Month 12 Day 7

Notebook entry

Two reports given, drug conversation 80%, map reading, Salima class, Dick Scott built canal, improved geometries of fire.

Journal entry

I came to pick up a linguist an Farhad Darya was singing his 'Brother' song again. 

I sat down with Munir and talked to him about drugs coming onto camp. One of the solders was found a few days prior with a bunch of dope trying to enter the ECP.  I tried to explain that you couldn't combat all of the drug users, just the extreme addicts, but you could target the guys who were bringing it on. There are only a few of them, and their criminal networks coudl be used to smuggle more harmful things  (e.g. IED components).  If you targeted the users 80% of the Army would be kicked out (he agreed).  I also told him that the USMC was getting restless because drugs were flowing from the ANA side to the contractors and to the Marines and we were not happy about it. 

I tried to work with him again on the RFI form.  I figured out why he couldn't give me what he wanted.  He didn't know where Marjeh was on a map.  Once I showed him, it because clear that he didn't know which of his kandaks was there.  Then it became clear that he didn't know how to read a map and thus couldn't pull a grid.  I was assuming too much.  He's an officer and has been here for a while, so I presumed that he knew things that he did not. 

Sgt Salima showed up late to give Qais a class.  This is really aggrevating.  ANA should never wait on Marines. 

I found out in the LOO sync meeting that a guy named Dick Scott was actually the one who built the canal system that created these towns, and that he is still alive and kicking. 

Lt Love one of the new guys made the comment at dinner that this didn't really seem like a war."Three good meals a day and someone else to do your laundry, not bad." Not bad at all not really a war either, this is nation-building and camp building.  I didn't want to tell him that even the company and platoon positions have A/C and internet.