Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.........

(MP) - I had a rough morning. I had a simple request get denied by a new layer of red tape between the user and accomplishing the mission. Of course, it was billed as a "streamlining" of the process, yet it really equaled: Extra work and less chance of getting stuff done. Sheesh.

Ronald Reagan, How an ordinary man became an extraordinary leader

Ronald Reagan was an extraordinary human. Because of this, I must be very careful not to turn this into a review of him rather than the biography written by Dinesh D'Souza. The single most remarkable aspect of this account was not necessarily the subject (although Reagan stands alone, in my opinion, from the last sixty years of American Presidents) but the sourcing. D'Souza, a domestic policy analyst in the Reagan administration, was certainly close enough to have some personal knowledge of the "Great Communicator" and yet he relied on other people's accounts so much more than his own that I often forgot that he was even there himself.

Interestingly enough, D'Souza addresses this aspect indirectly throughout the biography by consistently describing Reagan as a very private person with few good friends. Reagan's circle was tighter than most (basically him and Nancy) and access to Reagan as a staffer was extremely limited. Against the odds, however, D'Souza produces - and does it in style. He draws on countless stories from heads-of-state, congressmen/women, aides and other administration officials, as well as limited personal experience to paint the mural of a true American hero.

The story of Reagan's life, like most biographies, is presented chronologically, yet D'Souza added a twist. He focused on a certain quality of Reagan during each time period or situation, ending with an answer to the question he poses at the beginning: Was Reagan a great leader? Why/why not?

It was my first real exposure to the president that helped preserve the freedom I had to ride my bike down the road or build a treehouse in my backyard without fear. Reagan made the 80's I remember a memory and not a dream. He comforted me when we lost the Challenger. He also gave me a profound respect for that house on Pennsylvania Ave and its occupants - a respect I still maintain.

The one phrase that invaded my mind with every page was, "And now I know why." See, I had always admired Reagan - probably more because my parents did and I was raised under conservative values - but I never really knew all the details. Now I feel enlightened as well as justified. Reagan was a great man, and Dinesh D'Souza makes it clear.

Now I just need to get my hands on Reagan's autobiography. . . .

At my job

So, what is your job?

Another good question that warrants a good answer. First off, I am an Airman filling a Soldier's billet. Basically, about five years ago the Army asked the Air Force, "Hey Air Force, we are really hurting out there for folks to fill important jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan - would you mind sending some of your folks our way to help us out." Reluctantly, the Air Force said, "Sure." So, although I am still wearing the Air Force uniform, I am performing a job that would have otherwise been filled by an Army engineer (or so they say). Regardless, I'm here and proud to be so.

As an Airman filling an Army tasking, I do basically whatever the Army wants me to (within reason) and this job is well-suited to my work experience. See, the biggest push in Afghanistan right now is to field a force of local nationals as soldiers and policemen in the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) so that the rest of the country feels secure under their own governmental agencies. In order to do that, we have mentor teams all over the country. PMT's (Police Mentor Teams) help train and equip the ANP (Afghan National Police) and other police entities. The ETT's (Embedded Training Teams) do the same for the ANA (Afghan National Army). PMT's and ETT's are all throughout the country (you can imagine) and their mission is basically the same - to get the ANSF to efficiently operate autonomously without having to hide under an umbrella of corruption or greed. It's a BIG job!

The country is broken up into several regions - the details of which I will leave out - and each region is made up of many provinces (akin to a "state", though it is governed more like a "county"). Under the ANP (the side of ANSF I deal with the most), each province has districts and provincial headquarters. All of these facilities need to either be repaired, built, or modified. Additionally, the PMT's who are doing the actual training and equipping need places to live and work as well. This is where I come in.

My job is to make sure the PMT's and ANP forces in my region have adequate facilities for living and working. I do that through the help of several other US servicemembers who monitor individual projects near their areas of operation as well as by making personal visits to job sites or potential sites. This does require me to go "outside the wire" more frequently than the typical "Air Force" job, but it is also more rewarding than any other job out here I can imagine.

Like every job it has its highs and lows, but as an engineer, I can say unequivocally that the highs have so far outnumbered the lows by a long shot! Even in this short time I've been here, I've cleared over a quarter-million dollars worth of construction invoices and seen a project go from a brand new idea to work order to approval to funding to results! And I've only been here for a month!

Anyway, that's my job. I could ramble on about the various aspects about it that get my goat or a specific site that's really exciting to work on, but I'll save that stuff for when I get back.

God Bless!

In My Room

Some folks have asked what my living conditions are like. This is a fair question and I'm happy to entertain. Understand, though, that living conditions are as varied as the missions out here. Soldiers in Afghanistan somewhere will sleep under the stars tonight - though I haven't met them. Others are living in modified CONEX shipping containers that have been stacked like LEGO bricks. I live in a wooden B-Hut. Its a small wooden building about 20' x 32', raised a couple feet off the ground for leveling and flood and pest prevention purposes. There are six of us in this B-Hut and the "rooms" have been partioned by past residents using cheap lumber and plywood. I have a twin bunkbed with one mattress. The top of the bunkbed is used for storage. This is the only picture I was able to upload.  I'll work on getting some more onto the blog, but for now, this should give you an idea of what my room is like.  God Bless!

A poem

(MP) - O pointy bird, o pointy, pointy. Annoint thy head, anointy, nointy.

Hannah's Newest Pics

Here are a few new and precious shots of our third Joy-girl. Yesterday, she decided it was time for her to climb up the Little Tykes playgym...all by herself when her mommy wasn't looking! I turned around to see her on the top! After some instruction, she eventually figured out how to maneuver her feet in front of her to slide down the slide. She was so excited about it...and so worn out!

I hope you enjoy her sweet smile as much as we do!

The Trees are Budding!

It's such a relief! After our two deciduous trees lost all of their leaves shortly after planting, it has been such a relief to see them budding out! The live oaks have the leaves, and our weeping cherry has the little white and scarlet blossoms. I plan to water them plenty and look into what vitamins I can give them so they'll grow strong and quickly and healthy.

Life in the 'stan: Part I

Occasionally I'll post individual stories from my deployment along with some pictures to help tell the tale. However, a lot of experiences and pictures are more anecdotal in nature and would be more appropriate as a compilation rather than individual posts. Here is the first installment. (Remember: the pictures and stories are not necessarily related)

Transient life is horrible. I'm thankful for twin size beds at every stop, but settling into my home for a year was a wonderful feeling after weeks of this.

I. Afghanistan is an islamic republic. Hence, building codes need to follow several Islamic traditions. One interesting example would be that an Afghan toilet (it's really just a hole in the ground with treads on each side to stand on while you squat - n/k) must never face East or West. This way, there is no risk of facing the same direction one would pray while taking care of "business". Funny, but true.

This is the view from the first camp where I was living, before I moved to my current camp.

II. I went to a provincial police headquarters building to check out a generator site for future improvements and repairs. We wanted to get a better picture from one of the second story windows of the site, so we went inside, up to the second story and found an office that gave us a great vantage point for photos. Incidentally, the men in the room (mostly Afghanistan National Police - ANP) were just "chilling" - at least as good as you can in this country. They were seated, eating corn nuts and raisins, and drinking chai tea. Before my friend and I could thank them and leave the room, two servings of chai had been brought in for us and we were offered a seat. The next fifteen minutes of drinkink chai, eating the snacks, and speaking in broken english/dari were interesting to say the least. Finally, we thanked them, and went on our way. That was all - just two americans, several ANP, and chai.

This is the attic to the Queen's Palace. It has been pretty abused over the years, but it still has an amazing allure to it.

III. A contractor who is working on the camp is bound by the principle that his father will choose his life partner. He hopes it is this girl he gets to see once a year, but that's all he can do - hope.

Andrew's Birthday!

Andrew's birthday was a quiet, special day. He turned 6 years old on March 7. It's hard to believe he is so big! He's been growing out of his clothes and shoes, eating two sandwiches for lunch some days, and letting me know he's big enough to do all sorts of activities since he's six now.

The day began with me making waffles and fried eggs (Andrew's favorite) and letting him eat it in mine and David's bed! (A very special birthday treat indeed.) Then, out of the blue, David's voice came through over the computer singing "Happy Birthday"! It was so wonderful!

Then he had his first t-ball practice ever. He did very well. Every hit he got, he would say he got a home run. I didn't bother to correct him until the next practice.

That afternoon, Andrew wanted to stuff candy into balloons, which is what I did for his 4th birthday party. So we stuffed them and then popped them after we ate Papa John's ham and pineapple pizza. I would show the video, but you all may laugh a little too hard of me sitting on and popping balloons. So, I'll just show Andrew with a few of his gifts and his cookie cake with fruit on top, which he always asks for.

A light by night

(MP) - Last night I observed flares as they were being fired by a mortar tube to some obscure grid coordinate in the distance. I'm not sure what was going on there - but it made the situation God has put me in very clear. There is a war going on, I pray that I can be used to help the good people of Afghanistan to maintain a free and thriving country.

Where two or more gather. . .

What about six? Or eight? I guess that would be more than two, hence, worship took place! I am referring to tonight's chapel service here at my forward-deployed location in Afghanistan. The camp is small and we are blessed enough that a chaplain finds a way to serve several small camps and bases throughout a pretty big area of this rugged landscape. The six of us followed worship that was led by an Army Chaplain with the assistance of an Army Chaplain's assistance. The music was played over a laptop through some small speakers and it was a mix of contemporary, jazzed up traditional, strict traditional, and acapella music. We learned of Abraham's faith and the relationship between faith and works - a sticky subject among modern protestants (as it has been over the ages). One thing the chaplain said that will stick with me for a long time summed it up pretty well:

"We are saved by faith alone, but faith that saves is never alone."

There's really nothing I could add to that to make it clearer!

SNOW!!!

Well, as in several other states in the southeast right now, it is snowing in Alabama! It's been snowing since about 5:30 this morning and hasn't stopped! Though, it is not sticking as it did this morning for a little while when it was still below freezing. The wind has been blowing at 20-30mph, if you can believe it. The kids enjoyed playing before church! I did my best not to be too much of a nagging mother as I told them not to get their church clothes dirty! Andrew's pants were soaked anyway, so we just put on a different pair of khakis. They had fun, but were freezing!

Considering that yesterday and Friday, severe thunderstorms and tornados were passing through Montgomery and surrounding counties, and the temperatures were over 75 much of the time, the snow is just another weird weather phenomonon to add to our weekend!