Delectible Delights and Frozen Nose

Delectible Delights and Frozen Nose

After the Bagram adventure, It was not even a week before we started having issues with the generator at out tent. One night I got several care packages and some of my possessions in the mail to include a new microwave and my xbox. I plugged in the microwave and began to use it but it put too much strain on the transformer and blew a fuse in the transformer. This was the first issue we had with power. From this point we found a replacement transformer that was larger and more powerful. We hooked the microwave into in and the xbox and it worked like a charm. Being over here we have to deal with a lot of 220 power settings because local technology runs off of it. Constantly using adapters and transformers. So that all worked fine. The next night, at some random point in the night, the power started flickering and fading. This went on for a while as we were unplugging different plugs to maintain stable power before the generator finally just died. We went out to inspect the generator to see if we could repair it but there was no obvious damage. With the loss of the generator power also went the loss of all heat in our tent in 20 and 30 degree farenheight weather. We waited a while and hark!, the generator started again. This time we were careful not too plug in too many things. We didn’t have enough power to run the heat pump so we all bundled up in sleeping bags and warm clothes. This went on for the next week as we continually found that the generator was filthy and had not been taken care of at all. The oil was changed and the filters were dumped but this only barely prolonged the life of the generator. Finally after a week of this, the generator finally reached the end of its life when someone went to check the fuel line and it broke off. This further reinforced our supervision’s notion to move us out of the tent into more temporary lodging while we wait on the new buildings to be ready. We were given a 3 day deadline and everyone else moved out stat but I was resistant to move so I stayed in the cold dark tent one more night by myself but I loved it. This was the first time in 6 months of training and deployment I had true privacy. No one was moving around or snoring or waking up and talking and slamming the door. I slept great and it was the first time I dreamed in months. I was plenty warm being in 2 sleeping bags with warm clothes and a beanie on my head. Thank goodness to all that camping experience. Everyone else slept in the other temporary lodging with lots more people in open bays of about 30 or more people with snorers and the whole 9 yards. I was perfectly fine in this solitary abode.

Also during this time, our rations were quickly running out at the chow hall. As it is, we usually have to eat corn dogs, hot dogs, hot wings, with the occasional chicken cordon blue or an excuse for Chinese food. Vegetables? Green stuff? Fruits? What is all that? Every day its fried food or something microwaved. Whatever is easiest for the cooks to prepare. This week our new shipment of food was a week late and our food choices were getting worse and worse. We ran out of regular milk and many other things. You don’t realize how much you miss regular milk until you eat cereal with chocolate milk and strawberry milk for breakfast every morning. We have finally gotten our shipment of new food in but the food choices haven’t changed much. One night we had steaks but that’s about the best. It’s impossible to eat healthy here and I firmly believe it is the goal of the military to give us all high cholesterol and heart attacks. One almost has to live off either the French chow hall or care packages or the pizza place. Those are the only food options.

So that’s an update on the last few weeks here at the wonderful FOB. As for my job, its going really well. I’ve taken on a new position of managing linguists on top of my other responsibilities and it takes up quite a bit of my time. It’s satisfying though. Taking a week off the gym this week as I’ve had hardly a day off from it since I arrived in country. We go to work every single day and get not one day off until R and R. One gets used to it. Watched the new movie Inception the other night and loved it. Great movie if you haven’t seen it. Got my first real coin today from the Command SGT Major(Army E-9) of our parent unit. Never been in an official coin ceremony with such a large coin so I screwed up the proper procedures for receiving the coin. If you don’t know what I mean by coin, no its not like a quarter or a nickel, it’s a large coin with a unit logo and design in color imprinted on it and its an honor to receive one. It’s a military tradition and most people collect them and end up displaying them on their desk or bookshelf. I have moved around so much that I’ve never been anywhere long enough to do anything outstanding so that I might receive one before. The proper procedure is for the individual giving the coin to hold it in his hand and present it in the form of the handshake while the person receiving the coin shakes the hand containing the coin and takes it when the handshake is broken. The coin was heavy and I actually ended up dropping it as I was receving it to a certain amount of embarrassment. Soon to go get a haircut from the French Boutique and enjoy the rest of the day at the lovely as always FOB Morales-Frazier.

Broken mirrors, convoys, helicopters

Intro and Trip to Bagram

So this week finds me at the end of a streak of a somewhat eventful few weeks. Here I sit on my bed with a cup of hot ginseng tea next to me and my speaker beanie, while reflecting on my time here.

I guess the first major event was traveling on my first convoy(mounted comat patrol to be P.C.). Now granted it was only to Bagram Airfield which is not that far but nonetheless, it was a convoy. I had to go get a chipped tooth looked at and repaired. The first couple minutes outside the wire were a bit exciting but after spending so much time in armored vehicles in training, it was nothing new. This time though, I was only a passenger, a window licker, a strap hanger, whatever you want to call it. Despite very tiny windows and uncomfortable sitting positions, I was still greatful to be here and have a view of the country I presently reside but have never really seen outside the base. The trip was uneventful but I was able to take several pictures of the landscape and see how people here make their way of life. To see shabby tents pitched on the rocky terrain and know these were peoples homes. Seeing cattle and donkeys and dogs wandering around and wondering how they survive in such a barren land. Now granted its not the desert, but it is still pretty bleak. I was not blown away, having been in third world countries on multiple occasions on my own personal travels, but no two places are the same. I remember noticing all the caves in the mountains and the steep grades and dirty rivers and scattered rocks and thinking, so this is what all the books and movies are talking about. Brutal, near unpassable mountains in the north and barren desert in the south. These people have been fighting almost nonstop for hundreds of years and not only conquered, but beaten the crap out of everyone who has tried to take this land from them. Now if you;ve never read up on the history of Afghanistan, well(besides recent discoveries or major mineral deposits) theres not really anything here that anyone would want. No major economic assets or natural resources. This land is disputed over simply because of its location being landlocked by so many nations and key tactical terrain to hold in the Central Asian territory.

So anyway, off of my sidetrack(darn ADD), we safely arrived at Bagram without incident and I dismounted and locked my rifle and body armour away. While at BAF, I took care of several things that I cannot do at the FOB such as buying things at the BX and getting information on education opportunities and taking a mathematics placement test. My original dental appt was scheduled for thanksgiving day, but then I showed up and they told me all appts for the day had been cancelled and I would have to reschedule. Bummer. So then I went with some guys of my team for Thanksgiving lunch but the line was so ridiculously long, we ended up all getting tuna pouches and microwave meals from the shoppete. Oh well, another holiday in the military away from loved ones. What else is new? Such has been the story of my life for over 4 years now. One tends to get used to the idea. (We ended up having a great thanksgiving dinner with turkey and everything minus the pumpkin pie cause it was all gone. So that made up for lunch)

I hung out at BAF for a couple weeks waiting on my appt. It finally came about and once I had a new filling and numb face from novacane it was time to go. (I actually discovered by accident that eating something to work the novicane out of your system brings feeling back pretty quick). That night my team members signed me up for Space Available on a helicopter making trips that night. I waited to see if I made the cut and was shocked when they called out the last 4 of my SSN (this is how the military identifies people, last name and last 4). I jumped up and through on my armor vest, slung my rifle over my shoulder, put on my helmet and eyewear, grabbed my bags and made a quick video before heading out to the flightline for liftoff. Now if you’ve never ridden a military helicopter or even a helicopter for that matter, there is nothing like the anticipation the first time you are about to board. Perhaps it’s just me because I freaking love aviation and always wanted to ride a helicopter. This was actually my 2^nd experience on a helicopter(first was the first time we flew to the FOB) but the excitement was still alive and well due to the fact that I had never been on a helicopter this large before. While the crew chiefs were doing their pre-flight checks after all the bags had been loaded and strapped down, one of them strapped on a helmet and facemask. I laughed a little inside because he had drawn a goofy looking face on his mask that was impossible not to smile at. He noticed my glance and chuckled. Then the rotors started up. We waited there for a long while, my butt half on the seat because the bird was so jampacked I was hanging off the end of it, when we finally started taxiing. The feeling of liftoff can pass you by if you are not really paying attention. It’s so crazy just looking at the ground and see yourself hovering there just a few feet off the flightline engines blazing full force and all. I grinned with joy. This was one of those moments that I was really happy to be in the military. Who else gets to do that?

So we took off into the dark, moonless, Afghan night. They told us we were first off, so myself and a couple other guys had to be ready. When we landed, it was so dark, I hardly realized we had landed and didn’t know where we were. That green light came on and the guy next to me(our new cooks I found out later) gave me a shove and I was on my feet snatching up bags and hustling to the ramp. I rushed down the ramp and onto the helipad under the roar of the rotor blades. Once we had exfilled the bird, it took off. I was nearly knocked off my feet and my bags went rolling away from me due to the power of the prop wash. It was intense. I wanted to look at this dark beast that can only be seen because it blocks out the stars in the sky, but it was kicking up too much dust and I had to concentrate on bracing myself. Aircraft are amazing. Giant machines in the sky that just give you a feeling of extreme power.( This is best experienced by being just a few hundred feet away from a fighter jet when it takes off on full afterburner or the same distance away from a 747 at 85 percent throttle.)

Once this was done, I jumped on the tailgate of a gator that was there to pick up the cooks and hitched a ride in full gear part of the way back to my tent. It was pitch black the whole way as everything is here for safety and security reasons. I finally arrived back at the tent and surprised everyone who were not expecting me to be back for a while. Especially not on a helicopter. I downed all my gear and began to wind down before retiring for the night.

life on MORALES-FRAZIER 3 NOV 2010

Wow, what a place.  Like I mentioned before, we flew into this place on a blackhawk helicopter under a full moon through and Afghan valley.  It was fantastic.  Definately one of the cooler things I've done.  Helicopters are constantly zooming in and out of here and I have to make way for a multitude of different wheeled armored vehicles everyday.  It is not uncommon to hear test fire mortars and machine guns and sometimes there are true firefights outside the base.  Even now after having been here a copule of weeks, it is all still surreal to me.  I havent been on a mission yet but the things I'm getting to do in my life are once again, incredible.  This is everything I could have asked for.  Sure, it could be better or more exciting.  I dont really ever get to see any action but that may change.  I think its going to be a good several months.  All the training sucked but now I'm glad I have it.  It may save my life one day.  Walking around with a loaded pistol at all times is a new experience and its kind of growing on me.  I always wondered what it would be like to walk around in an area that could turn chaotic at any moment and how nervous and uptight I would be but strangely, its not that bad.  Granted, I'm on a protected base and I'm sure it's different when you ride in a convoy but theres still that edginess that anything could happen at any time.  The siren could go off at any time meaning we are under attack.  I don't worry about it too much though.  If it happens it happens.  Over the years I've learned to sleep through fighter jet engines and now screaming helicopters and explosions.

I've finally gotten to move to a botttom bunk after several months of training and traveling and it is marvelous.  I have my own litte room that is basically a bunk sectioned off by sheets and blankets and a little bit of space between my bed and the tent wall.  I grabbed a wooden crate out of a courtyard and it is now my desk/clothing cabinet.  This little 6X8 ft space is mine and I love it.  I couldn't be happier.  I no longer have to freaking share a space with someone else and I can have near total privacy when I close all the sheets and make my "bedroom".  I like the guys I am rooming with(all 7 of them) and we get along pretty well.  Trying to hit the gym every night but it's difficult to get in a routine as I have weird hours.  It's also hard to get up the motivation.  So many of the leaving team have given me workout supplements that I now have about 7 big bottles of various weight gainers and muscle builders which I rarely use.  Of course the water is not safe so it is a new experience using a water bottle for everything except showering.  The bathrooms are about a 3-5 minute walk away from where I live so its a hassle to get there all the time when it gets pitch black dark at about 530 in the afternoon.  Often times, we'll go multiple days without showering or washing hands.  Hand sanitizer, port a potties, and baby wipes become your new best friends.  When I say it's dark, I mean the ONLY light you get is from the stars or a headlamp.  There is very little electricity in Afghanistan therefore, there are stars here like you wouldn't believe.  I have never seen so many stars with a naked eye.  I frequently see shooting stars when walking back which usually causes me to trip in a pothole cause I'm not paying attention to where I'm walking and dont like using a headlamp.  They have a strange kind of dust here that makes a cloud when you step in it.  It looks a lot like the term everyone labels it as-"moondust".  It gets into everything.  We have to take malaria pills everyday so that's something to keep up with.  I took mine this morning on an empty stomach and nearly threw up.  Lesson learned.  No empty stomachs.  We can't drink alcohol here so you find other things to pass the time.  Lot's of people smoke cigars and hookah. The food was crappy when I got here but a bit better now that the 2 cooks we have, have more supplies.  They still have to ration out the food though so you never get a full belly.   One thing everyone really looks forward to here is mail.  Oh the simple pleasure of receiving a package or a letter becuase when you order something, you never know when it will arrive.  It could be weeks or it could be months.  It all depends when someone gets a chance to bring it here.  Theres not a whole lot to do here and its not like we can leave the base at our own will so you find little things to pass the time and mail is one of them.  Little things get us by day to day.

Anyways, those are just a few random observations I've made since being here and some of the experiences I've had.  I'm incredibly enthusiatic and having a great time.  Keeping in touch with the girl and with Mom makes it better of course but the cell phone minutes and prices rack up quickly.  Thanks for all the support from everyone back home.  I'm having a blast.

Morales-Frazier 24 Oct 2010 Part III

Atterbury was...well lets not sugarcoat it.  It just flat out sucked.  Open living areas of 30+ dudes all farting, burping, cursing, spitting, smoking, threatening, yelling, and laughing.  Not to mention I had personality conflicts with a few and everyone was always stressed out.  You sleep when everyone else sleeps and you wake when they wake.  Maybe you dont sleep at all because many snore so loudly.  I slept with earplugs, a beanie, and a pillow over my head and still had trouble every night.  The bathroom always smelled awful and the sinks were always dirty.  Everyone was always right on the verge of fighting and sometimes they actually did.  Air Force was separated from Army Infantry but lived in the same building.  They function and live completely different from the Air Force guys and their softer Army counterparts.  We lived, ate, slept, breathed, showered, trained, exercised, everything all together all the time.  It was maddening.  No way to decompress or get your own private time.  It takes a long time to get used to someone being in your business all the time.  Privacy? Ha! What's that?  The days started early and ended late at night.  We worked pretty much every day for 2 1/2 months.  You never knew when you would be called out of the barracks to go do something and never found out what you would be doing the next day until about 1030 pm the night prior so there was no way to go to bed early and plan for the next day.  There were points in the training when sleep deprivation was definately a factor as we would sometimes get about 2 hours of sleep a night multiple days in a row.  You slept in the truck or the ground or wherever you could when we were out in the field.  For the lower enlisted, it was everything you could do not to get yelled at.  I really think the infantry operates out of fear or getting their butts chewed for these young Army Guard guys were totally whipped.  They were constantly getting "smoked" where their sargeants would force them to do pushups for discipline and pnushment alike.

As for the training, we received so little training on so so many things.  We received training in everything from machine guns, building clearing, driving hmvees and other armored vehicles, and grenade launchers to Afghan language and culture training.  It was very broad but the scheduling was chaos.  In the end, I somehow made it out alive and succeeded in completing all the training without getting too banged up.  Had several run ins with Army NCOs but it worked out eventually.

When stateside training FINALLY came to an end after 4 1/2 months, we were allowed to take a week of leave.  Most people went back to their homes in the US, but I had someone I desparately wanted to see back in Okinawa.  She and I had kept in touch and on great terms somehow and she coaxed me into buying a plane ticket all the way back to Japan for a week to come see her even though it would only be for about 5 full days.  (I was later told that since I was traveling overseas, I could have departed one day sooner, but this information did not come to me until a day before I left for leave. Thank you US military)  I hopped on a plane full of excitement and anticipation and embarked on the 25 hour journey back to Okinawa. 

She was waiting for me at the airport and it was somewhat strange to see her again as it had been the last time I came back.  When I left for Army training back in the states 2 1/2 months earlier, it had been very difficult and probably was a major contribution to difficulties I faced while in the US.  This time though,  I was gonna make up for lost time.  We spent as much time together as possible and it was one of the greatest weeks I've ever had.  We went all over the island and just had a wonderful 5 days together.  She had been able to take off work for the whole week due to a break in her schedule that was pure happenstance.  As much as I had endeared her before, it was amplified 10x over on this short trip.  I was still worried about losing her over these several months, but at the end of my stay, I felt much more confident in our relationship.  Those few short days had done wonders for my morale and I felt totally refreshed.  I knew that everything was going to be fine and I could finally depart with a clear conscience and clear mind.  This was going to be both a valuable test for the two of us and one of the most terrific adventures of my life.  So I hopped on the plane and headed back to the US to prepare to depart for a little FOB in Afghanistan.  I walked with a pep in my step and a smile on my face ready to face whatever was thrown before me.  I just told myself "I can do this" and so my journey began.

Morales-Frazier 24 Oct 2010 Part II

So I retracted into my antisocial lifestyle and spent the rest of the summer keeping myself entertained.  I hurriedly booked a climbing trip to Thaialnd with an old high school friend and had a blast there.  The rest of my time was spent rock climbing, longboarding, and just waiting around for what I thought would be a mid-winter departure.  I entered into a phenomenal relationship with the girl and told her that even though I was leaving soon, I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.  She ok'd it and we had wonderful times together.  I explored a good chunk of the island and lived life as someone who had several months of freedom would.  Then the news came.  Seeing as how no one had ever heard of a thing like this, no one knew where to find information for the deployment.  Everything I knew was what I had found on google.  Then I got an email stating that I had training in 2 weeks starting at the end of May! This was WAY earlier than I thought I was leaving.  I knew I had training but I thought it would only be a month and that i wouldn't leave unitl early October sometime.  I was shocked.  I had mixed feelings of excitement and dread.  I had viewed this deployment as a way out of the lifestyle I had been lkiving and a way to ot get tied down to anything but now I had already gotten comfortable  with where I was in life.  I had a good job with good rank and a great girl and lots of great toys and adventurous weekends and now I was gonna have to give it up.  I thought it wouild be ok as it was only for a week and a half, perhpas more.  I prepare my things and say my goodbyes and arrive in the states at training with no transportation, no idea how to get to base, and a small hotel reservation.  I met someone in the airport who was also attending the training and hopped a ride with her to my hotel which no one else from the training happened to be staying in.  I waited an yhour for a taxi to the base in the morning and paid $40 then hitched a ride at the gate to the schoolhouse.  Once I arrived, I found out that no longer was my training only 1 1/2 week, it was actually going to be 4 1/2 MONTHS TOTAL!!! AHHHH!!!  So much for my summer in Okinawa. 

So after 1 1/2 months of teraining was over, I got to go back to Okinawa for 20 days which was basically spent running around like a chiken with its head cut off trying to get ready for the depoloyment and combat training I would wsoon be attedning.  This is the most maddening time period I have ever been through.  To this day, I stilll have not quite accomplished everything I needed to get done.  I remorsefully said a teary goodbye to my girlfriend and an adieu to my friends and hopped on a plane for Indiana.  Let me tell you, this was like nothing I have ever or likely will ever experience again.  If you've never worked with the Army, it's a heck of a ride.  This would be the beginning of the craziest, most stressful, maddening, chaotic time of my life as of yet.

Morales-Frazier 24 Oct 2010 Part 1

Wow, the mountains here are gorgeous.  This altitude will certainly take some adjusting though as my lungs are burning from my recent workout.  5000 ft actually makes quite a bit of difference.  The difference was painfully apparent immediately after exiting our ride to the base-an HH-60 U.S. Blackhawk helicopter.  Yeah, like the ones in Black Hawk Down the movie.  The air is much cooler as well.  As for the food, its kinda tough to get proper nutrition when for lunch you are fed thawed out corn dogs and pizza.  I resentfully downed a can of V8 vegetable juice this morning along with some vitamin cereal just to maintain a healthy diet.  Soon we are going to the first barbecue where will commune with some of the previous PRT members.  Then who knows whats next.  The entire day has been filled with the sound of helicopters, mortars, and small arms fire but dont worry, it's all friendly.  Those Frenchies on the other side have been doing some display of force and turnover to their new team members.  Apparently artillery fire and helicopter rotor wash is a common thing here.  One tends to get used to it though.  As long as the Afghans security forces and the French team do a proper job fending off the Taliban, we American Provincial Reconstruction Team members remain safe while here on the FOB.  Where am I?  FOB Morales-Frazier in Kapisa Province, Eastern Afghanistan.  We are approx. 15 miles away from Bagram Airfield, a major Coalition Forces hub for Central Afghanistan.  How did I get here?  Well thats a bit of a story.

8 months ago I was fairly new to Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan as a fairly experienced aircraft maintainer.  I was 4 months into my assignment and already felt like I was in a rut.  Not that there's anything wrong with Okinawa, but it was winter time and I didn't really know anyone.  I had been wanting a deployment for years in the military and frequently bugged my shop chief about putting me up for one.  I wasn't too fond of the normal deployments we get tasked for of watching Third country nationals do work and guarding them but I was willing to settle for this if it was all that was available.  Then one day out of the blue, my shop chief came and met me in the break room as I was eating my lunch and asked me what I thought about a 9 month deployment to Afghanistan with the US Army.  My jaw dropped and I got a big chance.  This was what I had been waiting for but 9 MONTHS?  That was a little more than I bargained for.  He told me that a tasking like this would go quick and the volunteer slots would be filled quickly which I believed.  I told him I would think about it.  I guess I didn't wait long enough to think about it because I was worried that all the slots would be filled.  I went back into his office and several other people kept telling me that if they were young and single, they would absolutely volunteer for it.  I was kind of choked up and nervous about it.  This was the opportunity I had been waiting fo4r but there were other factors to consider.  For one, Kadena is a great place to be stationed and there is tons to do.  I would be missing an entire summer and winter and with training, another summer just for this one deployment.  For another, I had just met a wonderful girl that I was really clicking with the night before this offer.  I really thought we could do well together and wanted to see where it would go but this was the chance that I had waited 3 1/2 years for.  Without much more thought, I took a gamble and said "Screw it, I'll do it".  This was the beginning of a looooong, life altering, lesson learning experience for which I would embark soon or so I thought.

I told everyone about my decision and waited a while to tell my mother as I was waiting to see if my commander and chain of command would approve me to go.  I was put in for it and it turned out that only 1 other person in my squadron had volunteered for it.  So much for the slots going quickly.  Everyone told me I was dumb for volunteering for it and I didn't know what I was getting into.  I often think they were right but I always thought I was a little too hard for the Air Force anyway.  A month went by and I finally got word that I was approved for the deployment.  I was thrilled!  This was my exit from the rut I was in in the shop and a way to keep myself from getting tied down in any kind of relationship.  Everyone encourage me to get my things ready and be ready to go within a month or two and that it was imperative that I take care of any business that I would need in the next year while I had the time.  I began getting everything taken care of in proper excitement and anticipation that I would soon be departing for the greatest adventure of my life.  Then, it happened.  Word came down that I would not be leaving until October or November.  I was almost heartbroken and definately let down.  The military got me so excited then told me I had to wait 6 to 8 months before I could leave.  Now what?  I knew this could not be good for my nomadic life and would be just enough time to get comfortable before I would have to up and leave again which is actually exactly how it would play out.  Well, sort of.