contact with my real friends, whom I made after my life in school had finished.  However, at the urging of a few of my old college acquaintances, I've reluctantly reconnected with people I knew in school.  Not that we communicate much if at all even after we reconnected.

Getting back to the point, over the past year I have begun posting articles and basic "propaganda" aimed more at my friends in order to educate them on political candidates and what they appear to stand for.  Some of my old contacts from school apparently take offense at that, so much so that they have taken to trolling my Facebook page to tell me that I'm wrong.  Now, to be fair I have been accused of being a tyrant with what gets posted on my personal Facebook page, and this would be a fair assessment.  My opinion is that this page is like my home.  I don't allow people to come into my home and disrespect me or what I have on display, and I won't allow it online either.  In extreme cases, I just unfriend/block the offended individual who seems hell-bent on making their point and flying off, much like a bird who dirties up a shiny/clean car.  Is it too much to expect that if I am to be debated that it be in a private form?  Not once has anyone contacted me via private message to discuss what I've posted and share their own opinions.  Apparently it must all be done in public, again, on my personal page.

The way I see things (and I'm entitled to enforce it since it is my page), Facebook is a place for positive affirmation from friends.  This is why there is a "Like" button and not a "DISLike" button.  When adding a person as a contact, there is the option to not view someone's news feed.  If the things someone posts on their Facebook wall are that upsetting, then the feed can be turned off.  Or better yet, unfriend that person and preemptively stop the aggravation.  Rudely commending or attempting to discredit someone's wall post or anything they feel like sharing is akin to going into their yard and criticizing any signs or other things they have out on display.  That is just plain tacky and not polite in civil society.

It used to be in civil society that one did not publicly criticize the President to the extent of off color name calling, and especially our Commander in Chief by Service Members.  I've served under three POTUS, and I have never once publicly criticized any of them while in office no matter if I agreed with their policies or not.  To many Service Members, they thumb their noses at potential UCMJ and criticized the last two administrations for policies they disagreed with.  Just ask Gen Stanley McCrystal how that worked out after it caught up with him.

The absolute vitriolic anger that polarizes our nation has always amazed me.  It's as if the very existence of an opposing opinion is an affront to their own being.  While I don't agree with some political candidates stances on issues that are very important to me, I will not degrade those who follow them.  I've been called un-American for not standing up and being counted with certain political views as a Military member, and I have also been called a coward for not entering into a public debate with someone who was obviously so misinformed about their party's platform that they had no logical arguments to put forth in the first place other than to deflect ignorance of the issue and name call.

In looking through the Internet for examples of civil discourse, I ran into a blog (now apparently dead) of a conservative blogger who made some very interesting points, that now in a new administration I see completely reversed but still relevant.
http://bloggers-for-civil-discourse.blogspot.com/2007/07/i-hate-arguing-with-liberals.html

What we must realize is that political ideology, if not absorbed by the desire to fit in with those around you, is based upon deep seated truths in an individual's life that have obviously affected them greatly.  In order to get past this polarization based on emotion, we must first recognize, and then seek to understand the reasons why people align themselves the way they do to better engage in civil discourse.  This concept was developed by The Williamsburg Charter on Civil Discourse, which was presented to the nation on June 25, 1988, the 200th anniversary of Virginia's call for the Bill of Rights.  It holds just as true today as it did three decades ago.
http://afterall.net/quotes/490983
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Williamsburg_Charter

But then again, I'm just a Soldier in a war zone with an opinion expressing his First Amendment rights within the confines of what UCMJ will allow.  I might not agree with your political alignment, but I will not publicly degrade you for what you believe.  I am not you, and by that same right, you have not walked a mile in my shoes.  Think about that next time someone tells you to take a walk in their combat boots.

More to follow.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Loose lips sink ships

To set the mood for today's reading, play the following link in the background as you read:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkQ1s4-gRls

As I was researching for my blog this evening, I noticed a lot of other blogs all had at least one entry about OPSEC (Operational Security).  As defined by the NSA, OPSEC is "the process of denying potential adversaries any information about capabilities and/or intentions by identifying, controlling, and protecting generally unclassified evidence of the planning and execution of sensitive activities."

Let me simplify to say that OPSEC is denying our enemies OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) or typically unclassified information that can be used to cause harm to American or coalition forces, equipment, or interests.  Why does this matter?  As opposed to the Cold War era with spy vs spy and secret squirrel information espionage that contained national secrets about the government, every modern terrorist attack has been enabled because of either OSINT or a breech in OPSEC.

http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/doe/opsec_primer.htm

Even back in during WWII they understood the concept and importance of OPSEC. If you do a YouTube search on "Private SNAFU" you'll find a series of public service announcements in the guise of informational cartoons put out by the War Department with a voice-over by Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny, et al.). One in particular entitled "Spies" warns of how the enemy is listening to every casual word you utter to glean important information that could give them the upper hand. Please note, this video is stereotypical of that era and is ethnically insensitive. You have been warned... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FmhPY-YEAA

The propaganda campaign didn't stop at the cartoons.  Posters and the afore mentioned song were added to the campaign in order to drive home the importance of keeping specific information from enemy hands.  A series of several dozen posters were commissioned, with the most famous probably being "Loose Lips Sink Ships".
http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blyindexww2talk.htm
They were so effective and timeless in conveying the central theme, they've now been updated to include email, tweeting, blogging, etc.

Why is this all important?  Any personal information can be vulnerable to misuse, ranging in consequence from identity theft to impersonation of family members in false death notification, death threats, or in kidnapping in some extreme cases.  On the other hand, information about current operations, know as classified "Operational Secret" is information that can harm or degrade the effectiveness of current operations.  Names, dates and times, troop movement numbers, equipment numbers and capabilities, mapping grid locations, etc are all considered "Operational Secret" until no longer deemed necessary for operational effectiveness.  We routinely shred documents with afore stated information, destroy address labels from packages we receive, destroy any discarded electronics, destroy unsecured storage media, and not speak or write about important information on phone lines, Skype, chat, blogs, email, etc.

Sometimes the leakage of information is unavoidable, and sometimes it is not.  Take Julian Assange and PFC Bradley Manning.  They were of the opinion that operational secret reports containing names of service members and local Afghan or Iraqi forces or informants were fair game to be published.  Not only did they break the law, but this also jeopardizes the security of our U.S. and coalition Troops and local national partners.  Even if no harm came to any of them because of this leakage, just the public relations nightmare alone and the ensuing riots and ill will is enough to make me want to throw these scum bags under the jail for life.  If they have no regard for the life of me and my comrades, what respect do I have for theirs?  I firmly believe that people have the right to all information, but only after sufficient time has passed that it is no longer of any use to people who could do harm.

I fully realize the irony in this post.  Yes I'm talking about OPSEC in a blog, and yes I do give out bits and pieces of my life.  Trust me, that I'm very well aware of everything I write on a nightly basis, so that none of it can be used by the enemy to their advantage.  The U.S. Military used to all but outright ban social media, but in the past few years they have come to realize it is one of the best PR tools that they can use, and for free.  Everyone is trained annually on what should and should not go onto the Internet, and there are severe repercussions under the UCMJ and Federal law for breaking these prohibitions.  After all, social media is a powerful tool,  It has the ability to topple governments by coordination of protests, provide free promotion of good work by Government Agencies, and it even helps a Soldier convey their daily thoughts in a war zone.

More to follow.




Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The socialist agenda

From the news I get of the U.S.A. while on the other side of the world, trying to understand the crazy political situations unfolding back home is like looking at a far away island through a telescope. I still remember being deployed to Iraq in 2005, and all of us over there were in absolute amazement at the bumbling mess that was Katrina at the hands of the Local, State, and Federal disaster relief levels. To be so far removed from your country while still having a particular interest in its well being is akin to watching a three ring circus of sorts from the nose bleed seats in the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium. You can't really see the action on the field, but you have a great view of whatever the jumbo-mega-vision-tron is showing at the moment. But the detachment persists.

My concerns are much more local at this point. How to get a country restarted after decades of destructive occupation and civil war. How to convince a generation of people who're used to fighting that they need to learn to forgive and compromise for the sake of their children to live in peace. Is it even possible to understand that Western ideas are not all necessarily evil and can be applied even in an Islamic society? Where to start? Apply our democracy and capitalistic values to this region and let it blossom? Truth be told, this country is much more of a capitalistic society than most of the industrialized Western world. Most third world countries are. Confused? Let me explain...

I work with a number of foreign military who're on our small base because we're in close proximity to the Kabul Military Hospital outside our back gates. They're assisting in training the doctors, nurses, and staff at this hospital how to effectively run their daily business. A rather large woman who's the commander of the Greek nurse training group here sat down next to me one evening at chow and began explaining her frustrations. Not only does it appear that the local Afghans are not properly trained in nursing, but the patients in many cases have to fend for themselves. Since this is a military hospital for wounded Afghan Military, the treatment is paid for. (This is not ever the case for civilians) However, even with this free care, food and water come at a price, and if the family is not there to take care of their needs, they dehydrate and starve. She said she regularly smuggles bottles of water out of the DFAC (which is against policy) and gives it to the people in the hospital. It seems that you pay for everything you need in this, as most, third world countries. Let's examine this concept further.

Children, if not in school, play in the streets because there are no parks. Up until now, schools were run by non-profit or, more often, religious organizations. In hind site, we all see how smart it was to leave education to the religious organizations. (Anyone see "Charlie Wilson's War"?) The Afghan National Army and Police (ANA and ANP) are relatively new organizations. Up to this point, and even now, most wealthy people and businesses hire their own security with private funds.

Bribes and graft are rampant in this country as is with most of the Middle East. It's the way business has been done forever so changing this mindset is nearly impossible with officials currently in power. Money here is the only thing makes the world go around, and coalition forces supply a lot of it through reconstruction and general stimulation of the economy through putting locals to work and buying products from the local markets. Even the U.S. Military recognizes this fact as they have published the MAAWS (Money as a Weapon System) doctrine. Afghanistan consistently ranks in the top ten of the poorest countries in the world. There is no social safety net here to assist those living in poverty who go hungry every night and in many cases live without a decent roof over their heads. I've seen some of the worst poverty imaginable that would make any downtrodden U.S. citizen sober and thankful for what they have.

If you watch the "news" (and I use that term loosely) in the U.S., it would appear that the term "Socialist" is being thrown around pretty liberally these days (pun intended). But what is Socialism? Merriam-Webster defines socialism as "any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." Aside from the political lightning rods of universal healthcare, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, Unemployment Insurance, school grants, school lunches, etc, socialism is basically an economic system of sharing the wealth to help those less fortunate than yourself. For a country that touts itself as predominately Christian, not having a "socialist" agenda is not very Christ-like. Just some food for thought to the conservative religious base.

Without socialism, many of the things we take take for granted would not exist in our country. Our parks (National, State, and local) would not exist. Our libraries and after school programs would disappear. Our sense of security from the police, fire department and military would evaporate. If you want an education, you'd be responsible for paying your own way from the beginning starting in kindergarten. Farm subsidies? Don't get me started. How about your gasoline? Ever wondered how much the rest of the world pays in contrast to your comparatively cheap gas? Think about the wide array of programs and services you take advantage of on a yearly basis and then realize you are supporting a form of socialism.

By contrast, pure capitalism is chaotic. Just look at the results of deregulation of the financial and housing markets. It also promotes the unequal distribution of wealth, (not that we want all wealth completely equally distributed) by creating an uneven playing field. Again, reference the flawed concept of "Trickle Down Economics". Go on and tell me how well did that work for the U.S. job market and where did those jobs go? For every product or service you use or need, you'd have to pay for it based on market value. The law of supply and demand would be king.

At this point, you probably think I've become a Marxist. Far from it actually. Both theories are flawed and cannot exist in their pure form. Pure capitalism can't exist due to the human nature of greed, while pure socialism can't exist because of the human flaw of sloth and laziness. Even China has recognized this paradox and has began a number of free market reforms, and look at their economy now. Like most everything in life, a compromise must be reached where a balance of both ideologies must coexist in order to create a stable and fair society. Notice I didn't say equitable or equal.

So as I look around the world at examples of pure socialism and pure capitalism, I see failed countries. Both in third world and super powers. For those I hear clamoring for a pure capitalist free market economy, I would warn you to look around the world and be sure you understand what you are asking for. It's not pretty from what I have seen. And for those decrying the evils of socialism, I suggest you take a second read in your Bible and realize you should practice what you preach.

More to follow.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Deployment Idol

So when I asked on Facebook about ideas for upcoming blogs, a friend suggested "Project Runway".  How stereotypically quaint I thought, and I almost dismissed it.  As of yet, DADT has not yet been officially repealed, so I don't think Ru Paul will be making an appearance anytime soon on the USO circuit.  On the other hand, MASH's Klinger made a pretty good cross dresser for back then, so I decided that a reality show might still be a good idea, but what to write?  I started brainstorming and here are some ideas and clips for potential pilot shows:

"Middle East Idol", where contestants lip sync to popular songs much in the same way a drag queen performs for money, but they do it for free and in uniform.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyxT5MBZTTs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZD6o5z8LBM

"Big Brother - Season LXIX" (The Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o0zsIHTx2A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x6m-JZTrjs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9DHTNqBVmc

"Survivor - Helmand Province", where contestants compete against themselves but still have to outwit not only the Taliban, but also the U.S. Marines, who will beat them just as bad if not wearing their blue burqas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-P8clU7gL8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwSFj_GjrL0

"The Dead Sea Shore", where the Israeli Army lives for gym, tan, and laundry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm4UAt_bKwo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awaGFgsHD9A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Swh9xAJmzE

"Dancing With the Soft Porn Stars", where the dancing scenes between Service Members go way beyond normal male bonding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPgD2fj6eiE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZujPj2HnBh4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q775dmiBGy0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4CcJcCrWcc

"Project Runway Repair", where U.S. Airmen take worn out uniform parts and try to create the next fashion sensation for contestants to compete with on the U.S. Navy's own show: "Next Bottom Model".
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0WgILwEJcc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIRerGVrEeg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKvy9UhQRXQ

"The Army's Got Talent (No Really)", where Soldiers audition to land an entertainment contract, hopefully getting them out from their prior eight year unbreakable contract, with the U.S. Army.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uezJfTG9ELI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW1toLy_FMQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8rm56hTDDs

"Stop Chef!", where even the contracted local workers are as foul mouthed and critical as Gordon Ramsey of the DFAC food.

"Biggest Loser - Kuwait", which will be cancelled after the pilot episode because nobody loses much weight on deployments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbZoRO9geCc

And my personal favorite:
"So You Really DO Think You Can Dance?", where Service Members are foolish enough to submit audition takes of freestyle dancing in hopes of becoming the next Internet sensation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTjrUfZAuUs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KplDb81NLdc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT8onkYDQsc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcbSe6MpPVk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvUY9AGhZfc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPs4bTcyfFI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BjRODnhsfU

While I've never participated in one of these productions, I don't think I'd have any reservations in doing so.  Going to war takes its toll on your mind and emotional well-being, and finding enjoyment anywhere you can, even by making an ass out of yourself, is self-help therapy.  Just being able to laugh at yourself and share that laughter with others reminds us all that we're human and helps the folks back home remember that too.  I'm often critical of "Reality TV", but that's not reality at all.  War is reality, and so are the things we all do to keep us sane until we come home.  And we're live in 3... 2... 1...

More to follow.

Monday, August 22, 2011

The kite runner

The title of this blog entry is also the title of a book written by Khaled Hosseini in 2003, later made into a movie in 2007, and set in Afghanistan. I have yet to read or see either, but they're on my to do list while I'm deployed over the next year. The story details the sorted relationship between an affluent Afghan Pashtun boy and his father's Afghan Hazaran servant's son taking place from before the Soviet invasion and continuing through the rise of the Taliban's rule. In their youth, the two children's favorite activity was competitive kite flying.

Children in Afghanistan typically have few toys, and kites are easy and inexpensive to make. They're made of brightly colored tissue paper and wooden reeds with glue or tape to hold them together and tethered by a razor sharp twine. In Afghanistan, flying kites is a sport, but it's not done like any other kite flying that we're used to seeing in the Western world. It is actually kite fighting, known in Pashtun as "Gudiparan Bazi". Kite fighting is called so because children play a game attempting to fly their kites over the kites of other children and sever their strings setting their kites adrift. Often, the twine is covered in a sticky resin or glue and then rolled in tiny glass particles so that the string will cut the opponent's line easier. A kite runner is a child who retrieves the fallen kites. Kites that are cut free are called “azadi rawest”, or “free and legal” so that they may be claimed by another child for later use. Neighborhoods have competitions to name their “sharti”, or kite fighting champion. I don't have pictures of this phenomenon yet, but it's something I'm looking forward to seeing.
http://subvision.net/sky/planetkite/middle-east/afghanistan/

During the rule of the Taliban, kites were banned because they were deemed to be "un-Islamic". But then again, just about everything was un-Islamic according to these kooks. For example, they even banned the sale of cucumbers and tomatoes next to each other because male and female fruits were not allowed to be in proximity to each other. (Sounds to me like the real fruits were the ones illegitimately in power.) In the decade since the Taliban were removed from power, kite flying has reached new heights, so to speak. In fact it's more popular than ever now that the prohibition has been lifted.

I was having dinner outside last night, and I noticed a kite was floating down from the sky. There are couple other people in my office that have small kites stuck to the walls in front of their desks, and I decided this was my opportunity to get my piece of the sky. I jumped up and ran towards it like a little kid chasing it through our small compound. It landed on top of a tent, and I searched around for a stick large enough to reach it. Having retrieved it and cutting the attached twine, I took the fragile work of child's art back to my desk for my own personal trophy.

This country has seen some of the worst oppression at the hands of invaders over the last several thousand years and yet it still survives, and in some areas, blossoms in the imagination of children. I suppose this is where I could become corny and begin quoting Whitney Houston how the children are our future, but I think we all know where this is going. As long as hope springs eternal and there are children to chase kites, whether they be ten year old Afghans or adult U.S. Soldiers who still feel like kids, the world still has a chance. And that's all this place really needs in the end is a chance for kids to be kids and grow up with joy in their hearts instead of hate.

More to follow.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

That's so annoying

Ah Sundays, the day I can sleep in and have my late brunch before going in for a half day of work.  Only problem is my new roommate decided this morning was the time to move in and assemble a third bunk bed so he could have a "man cave" too. Not only did he wake me up from my slumber from a hard night of blogging, but he asked me to help earlier than he had previously said he needed the help.  So, a groggy me gets up and helps fit the metal frames together.  Mildly annoyed, I go back to bed.

So now I'm up and can't get back to sleep.  I decide to do a little Skype video chat, but the connection isn't working well.  (How annoying...)  At least I can have a good brunch with a cooked to order omelet and read the "Stars and Stripes" newspaper at my leisure.  Unfortunately a coworker asks if they can sit down next to me even though there are empty seats everywhere.  I smile and lie through my teeth saying, "Of course."  And now they begin talking...

I have a number of errands to run before work, and I find myself standing at the counter of the laundry facility waiting for the group of Afghan workers to finish what seemed like a five minute conversation.  I then head to the post office and a bulked-up mail clerk who seems disgruntled with his job to say the least helps me get a gift packaged and mailed back home.  I joke with him about paying in AAFES pogs (paper money because coins are to heavy for AAFES to transport).  The postal clerk just gives me drop dead look.  While leaving, another clerk jokingly begs for me to take him back to ISAF next time I go.  Really?  Do I know you?  Ug...

I go into work, and hopefully I can get some work done in between my Facebook time.  (I feel like being productive today.)  Great, someone has taken upon themselves to debate the post on my own page about the country's deficit and economic policies and the ills of political pandering to a religious base on non-issues.  Now I'm offended.  This is my personal page to publish as I see fit and someone has the audacity to sully it with their political drivel?  Is it too much to ask that if you're going to disagree with me, you do it in a less than public forum and let me keep my own house the way I like it?

I'm in my office and the topic of the repeal of DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) comes up.  Some people joke and others tout their moral objections.  The very thought of gays and lesbians serving in the Military at all offends them to the core.  I'm not sure why, other than the thought that their very existence is somehow an affront to theirs.  However, I find it insulting that they display calendars of the TV show Southpark where the character "Mr Garrison" (who has had a sex change in the show) is making derogatory statements about homosexuals.

I joined the Military, and as such I took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution.  The First Amendment guarantees everyone the right to freedoms of speech and religion, among others liberties.  What it does not guarantee is that everyone will believe, think, and act the same way you do, thereby keeping you from getting your feelings hurt.  To paraphrase Larry Flint, we have many rights and liberties in our country, but the right to not be offended is not one of them.  Think about that next time you try imposing your own views and morality on someone else because you feel offended.

More to follow.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Battle of the bulge

I got on the scale in the gym today, and I've gained fifteen pounds since since I left the U.S.  It's not that I'm complaining, since I've always thought I had whatever the opposite of anorexia would be.  Of course I came over here with the mindset to gain some weight.  I just don't want it to be in the "love handles" area.  So far I think about half of it has been muscle; the other half is my "stored energy" much like a camel hump.

When I deployed to Iraq in 2005 with the Texas National Guard, they pulled from three Brigades just to fill up one for mobilization. Soldiers were being medically released for nearly every medical reason imaginable because they weren't medically deployable for one reason or another. Although oddly enough, the ones who were morbidly obese were still kept. They were put on strict diets during our train up and between a half dozen or so they lost a combined total of a half ton. I remember seeing the largest one at the end of the deployment and he had gained it all back and then some. (Actually a LOT more)

One of the topics I touch on here a lot is the food service we receive here in the DFACs while deployed.  In all honesty, I have never seen a dining facility on any post/base/camp in the U.S. that can compare with the quality and quantity of food served in DFACs in forward deployed areas.  With all the access to food, it's no wonder that so many gain weight while deployed.  Now I know what you're thinking.  Most people who've never had direct contact with the Armed Forces view the Military as physically fit exercise demons because that's what they see on TV and the movies.

Let me clear up a little misconception right now.  The Military is a microcosm of society in general.  For example to name just a few, you have good samaritans, sociopaths, ego maniacs, wall flowers, gang members, evangelicals, atheists, health nuts, athletes, couch potatoes, vegetarians, hypochondriacs, homosexuals, heterosexuals, bisexuals, etc. in roughly the same percentages in the country's general population.  We also have overweight people just like in normal society in roughly the same numbers, so the Military is in a constant battle of weight control.

In my office, I work with Service Members from all four services. Some will be rotating out going back home in the next few months and have started "P90X" or "Insanity" workouts several times a week in order to get a little better cut before going home. Nobody expects to see a pudgy trooper coming back from war, but it happens all to often. I don't have to deal with that issue right now, so I'll continue my bulk up phase before I try to slim down for my R&R this winter.

To complicate matters, most of the larger FOBs and camps have fast food franchises operated independantly or by AAFES that U.S. troops, DoD civilians, contractors, and our allies frequent often.  This became an issue for former ISAF commander Gen Stanley McCrystal, and in March of 2010 he ordered all non-essential "MWR" type activities and restaurants (to include AAFES franchised operations) to close because they were a distraction to the war effort.  Most of the European allies thumbed their nose at this order and kept their operations opened, but all AAFES franchises were shuttered.  As you remember, McCrystal was later fired for poor judgement in words released to a "Rolling Stone" reporter, and the the food vendors resumed their operations in Afghanistan when Gen David Petraeus temprarily replaced him.

I know it may sound like it, but I'm not blaming the food here.  Good food is a staple for keeping warriors ready for combat, both physically and mentally.  The fast food vendors in country offer a slice of home to those of us away for a year, and the DFACs ensure that no soldier ever goes hungry or even has to eat a meal of something they just don't like.  There's something for everyone here, but to blame it all on the (fast) food would be a short sighted decision.  Getting fat is done solely at the will of the person eating, and responsibility for your own actions (or inactions with respect to exercise) will determine your weight at the end of the deployment.

And to come to the defense of fast food, has anyone ever heard of the "McDonalds Doctrine"? It states that no two countries that currently have McDonalds franchises have ever gone to war with each other throughout modern history.  It's true, look it up.  Besides, who could be mad at fast food when it comes in such a snappy package as this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3dPXxPGbmM

More to follow.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Forgiveness

I had another meeting on ISAF today.  Since this was one of our half work days, I slept in late, ate brunch, then headed out on the shuttle.  Before we leave the compound on our short road trips, we're always given a brief on the route, actions upon contact, communications channels, and potential threats, among other things.  We had heard that the British Council in the government sector of Kabul had just recently been hit by the Taliban with a complex attack consisting of car bombs and several individual well armed suicide bombers.  Today is the 92nd anniversary of Afghanistan's independence from Great Britain.

If you read about the British Council (http://www.britishcouncil.org/afghanistan.htm), you'll realize that they're an educational outreach organization.  Obviously the British Embassy was too difficult for these sleaze to attack, so they decided to go after low hanging fruit.  Up to this point, nine people were killed in the attack besides the filthy insurgents. Those casualties included seven Afghans, three of which were employees of the Council, a Nepalese Gurkha working as a security guard, and a member of the New Zealand special forces.  The Taliban immediately took credit for the attack inflating the numbers five fold as is their M.O. in order to capitalize on their perceived success.  They issued a statement that they just wanted to remind the British they had won their independence and would do it again.  Obviously at the expense of their fellow countrymen.

In the Middle East, conflicts wage on forever and never get resolved because the concept of revenge is inter-generational and can be passed on for up to seven generations.  If you think about it by this logic, each act of revenge in and of itself is cause to justify more revenge, so the chain never gets broken.  What a sad life these people lead only thinking of hateful ways to exact revenge for something that happened far in the past and with no other recourse than to continue the violence on innocent generations.

I used to have a teacher who said, "The one thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history."  It took me a while to understand what he meant, but basically as a teacher of history, he was trying to convey the concept that if we don't learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.  People throw around the saying "forgive and forget".  These are probably two of the worst two words that could ever be put together.  If we both forgive and forget the worst actions in our world's history, what's to stop them from happening again?  We must never forget; however, forgiveness is something else entirely.

Forgiveness is often misunderstood.  Forgiveness does not absolve.  Forgiveness only means that you are giving up the desire to take revenge or some other action against a wrong done to you (or by extension someone or something close to you).  Forgiveness is typically offered after someone has atoned for a wrongdoing against another.  In order to make a sincere atonement, a person must do four things:
1) Admit they were wrong
2) Sincerely apologize for the wrong
3) Make or attempt compensation for the wrong
4) Make a sincere effort never do this wrong again

In my life I've been wronged by a number of individuals.  I've been robbed, abused, cheated on, stolen from, lied to, and the list goes on.  These people have at times demanded forgiveness after a half hearted "sorry" or apology and expected that once forgiveness is given, everything would be back to normal.  This does not ever mean I will ever forget, but it does mean I have given up the right to exact my revenge upon them.  These are two separate concepts, but many people are incapable of distinguishing the difference.

I work in an office that supports the U.S. Military's effort for reconstruction of Afghanistan.  One of the programs we administer is the Afghan Reintegration Program, whereby we help train and rehabilitate former insurgents into productive members of a peaceful Afghan society.  Forgiveness is crucial to the healing process in any conflict.  Not doing this in Iraq was one of the worst mistakes we made in that war.

As I walked into the ISAF security screening corridor today, I noticed something I hadn't seen in the last few trips I had made.  There was a painting on the inside of the "T" concrete blast walls of a Taliban religious policeman beating a woman in the ubiquitous blue burqa while a dove of peace flys overhead.  In order for peace to take hold, we must forgive on both sides, but just as this painting endures on the "T" wall,  we must never forget.  After all, to err is human, to forgive divine.

More to follow.


Thursday, August 18, 2011

The kindness of strangers

I heard something funny today.  Rumor has it that the Afghans in Kabul think that the base I stay on is a prison for bad soldiers.  That rumor may be more true than most, at least it's felt that way to me for the past few weeks since I arrived here.  I've talked about how I like to get out of my base and travel to others as often as possible, and again today I decided that showing up to a meeting in person was better than doing it via teleconference.

So I attended a change request and status meeting of a Government contractor at ISAF who provides software support for the U.S. Military and NATO.  As luck would have it, I was approached by someone in the NATO organization of Civil Engineers and wanted to have my opinion on our organizations synchronizing our reconstruction efforts.  (Score Again!)  I've already made contact with USAID and am beginning our reconstruction project synchronization with them in the coming weeks.  He gave me his card and told me where I could find him on Camp Eggers, also within the Green Village.

Camp Eggers is about a quarter mile walk from ISAF, but still within the safety of the enclosed Green Village/Zone.  On my walk to the other camp, I always run into the usual kids selling bracelets,  scarves, etc.  On today's walk, I ran into a young boy named Bashir.  As most all kids do here, he had a pretty good grasp of English, so we talked while I made the 15 minute walk in my hot and heavy body armor.  I asked him why he wasn't in school, and he laughed and told me because he was on holiday for Ramadan.  I asked him what he wanted to go to school to be, and he told me he wanted to be an Engineer.  I replied that he must be very smart and that I was dumb so I had to become a soldier.  We both laughed.  He handed me a small beaded bracelet and told me it was a gift, and I gave him several packs of gum.  I need to get some small inexpensive trinkets that I can give out to the kids when I run into them.  It helps deflect the conversation of why I don't want to buy what they are selling.  Along the way, I passed an elderly Afghan woman in a black abaya and sitting on a prayer rug who was apparently begging.  I don't know her situation, but I turned around and gave her a bottle of water and a soda I had in my cargo pocket, and then I handed her some Afghani money from my wallet.  She sincerely thanked me in Dari (a Persian derivative), and I smiled and responded with "Salam" (Peace).

As a general rule, back in the U.S., I don't give money to people who beg or pan handle.  However, if they approach me, I will always offer them a meal because I firmly believe that God doesn't want me to let anyone within my means to go hungry.  I've probably bought nearly a hundred meals for people over the past several years, and only on a couple occasions has anyone ever turned down my offer of food instead of money.  For some reason, I decided that this old woman needed money as well so I broke my rule and gave it to her.  I've been blessed in my life and fortunate to have the opportunity to gain a perspective of poverty outside the U.S.  It saddens me with what the citizens of my country don't appreciate that they have when compared to the majority of the world.

After my business at Camp Eggers, I made my walk back to the ISAF pick-up point for our shuttle.  I had taken a couple juice boxes from the DFAC in an effort to help the woman out a little more, but to no avail.  She was gone.  Along the way, I joined a mixed group of contractors braving their way through the hoards of child-labor sales men.  It struck me funny that that there were two middle school aged girls also out selling scarves.  I offered them gum.  They asked if I wanted to buy a scarf, and I asked why, if they thought I should wear a hejab? (The scarf that covers a woman's hair in the middle east).  They laughed and said, "No, for your wife!".  I explained that American women would slap men if they tried to make them wear a hejab.  They coyly laughed, and I disengaged the group as I reached my pick-up point.

I belong to a micro lending group online called Kiva (http://www.kiva.org).  This is a site that's been featured by Oprah and ABC news, so several years ago I signed up.  I've made well over a hundred loans over the past several years.  The site operates as a no-interest loan broker between collaborative users and international non-profit organizations who loan out money to people in the developing world with business plans to help lift themselves out of poverty.  In the thousands of dollars I've loaned out over the years, I've lost at most $50, basically due to corrupt governments not allowing all the money to be wired back out of the counties.  I have yet to experience an individual who has defaulted on their loan and refused to pay it back.  American citizens could take a lesson from the integrity of the rest of the world.

We are all strangers in a foreign land, and most of us will never return to this spot in the world after our tour of duty is complete.  The people here in Afghanistan don't know us personally and see us as the next wave of occupiers of a region that has been conquered and occupied countless times since time has been recorded.  What will differentiate us from the other forces who have imposed their will on these people?  Hopefully if we can show compassion and concern for the well being of these people, they can appreciate a brighter future where the street children grow up to engineers, teachers and builders of a great society.  It all starts at the local level with basic kindness to our fellow human beings.

When was the last time you displayed a random act of kindness?

More to follow

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Support the Troops

Support the Troops has been almost a battle cry of a majority of the American public since our foreign deployments began after 9-11.  The outpouring the vocal support has been overwhelming and in stark contrast to what veterans of the Viet Nam War experienced.  That was a shameful chapter in our American public's history for their incomprehensible behavior towards veterans, and I will leave it at that.

Starting with the Persian Gulf War in 1990-91, yellow ribbons for remembering deployed troops have permeated most sectors of our society.  We wear them on our lapels, place them on our vehicles, and decorate our yards with them.  Did anyone ever stop to think that this phenomenon came from the song entitled "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" (1973) by Tony Orlando?  In it, he asks his sweetheart to do as the song asks if she wants to see him again because he is being released from prison.  I'm not quite sure how this action became a trend, but the yellow ribbon campaign has taken on a life of its own.  How many other ribbon campaigns can you think of that have followed suit after the yellow ribbon?  It almost seems as if every cause has a ribbon of their own now.

Every time I deploy, I've gotten a lot of people asking if they can send me care packages.  They've heard horror stories about Service Members not being able to get basic items such as toiletries, etc.  That hasn't been the case in a very long time, typically only after initial invasions before supply lines for AAFES can be set up.  But care packages are always welcome.  My favorite thing to receive is baked goods.  Aside from the fact that they're just plain yummy, it shows that someone put some effort into it instead of just buying a bunch of things at a store and sending them off.  Additionally, you can share baked goods with your buddies, and that makes everyone feel better and it's a win-win situation.

Occasionally I get people I don't even know offer to send me care packages either through Facebook or just a chance meeting in person before I deploy when it comes up in conversation.  I typically tell them to donate to the USO (http://www.uso.org/) or the "Any Soldier" program  (http://www.anysoldier.com/).  Occasionally I have someone ask about sending contraband.  Specifically alcohol and pornography are forbidden here, but I've had a large number of people tell me that they were willing to send it to me.  I always turn down this generous offer since I have no intentions of getting in trouble for violating General Orders.  (I'll write more about those later)

As I do sometimes, I step up on my soapbox for a moment to say my piece.  Today's topic is about not supporting the troops, or at least not doing it the right way.  I've noticed a lot of people have adopted the mantra of "I support the troops, but I don't support the war."  I'm sure they mean well, but this is a slap in the face of everything good we are doing while deployed.  If you ask Service Members, the majority want to see these conflicts through to the end as we believe in the good we are currently doing, no matter the reasons we got into the conflicts in the first place.  When you say you don't support what we are doing, it negates or minimizes our efforts, and that is not support in the least.  I realize many people have very strong feelings against our current conflicts and I respect those.  I only ask that you don't use those two contradictory phrases together.  Imagine telling someone I like you, but I don't want to be around you.  The negative contraction negates any positive that comes before it.  Just think about that before you caveat your support.  True support comes with no strings.

More to follow.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Boyfriends

I have a piece that I plan to write about cultural differences between Western and Eastern cultures, but today I wanted to touch on one subject that I was reminded about yesterday at the weekly base bazaar.  I saw two younger Afghan men with their arms around each other's neck walking from a booth on one side of the bazaar to the other.  Gay?  Who knows... That's not what the gesture and act means here.

U.S. Troops are always taught in our cultural classes before deployment to the Middle East that two men holding hands doesn't necessarily mean homosexuality.  In Asian culture, it's perfectly normal for two men who're friends to walk down the street holding hands.  I've seen this as far east as Korea and as far west as Iraq.  It doesn't have the same connotation as our prejudiced Western society view.  It just means that they're friends, much like two little children will do the same thing before they're taught the concept of shame and that this act is not something two men do.

While I was in the permanent ISAF bazaar last week, I walked into an electronics and video store.  On the ground in front of an adjacent shop were a couple of younger Afghan guys laying on a rug curled up on top of each other and basically spooning while watching a portable TV.  I realize that this is Ramadan and that most of them would be asleep during the day so they can stay up all night celebrating, but then again, this was just very interesting to see and it was hard not to look.  I wanted to take a picture, but I thought that would probably be too much to ask.

In the United States and some of the less progressive Western world, we base much of our morality on a book which is anywhere from 2000-5000 years old depending on which parts of it you read.  This same book has been transcribed, translated, and rewritten numerous times over the millennia, often to fit a specific group's underlying agenda.  Because of this, it has lost a lot of its original meaning, not to mention that many parts are now incorrect based on the concept of "lost in translation".  (I’ll be doing a piece about that later too)  The more ardent followers of this book cast judgment and shame upon those they feel they need to correct and condemn to a miserable afterlife.  They put on an air that they themselves are perfect, and pick and choose certain passages to uphold while completely ignoring other parts of that book.  They're so selective in fact that they can justify some of the most horrific actions because they are either condoned or talked about in this book.  This book does have a lot of good reading specifically about how to be a better person and treating others with respect, dignity, and love.  Those parts just get overlooked all too often.  Has anyone else read it?  How about the original texts?

Throughout history, homosexuality was typically ignored, and generally known and accepted as something behind the scenes of mainstream society.  In the U.S., it wasn't until the 1950's McCarthy era of witch hunts for suspected homosexuals, communists, socialists, etc. that American society began it's path towards sexual identity prejudice and bigotry and engaged in an all out assault culturally, religiously, and legally.

With the advent of the Internet and instant connectivity to anywhere, albeit anonymous if so choosing, more and more people are reaching out into what was once taboo.  If you don't believe me, just peruse the Internet.  Sites such as "Craig’s List" have literally millions of ads from married individuals looking for discreet bisexual and homosexual encounters. I'm not saying I approve of this behavior; I'm just saying that this phenomenon is growing.  As our country relaxes its social standards in some circles, others are attempting to tighten their grip.  Ultra political conservatives and evangelical religious organizations seek to legislate morality in a partnership that only the Devil himself could have organized.  In fact, some of the leadership is probably his minions doing his unholy work, as countless "gay Uncle Toms" have been outed for working against the gay rights movement while they themselves were engaging in extra-marital homosexual activities.

I remember as a child that my older relatives who were born before or just after the turn of the 20th century would refer to my male childhood friends as boyfriends. I always thought this was odd that they never had that same sort of grasp on the concept as I had. But that term became perverted by religious activists much like the word "gay" has changed to a completely different meaning over time.

Kids today are in a nexus of growing tolerance and generational taught prejudice. While statistically speaking, greater numbers of  the younger generations of Americans are more tolerant of homosexuals.  Just as perplexing, the number of hate crimes and bullying incidents continues to rise with sexual orientation being the number one topic for instigation.  Even the term "gay" has further evolved to mean something different with the younger generations as it's now used as a synonym for stupid.  From happy to homosexual to stupid, words evolve in weird ways at times.

I put on a uniform and go to war for a country that protects the individual rights of its citizens based on its constitution.  We tout ourselves as a model to the world about personal liberties and freedoms, yet we still restrict the freedomes of our own citizens based on specific religious dogma.  I believe that personal rights are just that, personal, and that no one has the right to interfere with them unless they can potentially harm another person.  Certain factions of our political system seek to take away personal rights based on their own religious views while still clinging to other rights they feel they're entitled.  Who has the right to restrict who someone wants to marry, or sleep with, cuddle up to, or just hold hands with because they feel a connection with that person?  To put it in modern terms, that's just gay.

And for a country to take away personal freedoms of a certain population of its citizens based on a religious undertone for the “good of the country”, I'd like to quote Sinclair Lewis: "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." (1935)

More to follow.