Blog is Temporarily Unavailable Due to Upgrades

Actually, it's not.  The inactivity is due to my laptop dying a few days ago.  At present, I'm in the middle of trying to repair it.  While I could post some updates, they wouldn't mean much without photos.  Unfortunately, government policies prevent me from downloading personal media to any government asset...so this is about as much as I can do for now.

Hopefully, I will have my laptop fixed in the next couple of weeks.

Best,
Ben

Who Says Life is Rough in Afghanistan!

While I miss the serene beachy confines of Southern California, I have been able to enjoy the "high life."

I've been able to drink Cristal and ride in expensive imports...see below:

It ain't champagne, but it'll do!

Mercedes Benz G-500?

What a Long Strange Trip it's Been

After departing Kyrgyzstan, I finally arrived in Afghanistan on May 4th.  However, I have thus far been unable to get to my "initial" final destination of Herat.  I was stranded in Kandahar for four and a half days followed by a three day stay in Kabul (my present location) via Camp Leatherneck/Bastion. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to make it out in the next few days on "Space-A" (space available = standby).  I'm not holding my breath.  In all fairness, I have been enjoying my tour of the various installations (all of which have been joint with NATO member countries) throughout Afghanistan.

I have recently been made aware that a I will work with Afghan judges at the Justice Center in Parwan (aka the JCIP) after my time Herat.  The JCIP is located near Bagram Air Base.  At this point things are fluid and I am just going with the flow.  I've enclosed some pictures of the geography near Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, Kandahar Air Field (KAF) and Kabul Afghanistan International Airport (KAIA).

Manas Air Base:

 Kandahar Air Field:

 Kabul Afghanistan International Airport:

 Note the blue mosque above.

Pictures of Herat, Bagram and anywhere else I'll go to follow!

I'm Here!....Sort of...

Well, it took a while, but I finally arrived in AFG after leaving the US (BWI) on April 29th and passing through Manas Airbase in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan I arrived in Kandahar just before midnight on May 4th.  It was a long flight from BWI to Manas followed by three long days (one day delay due to the unfortunate crash of an Air Force C 135 tanker) in Manas.  Nonetheless, my transit from Manas was aboard an Air Force C17 in the cargo bay which was configured for troop transport.  See photos below of the small view from one of the windows on the C 17, the internal layout and me while on board.