Day 87 - 89

Dec 27 - 29. Happy almost New Year to everyone. I got some great pictures from the Bean that I wanted to share with everyone. She is in good spirits and just had a great trip to one of the local schools. I'll publish more when I get the details, but I can tell you she was pumped when we last chatted. I got these pics from Beanie yesterday and probably should have given a little more thought on how to lay them out, but hopefully they’ll provide some semblance of order, but no guarantees. We’ll work from top to bottom.

Here’s the tres amigos (okay dos amigos and uno amiga). Note my lovely bride is in uniform, outside, and with no cover! Man, back in the day . . .

Team DCMA put together gift bags for the local Afghan workers on the base. This is Brian’s container and it was probably the most popular stop on the base for a few short minutes. The guy facing front evidently got a 5-gallon can of stucco for Christmas . . . and he looks pretty happy about it.

Some of the locals that provide critical services (like security) can easily be overlooked. Beanie noticed this security guard observing the gift giving and thought she should share a Christmas package with him. He looks pretty happy to be included though I have a feeling she’s probably not suppose to be climbing the tower.

Nice Black Hawk medivac doing power landing (or it could be a take off, Ken??). Most of the aircraft coming in and out of FOB Fenty are either rotary, UAVs, or prop.

Beanie said the sunsets and sunrises are spectacular, but her camera doesn't really do it justice. Between the mountains, snow, and clouds there are some great vistas.

Apache (with a BlackHawk on the sidelines) brought to you courtesy of the fine people of Boeing, Mesa AZ.

One of the many Chinooks that come in and out of Fenty. Beanie thought it was a good picture that captured the everyday events are going on everyday and far away of which most of us are completely unaware.

Ah yes, evidence of the infamous Christmas Eve bon fires. I guess they did this for several nights. The temps were cool, but not cold - just right for a cup of hot chocolate and an infrared signature that can be seen for miles around!!

Beanie's work place palace. How can anyone be that tidy in a combat zone!! Dad, see the picture on the shelf near the light?? You can see Beanie makes good use of the cards and stuff you have been sending. Poodle, check out the tea pot lower left. It’s a beauty!!!!

Day 86

26 Dec. It occurred to me that we have been discussing the DCMA Team at FOB Fenty, but no one knows what they look like except Beanie - until now! These "just released" photos are now available for your viewing pleasure. That's Brian on the left and Jon on the right and we all know the hottie in the middle. Enjoy.

Days – 75 - 85

15 - 25 Dec. Merry Christmas to one and all. This year’s Christmas at the Cross house is a bit “different” for 2008. I haven’t spent Christmas with my brother since ‘72 (but yes, we are tight!) and I haven’t a spend Christmas without Beanie since ‘74. But, it’s Christmas Day, Beanie is living la vita loca in Afghanistan and I am flying back to Phoenix after spending the last week visiting with Bud & Jean (Beanie’s folks) and Judy & Johnny (Beanie’s sister/brother-in-law) and a few days in Florida with my older brother Doug & his lovely wife, Penny. In tow I have several Christmas pounds secured to my body as well as somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000 calories of cookies and fudge courtesy of Miss Penny. You know me, I’ll be bitching until the last bite!!!!

I’ve had several nice phone calls with Kathy over the past few days. The DCMA team (all 4 of them!) did a real nice job of making Christmas in Afghanistan as enjoyable and memorable as they could. Not sure if Kathy has shared the Advent Calendar story yet, but the wife of a Lt Col stationed with Kathy put together an Advent Calendar for each of the DCMA folks. I was not familiar with the Advent Calendar, but a special calendar which is used to count or celebrate the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Sometimes it’s strictly religious, but most advent calendars are made for children. Basically it’s a box with many "windows", one of which is opened every day beginning 1 Dec and ending on Christmas Day. For the DCMA team, each day had a small gift concealed in each window and everyone had different stuff. Well the whole thing was a huge hit. Each evening the team would have small gathering to enjoy some coffee or hot cocoa and open their advent surprises. The location rotated to each team member’s container. Thanks to all the gifts, treats, and surprise everyone sent, they were able to do a little decorating and carve out a little slice of home in the Afghan countryside. On Christmas Eve, someone scrounged a half 55 gallon drum and they had a bon fire. Yep, I know what you’re thinking – it would make a nice little infra-red target!!! Little bit of life on the edge. Everyone managed to fine some small gift for the other team members and Christmas morning they had a little gift exchange. It sounds like they did a real nice job of helping each other enjoy and get thru the holiday.

I’m really hoping Beanie can find some way to get a few pictures back to me. I really would like to see how the whole thing looks. When we chat next, I hope to have a Tele-Christmas, where I’ll share with her our gift opening & Christmas Cards. I think it will be nice. A special thanks to all you good folks who sent Beanie the treats and trinkets to help make it all come together for her in-country celebration and our Tele-Conference Christmas. Again, Merry Christmas. We’re almost half way!!!!!

Day 74

14 Dec. Hey folks. Just a quick note to let you know that Kathy's email anomaly is back. It looks like some emails originating from outside the DCMA domain (any email address that does not end with @DCMA.mil) are not making it through. The work around is to just replay to any email that you have received from Kathy and then it seems to get through. I got some more pics that I'll post as soon as I have some witty narrative to post with them - yeah, I know - it could be a while. Cheers

Days 67 - 73

7 - 13 Dec. It seems like the days have screamed by in the last couple weeks. Not sure if it’s a Christmas thing or just my own poor time management skills. I just returned from Charleston, SC. It’s a very nice area and I can see why folks seem to be flocking to it. During my travel I did get to chat with the Bean on multiple occasions. Her spirits continue to rise directly with her ability to do what she considers a “good job”. It seems like her team is growing tighter, but her QA, John is preparing to rotate back to the world. Oddly enough, he works at the General Dynamics C4 Systems campus as me in Scottsdale. I hope to spend a little time with him when he returns to get a “real” debrief!! LOL. Kathy had a real nice treat on Friday. At FOB Fenty, the Special Operations contingent is a separate organization within the base. They have dedicated chow halls, etc. Remember, many of these troops are designed to look like the locals so they have long beards, wear local garb, etc. They invited the DCMA team (The DCMA team is Kathy and what I like to refer to as “The Boyz – the three guys on her team) to join them for lunch. As luck would have it, it was steak and lobster day. Had they known Beanie’s panache for pounding down lobster, they may have rethought their initiation. Beanie polished off three, count’em, three lobster tails. For those of you that know Beanie well you’ll quickly realize that Beanie’s love of lobster is directly correlated to the availability of drawn butter so I’m guessing a cup or two of drawn butter probably accompanied those lobster tails. In her defense, she was to shy to go for the third tail on her own, so one of the guys went thru the line and got it for her. I would love to have heard the conversation between “The Boyz”. I suspect it referenced a hollow leg and “for a little girl she can pack away some food!!” I LMAO when she told me the story. It’s a good sign of stress reduction. Unlike me who feeds a fever, feeds a cold, feeds stress (you get the picture!!); Kathy tends to not eat when she’s stressed out. Yep, I think she might have been chillin’ that day.

Kathy has received a couple of boxes from folks and if she hasn’t contacted you directly, she sends her thanks. Her mom & dad sent her a little Christmas care package that had a package of Christmas pot porri (like I spelled that right!). She loved it. She spread it around her office and said it looks great and the spruce/pine smell really brought Christmas to her container. Nice call ma!! I did the same thing at home, but I used beef jerky. Me and the kitties sit around with a content smile on our face. She’s also got books, hot chocolate, and a bunch of other nice things from many of you. Your thoughts and efforts really do make a difference. Nothing is nicer than a card or letter from home, even in the digital age.

I head out to North Carolina on Tuesday. I’ll be there till Thursday after which I am heading to Alabama to see Kathy’s Johnny & Judy (Kathy’s sister/brother-in-law), Bud & Jean (Kathy’s folks), and then down to Florida to spend a couple days with my brother Doug and his bride, Penny. I fly back to the valley on Christmas day where the kitties and I have a wild Christmas party planned for all the strays in the neighborhood. I hope to get a couple more blog entries in over the holidays, but in the event that I fail miserably, on behalf of the Bean, me, and the kitties, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and fabulous New Year. Once again, we thank you all for your continued support, friendship, and camaraderie. Cheers.

Days 57 - 66

28 Nov - 6 Dec. A happy Saturday to everyone not working today. Apologies for the extended absence, but you know how hectic things are this time of year. You would think it would be very easy for me. Beanie did all the Christmas shopping before she left. All I have to do is pack and ship, right the traditional cheesy Cross Christmas letter, and keep the kitties alive. But as always, getting "things done" has turned into another Beanie Appreciation Course. BTW, for those of you that have been breathlessly waiting, the 2008 TTCCL has been crafted and approved by Beanie so that will be going out soon.

Yet another positive development, Kathy's email "anomaly" appears to be corrected so you can email her at will. As always, Kathy will respond as best the work conditions will permit. I've been able to chat with Beanie on a reasonably regular basis. The workload is still unyielding, but it seems the better days are outnumbering the "less better" days. She's been working quite a bit with the Pay Agents. These are folks from the outlying camps that are tasked with the additional duty of traveling to FOB Fenty to secure the funds required to pay local business that support these outlying camps. These local businesses are critical to keeping the outlying camp functioning. Without them critical support functions such as translators, security, and general mission support can fail. It's very challenging as the Pay Agent is a supplemental job - you know, in addition to fighting the war and staying alive. The more I see our troops in action, the more amazing I find them.

The mail system also appears to be improving. The last two boxes I sent to her made it in less than two weeks. Though mailed the same day, they arrived 3 days apart. Kathy said it seems like the base continues to grow. Lots of construction and an extremely active OPS tempo. The more I talk to her and learn about what's going on, the more challenging I see her work becoming. It seems like the toughest part her job would be the inability to get way from the job and wind down. I know for me, after a few months of 7 day; 80 hour work weeks, I would start to wear down. I mean really - not even a golf day??

Well, we're over one third (Day 66 of 180) of the way through. This New Year's Eve will be more special than others as it will mark the first day of the downhill slide - we can start counting down from 90 day.

That's about all for know. I am on business travel to Charleston this week, but will try to get an update or two posted. Our best to you all. Cheers

Days 52 - 55 (Thanksgiving Day)

24 - 27 Nov. Well a happy Thanksgiving to one and all. Mine started out quite nicely with a Beanie wake-up call. She still has a little issue with figuring out the time difference. As a matter of fact she tried to call our friends in Hawaii but luckily dialed their California number so no one answered . . . . at 4:30 A.M.!! Her boss, Brian, was able to patchwork something together that allowed Beanie to send out a PowerPoint slide with a couple of pictures embedded. I extracted the pictures and you can see them posted. It looks like the DFAC (or as we used to call it - The Chow Hall) did a pretty nice job of putting out a Thanksgiving dinner spread. I thought the paper mache first Thanksgiving display was a little over the top, but it was nice to see without someone making a politically correct stink about it. She said it would be a little slower day today which would be nice. Of course, by Afghanistan standards a little slower day could be 8 hours instead of 12! All in all I am very thankful this Thanksgiving Day. Thankful to all of you that have been so supportive of Kathy and what she is doing and thankful that she is healthy and doing better every day. The Bean & I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving and extend our thanks to one and all. Cheers.

Days 46 - 51

Nov 18 – 23. Well it’s been an interesting week. Virginia was a very good trip from a business perspective and we had a really good team on site. I don’t get to work in larger team environments much any more and it was a real nice change of pace.

I chatted with the Bean several times over the week. The work “fun factor” ebbs and flows with each day as might be expected in working under such conditions. Her small team has much to do and the acceptance that one will never be “caught up” is a foreign concept for someone with Kathy’s work ethic and shall we say “mild obsession” with getting things done. She took a little time on Saturday (Afghan time) to visit the local bazaar. Each week the locals set up a bazaar (or as we might call it, a flea market) to hawk their wares. Some of the folks there are pretty heavily into the locally hand crafted rugs/carpets and local semi-precious type stones. She finds it odd that she never sees women. All the booths are run by men – same for all the on-base workers. Most definitely a culture far different than ours.

I’m continuing with the Beanie “Logistics Support” mission - shipping boxes out each week. I guess the laundry is a bit of a challenge. She said it takes about 4 hours to get thru it. Then, of course that are the natural hazards associated with common area latrines, i.e., leaving stuff in the shower, the walk-away socks and underwear – just like back in the world. She been trying to make her container as comfy as possible though she readily admits there is probably no level of nest building that make it feel like home. Quite frankly, I’m okay with that. I sense she is settling into a routine and as she gains a better feel for the work environment; who gets things done and who doesn’t, as well as how to best work within the combat zone environment, things will get better.

If I don’t get another blog out before Thanksgiving, on behalf of the Bean & I, we wish a happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. One of the things we will both be grateful for this Thanksgiving is the support and kindness shown by all of you. It means a lot and please understand that it is not taken lightly or for granted.

Cheers

RC

Days 40 -45

Nov 12 - 17. Hello one and all. Well it’s been an interesting last few days. I’ve been on travel to Michigan and am currently in Virginia.

I spent the last couple days in Michigan with Kathy’s dad, Bud. Bud & I are very close and back in the day we used to do a bit of deer hunting in Ludington, MI – birthplace of the Bean. I hadn’t made the pilgrimage in many years so it was very nice to touch base with Kathy's kin after a long absence. All good salt of the earth people. It was also good to note that after almost 34 year of marriage they now refer to me by my name instead of, “this is Kathy’s husband”.

Beanie has been settling into her new “home” and office. She said she has the nicest “container” on the base. She even got to “design” her furniture. You’ll see a few new pictures she’s was able to get to me. She’s been so busy it was nice to get a couple updates. I think the picture do a pretty good job of clarifying what Beanie tries to communicate to me. It really gives me a much better feel for the area. I personally thought the shots of her in uniform were pretty hot, but then again, there is something special about a girl in uniform. It’s starting to cool off in Afghanistan so she’s migrating into her winter fashion.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures. The labels are all mine, so if they're messed up it's all me.

Days 36 - 39

8 - 11 Nov. Hey folks. This is just a short note to let everyone know Kathy is now a full time container resident. She said it's "very nice". I guess everything is relative.

One other quick issue. Kathy has asked we hold off on shipping anymore shoes to her. The Operations tempo has made it much too busy. The hope is we can resume it a little later down the road. If you have shipped shoes, thanks and Beanie will make sure they make it to the local folks. If you have collected, but not yet shipped, please hold off until further notice. Thanks so much to everyone who has jumped into this. It's pretty cool.

Last note - Happy Veterans' Day to one and all. Thanks for your service. In spite of everything, we truly do have an amazing country and it's all due to our vets.

Days 30 - 35

2 - 7 Nov. Sorry for the long absence, but I was in Augusta, GA for the week and unfortunately I was once again barred from Augusta National and asked to never return. I really thought the line of me being an advanced scout for Tiger would work, but it didn't get me thru the gate.

The news update on the Bean. First she is settling in at FOB Fenty. She is still in the tents (groan), BUT!!! (say this like it’s the Price is Right!), she has a “brand new container” on site and only a couple days from a move in. That’s right Bob, a brand new, never been lived in, ¾ scale Mobile Mini wannabe!!! It’s currently being be renovated to exacting Beanie specs. When it’s complete is will have two rooms, one bedroom and an office with tables, night stands, a wardrobe, sunroof, jacuzzi, okay, maybe no sunroof and jacuzzi. Actually, here’s an excerpt from her email, “My home is here. It is marvelous. I have to "design" the interior today. That just means figure out what and where I want KBR to build for me - desk, bookcase, wardrobe, etc. It will probably be another 2 or 3 days before I move in. They got the electrical connected last night and are working on the HVAC now.. I've got an HVAC for each room! The guy to do the furniture should be here sometime today.” I love the enthusiastic “HVAC for each room!” line. It just cracked me up.

We spoke on the phone phone for a little bit last night. I love the fact that we can chat, but sometimes it’s so hard to find the right words when you’re that far apart. That being said I’ll take a rough Beanie chat over no Beanie chat any day! Of course the other good part is Kathy is already 20% thru this entire gig. How cool is that? Of course that means I need to get on the stick and think about meeting my goals of a 32” waist line, 7 handicap golfer, and trianthlon competitor before she gets back. No worries.

One last note for this entry. Beanie has asked me to see what I can do to collect shoes for the Afghan workers on the base. It doesn’t matter if they are used or not, as long as they can provide more foot protection than no shoes!! The Afghan people are very poor and in dire need of shoes. They are not particularly large people so the smaller sizes are more popular, but any shoes can help. There are shipping boxes that you can pick up at the local Post Office that are a flat rate parcel of about $10 regardless of the weight. These boxes are specifically for our folks that are serving in these combat zones. You could probably stuff several pair into a single box. I’m trying to coordinate a shoe drive at work and maybe some of you can do the same with your church or workplace. Any shoes or sneakers you can collect and throw into one (or more!!) of these boxes and send to Kathy would really be appreciated. If you’re in the valley area, let me know and I will pick and ship any shoes you can collect. You can use Beanie’s mailing address provided below. Thanks for any assistance you can provide and call me if you have any questions or want additional info.

DCMA
FOB Fenty
ATTN: Kathy Cross (CA)
APO AE 09310

Days 25 – 29

1 Nov. I cannot believe it’s November. Hope everyone is well and had a nice Holloween. I went thru the Trick o Treat thing last night with the Bean on my mind. Lot’s of cute kids that would have cracked her up.

I last spoke with her on Thursday and conditions have not really improved. She is still living in tent city, but now the tent is full (not sure how many folks but I’m guessing it’s a 24-man tent) so the noise level is going up and the privacy level is going down.

Her container evidently never completed the 60 mile drive and currently resides in places unknown. There is supposed to be another container making its way in the coming days, but with the setup time, the Bean will be “tenting” it for the next 10 days or so at the very least. It’s not just the inconvenience of not having a place to live, the container is also provides the work area so Bean’s work area is also nonexistent. No desk, no place to plug in a computer, no work/storage space to manage your working files. Significant constraint when you’re a Contract Administrator. Phone service is also very challenging. If we get in a 10 minute chat we’ll get preempted at least twice. But then again, it's pretty nice to actually get a phone call. It's a lot better than a MARS radio patch call (LOL, yep, all you old schoolers know what I'm talking about), so I'll dial back that whine a notch or two.

She’s hanging tough, but I know she’d like to get into a better work rut (okay, routine). Some good news - she now has an official mailing address. We all know how nice it is to get a card or letter when we’re away from home, so if you can find the time to drop Kathy a line, I know she’ll appreciate it. Also understand, it may be challenging for her to get back to you in a timely manner, if at all. I think she had 184 hours on her last two-week timecard so her days are pretty full. Her snail mail address is below. A regular 1st class stamp is all the postage that is required.

DCMA
FOB Fenty
ATTN: Kathy Cross (CA)
APO AE 09310

Days 23 - 24

26 - 27 Oct. Beanie emailed me on Saturday to say that she was still in Bagram. She’s been trying to get a flight out to Jalalabad for two days. She missed getting on the noon flight and the next two flights are 2130 tonight and 0500 tomorrow. She’s just left her duffel bags at the terminal as she no longer has a room. She graciously gave up her luxurious KBR room to another person coming into Bagram. Her just reward (in the spirit of having no good deed go unpunished) was she gets to sleep in the tents until she can get out to FOB Fenty. And, as Beanie stated it, “I'm not talking those lovely tents we had on safari!” There is still no word on her MIA container trip to Fenty. It supposedly left from Asadabad on Friday for a 60-mile convoy to Jalalabad. Even with Afghan roads you think it could make it in a couple days! It doesn’t look promising. As she understands it, once (if) it gets there it takes about a week or so to get set up. Looks like the Bean may get some experience living in a tent.

Beanie still finding it a bit bizarre that she’s actually in Afghanistan. She been pretty much confined to the base, but there are local (men only) doing work everywhere on base. KBR hires many locals to do things like road work, latrine cleaning, laundry, etc. They are often escorted onto base and off base by armed guards in the morning and evening. There is also a heavy population from Eastern Europe. One upbeat note was Beanie got to spend a little time at the bazaar (last Friday her time I think). She said it was a bit larger than anticipated with about 50 stalls selling rugs, clothes, jewelry, blankets, fur hats and coats and just a variety of things. I guess there is also one at FOB Fenty. Once again, no women working the bazaar.

In a somewhat humorous, but sadly indicative anecdote, Beanie told me she talked to two contractors guys in the chow hall tonight that were trying to catch a Space A flight to Sharana. The bummer part was the buss driver took them to the plane that was to Salerno! They ended up actually flying to Salerno, sleeping in some cold tent there and flying back to Bagram the next morning only to have to once again wait on a flight to Sharana.

Late Breaking News!! I got a 2:00 AM phone call from Beanie telling me she had finally arrived at FOB Fenty. The connection was not good (calls dropped twice), but at least we got to chat. Her container is still nowhere to be found so she’s once again a tent queen. She described Fenty as much much smaller than Bagram with everything right next to the flight line. She spent a little time watching the Black Hawk and Chinook choppers take of and even saw an unmanned drone. Sounds like she’s a bit closer to the pointy end of the spear versus Bagram. She was in good spirits and looks forward to getting into a groove - preferably one that doesn't involve extended tent life!! 156 to go!

Days 21-22

25 Oct. Just a quick note. Bean emailed me and said she may be moving to FOB Fenty today. She was at the flight line with her 3 duffel bags and laptop (paints quite a modern day warrior picture eh?) waiting for confirmation of a place to stay and available space on the flight. Her container is not yet on site, but there may room at the KBR quarters. We got to chat for about 15 minutes last night. She sounds great. It looks like the area around FOB Fenty is a little greener than Bagram. It's primarily a Pashtun region (if you read Kite Flying that may resonate). The area of Jalalabad was a Al Quaida stronghold prior to 9-11, but I don't know if it's the Jalalabad that Beanie is going to, which is east of Kabul, or the Jalalabad that is about 150 miles NW of Kabul. I guess it really doesn't matter too much as the area she is going to had been pretty calm (by war zone standards) as of late.

Late Breaking News. I just got an email from Beanie. There were only 7 spaces on the flight and Beanie wasn't one of them. She left two of her duffels, flak vest and helmet at the terminal, and went back, in her words, to her "cozy room'. It may all be working out for the best as the KBR room didn't pan out and she had visions of moving back into tent. The flight schedule for Sunday is not net published (she is 11.5 hours ahead of AZ time) so she really doesn't know what's in store. The good news is Sunday is the short day (8-10) hours and she's looking forward to sleeping in till 7 or 8!
It's funny as she has been gone three weeks and is still not where she should be. It's amazing. At this rate she'll only actually be working 5 months as a week is set aside for travel home and redeploying through MTC.

I'm also pissed cause I messed up the day count. Today there is "only 158 days" to go.

Days 18 - 20

23 Oct. Got an email from the Bean. It sounds like if she could actually get on line, work could be much better. Most of the issues are around getting accounts set up that will accept her credentials. Just trying to find out who to talk to is a major challenge, but it’s not surprising there would be some IT issues when there is no infrastructure on which to build. In her words, “communication is going to be major source of frustration”. Hmm, sounds like every office I’ve ever worked in!! LOL. Once she can work thru these issues, it should be as much business as usual as you can have in a war zone.
She’s chatted a bit with what will be her new boss (the ACO at FOB Fenty) and he seems very nice. He’s dealing with the challenges of managing the 10 or 12 outlying camps for which Fenty is responsible. He’s only been in country for a few weeks and has just now got phone and computer access.
No real firm news on when the Bean is moving to FOB Fenty. The hold up is billeting, but according to some “sources” Beanie’s container is enroute and should be on site in a couple days. These containers are set up so one side is living space, the other is work space. That’s probably not too bad, but Beanie is concerned it may limit the ability to work/communicate with the other folks in your office - maybe not a good thing in such a dynamic environment. She also indicated there is a brick and mortar office building going in that should be done in the coming weeks where the contracting office will be. The hope is that will allow her to move from a work/live trailers to an actual live office. The fear is they could make the work/live into 2 bedroom containers – bummer). Once her container is at Fenty, her travel can be arranged and she can start concentrating on her work versus where she’s going to live and on which contracts she will work. She's really looking forward to FOB Fenty and feeling like she's a little more in the mix.

The work in Afghanistan is entirely different than Bean anticipated. The big challenge seems to be identifying who is responsible for what – lots of players in getting anything done. It also looks like Beanie will be working on a significant local support contract in an area where she has limited (zero?) experience. Hopefully once she gets on site at Fenty she can get more details and move out.

Beanie saw a 747 on the runway - it said Evergreen - so apparently they are STILL flying charters. That’s the airline we flew to/from the Philippines. Déjà vu all over again. Well, in reviewing this entry it's pretty much all over the map. Take a look at some of the older blogs as I have added some pictures. 157 day to go. . . .

Day 16 - 17

19-20 Oct. Well I just got the news that Beanie is heading to Forward Operaton Base (FOB) Fenty, which is close to Jalalabad. There are two Jalalabads in Afghanistan, but FOB Fentyt is located in Nangarhar Province, which based on Mapquest, http://europe.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?formtype=address&addtohistory=&address=&city=Jalalabad&state=Nangarhar&zipcode=&country=AF&location=aO3KJ5eg4RWMxK1pog4mURgzSuqntxvLrcBCnuAt0UzOayVA9cNwfX74%2fVhGGrHuxHnIUzzhG3OziOgc4%2bG0w38YF6C4s8wVGljavboXkUQ%3d&ambiguity=1
is about 90 miles dues East of Kabul and 50 miles from the Pakistani boarder. The good news is the elevation is around 1200’ (close to the same as Phoenix) so the issues Beanie has experienced with her eyes should be better. It appear there is lots of construction going on and though it’s been the seen of some pretty intense fighting, as of late, things have been pretty calm. According to my research, much of that is due to the improvement in local unemployment. The base has contracted with many local businesses to support different construction awards. I thought this article was pretty interesting, especially the part about using email, http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48908. It also gives you some idea about the level of contracting support required to keep the base going. Plenty at Fenty for the Bean to do (yep, I acknowledge, it’s a sick one!!). She’s not sure just when she’ll be relocating, but the thought is around a week. It appears billeting is the major hang up. Just like the articles say, FOB Fenty is growing quickly so it’s hard to keep up. The big hope is Beanie could end up in a “container” versus a B-Hut – sounds strange, but that could be a good thing. Then again, I read on line where a lots of folks there that are still in tents. Could make for a rough winter. Beanie is pretty deeply immersed in training. You know how it is, every time you change jobs or even move to a new location it’s almost like starting all over. She’ll do great once she has a chance to settle into a routine. It looks like things are starting to come together. Only 163 days to go.

Day 15

18 Oct. It’s a beautiful day in the valley and the big event for today was a commissary run. I just had a couple things on my list, but figured I would save enough on Trick or Treat candy to cover the gas. I was lucky enough to find a car wash so I got the Kia cleaned up. Not too bad job for a bunch of kids that looked like they had never washed a car in their lives. For every “washer” it seemed like 4 people were supervising. Max is all over me while I’m trying to type this entry. He’s gotten (is that a word?) to the point where it’s not so much he wants me to come back and pet him while he eats as much as he just seems to want someone to hangout with him in the computer room. I’ll give him a couple of pets and he jumps up on the computer table and starts squirreling around, walking back and forth across the keyboard even when no one is even there.

The commissary was interesting. I had 8 things on my list and spent $150 – go figure!! I guess 6 months work of paper plates can get expensive. I kinda felt like people were looking at me when I checked out with 15 little cans of cat food – Oh! Poor old guy is on a budget and eating cat food!! Beanie mention there were two places that need CAs. I think it was Chenaro & Salerno. If it’s Salerno, it’s a lower altitude, but it’s in a pretty dicey area, close to Pakistan and an area known as “Federally Administered Tribal Areas” of Afghanistan. Now there’s a name that gives you a warm fuzzy. Probably should have just named it Osamaland. Maybe that’s why they’re hesitant to send a female there. All speculation my friends. Probably not the best input I could have had. Well that’s about it for this edition of the Beanie Liberation News Front.

Day 13 - 14

16 - 17 Oct. I travel back from Houston today. Nice to get out of the rain. Chatted with Beanie for about 15 minutes last night. She’s hanging tough. Due to the altitude her eyes are giving her a bit of a rough time trying to focus and read. She's hoping they will adapt over the next few days. Not much else going on. I head back to Phoenix tomorrow.

Day 12

15 Oct. Cheers. I am still in Houston, TX this week and the humidity is about 10,000 %. The good news is that email appears to be a good option for Beanie comms. The work schedule will probably not allow mass use, but at least she can keep me informed on a time available basis. Day 1 in Bagram did not get off to the best start. Beanie was walking around, taking a couple pictures and turned an ankle. She’s okay, but is trying to stay off her bad foot as much as possible. One good policy that is in place is once in country you have the first couple days off to get used to the time change and kind of get your stuff into the proverbial sock. This is a pretty good idea; especially when everything is new and one could be experiencing slight (maybe severe) sensory overload mode. I told Beanie to take things slow and not to worry about trying to impress folks. Her work ethic and competency will take care of that for her. If that doesn’t work, she can always rely on her charm and demeanor – well may want to take another look at the work ethic and competency! LOL. It looks like the Beanie Blog is working pretty well. I’m not sure, but if you register for the blog (which is not too painful) you can post comments that Beanie should be able to read once she can access the blog. . It also looks like the phone situation may not be too bad. Beanie has a ~12 hour time differential that actually works out pretty well. If she calls early in the morning she catches me at the end of my business day and if she calls at the end of her duty day, she can catch me early in the morning – maybe not the best option; I’m not a morning person. I've decided that my traveling actually makes our separation a little easier to deal with. When I’m on travel, and in my mind, the Bean is at home. I know it’s probably some level of denial, but hey – it works for me. Oddly enough, I am learning to dust and the plants are still alive a good two weeks after Bean’s departure. That’s a week longer than I would have guessed!! Not sure how the kitties are holding up (little kitty humor there). Bean will drop lines when she can, but my expectation is to hear from her 2-3 times a week. In the absence of new information, I will make something up – kidding. That’s all for today – only 168 days left!!

Day 11

14 Oct. It’s a beautiful day in Houston (well, maybe not), but I got to chat with Beanie for quite a bit. She’s in Bagram, but most importantly she got a good night’s sleep and a little bit of relaxation after 4 days of hectic travel She has been into her temporary office where she met up with Wanda, a fellow DCMAer that she has been emailing for the past month or so. In conjunction with one of Wanda’s trip to another on-base location, Kathy was able to visit the PX and get a general tour of the base and surrounding areas. Initial indications Bagram is nicer that the pictures. She said the views are incredible with mountains surrounding the base. Just outside the base are the remnant of buildings and equipment from the Soviet era. The other, more serious Soviet remnant, are land mines. It has been said that Afghanistan is the most heavily land mined place in the world. It appears that to protect their withdrawal, the Soviet army heavily mined their entire escape route. That is one of the issues that has slowed down construction as Step 1, Clear the Land Mines, is crucial to get right. I know I certainly appreciate that. That being said, it also appears she is at Bagram for the short term. She’s been advised she will be moving out to a yet to be determine forward operating base (FOB). Not sure how happy I am about this as Bagram is the largest (and I assume the safest) location. I’ll have to see when I find out about the new location. (not that I get a vote).

Day 10

13 Oct. Well the day started out really good and really early. I got an early morning (3:15 AM) “wake up” call from Beanie. She is in Kuwait and it sounds like it’s a really cluster. For some reason she has to fly Standby from Kuwait to Bagram. This makes no sense. She is on orders. To make matters worse, she is living in a tent city on the outskirts of Kuwait City. No pillows, no blankets, just a mattress on the top bunk. To add to the cluster, because she is flying standby, she has to be at the terminal at 6:30 every morning and 8:30 every evening as well as 2 hours prior to any flight schedule for Bagram. Not the best set for someone that hasn’t had more than 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep and many days. The whole thing just pisses me off. It’s like nobody seems to know where and when flights are leaving. It appears this in specific to Afghanistan as her travel mates going to Iraq where in and out pretty quick. I think the fact that she is going thru all this crap without me makes me miss her even more. Talk about a feeling of helplessness. I am enroute to Houston for a few days. Hopefully Beanie can get access to a Calling Card so she can reach me on my cell or maybe even email access. Late breaking news. Got a quick call from the Bean and it looks like she caught a C-17 (cold and noisy) out of Kuwait to Bagram. Interesting note, it’s a six hour flight because the US has to fly all the way around Iran versus the short, direct route. It looks like she caught the flight just a couple hours after we chatted and she arrived safely at Bagram. Her Commander met her at the flightline, which was a nice touch. They put her in the Kellog Brown & Root (KBR) room, which by Bagram standards is much nicer than the B-huts (more on B-huts to come later). Will catch up more next time we get to chat.

Day 9

12 Oct. Well today the reality that we do not have the self-cleaning house option set in. It was just too much too hope for. It seemed to be working fine up until a week or so ago. Maybe Beanie is right and the next house should be smaller. I did get short, but great call from Beanie. She called from Kuwait. Someone on the ground had a cell phone set up for international calling. We only got to chat for a short period, but her flight from Germany to Kuwait was pretty good and she is on Space Available out of Kuwait to Bagram, Afghanistan. This translates to “we have no idea when you’re leaving, but be here everyday at 0600 just in case.” I thought she sounded really good considering it was 2:00 AM. Maybe the jet lag was working in her favor in that area. Her spirits remain high and she seems to believe, in her words, “that the trip over may well be the worst part of it.” I sure hope she’s right.

Day 8

11 Oct. Well I started of the day in good shape with a nice call from Beanie. She has landed in Germany, some place she called LeiZig (I'm sure that's not the right spelling??) , but I suspect I lost something in the transmission. It was sooo great to talk to her after missing her call from Bangor yesterday. I don't know if you've read anything about it, but Bangor International is somewhat famous for their support of the troops. Every flight that goes in and out of this airport has a Welcoming Committee to show their support for the troops. This is really exceptional when you consider these flights come in and out at all hours. Really good people doing good things. I've added a couple of pictures the Bean sent me,

She had a good flight; got fed three times, watched a couple of movies, and slept 3-4 hours. The plane was a DC-9 which has a 2-5-2 configuration so almost everyone on the flight had an isle seat. I could tell she was pretty beat, but she sounded in good spirits. I just think she needs a little quiet “Beanie” time to get some rest and recharge. I know it’s tough on her to be around that many people for the long. I relayed to her all the great emails folks have been sending. I need to get some emailing done today.

Day 7

10 Oct. Well the Bean went wheels up today. I got to chat with her a couple times throughout the day. She left out of Freedom Hall on Ft Benning. She said it was an amazing place, huge, lots of TVs, easy chairs, and a very nice facility. She got some pictures so I’ll get to see it later. I missed her calls on her refueling stop at Bangor, Maine – thoroughly pissed me off. So stupid, I should have remembered she would have that stop there. To make matters worse, I think I just missed her by a matter of minutes. Got a couple voice mails from her so in some ways it may work out better to have messages I can replay while she’s gone. My first Friday night in a “NoBean” state – I don’t think it’s going to be a particularly good trend. I did do a little quality time at the gym after work today. Nice 6.5 miler at a good pace. Going to try again tomorrow and see if I can actually get back to running 5-6 times a week and maybe go for the P. F. Chang marathon again in January. Seems pretty unattainable at this junction, but stranger things have happened. The kitties seem to be having a rough time of it also. Max is whining like a big dog – always wanting pets and me to watch him eat. Beanie would sit with him while he ate and he really seemed to like it. I think he has a brain disorder. Moochie could care less as long as there is food, water, clean kitty box, and affection on her terms. Doing a little laundry tonight and “saving” the big cleaning for tomorrow. Yep, I know how to party!!!

Day 6

9 Oct. Had a very nice chat with Beanie today. She actually got to eat 3 hot meals today – first time since arrival. She said she leaves tomorrow evening with a direct flight from Ft Benning to Germany; probably a military charter of sorts. She has to have her duffel bags packed and out in front for formation around 0600 – typical. That will be the last time she’ll see her stuff for a while. She’ll need to keep all her criticals in her back pack until she gets to Kuwait and maybe Afghanistan. She called Mom & Dad today. Dad said it was another “tear fest” between Bean & Mom. Nice to see though. I found out I need to cut my trip to Michigan with Dad a couple days short to support a customer event in Virginia Beach on Nov 15. I hadn’t planned on getting there until the 17th. Kitties seem to be a little confused with the whole Beanie going away thing. I don’t get home until 6:30 or so and they seem to be wondering where the 4:30 to 6:30 kitty pets have gone. Between that and being home along while I am on travel, they’re going to have some adjusting to do.

Days 3-5

6-8 Oct. I traveled to Charleston for a few days. Not a bad flights. Hotel was nice, historical part of Charleston and 10 minutes from the customer. Trip was reasonably successful. Only got to chat with Beanie a couple of times for a few moments. I could sense her frustration with the deployment process; gross mismanaged schedule, lack of understanding that not everyone that is deploying is a 20 year old smooth brain, and a few personnel issues. She’s been living out of vending machines and snacks cause the schedule is so dicked up they don’t have time to hit the chow call and when the day is done, the chow hall is closed. Then to top it off, she told me one of the Army Sergeants directly confronted her for being too slow when in reality, her group was just the last group in line. Sounds like the whole equipment issuing process was boot camp all over again – just the level of bullshit you really don’t want to put up with when you’re a “mature” Beanie age. She got thru the day, but she wasn’t a happy camper. I told her to just note the large “L” on the dude’s forehead and move on – maybe write up the process in her critique. I had a small “festival” with the government customer tonight – just a no-host happy hour at Four Peaks Microbrewery. Good beer & food. Turned out to be a long day getting up at 5:30 Eastern Time (2:30 AZ time) and not hitting the rack until 11:00 AZ time. Can’t hang like I used to.

Day 2

5 Oct. I awoke to a sound I hadn’t heard in a while – friggin woodpecker tapping on the metal flashing around the roof. May have to buy a pellet gun. Went to the gym and had a good, but tasking workout . Went to PetsMart and bought new kitty water and food dishes. They should work out really well as it keep the water clean and food fresh while auto filling the bowls. Went grocery shopping to pick up a few things. Tried to play golf, but quit after 10 holes – way too slow. Not sure what it will be like when the snow bastards get here. Had a nice chat with the Bean. She seems a little frazzled, but in control. Organization does not seem to be a strong trait at the MTC. I would have thought with the tens of thousands of folks that have processed to and from the combat zones they would have had their shit together a little better – then again . . . Army. Upgrades all around for my trip to Charleston – yea!!

Day 1

4 Oct. A pretty tough day saying goodbye at the airport. I think this is something you really can’t plan for until it comes due and then you fail miserably. Beanie was a real trooper. Came back to the house and for some reason decided to completely detail out the Volvo. It looks really good for a 10 year old car. Beanie called from Fort Benning and I had to laugh when she told me she had two room mates; especially when she talked about getting there early to avoid having the top bunk and worrying about falling out of bed and breaking a hip!! Got a very nice V-Mail from Tom & Glenda wishing Beanie the best. Need to remember to play it for her, it will mean a lot. Had an office get together tonight - it was good and was also a nice distraction, though I did find myself telling everyone about Beanie. I have a feeling people are going to get sick of hearing about Beanie so I probably need to be aware and ratchet it back a bit. Got home a little before 10, had some tea, and watched MAD TV and SNL with the kitties.