{"id":654,"date":"2010-10-12T01:12:18","date_gmt":"2010-10-12T00:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moore-images.com\/blog\/?p=654"},"modified":"2010-10-19T00:22:00","modified_gmt":"2010-10-18T23:22:00","slug":"my-afghan-experience-part-2-of-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.moore-images.com\/blog\/2010\/10\/my-afghan-experience-part-2-of-3\/","title":{"rendered":"My Afghan Experience, Part 2 of 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the wild car ride to the other base, I obtained my room and later met up with my co-workers. \u00a0We went to dinner and hung out for the rest of the night.\u00a0 The next morning began very early.\u00a0 I woke up at 4:30 AM, exited my tent and walked 20-30 yards to the shower facility (In hindsight, it surprises me that I was used to going to another building just to use the bathroom and\/or take a shower.\u00a0 If I were to return, I shudder at the idea of doing that during the colder months).\u00a0 My co-worker, Justin, and I met at the departure point and got into our vehicle headed to the airport.\u00a0 Justin was supposed to leave yesterday, but since he didn\u2019t I was able to go with him.\u00a0 His flight was canceled and he hoped the same went happen today.\u00a0 I told him that we would leave today and on-time.\u00a0 The receptionist told us the flight was still scheduled and we had only five minutes before they would close the desk for anyone leaving to our site.\u00a0 Although we arrived more than two hours prior to the flight, they were closing the desk very early.<\/p>\n

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We waited in the lobby for approximately an hour then we were led to a C-130 airplane.\u00a0 I looked for the friendly airline attendants and the 1st<\/sup> class or business-class seating, but there were none.\u00a0 Instead, there was a long stretched-nylon bench for us to sit.\u00a0 We were less than ten feet from a large palette of equipment that I prayed would remain in place.\u00a0 The airline attendants always warn you about items shifting during the flight.\u00a0 I hoped that wouldn\u2019t be the case with that large palette.<\/p>\n

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Traveling with the military is interesting. \u00a0As a first-timer, I watched helicopters take off and land. \u00a0Everyone else ignored it as they were used to it. \u00a0However, a couple of instances included jets that took off as well. Whenever they took flight, everyone would stop and watch.<\/p>\n

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Our flight was scheduled for 8:00 AM and we boarded the plane shortly after 7:00.\u00a0 We spent nearly an hour sitting on the seats waiting.\u00a0 However, at 8:00 sharp the plane began to take-off and take-off it did.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t near a window.\u00a0 However, there was a window across from me.\u00a0 In one instance, I would see the ground and the base of the mountains.\u00a0 Suddenly, the plane would sway and I would see nothing but the sky.\u00a0 The pilot would bank and turn and the mountains were so close I knew I could reach out and touch them if I wanted.\u00a0\u00a0 He would speed up then slow down and the plane would drop.\u00a0 It was the roller-coaster ride from hell!\u00a0 However, a military guy and I must have been the only first-timers.\u00a0 He pulled out his camera to take photos and I couldn\u2019t stop laughing.\u00a0 Everyone else was deep in thought or sleep.\u00a0 After approximately 15 minutes of fancy maneuvers, we reached a high altitude and the flight was routine.\u00a0 Approximately an hour and a half later, we landed at our destination.<\/p>\n

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Justin called our contact and within a few minutes we had a ride to our base.\u00a0 The base was an Italian post.\u00a0 Therefore, I knew since we would be there for a few days, I\u2019d have to endure a few more days of pasta for lunch and dinner.\u00a0 We met our contacts and they showed us our lodging accommodations.\u00a0 It was a 7\u2019x18\u2019 room with four twin beds lined two-by-two.\u00a0 Across the hall were the bathroom and shower stalls.\u00a0 As we surveyed the grooming area, we noticed a few necessary items missing.\u00a0 There was no door for the bathroom and none of the stalls contained toilet paper.\u00a0 We asked a soldier staying in the next room and he told us that toilet paper around here is like, \u201cwhite gold\u201d.\u00a0 So, we kept the roll he gave us and used it sparingly.<\/p>\n

We went to our work site and accessed the situation.\u00a0 Prior to working, the early morning start began to take a toll so we asked if we could break for lunch and if they would show us to the chow hall.\u00a0 After a less than pleasant lunch, we returned to work and fixed a few problems.\u00a0 We decided to pace the amount of work we\u2019d do since we knew we weren\u2019t leaving for a few days.\u00a0 The next stop was to our room for a siesta.\u00a0 We continued this pattern for the next three days, get up, work, eat lunch, nap, and work some more, and finally go to dinner to eat some more.\u00a0 Our first night on base was enlightening because the more remote bases do not have lights.\u00a0 Therefore, we walked by the built-in flash lights of our cell phones.<\/p>\n

One night, we ran low on our \u201cwhite gold\u201d.\u00a0 We saw our sponsor and told him we needed toilet paper.\u00a0 He only understood, \u201cpaper\u201d, so he put his hands together and motioned like he was turning pages in a book.\u00a0 We repeated the phrase only slower and louder (as if that ever works).\u00a0 We tried to get him to understand it was a different type of paper we needed.\u00a0 In the back of my mind, I knew what would make him understand, but I didn\u2019t want to go there.\u00a0 Finally, after several unsuccessful attempts, I demonstrated the type of paper we needed.\u00a0 \u201cOhhhh, toilet paper\u201d, he says while laughing.\u00a0 A few minutes later he returns with the goods.<\/p>\n

We traveled to another base a day or so later. \u00a0When we arrived, the officer took us to our rooms and we took a break prior to getting our work done. \u00a0We walked around to pass the time when we came across a memorial. \u00a0It is a reminder how the attacks over nine years ago changed the world.<\/p>\n

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Contractors often seize opportunities to work in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the economic opportunities.\u00a0 Nevertheless, we would have another realization of the life and death consequences due to the war before we completed our trip.<\/p>\n

-Roger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the wild car ride to the other base, I obtained my room and later met up with my co-workers. \u00a0We went to dinner and hung out for the rest of the night.\u00a0 The next morning began very early.\u00a0 I woke up at 4:30 AM, exited my tent and walked 20-30 yards to the shower […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[3],"tags":[130,129,131,232,233,133],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t