Diamond in the Rough

Hey all, I know that by now I'm sure that I've lost alot of my readers. For that I apologize. I have been a very bad blogger. I know that it's been about a month but I now have internet in my room. So please just hang in there a little bit longer as the future of aronisagonegone2 is about to change. I promise that I'll be better at keeping you updated. Believe me there's so much that I want to share with all of you. So stay in touch and you won't regret it. While I'm on today I just want to share a little bit about what I've been doing. I'm not going to give details but I'll tell you what I can, so enjoy.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to actually go out and talk to some of the locals. Oh man was it the coolest experience ever. You come to a country with certain expectations, but when your expectations are exceeded it makes you sit back and re-think the situation. I'm still kind of in awe of how my trip went yesterday. Okay so, on with the story. We, my team and I, went to a local city to go out and meet with the people and see how they are doing and to see what we can do to help them. The other team that we roled out with is called the Police Mentor Team, PMT. So when we first arrived to the city we stopped by the local Afghan National Police, ANP, compound to see how they were doing and to just talk to them about the area. These policemen were some of the most dedicated personnel I've seen. They believed in what we are trying to accomplish all the way down to the core. These men stood ready to throw their lives in the middle of the fight just to get that extra step and foot hold in this war on terror. The Afghans in general are smaller people so these policemen's stature wasn't too overwhelming, but what really grabbed and demanded your attention was the heart these guys have. Their demeanor was bold and powerful and you knew that you were surrounded by some of the best men Afghanistan had to offer. They invited us to go out and do patrols with them. Of course we said yes. You think that we would pass up an opportunity to go out with men of this devotion. No way, or at least I wouldn't and didn't.

We were off. I jumped in the back of one of their Ford Rangers and held on. If you've seen the way the Afghans drive you'd understand why I held on. These ANP tore out of their compound with their engines roaring, lights flashing, and sirens screaming. They flew down the streets swearving through traffic, commanding respect of the road and making their pressence known. I couldn't help but to have a smile on my face the whole time. This was raw and powerful. The ANP lead us through the city on a high-speed tour/patrol. We had our interpreter tell the ANP sergeant in charge that we wanted to go to some of the neighborhoods and see the people. He was more than happy to oblige, he just told us in the back to hold on. The ride was going to get a little rough.

The shiney dark green ANP Ford Rangers turned off of the main road on to some dirt roads and picked up speed. The rear tires lost traction and just spit dirt with how much power these ANP's were feeding the engines. Bump after bump I held on to the roll bar in the back of the truck, making sure I didn't lose balance. After a turn here and and a turn there the ANP decided that the location was as good as any. They parked and blocked off the roads, or at least the dirt paths they had as roads. Everyone jumped out of the back of the truck and started getting together to talk about what the plan was. Everyone but me that is. I jumped out and caught my foot on a stupid tow hook on the back of the truck and almost fell on my face. The ANP were quick to laugh about it but they than came over and gave me a pat on the back and walked me over to the group.

It turns out that everone decided that I was in charge of this whole expedition and the decision was up to me. Well, let's not waste time than. We came to see the people so let's go and see 'um. On the corner there was a little stand that was surrounded by kids of all ages and a couple of men. I walked over to see what they had for sale. Once I got to the stand I was amazed at how the children and even the adults were quick to welcome us. Some of the children even did so in english. Wow, how amazing. Some had better english than the others but the fact that they tried was warming. I saw that they had a stack of fresh green cucumbers sitting in a pile for sale. So I asked how much they were and found out that they were two for a dollar. I talked them down to three for a dollar and bought six. I than broke them in half and handed a half to each of the smaller children. They were probably some of the juciest cucumbers that I had seen. They just dripped when I broke them in half. I than saw that they had cold sodas and candy for sale. So I bought six cans and gave them to the ANP that we went out with and bought three bags of candy and handed the candy out to the children. The kids went crazy, they surrounded me and just said "mister, mister" and put their hands out. Some just grabbed but most just stood there and asked. They're smart little buggers too, they play the sympathy card. They'll come over holding their baby siblings and give you a sad face. I dare you to say no to that. It's baiscally impossible. So we talked to the locals for a while. It was great to actually get out and see what we could do for the people, that is why we're there after all. So after saying good bye and thanking them for their time we were back in the trucks flying across the dirt roads. Working our way through the neighborhoods and finally back to the main roads. Once again we held on as they tore through the traffic back to their compound.

Once back we unloaded the trucks and I was quickly volun-told that I was going out on foot patrols with the ANP to go and get the best kabobs in the country. We loaded up our gear and headed out. We worked our way throught the streets. Stoping and saying hello to the shop owners and people on the streets. We walked a little ways through the business district of the city and found the kabob shop. It was awesome to watch these guys cook the kabobs. They threw the skeweres down over hot wooden coals and just sat there and fanned them until the meat was cooked. Once they were done they sasoned them and wrapped them up in some flat bread, called nan, and wrapped them up in newspaper for us. As we waited for the kabobs the ANP sergeant in charge bought a couple of bowls of fresh made icecream for us to share. The first bite was hesitant but quickly changed to a pleasing surprise. It wasn't what we're used to but had the same concept. It was just a little plane and sweeter than what we have. After the icecream we were off back to the ANP compound.

Back at the ANP compund our Humvees were fired up and ready to go. We got back and thanked the ANP for their hospitality and we took off. Rolling out for another long convoy back to base. It was hard not to think about the experiences that I just had but my attention was needed else where. For this convoy I was the truck commander, TC, and was responsible for the people in my truck. Making sure they're doing what they need to and keeping in commuication with all the other trucks. You have to be focused. The experience will never leave me though. It was definaely one for the books.

I hope you found yourself being able to actully feel what it's like to be here. It's a rough gig. There's not a day that I don't miss my wife and want nothing more than to just see her and kiss her, but I can't. Still life goes on and I continue to try and do what I came to this country for, to help them find their feedoms and give them a better life.