Welcome to the two-way range

Well, I'm here in Kandahar.

In fact, I've been here for a few days now. The information that we've been receiving, the treatment and access we've been given, the professionalism and motivation we've been shown has all been extraordinary. To be honest, it's been like trying to drink from a fire hose from oh-dark-thirty until the wee hours every day.

The only problem has been connectivity. And we've finally figured out a work-around for that so that I can post: I'm using a welfare computer and a memory stick with my photos on it. A bit labyrinthine, but it's better than gun-tape and baling wire. And I guess I have something to feed into Lessons Learned after all...

I can let you know now that I'm over here on what's termed a Regional Media Familiarization Visit, with Jean Laroche of the Journal de Quebec, Ian Shantz of the Barrie Examiner, and Ian Elliot of the Kingston Whig-Standard. It's a good bunch.



From left to right, that's Shantz (Big Ian), Elliot (Little Ian), Laroche, me, and the PAffO who got shafted with babysitting us on this trip, the ever-patient LCdr Pierre Babinsky. Don't believe what you hear about him: he's actually a good guy.

Anyhow, the weather at KAF the first night we were here was cold and rainy. The talcum-powder dust that covers the ground throughout the area turned into unfathomable lakes of mud. I tried to get Big Ian to walk in front of me as a depth-finder on the puddles, but he wouldn't fall for that.

The next day, it cleared up, though, and - touch wood - it's stayed clear, cold, and windy since then. Hopefully that continues. The mud still abounds, though. They say the drainage here is so bad, it may take three weeks of no rain for it to clear out completely. And the dust/mud in this area has...how shall I put this...an unusually high fecal content to it. So the folks serving over here are 'in the shit' in more ways than one.

You'd never know it, though. I'm sure they gripe and complain behind closed doors like every group of soldiers has since the dawn of armed conflict. Hell, I'd be worried if they didn't. But overall, this is the most motivated, high-morale bunch of soldiers, sailors, and airmen I've ever been around. Believe it or not, the civvies too. More about that another time...

I've got stacks of stuff to talk to you about. What I don't have is the time to write about it right now. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll run out of time here long before I run out of stories to tell.

But one more thing I must mention before I sign off and hit the rack: I need to thank each and every one of you who have hit that "Chip In" button in the sidebar. I took a financial leap of faith taking this on, and your help is most appreciated.