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).