First Impressions (Probably TMI)

Kandahar Air Field (KAF) in Afghanistan is very different from Camp Virginia (CV) in Kuwait. There are approximately ten times more inhabitants at KAF. While the military made up 80-90% of the population at CV, it appears that 40% of the population at KAF is contractors, DOD civilians or TCNs. CV had one DFac and one PX; there are 8-10 DFacs and 6-8 PXes at KAF. At CV I had a room to myself. Here I’m in a MOD (modular housing unit?) that I’m sharing with three other Duty Managers (although one is on vacation), with probably two more arriving soon. Fortunately the toilets and showers are 35 steps down the hall instead of 128 steps outside, across the street, through the alleyway, way over there.

At KAF there are (coalition) International Security Assistance Forces consisting of US Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force along with military from Canada, Great Brittan, Romania, the Netherlands, France and Australia, among others. All forces wear the ISAF patch. I thought I saw some pudgy Marines, but they turned out to be Army from another country (that I will not name) with BDUs similar to the US Marines. At dinner one night we saw some French soldiers. Their uniforms are tighter than those of the US and the shirts (at least for summer) have short sleeves. After seeing their hunky military I’m rethinking my opinion of the French.

Near the PAX terminal are numerous airplanes, helicopters and other intriguing contraptions. (These pictures are from the Internet since we can’t take pictures of the aircraft or the airfield at KAF.) As we passed over the airstrip on the way to dinner the first night, just one hundred yards away I saw/heard/felt a rocket take off. I found out later that it was an F16. I’ve seen/heard/felt it quite a few times since. Each time it’s a spectacular, pride- and goose bumps-creating event. Since I grew up in the flight path of LAX and live close to the engine testing of Boeing and the take-off corridor of LGB, it’s nice to reacquaint myself with the sounds of the jets, planes, helicopters and everything else that flies.

At the center of the base is the world-famous boardwalk. This is a large square area surrounded by shops, restaurants and services (embroidery, barber, laundry, etc.) adjacent to a wooden promenade. Unfortunately, and as you may know, a lot of the fun places (Pizza Hut, Burger King, Subway) are now closed in compliance with orders from General McChrystal. The center of the boardwalk is a large dirt area with basketball and volleyball courts, a hockey rink (with a giant red maple leaf) and football/soccer field.

Just down from the boardwalk is the equally world-famous (infamous?) Poo-Pond, a lovely lagoon surrounded by rocks, sand, caution and bio-hazard signs. There are picturesque fountains throughout the lake, spewing aromatic water into the atmosphere 24/7, ensuring that no one on base is robbed of this charming bouquet.

At KAF there’s not much lighting, so it’s pretty dark at night. The USO has two old cars, with the steering wheels on the right. We went to TGIFriday’s for dinner one evening. Before ordering it's always necessary to ask what they didn’t have since it’s so difficult to get supplies here. The day we went they didn’t have any salads or hamburgers. Even though the DFacs are open until 0900(!), I’ve been missing breakfast and a lot of other meals. Consequently I’ve been existing on Green Beans’ triple espresso Chai latte over ice and Nacho Slim Jims. Not healthy by anyone’s standards.

There's traffic here; traffic jams and horns honking. Oh yeah, and my blog Dashboard that used to come up in Arabic is now appearing in Chinese. Makes perfect sense to me.