Month 6 Day 13

Notebook Entry
No reports, Combined Combat Operations Center in the morning, Rafi put on database pull weather from the internet, afternoon Salim late class on map with Regimental Combat Team, communications course graduates.

Journal entry
Went to the combined CoC in the morning. I showed Rafi how to pull the weather off the newly unblocked website on the ANA computer. I also go him set up to start using the new database program. Came back and worked on the tip to Nawa, setting up the new tents, etc. I also inadvertently got into a pissing match with the Ops Chief, MSgt Mirwais Khan. He is about to take over from MGySgt Andy Kravetz, a dinosaur who doesn’t seem to realized that our Afghans are the exit strategy, not a ‘nice to have.’ MSgt K actually came into the CoC [Combat Operations Center] in the morning was asking a few questions and I was giving him the best explanations that I had. He seemed to have some of the same concerns that we had, e.g. giving them capabilities that they will not have in the long term. It is a bit annoying that he just now came in, but whatever. I asked to have a couple of websites unblocked by comm, google translation services, and Google Earth or Google maps.

Here is the E-mail string:

Sir,

Please vet this request through the RCT OPS [operations] section.

r/s

GySgt Stephanie Gaskell,.
Information Assurance Officer
Regimental Combat Team
Dwyer, Afghanistan

-----Original Message-----
From: Shane 1stLt Scott (RCT S-2 MENTOR)
Sent: Sunday [Redacted for date]
To: Gaskell GySgt Stephanie (RCT S-6 IAO)
Subject: two more websites

GySgt,
Could you please unblock the following things on the ANA computers:
Google Earth, or at least google maps, they have no mapping software and this will help
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Google Language tools
http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en

R,
Lt S

1stLt Shane, Scott
Regimental Combat Team Embedded Training Team S-2 Mentor


After his reply, I wrote back the one word response, “Why.” That pissed off the CoC, God-forbid that anything not run through them (it is really not their job, to be honest). Anyways, they said no, until I called MSgt K and talked him down. It was a perfect example of the ‘success through bureaucratic deflection’ that comm [the Communications Section] is so good at. GySgt Stephanie Gaskell, whose job it is to make these decisions/changes, wants you to run through extra layers of bureaucracy to make her job easier. If this were really the policy, then how come we didn’t follow this the last 4 times. It is just gay, and an intense waste of time. We need to get a few of these extra bodies out of this country.

Salim showed up late to class and was not able to tell me what his job was for the day on the new schedule that they just created. Rafi had just created it, and that was it. Qais had no idea where he was supposed to be either. I’m like, ‘fuck guys, you complain that you don’t have responsibilities and that you get your asses chewed when stuff doesn’t get done, then we come up with a solution, and you don’t follow it.’ It is really aggravating that I care about their lives and their jobs more than they do. They are just plain lazy. After chewing their asses for a little while for being late the guy from the Sgt from the RCT showed up to give them a class.

I went and spoke with the General and gave him the weekly report. He was pissed that he hadn’t received it from the XO before. I told him Samir had left on leave instead of going to the class. The general bitched about being stressed out and bitched about his XO. He seemed to be supportive of chewing the S2s ass if they didn’t show up for classes.

Joy