Amazingly capable

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, the Communications Support Unit (CSU) is three companies of well-led ANA communicators, trained to deploy and quickly set up fully functional command centers.  Anytime, anywhere. Earlier this month, they did exactly that!  On 16 January, the unit deployed elements of Aleph Company to Rish Khvor, just south of Kabul, to provide direct support for the ANA’s [...]

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With perseverance

Medical support is a Big Deal in Afghanistan, providing perhaps the best return on investment of anything the Coalition is doing.   This is largely because, in an academic sense, medicine is one of the few areas where we – the Coalition and Afghan central government - have a ’significant and useful asymmetrical advantage’ over the insurgents.  Or said another way, where we can do [...]

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Bulletproof

I always appreciate seeing the Afghan national flag flying from a building or tower.  To me, it represents a symbolic acknowledgement that Afghanistan is more than just a loose collection of tribes…that there’s a real nation here, proud and strong.      There are conflicting descriptions of what the colors represent, but I like this one, paraphrased from Flags of the World:     [...]

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The bigger concern

Afghanistan: Less corrupt than Somalia! That’s not exactly the kind of slogan the Afghan Ministry of Tourism wants, but unfortunately, that’s the best they can do.  According to Transparency International, Afghanistan is the second-most corrupt country on the planet.  Only Somalia is worse.  Haiti is a whopping eight spots higher on the list.   And [...]

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6 hours in Kabul

Those who watch the Postometer to the right are probably wondering if I’ve lost my mind.  As I type this, Google News is showing 1217 articles and 91 images regarding today’s attacks in Kabul…and I have the audacity to write a “cautiously optimistic” post?!? Well, yes. When the attacks started today, my first concern was about the people in my directorate.  At [...]

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The 762 retirement plan

Afghan phrase of the day: “762 retirement.” There’s no real retirement plan for members of the ANA or ANP.  We’ve done a bunch of work to put together an affordable yet decent retirement plan, but (as in any other country in the world) something like this is a HUGE political deal, so it’s seriously wrapped up in Parliament.  Not [...]

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Mission-critical

One of the most important things we do is volunteer community relations, or VCR, missions.  Led by NTM-A chaplains from Camp Eggers, volunteers distribute clothes and toys to places like schools, orphanages and medical centers in Kabul and surrounding areas.  During the run-up to the Presidential Elections last year, the security situation in Kabul was [...]

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4th of July at Camp Eggers

National holidays aren’t really that big a deal at Camp Eggers.  First, every day is a work day…there’s just an infinite number of things here that desperately need doing.  Second, we’ve got service members from 47 countries involved in NTM-A (43 in the International Security Assistance Force, plus Mongolia, Egypt, the Republic of Korea, and of [...]

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Zanbilak’s wall

There’s a wall running along Sher Darwaza Mountain that’s hard to miss from almost anywhere in Kabul.  It appears big from a distance, but I understand it’s HUGE close-up…something like 7m high and 4m thick.  It was built by Zanbilak Shah, the last King of Kabul-Shahan , as protection from invaders during one of the innumerable wars that swept Afghanistan during the [...]

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Towers on the high ground

Mount Asma-i, known by Afghans and Coalition members alike as  TV Hill, is a high mountain in the middle of Kabul.   For two reasons, it’s covered with a prickly blanket of antenna towers, supporting both commercial and governmental communications.  First, TV Hill has a commanding view of the city, which allows a clear line-of-sight between an antenna on the mountain and a receiver almost [...]

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