Notebook entry
10 reports given, class with Salim, doctors from Ministry of
Defense, combined staff, tram in a hole, fire steal wood
Journal entry
I needed to do the class at 0900 because we had a 'don't beat your
wife, shake your baby, or kick your dog class at 1000.' When I was trying to
search for them I walked past where the two tents burnt down. There were
no less than 10 rat holes in the ground where the tents once stood. it is
a freaking infestation.
In the morning I did a half-assed class with Salim. It would
have been better, but the Gunny was busy uninstalling Windows Black and
installing the real version of XP onto their office computer. He was also
late because he was at the drivers course, despite the XO's orders. He
admitted again that he was just in the course so that he could get a license
when he goes up to Kabul. We went over SigAct pattern tracking, and
that's about all. At the end he called me lazy for not giving him everything he
wanted, even when I just arranged to get his computer fixed, gave him 18
reports the day prior, just finished teaching him a class. He still
doesn't get that I'm not going to give him a hand-out.
I had our lingists translate a bunch of documents that I got while
the MoD CI guys were in town. I basically stole the docs from them.
they implicated the GSU commander in selling 400 liters of fuel in Garmsir,
extorting 45,000 Afghani out of the contractors we use to build their camp,
bringing hashish and alocohol onto base, and trying to keep his own
counterintel guys from reporting on him because he was stealing so much
stuff. He did this by taking away their vehicle and forcing them to stay
on base. The documents also implicated the GSU Security Company Commander
for stealing seven months of his soldiers pay by not reporting him in an
unauthorized absence status.
They had the combined staff meeting in the morning, that went ok,
but in the middle of it one of the front-end loaders that the Marines were using
to spread gravel backed into a giant drainage hole, it fell, thankfully the
Sergeant was not hurt. Maybe Marines aren't so different from Afghans.
I went to lunch and just after I got back one of the Marines
screamed 'FIRE, FIRE'
I grabbed the truck keys and we all went racing to the next tent
that we on fire. Naturally when I arrived all the Afghans were just
sitting there looking at the tent burning and not paying any attention to the
adjacent tent which could catch-fire at any moment. I grabbed water
bottles out of the bed of the truck and started the douse the adjacent tent, I
threw some bottles to the ANA to do the same and they just shook their
heads. I made fun of them. "that's right just watch the
Marines fix the problem, don't do anything to help. To their credit the
ANA fire department showed up pretty quickly and used their new fire truck to
great effect (even though it still had the tow strap dangling from the bottom
from when it was taken from Leatherneck. It was an interesting sight,
guys in flip-flops fighting the fire.
The tent that burned down was the S2 tent. I tried to rib
Salim for smoking in the tent. He would later get really upset at me
about that saying that everyone now believed he was smoking because I said so,
and that would mean he was breaking the fast. He might have
been, who knows.
I came back and worked on the Gazette article for a while. I
stopped to take a pee break, went to talk to Munir about a crazy soldeir who
was getting transferred to ANA custody. He had shot himself in the chest
and was now threatening other soldiers and officers.
I had just got that out when Amir Dad came in and said 'Qais and
the GSU Security Company commander are fighting.' I went with Munir and
he told me on the way 'we need to hurry.' We come out of the back office
buildings where the GSU have their offices, and I see Salim and Qais surrounded
by about 13 GSU guys. Qais is beat red, and the Security Company
commander raises his right hand and punches Qais in the face. He then
tells all of his soldiers to 'get him.' Qais
I'll have to send the rest later. I'm out of sniper hill
So I see Tahir bring up his right fist and punch Qais in the face.
Qais raises his fists and hits back. Tahir tells his soldiers to ‘get
him’ and they all start swinging at him. I yelled to STOP and a lot
of the soldiers backed up, but Qais was still yelling that he was not
a woman and trying to come at Tahir. I grabbed Qais and told him that
he was done and this was not the time. He kept jumping and as he did
the buttons on his uniform popped off one by one as my grasp fought
against his momentum. I turned around and pushed Maj Tahir back as
well and told him this was not the time. I saw Qais reach down and
grab two handfuls of gravel and he threw them at Tahir. That was
enough. I turned Qais around and pushed him back to his office.
Salim and Munir grabbed the truck.
I grabbed Sammy because I wasn’t sure of all of the words that they
were saying and we went up to the tower. Munir called and spoke to
the Bde Cmdr, and S2. The story they gave went like this. Qais and
Salim were driving to their new tent because their other one just
burned down, and Tahir told them tostop. Once they came out he asked
them why they told the MOD that he had stolen seven months of this
soldiers pay. Qais told him that it was his job and Tahir started to
call them names and wanted to fight. I talked to Qais about how
stronger men were the ones who backed out of fights that involved
their own honor, and weaker ones went to fight at every personal
insult. He kind of smiled and agreed, he said that in the ANA the
punishment for someone who fights is the same. It doesn’t matter if
they start the fight, or if they are the recipient. I think I know
why a lot of this is happening. You can see it from the spittle
crusted lips. All of these guys are exhausted because of Ramadan,
they don’t eat enough, they don’t eat at a sane time, and most of all
they are dehydrated as hell. Of course they are going to fight. I’m
just glad that not many of them are much more than a hundred pounds,
so when they get into it you can literally just grab them and throw
them apart.
At the evening meeting Casbarro said that the Troute Clearance Company
returned the plywood and 2x4s that they stole from the contractors who
are building the new ANA buildings. No punishment for the ANA, they
just gave it back.
At least this isn’t boring.
Qais raises his fists and hits back. Tahir tells his soldiers to ‘get
him’ and they all start swinging at him. I yelled to STOP and a lot
of the soldiers backed up, but Qais was still yelling that he was not
a woman and trying to come at Tahir. I grabbed Qais and told him that
he was done and this was not the time. He kept jumping and as he did
the buttons on his uniform popped off one by one as my grasp fought
against his momentum. I turned around and pushed Maj Tahir back as
well and told him this was not the time. I saw Qais reach down and
grab two handfuls of gravel and he threw them at Tahir. That was
enough. I turned Qais around and pushed him back to his office.
Salim and Munir grabbed the truck.
I grabbed Sammy because I wasn’t sure of all of the words that they
were saying and we went up to the tower. Munir called and spoke to
the Bde Cmdr, and S2. The story they gave went like this. Qais and
Salim were driving to their new tent because their other one just
burned down, and Tahir told them tostop. Once they came out he asked
them why they told the MOD that he had stolen seven months of this
soldiers pay. Qais told him that it was his job and Tahir started to
call them names and wanted to fight. I talked to Qais about how
stronger men were the ones who backed out of fights that involved
their own honor, and weaker ones went to fight at every personal
insult. He kind of smiled and agreed, he said that in the ANA the
punishment for someone who fights is the same. It doesn’t matter if
they start the fight, or if they are the recipient. I think I know
why a lot of this is happening. You can see it from the spittle
crusted lips. All of these guys are exhausted because of Ramadan,
they don’t eat enough, they don’t eat at a sane time, and most of all
they are dehydrated as hell. Of course they are going to fight. I’m
just glad that not many of them are much more than a hundred pounds,
so when they get into it you can literally just grab them and throw
them apart.
At the evening meeting Casbarro said that the Troute Clearance Company
returned the plywood and 2x4s that they stole from the contractors who
are building the new ANA buildings. No punishment for the ANA, they
just gave it back.
At least this isn’t boring.
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