28Mar – Monday – yesterday I took three tuff boxes to the base Post Office to ship from Bagram Air Force Base to Camp Phoenix about 27miles on the other side of the mountain. It is a 45-minute drive by motor vehicle and a 10-minute flight by Helicopter. Camp Phoenix is just on the outskirts of Kabul, the Afghanistan capital city.
We cannot drive or ride in motor vehicles to Kabul. The road between Bagram and Kabul is dangerous; especially for Americans. Other contractors make the drive from time to time but ITT does not allow it.
There are three of us traveling. The office where I work has been transferred to Camp Phoenix. The rest of the team is already there. We are the last three to go. We have reservations for a STOL flight. STOL stands for Short Take Off and Landing. The reservation time to show up is 11:10 AM on Monday. However, the flight times are changed daily so no flight patterns are established. We are in a War Zone. At 2:00 am we can find out what time to show up. One of the three of us, called the Passenger Terminal at 2:00 and found out that there was a flight show time at 300am so he elected to standby by for this flight which did not leave until 800am. There was another flight with a 830 am Showtime and one with 1110 am Showtime.
I elected to standby for the 830 flight; however, I could not get on. But I had a back-up reservation for 1110 or so I thought. The 830 flight was canceled so all the passengers were moved to my flight and I was bumped off. The next show time was 1545.
The work in Afghanistan is fun, challenging, and satisfying. We are rebuilding an organization that was about 50% down in staff and kind of down in the dumps when I arrived in October. Since late October, 5 people quit. We have 8 new people coming in; new people with new enthusiasm; a very good team.
I have been back from vacation since March 14 and I am ready to go again. I have applied for a job in Kuwait with my company. In Kuwait I can have a more normal life. The company provides a modern apartment and a car. I would have a 45 minute commute twice a day from where I live to the base where I would work. When living on the bases, I have a 5 minute walk to work. However, in Kuwait I cannot live on the base but would live about a block from the beach. The compensation living in Kuwait is much less than living in a war zone because there is not hazard or danger pay in Kuwait. I would be paid more in Kuwait than the US with no living costs and no automobile costs.
At this time, I am waiting in the Passenger Terminal. I have two heavy bags, one about 25 pounds and one about 45 pounds plus the body amour and Kevlar helmet. I watch our bags as my traveling companion goes for lunch then she will do the same for me. I would walk over to the helicopter terminal to see if they have a fight but my travel buddy has too much stuff for rotary and she will not fly in a helicopter. A few years ago, she saw two helicopters crash in a wind storm just after takeoff killing 17 people so she will not fly in helicopter. Helicopter crashes are very rare. I have flown several times in Iraq and once in Afghanistan.
I am eager to go to Camp Phoenix. I have been restless on Bagram knowing my team is on Phoenix. Two new people showed up while I was on vacation and two more showed up this week while I was unable to leave Bagram. Without a team to work with, I have been less than productive. There are many new procedures to implement and the new people to train. We are “rebuilding the powerhouse’’ of what we had before. The office that I am in charge of is the Network Operations and Security Center for Afghanistan. We are building small team of 25 well qualified, highly skilled IT professions that help support 900 ITT personnel in Afghanistan who provide IT services to the thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and civilians that use the computer & communications systems and networks that we operate and maintain. The Army engineers, installs, operates, and maintains 3 communications and computer networks that are vital to their mission and activities.
As I look out the plane window flying over Afghanistan, I am not at the end of the world but I think I can see it from here.
Showing posts with label Bagram Afghanistan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bagram Afghanistan. Show all posts
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Today is Monday November 1, 2010
Today is Monday November 1
I have been in the Middle East for a year and one month – 8 months in Iraq, 4 months in Djibouti and a week in Afghanistan plus a week here and there in Kuwait.
Today, I am flying from Bagram Air Force Base to Kuwait City by way of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Dubai, United Arab Eremites (UAE). The flight from Bagram to Kandahar is short. The layover in Kandahar is planned to be about an hour on the plane. DFS airlines, a commercial airline (not military), is used by many contractors to fly in and out of Afghanistan. The plane was full on the flight into Bagram and this flight out was full.
I had to leave a day early because the next day’s flight was totally booked. Flying commercial is much better than flying military. There are no reservations for contractors on military flights – only stand by. It may take days to obtain a seat on the plane. On military planes in Iraq and Afghanistan, all the passengers must wear full body armor and Kevlar helmet.
On Bagram, I slept in the attic of a warehouse. Todd and Mike who work in the warehouse arrived early today – about 4am. Todd’s pickup truck’s license tag expired the day before. He needed to be off the streets before the Military Police saw him. The MPs start their day at about 5:00 am.
Without a sink or running water, I brushed my teeth, shaved, and washed my face from a bottle of water. Although I did not like it, I realize that most of the people in the world live day by day, every day without running water or electricity.
Since I planned to leave today, I packed up my stuff in three bags - a suitcase, a small backpack, and a larger backpack. I left the large backpack in the warehouse attic for my return trip. It contained some dirty clothes, bed sheets, and a towel that I will not need until I return. I cleaned up my living space as best as I could and left the warehouse to walk the mile or so to the office.
I learned that the laundry service does not use soap to wash the clothes. They boil them. No wonder the clothes shrink and come back without being totally clean. The best tip is to sprinkle soap powder in the laundry bag with the dirty clothes. Better yet, do the laundry yourself. In Iraq, I shared a washing machine and dryer with only 4 other people. The machines were right outside my door. It was very convenient. In Djibouti, the camp had a free laundry service, a free self service laundry, and for a fee a dry cleaning service. Generally, I washed my shirts and pants myself and gave let the laundry service do the rest.
I left the large suitcase and backpack in the warehouse expecting someone to take me back in a truck to pick it up and take me to the airport. However, all of the vehicles had expired license tags and no one from our group could drive anywhere on base. We had missed a deadline to renew the tags the day before. The Military Police do not issue tickets when they see a driving violation. Instead they confiscated the vehicle and suspend driving privileges for any violation like speeding, no seatbelt, or invalid license tag.
Anyway, this was a problem for me. How could I get my bags from the warehouse to the air terminal more than a mile away? My big bag has wheels but have you ever tried to pull a roller bag on a path of rocks or gravel?
INTERRUPT – I am sitting on the plane on the tarmac of the Kandahar airport and I am hungry. It is 2:00 pm and the airline does not serve any food; not even peanuts. We are waiting for the military fuel trucks. Of course, a plane load of civilians is not a priority to the military. I did get a meal from Kandahar to Dubai and again from Dubai to Kuwait.
So back to the suitcase saga……
I walked back to the warehouse, expecting to drag the 50 pound suitcase for a mile to the passenger terminal. Fortunately, I met Jay who was looking for Fred to sign a digging permit. Jay had a truck!! I did not know Jay and I did not know Fred but I knew Fred’s boss. I took Jay to Fred’s boss to sign his dig permit and in exchange Jay took me and my to the passenger terminal. The company Jay works for is building an expansion to the airport – additional run ways and more fueling stations. They needed to dig permit to dig a trench for a new fuel line. They needed to make sure they did not cut any communications lines when they were digging.
I write mostly about the living conditions and what I do when I am not at work. I work 10 – 12 hours per day 6 days per week. On the 7th day, my off day, I work half a day. I cannot talk about or write about most of what I do. Most of it is classified. I have to have a Secret Clearance classification to work where I work. I explained to Jay a little bit about what I do, nothing classified, but he did not want to hear in case it was “secret stuff. A Google search will provide a lot of information about TNOSC, RNOSC, JOC, and military communications. The information that is classified or confidential is about daily operations and activity plus operational plans.
The company I work for operates and maintains the communication network to ensure that military personnel have reliable voice and data communications that is always available. Instead of using companies like ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Southwestern Bell, Bell South, the military has it own networks and circuits for communications including land lines, radio, and satellite.
On Bagram, I work in a compound call the JOC – Joint Operations Command. The JOC compound includes an office building, a medical facility, a gym, laundry service, showers, and living units. I work in the office building monitor and reporting on the communications network. The room looks very much like the operations centers you would see on TV shows like the Unit or a Tom Clancy movie.
COMSEC is an acronym for Communications Security. A major responsibility of the team that operates and maintains the communications network is to defend the network against attack so the information stored on the network or passed on the network is confidential and available and is not changed by an attacker. The military networks, the systems and networks of corporations, and even the Internet connected system you use at home is under constant attack by intruders who would like to deny your service, steal your information, steal you identify, or give you false information.
Every day there are briefings to the commanders who lead the military groups that are responsible for the networks. A few days ago I heard about a small camp of about a dozen soldiers that came under attached by an enemy force nearly 4 times bigger. They had to retreat from their position leaving behind two vehicles with secure communication gear. The US soldiers communicated with a larger base nearby requesting help. Helicopters flew in dumping “some stuff” that killed the enemy while saving the vehicles and the COMSEC equipment. No US soldiers were injured or killed. Available and reliable communications were vital to saving these Americans lives.
Potential outages or degradation of services is the major problem faced on the job. Network availability, reliability, and confidentially are the primary goals.
On the personal side, the biggest problem living in the Middle East on a military base is celibacy. Many Yogis practice celibacy as part of their Brahmacharya ethics. Literally Brahmacharya means “Walk with God”. The most common interpretation is controlling one’s sexual energy on the pathway to being closer to God. Other interpretations say it means to “not be promiscuous” while others believe that sexual union is a spiritual event. I prefer the latter interpretation. Nevertheless, celibacy is not for me. That is probable enough on this topic.
All my love. I will be home soon.
I have been in the Middle East for a year and one month – 8 months in Iraq, 4 months in Djibouti and a week in Afghanistan plus a week here and there in Kuwait.
Today, I am flying from Bagram Air Force Base to Kuwait City by way of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Dubai, United Arab Eremites (UAE). The flight from Bagram to Kandahar is short. The layover in Kandahar is planned to be about an hour on the plane. DFS airlines, a commercial airline (not military), is used by many contractors to fly in and out of Afghanistan. The plane was full on the flight into Bagram and this flight out was full.
I had to leave a day early because the next day’s flight was totally booked. Flying commercial is much better than flying military. There are no reservations for contractors on military flights – only stand by. It may take days to obtain a seat on the plane. On military planes in Iraq and Afghanistan, all the passengers must wear full body armor and Kevlar helmet.
On Bagram, I slept in the attic of a warehouse. Todd and Mike who work in the warehouse arrived early today – about 4am. Todd’s pickup truck’s license tag expired the day before. He needed to be off the streets before the Military Police saw him. The MPs start their day at about 5:00 am.
Without a sink or running water, I brushed my teeth, shaved, and washed my face from a bottle of water. Although I did not like it, I realize that most of the people in the world live day by day, every day without running water or electricity.
Since I planned to leave today, I packed up my stuff in three bags - a suitcase, a small backpack, and a larger backpack. I left the large backpack in the warehouse attic for my return trip. It contained some dirty clothes, bed sheets, and a towel that I will not need until I return. I cleaned up my living space as best as I could and left the warehouse to walk the mile or so to the office.
I learned that the laundry service does not use soap to wash the clothes. They boil them. No wonder the clothes shrink and come back without being totally clean. The best tip is to sprinkle soap powder in the laundry bag with the dirty clothes. Better yet, do the laundry yourself. In Iraq, I shared a washing machine and dryer with only 4 other people. The machines were right outside my door. It was very convenient. In Djibouti, the camp had a free laundry service, a free self service laundry, and for a fee a dry cleaning service. Generally, I washed my shirts and pants myself and gave let the laundry service do the rest.
I left the large suitcase and backpack in the warehouse expecting someone to take me back in a truck to pick it up and take me to the airport. However, all of the vehicles had expired license tags and no one from our group could drive anywhere on base. We had missed a deadline to renew the tags the day before. The Military Police do not issue tickets when they see a driving violation. Instead they confiscated the vehicle and suspend driving privileges for any violation like speeding, no seatbelt, or invalid license tag.
Anyway, this was a problem for me. How could I get my bags from the warehouse to the air terminal more than a mile away? My big bag has wheels but have you ever tried to pull a roller bag on a path of rocks or gravel?
INTERRUPT – I am sitting on the plane on the tarmac of the Kandahar airport and I am hungry. It is 2:00 pm and the airline does not serve any food; not even peanuts. We are waiting for the military fuel trucks. Of course, a plane load of civilians is not a priority to the military. I did get a meal from Kandahar to Dubai and again from Dubai to Kuwait.
So back to the suitcase saga……
I walked back to the warehouse, expecting to drag the 50 pound suitcase for a mile to the passenger terminal. Fortunately, I met Jay who was looking for Fred to sign a digging permit. Jay had a truck!! I did not know Jay and I did not know Fred but I knew Fred’s boss. I took Jay to Fred’s boss to sign his dig permit and in exchange Jay took me and my to the passenger terminal. The company Jay works for is building an expansion to the airport – additional run ways and more fueling stations. They needed to dig permit to dig a trench for a new fuel line. They needed to make sure they did not cut any communications lines when they were digging.
I write mostly about the living conditions and what I do when I am not at work. I work 10 – 12 hours per day 6 days per week. On the 7th day, my off day, I work half a day. I cannot talk about or write about most of what I do. Most of it is classified. I have to have a Secret Clearance classification to work where I work. I explained to Jay a little bit about what I do, nothing classified, but he did not want to hear in case it was “secret stuff. A Google search will provide a lot of information about TNOSC, RNOSC, JOC, and military communications. The information that is classified or confidential is about daily operations and activity plus operational plans.
The company I work for operates and maintains the communication network to ensure that military personnel have reliable voice and data communications that is always available. Instead of using companies like ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Southwestern Bell, Bell South, the military has it own networks and circuits for communications including land lines, radio, and satellite.
On Bagram, I work in a compound call the JOC – Joint Operations Command. The JOC compound includes an office building, a medical facility, a gym, laundry service, showers, and living units. I work in the office building monitor and reporting on the communications network. The room looks very much like the operations centers you would see on TV shows like the Unit or a Tom Clancy movie.
COMSEC is an acronym for Communications Security. A major responsibility of the team that operates and maintains the communications network is to defend the network against attack so the information stored on the network or passed on the network is confidential and available and is not changed by an attacker. The military networks, the systems and networks of corporations, and even the Internet connected system you use at home is under constant attack by intruders who would like to deny your service, steal your information, steal you identify, or give you false information.
Every day there are briefings to the commanders who lead the military groups that are responsible for the networks. A few days ago I heard about a small camp of about a dozen soldiers that came under attached by an enemy force nearly 4 times bigger. They had to retreat from their position leaving behind two vehicles with secure communication gear. The US soldiers communicated with a larger base nearby requesting help. Helicopters flew in dumping “some stuff” that killed the enemy while saving the vehicles and the COMSEC equipment. No US soldiers were injured or killed. Available and reliable communications were vital to saving these Americans lives.
Potential outages or degradation of services is the major problem faced on the job. Network availability, reliability, and confidentially are the primary goals.
On the personal side, the biggest problem living in the Middle East on a military base is celibacy. Many Yogis practice celibacy as part of their Brahmacharya ethics. Literally Brahmacharya means “Walk with God”. The most common interpretation is controlling one’s sexual energy on the pathway to being closer to God. Other interpretations say it means to “not be promiscuous” while others believe that sexual union is a spiritual event. I prefer the latter interpretation. Nevertheless, celibacy is not for me. That is probable enough on this topic.
All my love. I will be home soon.
5,000 Feet Above Sea Level at the end of the Himalaya Mountain Range
The Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is a mountain range of southwest Asia extending more than 805 km (500 mi) westward from northern Pakistan to northeast Afghanistan.
I arrived at Bagram Air force Base in Afghanistan about a week ago from the hot and steamy Djibouti, Africa. The temperature here is cool in the morning and in the evening as the sun goes down but warm up during the day.
Bagram Air Base is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. More details
at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagram_Airfield
http://europe.ctcd.edu/remote/afghanistan/bagram.php
http://www.bagram.afcent.af.mil/
Bagram is headquarters for the Army’s 25th Signal Battalion. The 25th Sig BN is responsible for operating and maintaining the US Military’s data and voice communications network. The Regional Network Operations & Security Center (RNOSC) is located here. I am currently assigned as the Manager for the RNOSC. I work for the company who has the IT contract for the 25th Sig BN.
Bagram is very overcrowded. New arrivals have to live in a large tent with about 100 bunk beds. Permanent lodging is in B-Huts which are not available for a couple of months after arrival as people leave the base.
Fortunately, I have a penthouse suite in an attic of a warehouse with, of course, no running water. The nearest sink and shower is about 1 mile away. I share the attic with some mice and a couple of birds. I have not seen the mice yet, they are quite. The birds wake me up in the morning. I rigged a broom handle by hanging it with electrical cable to the rafters so I can hang up my clothes. There is a port-a-potty right outside the back door.
When one is available, I will move up to a wooden B hut with about eight people per hut. These modular, wooden buildings are sectioned off into individual compartments for a bit of privacy. Each area is furnished with twin bed and some type of closets and shelving. The huts are located near a bathroom/shower building and there are "port-a-potties" located elsewhere throughout the camp. B-huts require constant maintenance and painting, and are only expected to last three or four years. It is imperative that occupants of this structure keep their living areas clean and free of open beverage or food containers as vermin can easily gain entrance.
On Sunday, I jogged around the perimeter of the base. It is about 8 miles. The morning was cool and crisp – perfect for jogging. It felt good that I could job about 2 miles, walk a mile, and then jog 2 miles again until I completed the 8 mile route. The base is surrounded by thick, reinforced, concrete T-Walls with spiral razor wire at the top to prevent anyone from coming in. T-Walls are twelve feet high, portable, and used for blast protection throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.
This week, I am traveling to Kuwait for some leadership training. I will live in a modern apartment on the beach. Since it is not so hot this time of year, walking/jogging on the beach will be fun. I have several friends in Kuwait.
The following week I travel back to Djibouti by way of Dubai. AFRICOM, an Army group from Germany, is taking over the operation and maintenance of the network from the Navy. My team is helping with the transition.
Then on November 21st I travel back to Atlanta and Austin to see family.
James
The Hindu Kush is a mountain range of southwest Asia extending more than 805 km (500 mi) westward from northern Pakistan to northeast Afghanistan.
I arrived at Bagram Air force Base in Afghanistan about a week ago from the hot and steamy Djibouti, Africa. The temperature here is cool in the morning and in the evening as the sun goes down but warm up during the day.
Bagram Air Base is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. More details
at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagram_Airfield
http://europe.ctcd.edu/remote/afghanistan/bagram.php
http://www.bagram.afcent.af.mil/
Bagram is headquarters for the Army’s 25th Signal Battalion. The 25th Sig BN is responsible for operating and maintaining the US Military’s data and voice communications network. The Regional Network Operations & Security Center (RNOSC) is located here. I am currently assigned as the Manager for the RNOSC. I work for the company who has the IT contract for the 25th Sig BN.
Bagram is very overcrowded. New arrivals have to live in a large tent with about 100 bunk beds. Permanent lodging is in B-Huts which are not available for a couple of months after arrival as people leave the base.
Fortunately, I have a penthouse suite in an attic of a warehouse with, of course, no running water. The nearest sink and shower is about 1 mile away. I share the attic with some mice and a couple of birds. I have not seen the mice yet, they are quite. The birds wake me up in the morning. I rigged a broom handle by hanging it with electrical cable to the rafters so I can hang up my clothes. There is a port-a-potty right outside the back door.
When one is available, I will move up to a wooden B hut with about eight people per hut. These modular, wooden buildings are sectioned off into individual compartments for a bit of privacy. Each area is furnished with twin bed and some type of closets and shelving. The huts are located near a bathroom/shower building and there are "port-a-potties" located elsewhere throughout the camp. B-huts require constant maintenance and painting, and are only expected to last three or four years. It is imperative that occupants of this structure keep their living areas clean and free of open beverage or food containers as vermin can easily gain entrance.
On Sunday, I jogged around the perimeter of the base. It is about 8 miles. The morning was cool and crisp – perfect for jogging. It felt good that I could job about 2 miles, walk a mile, and then jog 2 miles again until I completed the 8 mile route. The base is surrounded by thick, reinforced, concrete T-Walls with spiral razor wire at the top to prevent anyone from coming in. T-Walls are twelve feet high, portable, and used for blast protection throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.
This week, I am traveling to Kuwait for some leadership training. I will live in a modern apartment on the beach. Since it is not so hot this time of year, walking/jogging on the beach will be fun. I have several friends in Kuwait.
The following week I travel back to Djibouti by way of Dubai. AFRICOM, an Army group from Germany, is taking over the operation and maintenance of the network from the Navy. My team is helping with the transition.
Then on November 21st I travel back to Atlanta and Austin to see family.
James
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
