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!