Month 12 Day 23

Notebook entry

24 reports given, us in the backseat, Petranzio’s advisor training group comments.

The following are undated comments from the notebook:

throwing rocks

They don't want independence, mesh shirt, Siegel and broken hand, pump burnout, gunnery sergeant and the new team Lt. Col.'s response

Journal Entry

Went on one of my last trips to the gym in the morning.   It was a good time.  I am tired.

I showed the new S1 SSgt how to use the insanely complicated excel that I came up with to track all of the personnel.

Siegel and I then went over to schedule a class with the Sgts and with Munir.  He did most of the talking.  I hinted at a few key things, like making sure he IDed a time and place for the classes. I told him that the Sgts were acting well to try to impress him. 

He said, sagely

“but as soon as you leave they are going to test me.  They are only acting well because you are still the hammer.”

When Siegel and I came back we got changed over and met with Sgt Drees and one of his LCpls.  Siegel gave them a brief on where the Sgts were up to, observed the class, and then he gave the Sgts some type of talk at the end.  I was only there for the beginning of it.  He wanted to step up and do it, he is a Marine Officer, he wanted the training wheels to come off, and wanted to make this his own.  I was done providing advice. 

On my way back one of the Tajik soldiers stopped me and asked me for a set of glasses.

At noon we did some more work. 

I did what will probably be my last sell ever to Munir.   He wanted to go out and talk to the guys outside of the wire.   I told him that was not his job and that he should come to class.  My broken Dari, and his desire for reports/weather won out.

I came back and gave an enemy threat brief for our operation tomorrow.

Siegel wanted to teach the class by himself in the afternoon, so he did. 

I taught Siegel how to give them the weather.

At the evening meeting LtCol Valquist ordered Capt Arthur to provide the keys to the well and build a Hesco barrier around tent city.  He said

“They’ve trained on it for several weeks now with our supervision.  They know what to do, if they screw it up, then it’s on them.”

Capt Arthur was resistant because the pump cost about $6000 and will not be replaced for months if it is broken. He is trying to play God, preventing them from using their free will to make choices that they are not good for them.

“It will set them back 6 months from independence if we give it to them now.”

I don’t know who is right.

The Hesco is a major fire hazard, the fire trucks will not be able to make it through to the fire.  They want the Hesco because they can’t stop their own soldiers from driving through the camp and smashing the electrical wires.  The original solution was to put sand bags on top of them.  We provided them sand bags, but they were too lazy to fill them up from their dirt pit. 

As I lay here on my cot I have mixed emotions about letting go.  I want to help Siegel.  I want to guide him and prevent him from falling into the same traps that I did. 

I feel something more odd than that.  It struck me this afternoon Salim was being his same grouchy self when I woke him up the afternoon to give him the weather.  Once I finished with him, I asked him why what he was circling was important. He played coy for a minute, then said what he was trained to say. 

“The high temperature is important because it makes long patrols and operations difficult, the high wind is important because it picks up dust and makes it hard for us and airplanes to see.”

I grabbed his oily head pulled him to me and kissed the top of his head. 

I made him this way.  I feel like I imagine a father must feel letting their kids go.  You invest so much time and energy into them, you can’t help but want them to succeed.  

Perhaps that’s why they were listening today, perhaps they look at me like a father, or a big brother who tries to look out for them.  I may be a mean bastard, and make them come to class even though none of the other sections do, but they know I care.  They know it is important to me, so they do me the honor of listening to Siegel when he tells them to show up. 

For as much as I want to go, I think I do love these little bastards.  They have accepted me as a half-breed.  When they hold my hand as we walk grasp my knee as we sit, or take offense when I don’t give them a fully verbose traditional Farsi greeting.  They yell at me with excitement in their Afghan pronunciation of my name:

“Abdul…chutor Hasty…Sengayee”

I don’t think this is going to work, but it is painful for me to say that.  I want to be wrong.  I don’t want Salim or Qais to learn to run the chain roads.  I don’t want munir to flee to Tajikistan and work in some restaurant there.  I want them to succeed, but I just don’t think they will, and I want to be wrong. 

It’s funny what a capacity to surprise myself I have.  I never thought I’d say that I love these little guys, that I want them to live good lives, and that I even feel pain at leaving.  

Month 12 Day 22

Notebook entry

20 reports given, teleconference, class with sergeants, one last request.

Journal entry

In the morning I woke up and did my normal routine.  Siegel didn’t wake up at the same time.  He woke up at 0600 and decided to go running with me, and to the gym, etc.  I felt bad because I didn’t tell him not to bring his uniform with him, but it ended up working out in the end because he didn’t have any chow for the morning, and he would not have been able to go into the chow hall in just PT gear.

I turned over the classified Material Custodian job at 0730.  That’s one thing off of my plate.  We then rolled into getting him set up on his SIPR and NIPR workstations and me walking him through everything that he needed to know about how I organized my files.

The connection to the network was extraordinarily slow.  Come to find out, that was because the built a hangar in between the microwave shots.  Gunny called comm and their response was, uh, well we’ll get to it, but probably not today.  We are like really?  You didn’t forsee this problem. 

We had pretty good participation from the Brigade on the teleconference this morning.  They actually called and reminded the kandaks to show up because I told them to, so we had pretty good participation.  The problem is that they are still treating it like a radio.  Each kandak just gives their own report, and then they leave.  They feel like their job is done, and despite the fact that the kandak boundaries touch one another, they act as though it doesn’t matter what’s happening on the opposite side of the road because that isn’t their job.  I had Salim and Qais try to back-brief Siegel and the new S2A on what they know. We worked on the places in the area, the cardinal directions, and they provided them with an overview of the IPB as they know it. 

I spoke to the S2A and I was more than a little bit surprised at how little he knew.  He said

“That guy didn’t sleep at all last night” gesturing to Salim

“Are these guys on something?”

“Yah, they smoke weed.”

“I’m not worried about that, as long as it’s nothing that’s going to fuck them up.  That guy looks like him mom smoked crack while he was still brewing.” Motioning to Qais.

“You know it is still Ramadan, these guys are just starting to show some of the wear from that.”

“Oh, yah” 

“How are their tactics? What if the Taliban attacked us right now?”

“They probably wouldn’t do very well, but how many of the RCT sections could fight as a squad very well?”

“The intel shop could.”

Maybe he’s right, and if so, then good on him, he probably did all of the predeployment training to a T, but that’s not what they do here.  They are not Marines, not basic infantrymen, and basic infantry platoon commanders.  They are Afghan soldiers.  That’s a totally different thing.  A whole new war nothing learned.  It seems that the bid by the ETT to take over the PMT (their PMT made it all the way over here before they figured out that there were no Afghan police to train) has failed.

I talked to Siegel about what they needed to do, how they needed to interact with the Regiment, with the Afghans, etc.  He wanted to know when he should go sit and drink Chai with them and all that stuff he learned at the Advisor Training Group.  I told him to forget about all of that.  They don’t need to like you to learn from you.  They fundamentally don’t want to learn, so if they like you, then you are probably not doing your job.  It is all brand new to him. 

Siegel wanted to know if I had taught them threat weapons (soviet bloc weapons). 

“Why does that matter to a Sergeant at the Brigade level?”

“because that’s what the enemy is using.”

“OK, but you can’t teach them everything, what you are suggesting is teaching them something with a low marginal utility compared to their job, they need to figure out where their own units are, how to read a map, the cardinal directions, who to display enemy activity, a whole lot of things are more important than that.”

“I just think it will be easy and keep their attention.”

“OK, but I thought that four cardinal directions would be easy too.”

“that can be conceptually hard to grasp.”

“Brother, I’m just saying if I could press the ‘everything’ button and just have them know everything that they need to know, then I would press that button, but here we need to make choices.   I need them to know about their job before I need them to know about threat weapons.”

We bantered some more, and when we were done the Gunny called me back in and said

“you know sir, I had that blow-up the other day about the turnover”

I nodded.

“They’ve already got a campaign plan.  If they want to do something, just give them your recommendation, and leave it.  Don’t worry about it anymore.  I could see your heartbeat increase over there, and for what?  They are going to do it when you leave anyway.”

I just can’t not care.  A few minutes later we walked into my tent and Siegel asked Brian

“Sir, are you going to miss it.”

“Not at all.”

I spoke up, “I just don’t think that’s true for me.  I just can’t not care about it.   I want these guys to succeed; I want America to stop hemorrhaging money and blood.”

Brian nodded.  He said “the only thing I told them when I gave them a few gifts was that the only gift I needed in return was the promise that in a few years they would be doing this without America.  Then they said khuuuh, that would be too much work.”

I just can’t help but be a little passionate about this. That is a little surprising to me. 

In the afternoon, I was going to work on some more turnover stuff, but I was not able to.  Lt Siegel got pulled away to deal with the crisis du jour for the next team, they didn’t have enough weapons and ammo to draw for the convoy. 

I fought the battle of the inbox, signed Siegel up for a bunch of distros, worked on some GMAT prep stuff, and that is about it.

On the way to chow Steve said he was close to being touched today.  The Battle Captain called him into the conference room.  He started reaching behind the podium.  Steve thought “wow, maybe he’s going to give me a gift for all of my hard work.”

“Before you go…” He pulls out the body of a fan and some blades.

“Could you get this installed in the COC for me?”

Awesome

In the evening meeting it came out that Col Mustafa wanted to take the trucks back.  Maj Trevino, now knowing the program after a month here said

“well, you can do that, but it is going to make fuel and water deliveries very difficult.”

Mustafa shut his mouth. 

One other seminal event occurred in my life today.  I used a cubit as a unit of measure.  I had to calculate the volume of a diesel fuel tank, and the  volume of the box that is designed to keep the fuel in if anything goes wrong.  It turns out that there was no issue.  The tank hold 36 cubits cubed and the box it sits in will hold 48 cubits cubed. 

Next the Ark…

People would think I was as odd as Noah building one here in Helmand. 

Month 12 Day 21

Notebook entry

Eight reports given, I am the anti-tribe, Munir flirting, executive officer wall and stage.

Journal entry

Today was a day to remember. 

It started out like any other day, some weird dream about a mouse infestation, normal routine, normal run, normal 3S.  But this day was extrodinary. 

When I came back from the shower, a wet back against my backpack, I stepped into the COC.  It went to the desk to fish my two CLIF bars out for breakfast.  I turned around and looked at the nametapes of the Marines congregated in the center of the COC.  Lt Siegel, my savior, was there. 

He was shorter than me and excitedly grasped my hand when I said “Capt Scott Shane”

I think I was gladder to see him than he was to see me though.

It seemed familiar.  I was in his shoes not long ago.  He is eager to do the things that he has been trained to do. 

Before we really had a chance to meet I met with the literacy instructors and talked to them about class attendance.  They had offered up their classroom for recoilless rifle training (rockets).  I asked Shafiullah what the deal was and I got “wazi fai ma n’est” its not my job.  “If the students don’t show up, then what am I supposed to do?”  I could tell him what he is not supposed to do.  Be sleeping during class time, like I found him.

We gave them a series of classes in the morning on all of the reports that they will be expected to submit. I covered my piece of the pie, the literacy instructors, Data Transfer Agent, Foreign Disclosure representative, the attendance program, the command chronology. 

We went on a walkabout with the new guys, showing them all of the buildings in progress.  The Gunny piped up at several spots throughout the tour which elicited, askance views from Capt Nowak and the others, “how do you know how far the run is around the camp?”  “I got it off of a Facebook post” was his quick reply.  The LtCol told me that the new team was wowed by my Dari. 

After that Lt Siegel was all mine.  I barraged him with information until the 1815 meeting.  Even when I did the class with Munir I was really teaching him.  When I told him that the next class was going to be his he was happy.  When I woke Munir up, and asked why he was sleeping while he said he was on duty,  Lt Siegel seemed a little taken aback.  The guy has a good perspective.  He knows that these guys are the way out, but he doesn’t really understand the people yet.   He understands what he reads in the newspapers about what is happening in Kabul, but he doesn’t yet understand that this is not a country, but merely the place where all of the other countries end.  He took my pointed advice as dissatisfaction with my job.  I didn’t intend for it to come off like that.  I was trying to tell him what makes these guys tick, what they want.  Ultimately, he will have no command authority over them, merely influence, and the only way to really secure that influence is by appealing to their desires.  Not what they expect from him (to give them stuff).  But to their desires.  He still thinks like an American, and he thinks like a Marine (he wanted to know who wasn’t gay on the Afghan camp—I had to tell him that despite them having sex with each other I don’t think many of them were gay, they just don’t treat women well, ever see them, so they’ve got to have a sexual outlet).  Inside of every one of them is a Marine, buried deep down, or so he thinks.  I feel kind of bad because he seems crestfallen, maybe he will just think I am a nut until he learns it for himself, but maybe that will take many wasted months. 

A couple of things occurred to me today. 

First was about me.  I think I am the anti-tribe.  It’s not that I don’t have the urge to join a tribe, be it of a political type, or another type. I have the same urges as everyone else.  The difference is that I am very reluctant to give up my own judgment about things. To the group, any group.  Perhaps this is why I am such a slave to my routine.  Because it allows me to offload a lot of the thinking about daily actions that most people depend on cues from others to obtain, there is no carpooling to breakfast, no deviating from lunch for me.  I’ll just run there myself, and walk back.  I think I am afraid of tribes because they will make me more stupid.  There is nothing wrong with a collection of people who believe the same things that I do, but I don’t want to believe the same things that others do merely because I belong to a section of people.  Its not that I’m not a member of a tribe, it’s that I am anti-tribe.

The other thing that occurred to me recently and I don’t know if I mentioned it was that Munir has been trying to flirt with me.  Every time that I get upset with him he kind of lowers his head, looks up at me through long lashes, gives me a creeping smile and says nothing.  It’s the kind of wry look that a boy gives a girl when he is being coy.  I think this is because he has always been able to use his good looks to flirt his way out of trouble with other men.  At first I thought it was just his way, but now I think I see more.

The other things to note are that the XO is now finished with his giant wall around his container, and that he has a stage built for himself now.  It is made out of a couple of the old pallets that we were going to use to boost the tents, I pounded the damn thing together myself when it was being used as a port-a-john shade, and anyone to stands on it is taking his life in his own hands. 

Handover Briefings with the new guys

Month 12 Day 20

Notebook entry

Three reports given, kick out the British, Salim and Qais sleep, 1030 meeting.

Journal entry

I went to the ceremony for Afghan Independance Day.  It was the
anniversary of the end of the 3rd Anglo-Afghan War, a pretty short
nonsense war that just reaffirmed what was already decided, the Durand
line would be the border.  I kind of wonder how the ceremony went over
up in 3rd Brigade where the Brits are the mentors.  They invited LtCol
Valquist to speak and he pulled out the revolutionary war era phrase
"give me liberty or give me death."  At least Afghanistan and America
have independance struggles against the Brits in common.

Salim and Qais were supposed to do class at 1000, but they were both
asleep and Munir didn't have the khootsba to roust them.

At 1030 they had their morning briefing. Graham, Brian and I all pulled
our gear out of our tent so that the next guys could move in.  This
has clearly been a traumatic experience for Graham.  He reminds me of
my dad "don't throw that away, it might be useful."  Brian calls him a
"junkist."  That is, one who collects a bunch of junk for not
particular purpose.  For me it was a labor of love.  It is wonderful
to be able to turn over this place, and move onto a cot in the
knowledge that the next time I sleep on a real bed, it will probably
be my own.

We gave away the chairs that Brian and Graham made to the linguists.
They kindly made me a chair, though I didn't do anything but beat out
some of the stuffing.  Maj Neller, the new team's XO came in and said
"they don't need those things, we'll take them back."  That really
pissed off Brian, he said "we made those things, they don't appear on
the team's density list, they were gifts to our linguists."

At noon, nothing eventful.

In the afternoon our power went down, they claim it was the battery on
the generator, but I suspect the new enclosure was trapping too much
heat in.  I took around the Gunny from CISE and showed him where all
of the contractors live, and because the Route Clearance Company
decided to play ball, there was a big line to get BATed, so none of
the contractors were done this week.

The new team started to show up and put their gear down.  I felt bad
because we hadn't really cleaned our old tent yet, so I ran a broom
around for a while and wiped the floor with some sanitizer wipes.

The XO's new privacy shade

We beat the British Ceremony

Month 12 Day 19

Notebook entry

Four reports given, maintenance day pack up, last of the Mohicans.

Journal entry
In the morning I woke up at 0500, did my routine before Brawny was up
so that he could use the truck.

I talk to Suzan and fought the Battle of the Inbox for a while.  I had
a rather refreshing cleanup of my desk, saving only the things that
the other guy might find useful.

At noon I went to eat with Graham and Brian.  Fareed met us once we were
in there.  He is not doing Ramadan because he has Asthma, or so he
says, though he seems to have little trouble with physical activity.
Just another dedicated Muslim.

In the afternoon, I loaded up a bunch onto the SharePoint site so that
others could access it.  That took forever.  I started watching Last
of the Mohicans.  It is funny to see the difference between a movie
made in the early 1990s and one made now.  I can't really put my
finger on it, but a lot of the epic moments just seemed to be a little
bit corny.  One thing is clearly different, my own perspective.  I
remember watching it as a seven year old and not understanding that
plot, it was too complicated for me.  I also remember being confused
about the scene where the younger sister commits suicide rather than
be taken as the bride of Magua, the bad indian dude.  I didn't
understand it at the time.  I remember asking my sisters, "why did she
do that?" "She'd rather die than be with him."  At the time I didn't
understand all that 'being with him' entailed, but I couldn't concieve
of anything worse than death.  Hmmm.

I wondered another thing about myself yesterday.  Brian said to me
"most people would be bothered by the fact that they just pissed off
their entire team by calling them pussies, but it doesn't seem to
matter to you."
He's right.  I don't care.  I wonder why that is.  I like to blame it
on my Asbergers, but maybe it's something different than that.  Maybe
it is that I can't care about people I don't respect.  I have a
tendancy to bifircate humanity.  There are people who are worth my
time, and people who are not.  I generally try to be curtious to the
latter, and I used to beleive that there was always something that I
could learn from anyone.  I still intellectually feel that is true,
but I don't often act like it.  Maybe it is because dealing with
people requires so much energy from someone like me.  I can do it, but
it is hard.  I also wonder if my perspective hasn't changed.  I can't
articulate it.  There are lots of reasons that different people
frustrate me.  Some people because of internal inconsistencies, others
because of vacuousness, others still well, I thought there were other
things, but nothing is coming to mind.  The former is a point of honor
and courage, if you are internally inconsistent if your values
conflict you are either lying to yourself or lying to others or you
don't have the courage to act on your beliefs.  The latter is an
unevaluated life, a life where people don't find something worth dying
for, they just act on their thinly-veiled genetic predispositions and
childhood perceptions with no thought to why.  Perhaps the most
frustrating thing here is that if you ever want to rise above your
origins, and by extension if you want humanity to progress, you need
to be able to step out and do something different than what you have
always done.  I admit my own irrationality in this.  I certainly have
not consulted every facet of humanity that annoys me, like everyone
else, I am a human, and I am subject to the incomplete reference of my
memory, these two particular annoyances were probably made more
salient in my brain by the movie I watched last night, but I felt the
annoyance viscerally prior to that.

I should also recount at least one more conversation from the day that
I pissed everyone off. and make a couple of reminders.

First the reminders.  There were actually two conversations with Capt
Brawny.  One where he called me a punk and I told him if the shoe
fits, then were it, and asked him why he came to Afghanistan, and the
second that I largely recounted before.

GySgt Casanova walked into the COC and the LtCol said
"Hey with all of this talk of pensions, it looks like they are
changing the scheme"
The gunny suggestively tapped the release button on his pistol leg-holster.
"Yah that's how its gonna be" the LtCol said acknowledging the Gunny's threat.

The other thing was a conversation with GySgt Young, our comm chief.
I talked about the economics of the unsustainable system.
He said "yah but everyone knew that social security and medicare were
not going to be around"
"They could say the same for you and the military, that is, 'you
should have forseen that we couldn't pay for your big salary, and two
wars, and pensions.'"
"Yah but that's different. I just want was I was told I was going to
get.  I would have gotten out a long time ago and gone to school and I
could be in a better place right now.  If give up all of this time
with my family so that I could retire early and enjoy life. At first
when I joined the Marine Corps I just wanted to serve the country.  I
thought about being a plumber, but once I was in and realized that
this could be a viable career I stuck around."
I believed his intentions, I believed what he would have done if the
incentives were different. I don't believe that America should be
culpable for his lack of forsight.

A hedghog that my tent-mates brought me.  They thought it would be funny to put on my rack.  I agreed

Month 12 Day 18

Notebook entry

15 reports given, other conversations, on pussy down, bird in gym goes up, CJ Radin coming over yesterday, why doesn't being hated bother me?

Journal entry

I went to the gym in the morning.  A sparrow, was trapped inside, or
so he thought.  Both doors were wide open, easy enough for two men to
walk through shoulder to shoulder, but the bird was trying desperately
to get out by flying up to the top of the tent, he just kept ramming
into the tent walls, turning, and falling.  His default is to fly up,
it doesn’t matter that the exit is wide open, but down a mere few
feet, he tries to fly up to safety, that is what he is hard-wired to
do, up is the only horizon, the only solution that he knows.  This
struck me as a metaphor of Afghanistan, in two ways the people, all
they have known their entire lives is to be selfish, it is the only
thing that gets them by, the most reliable choice in a world without
an overarching hand to enforce the rules.  The environment has now
changed, but they don’t see it, they can’t fly to the exit, they still
act like they are preprogrammed to.  If they spent their life in the
new environment, then they would understand, but now it’s too late to
change.

So how does the bird make it out, he works himself to death and either
wanders to the exit on the ground because he has exhausted himself, or
someone moves him out of the tent.  This made me think of Amir Dad, my
S2 soldier.  He was able to just go and pick up a bird off of the
ground and it didn’t fly away.  I have never seen a wild bird act like
this.  Every time I tried to approach, it fled, but Amir Dad could go
retrieve it with ease.  I couldn’t help but believe that there was
something fundamentally different about Amir Dad and me.  Amir Dad has
to be one of the most gentle, unassuming and nice boys here.  I asked
him why he became a soldier and he said to me “what’s one to do”
meaning that he had to do something, and this seemed as good as
anything.   He was a farmer back home in his little Hazara community,
but he did something uncommon in leaving and coming here.  That bird
was undoubtedly exhausted when Amir Dad picked it up, but it wouldn’t
go to just anyone, it had to go to someone kind, not like me.  Once
Amir brought it outside, it stayed with him for a while and eventually
flew away.

We were on our way to wake up Munir at 0900. Amir Dad just finished
telling me “it’s not good to wake up people from sleep and then expect
them to work, they will be in a bad mood.”  Such a wonderful and
dutiful Chai boy.
I asked Amir Dad why he became a soldier and I pointed to a small
scrub growing next to the cement pad where the Afghans do ablution.
“Amir Dad, why are you a soldier, if I told you to kill that plant I
don’t think you could do it.”
“If my commander told me to, then I would kill it.” He replied
Sammy, in tow, chimed in. “All Afghans are like this, they will kill
anything if they need to I have seen it with my own eyes, my uncle was
killed in front of me, and believe me, I wanted to fight. For 80,000
Afghanis a man can be killed, for 200,000 a commander, it happened to
my cousin and when I called my uncle to ask why he said that he had no
idea, actually” the last word is a Sammyism that he throws in whenever
he is saying what he believes.
“Where does that come from Sammy, Afghans in America don’t act like
that, yah, we get honor killings of girls wearing western clothes, but
not random deaths for no reason.”
“Actually, I don’t know, sir.”
“Do you think it will ever change.”
“Maybe in 100 years”

So there are the two different views of Afghanistan and I don’t know
what is right, the metaphor of the bird is all screwed up, but the
question is this.  Are there some gentle souls like Amir Dad who are
young and don’t remember the irrational solipsistic reasons to do
things who can live in the new environment of security, or are there
only damaged souls who are only a millimeter away from the exit, but
still choose to act as though they are in chaos.

If it is the latter, then how long will be have to hold the security
blanket on before the find the exit?  How long does it take to change
their programming?  Do they have to be completely exhausted and fall
to the ground first?   Can it be done in a lifetime?  Can some kind
soul like Amir Dad lead them out of their self-imposed prison?  If so,
then who is that man?  I think Karzai is still in his own
cage-of-the-possible. Can we, can they sense that we are here to help?
 Will they come when they are exhausted?

One thing is certain; it seems that the Afghans don’t believe it is
possible, even the gentlest soul will say that he can kill at a whim.
Does their belief comport with reality?  Does their belief matter?  I
find it personally convincing that it does.

One thing I forgot to mention from yesterday.   Chuck CJ Radin came over
and didn’t bring a linguist.  He must have thought he could force my
hand by just showing up.  When I reiterated to him that I could not
give him a linguist because I had been ordered not to, he came up with
the brilliant suggestion
“Why don’t you act as my linguist.”
“Really, you want me to violate the spirit of my commander’s orders if
not the letter.”
I handed him my Persian-English dictionary and said
“Good luck.”
He did come back successful because Munir knows enough English to
understand that he was telling him that he was going to be briefing
these slides.

That was really the reason that I was bound to see Munir in the
morning.  The RCT had made his slides for him and wanted me to show
them to him so he knew what to brief.  I complied.  I showed him the
slides and talked to him about the different between written and oral
communication (they normally just stand up and read their reports
aloud).  I then transitioned into a basic IPB class.   When I started
to show him all of the areas the ‘Dueshman’ come from he asked me:
“Why don’t we have troops there?”
“We don’t have enough Marines to put there in that spot in
Afghanistan, we have a limited number mandated by our congress.”
When I started talking about weapons flowing North out of Pakistan and
drugs flowing south, the same things that Gretchin Peters talks about,
but naming the specific locations he asked me.
“Why don’t Marines go there?”
Such a child-like question, I felt bad for him.
“Brother, my country cares about you, but if we go there, then we
would be at war with a country with 100,000,000 people.  We care about
you, but we can’t do that.  The best we can do is try to stop them as
they come.  We even have a special Marine unit down there that is
protecting your whole brigade from the deushman, without them, a lot
more of your soldiers would die.”
He nodded, but I don’t know if he really understood.  Would I
understand if I were him?  If some alien came to me from outer space
and said.
“We are here to show you a new way of living, we need your help, but
we have certain constraints put on us buy our alien form of government
in a place that you can’t even imagine.  Trust me though, we are doing
all we can to help you, and we are doing the best we can.”
If I believed him, I don’t think I’d understand.  I might even get
pissed at the aliens.

I finished my class with Munir, he went to the combined Ops-Intel
meeting.  I met up with Qais for class.  We reviewed the symbols, the
map locations, cardinal directions.  He is getting very proficient.  I
am proud of him.  He asked me, “why don’t you give me that notebook
that you make me take notes in so I can study?”
“Because I have given you notebooks in the past and you always lose
them, maybe your next mentor will be willing to give you another
chance.”
“When are you leaving, I want you to take pictures and you need to
print them and we can hang them and remember you.”
It's kind of nice, but even when they are trying to be nice, they are
asking for something.

In the afternoon nothing amazing happened.  I worked I what I hope
will be the last command Chronology, and worked on putting together a
binder for turnover.

The other guys stayed up late waiting for a leave flight that didn't
end up coming.  The LtCol mercifully let me go to be early rather than
subject me to a 2100 meeting and the requisite "Call on Me" video.

Month 12 Day 16

Notebook entry


14 reports given, sleep of excitement, where from, class with Qais Salim no-show, Munir no-show






Journal entry


I woke up still tired because I had slept an excited sleep the night
before. I don't know why it was so exciting. It was great to be able
to call the guys out. I don't know why that gave me such a surge of
exhilaration.

In the morning I woke up to two E-mails one from the Gunny and one
from the LtCol, the LtCol ensured that 'maximum punishment' woudl be
metted out, and the Gunny said that it was not a good career move. I
stored that E-mail. In Gmail.

That stirred up the hornets nest. the LtCol ordered me to recall the
E-mail austensibly because the RCT-5 guys were on it and tried to
assert in conversation that the Gunny's E-mail was not about career
moves even though the text says as much, twice. Brawny said I
offended him and called me a punk, he said my 'perspective' was all
skewed. When I reminded him that he had told me that he came here
because he thought it would give him a better shot at getting selected
for Major after being passed over, he started talking about how he
just wanted what he had been told he would get, he needed his pension.
Ah and there's the rub,
'I may not be a good communications officer, but I've worked hard, and
I've had a string of shitty bosses who don't evaluate me fairly.'
'OK, but if you are not very good at it, and you are in it to serve
your country then shouldn't you bow out?'
'I have been promised this, I've got a family'
'OK, but is that the American taxpayers responsibility, how are you
different from a glorified welfare recipient?'
'You're perspective is all wrong, I've been doing this for seventeen
years and I've got to put my family first, I need that money."
'That's fine, but how is that different than the desicion the guys
from Blackwater make?'
'I see it as different.'
And then he left.

The day was abuzz with conversations about pensions. It's funny how
many guys took my E-mails to heart, Steve, John Soltz, the gunny, and Capt
Brawny all said it was directed at them personally. In truth, it was
directed at all of them, but it was good to see that they finally see
the inherent conflict between their large paychecks, generous
pensions, and 'service.' It's all about heart condition. Capt
Brawny told me one other thing, that a bunch of guys were pissed off
at me. I told him that I didn't care (Asberger's has its benefits).
It's hard to care about what people think when you don't respect their
values. God, Family, Country, Corps. That's the hierarchy, if
something is in conflict you must bow out of the lower responsibility,
but you are not supposed to have the hierarchy God, Family,
laziness/fear of the unknown, Country, Corps. That's what the real
hierarchy is when you try to dick the country for the sake of your
family, you can do other things, you are just scared, and you are
making that everyone else's problem. Grow some balls and step out. I'm
not leaving the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps has left me.

In the morning I worked with Qais. He has been having some eye
allergy problems, but he still showed up. CJ Radin sent Sgt Salima from
the RCT over here. I sent him back because I had been ordered not to
supply one of our linguists to the RCT because their linguists are
screwing our linguists by claiming they can't work during the fast.
Sgt Salim came into the class for a moment, then left, he is
protesting because I pulled him out of the drivers course. He really
wanted that certificate so he could get a license in Kabul. He knows
how to drive, he took the seat from Amir Dad, the soldier, whose job
it is to drive, and is going to use his certificate of attendance to
try to get benefits that it was never intended to provide. The XO,
Munir, and Bashir all said, just let him finish the course. This must
be some odd Afghan way of thinking. I said to all of them.
"What is that going to teach him, that if you do the wrong thing with
the wrong motives for a week, then it becomes ok?"

Went to an uncomfortable chow with Graham, Brian, and Lt Love. The
Gorilla in the room was that Graham was still pissed that I called him

out for being a pussy when he always talks about trying to be 'tough'
and how his boys need to be "tough."

I worked on some turnover stuff in the afternoon. With Maj Neller,
showing him the complicated personnel database I created to track the
whole brigade to make sure they are not lying about the number of
leave days they have taken.

Munir didn't show up for class, at the time he chose. I'm shocked.

Watched a TED last night. It was from the founder of transparency
international, it was about western countries and corporations bribing
third world officials and being explicitly involved in corruption. I
thought it was fitting.






E-mails Mentioned (PPT is also in Gmail)





Where has my Marine Corps gone? A couple of references for you Pete
Ellis=Marine who was a drunk, too wild for real service even in the
pre-WWII era, active duty status uncertain, and predicted the entire
Japanese invasion to a T. There was another E-mail from the LtCol not
in this string that promised the maximum punishment.

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

SIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.smil.mil
NIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.mil

RCT-1, HQ CO Embedded Training Team
Unit #40145
FPO, AP 96427-0145


-----Original Message-----
And once we get assured that we'll get that cash what do we do...nothing
at all because that is the only goal.

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

SIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.smil.mil
NIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.mil

RCT-1, HQ CO Embedded Training Team
Unit #40145
FPO, AP 96427-0145

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 04:32
To: Casanova GySgt (RCT-1 ETT); Arauzarios SSgt Alejandro (RCT-1
S-3 ETT); Davidson Maj Christopher E (RCT-1 ETT XO); Brawny Capt Graham (RCT-1 S-3 SIGNALS OFFICER); Kucera HM1 David; Young GySgt

Christopher (RCT-1 ETT COMM CHIEF); Nowak Capt Stephen (RCT-1 S-3 Ops
O); Love 1stLt Daniel C (RCT-5 S-4 MT OFFICER); Arthur Capt Brian
(RCT-1 ETT); Mondt Sgt Michael T (RCT-1 ETT S3A); Neller Maj Shannon J
(RCT-5 S-3 OPS ADVISOR); Soltz CWO2 John Soltz (RCT-1 S-4 MOTOR-T MAINT
OFFICER); Valquist LtCol Andrew (RCT-1 ETT Chief); Kirell HM3 Nicholas P
(RCT-1 ETT)
Cc: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Subject: RE: The Gauntlet

Sigh...and this is why I bow out, not because I am no longer a Marine,
but because the reserves is the only place Marines still reside. The
slightly off-kilter, self-second, brave men who have plenty to lose, but
don't give a shit... Though I still fail to see how they could be pissed
about us taking gear not on their CMR, perhaps you are exactly right,
it's not a good career move...It all become about that magical twenty
years...forget winning, forget service, forget what's right, forget fun,
forget the truth, forget having a life, just remember the pension,
anything for a pension, anything for cold-hard-cash
like...well...mercenaries, or like...well...the Afghans. Look how
different we are from them...

Semper Fidelis,
Major Pete Ellis

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

SIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.smil.mil
NIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.mil

RCT-1, HQ CO Embedded Training Team
Unit #40145
FPO, AP 96427-0145


-----Original Message-----
From: Casanova GySgt (RCT-1 ETT)
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 20:33
To: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR); Arauzarios SSgt Alejandro
(RCT-1 S-3 ETT); Davidson Maj Christopher E (RCT-1 ETT XO); Brawny Capt
Graham (RCT-1 S-3 SIGNALS OFFICER); Kucera HM1 David; Young GySgt

Christopher (RCT-1 ETT COMM CHIEF); Nowak Capt Stephen (RCT-1 S-3 Ops
O); Love 1stLt Daniel C (RCT-5 S-4 MT OFFICER); Arthur Capt Brian
(RCT-1 ETT); Mondt Sgt Michael T (RCT-1 ETT S3A); Neller Maj Shannon J
(RCT-5 S-3 OPS ADVISOR); Soltz CWO2 John Soltz (RCT-1 S-4 MOTOR-T MAINT
OFFICER); Valquist LtCol Derek (RCT-1 ETT Chief); Kirell HM3 Nicholas P
(RCT-1 ETT)
Subject: RE: The Gauntlet

Don't think it would be a good "career move" if you got caught stealing
the gear. Yeah, great quote from Krulak. I'll give you another one,
"You're not a real Marine until you have had an NJP" --- Chesty Puller.
May have been sound back in his day, but if you get an NJP these days
your career slows down dramaticially. I say good on the people who
exercised good judgment and didn't put themselves out there for
something stupid the last few weeks we are here. But that's just me.
I'm a grumpy old Gunny.



-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 08:23
To: Casanova GySgt Louis (RCT-1 ETT); Arauzarios SSgt Alejandro (RCT-1
S-3 ETT); Davidson Maj Christopher E (RCT-1 ETT XO); Brawny Capt
Graham (RCT-1 S-3 SIGNALS OFFICER); Kucera HM1 David; Young GySgt

Christopher (RCT-1 ETT COMM CHIEF); Nowak Capt Stephen (RCT-1 S-3 Ops
O); Love 1stLt Daniel C (RCT-5 S-4 MT OFFICER); Arthur Capt Brian
(RCT-1 ETT); Mondt Sgt Michael T (RCT-1 ETT S3A); Neller Maj Shannon J
(RCT-5 S-3 OPS ADVISOR); Soltz CWO2 John Soltz (RCT-1 S-4 MOTOR-T MAINT
OFFICER); Valquist LtCol Derek (RCT-1 ETT Chief); Kirell HM3 Nicholas P
(RCT-1 ETT)
Cc: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Subject: The Gauntlet

Gentlemen,

We have a problem of khootsba, or balls, or shall I just come out and
say it, we have a pussy problem.

Let me explain what I mean. Per the E-mail string below, and per the
attached conops, tonight at 0500 I was planning to heist the gym
equipment that the MWSS stole in Feb so that RCT-5 would have something
to work out on and so that the fat-asses from MWSS could burn some
calories walking to their new mainside gym. I was not going to inform
the LtCol because I wanted him to have plausible deniability. This was
going to be a fun evolution that would right a wrong and be memorable.
Here's the rub. I can't do this without seven Marines, and I could only
find three other Marines with the balls to pull this caper.

Gentlemen, I feel it is my duty to throw this gauntlet down. If this
gym equipment is still in that gym by the time RCT-5 gets here we are a
bunch of pussies. They stole it. We can keep it here. They are leaving
in early Sept to mainside, we are leaving the same time. They are
RIPing out. There are a million good reasons, but most of all this will
be fun as shit and semi-dangerous. I need six Marines with balls to
come with me. Two to lift on the gym side, two on top of the HESCO, two
to load and one as a watch. We are following in a proud Marine heritage
of reappropriating gear to the greater good-General Krulak et all.

Don't be a Pussy,
Capt S



-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2011 10:43
To: Love 1stLt Daniel C (RCT-5 S-4 MT OFFICER)
Cc: Neller Maj Shannon J (RCT-5 S-3 OPS ADVISOR); Valquist LtCol Derek
(RCT-1 ETT Chief); Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Subject: FW: Old Dwyer Gym/showers

Lt Love,

FYI. I came up with nothing when I spoke to Capt Chau. I've come up
with nothing here. Perhaps you will have more luck, or perhaps you
would like to pursue the options from MSgt Sumida.

The final option is perhaps the most fun. I am happy run a covert op if
it helps your team. As Krulak said, institutional theft is a part of
our heritage, and since it doesn't belong to anybody...

R,

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

SIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.smil.mil
NIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.mil

RCT-1, HQ CO Embedded Training Team
Unit #40145
FPO, AP 96427-0145


-----Original Message-----
From: Sumida MSgt Ryan N (Camp Dwyer Mayor)
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 21:13
To: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Cc: Andazola Jr SSgt Miguel E (RCT-5 BOS-I CAMP OPERATIONS CHIEF);
Hawkins Capt Jon W (RCT-5 HQ COMPANY COMMANDER
Subject: RE: Old Dwyer Gym/showers

Understand the cynicism. I felt it too when I wrote my reply to you.
How long can I promise a shower and latrine for these guys? We had the
shower system, only the power was 110 vic3 220 which you are running in
Garmsir.

Unfortunately there is a shortage on what I have available. I can't
readily put anything into your compound as your power will not work with
the rest of my facilities. You are correct that we could use the area
near ANGLICO. I sent over a couple of slides showing the future of Old
Dwyer Development. Will attach it so you can see where it is headed.

As for the fitness equipment, there have always been options to get
equipment, one being to do a JARB package, and the other to see about
using FOO funds. Since you are in direct support of the ANA, it may be
possible to use FOO money. Worth a inquiry, and worth trying to set up
the next team with a few more creature comforts.

MSgt Sumida

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 19:45
To: Sumida MSgt Ryan N (Camp Dwyer Mayor)
Cc: Andazola Jr SSgt Miguel E (RCT-5 BOS-I CAMP OPERATIONS CHIEF);
Hawkins Capt Jon W (RCT-5 HQ COMPANY COMMANDER; Scott Shane Capt
(RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Subject: RE: Old Dwyer Gym/showers

MSgt,

The shower has been planned for the last year (it's only been 2 weeks
out for the last 52 weeks), so you'll have to forgive my cynicism.

I didn't know the air guys had showers, we'll head over there when the
time comes.

The RCT-5 advon is here, and they are not planning on moving out of Camp
Garmsir. We are all too familiar with odd smells, but mission
first...Moving or not, the gym problem for the fifty Marines on this
side of camp will remain. Any solutions other than letting Marines duke
it out over the shit the Brits made two years ago? We basically need a
bench press, dip bar, and Olympic bar, a triceps machine, some
dumbbells, and any spare cardio you've got.

Personally, I'm going to be off of this camp in a couple weeks and it
doesn't really matter to me, but it isn't fair to the next ETT and
ANGLICO. They already live a with the ANA, and the nearest running
water, chow hall are a mile away, and now they're not even going to have
a place to work out. All while the other side of camp has all of the
amenities in the world, and is about to get a few more because the MWSS
can't walk 200 ft to the existing showers, shitters, and gym on MSide.

R,

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

SIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.smil.mil
NIPR: Scott.Shane@afg.usmc.mil

RCT-1, HQ CO Embedded Training Team
Unit #40145
FPO, AP 96427-0145

-----Original Message-----
From: Sumida MSgt Ryan N (Camp Dwyer Mayor)
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 18:31
To: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Cc: Andazola Jr SSgt Miguel E (RCT-5 BOS-I CAMP OPERATIONS CHIEF);
Hawkins Capt Jon W (RCT-5 HQ COMPANY COMMANDER
Subject: RE: Old Dwyer Gym/showers

Sir--

There is a shower and latrine unit planned for the ETT in Garmshir.
VMGR also has showers and latrines. As far as the left over gym
equipment, it is not on the camp account, so if they leave anything....

I do not know if you will want to use the shower and latrines for the
Jordanians. We located them there to allow them to maintain their own
personal hygiene standard.

Additionally, there is a new ETT that I have proposed gets nestled in
just between Red Horse and ANGLICO. Red Horse may be leaving around the
end of the year or so from what I am hearing, so that whole compound may
open up as fair game.

MSgt Sumida

-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 15:49
To: Sumida MSgt Ryan N (Camp Dwyer Mayor)
Cc: Scott Shane Capt (RCT-1 S-2 MENTOR)
Subject: Old Dwyer Gym/showers

MSgt,



I'm wondering what your plan is for the gym/showers on Old Dwyer. As
you know the MWSS is moving to mainside, and they will be taking all of
the new gym equipment they procured for themselves, but I'm wondering if
you have a plan for the equipment that was left over from the old dwyer
gym? ANGLICO, Harvest Hawk, ETT, et all are still over here, and
Anglico is probably the most centrally located of us if we pop up a GP
tent. Same-same with shower facilities. If the MWSS takes the old 3rd
Infantry Division Army showers with them, then do you have a plan for
the rest of us? Is new stuff going to be brought in for the Jordanians,
or what? I think that Red Horse has a gym and showers, but they don't
play well with others, they've told us 'good luck' on using the showers
in their compound after the MWSS leaves. Any help would be appreciated.




Thanks,

Month 12 Day 15

Notebook entry

10 reports given, teleconference one showed up, Munir thinks base his responsibility.

Journal entry

Today I met up with Munir in the morning.  The XO has told him that he
personally needs to leave the wire every day to check on what is going
on outside, make sure the contractors are not a threat, etc.  I told
him this is not his job, he is supposed to be paying attention to the
entire AO, and that local security is the job of the garrision support
unit.  He said the GSU is too busy stealing to worry about security.
Either way, it is emblematic of some of the problems we face here, the
officers remember what it was like to be Lts 25 years ago under the
Russians, but have no idea what it is to be field grades.

I did the teleconference in the morning.  Up here Salim, Qais, and the
GSU CI guy showed up.  Only one of the kandaks showed up.  After we
were done they spoke up and said "what is the purpose of this, they
just pass the same reports we already have."  I agreed it was
pointless.  So we had an impromptu class on how to run a meeting.
They learned a new word, 'agenda' (the same in Dari as in English),
and I talked about what we coudl do to make it better next week.
Remind the kandaks, it is happening, send them and agenda, talk about
the things on the agenda, and then send out the minutes/taskers.  That
took an hour.  Salim went internal and kept trying to go to sleep.

Munir didn't show up at the time he said he was going to show up for
class, 1400.  I'm not shocked.

In the afternoon I worked on that opplan and tried to rally the
Marines. To come have fun by taking back some of the stolen gym
equipment, only three Marines had the balls, Lekic, Doc Kirell, and
Capt Arthur.  My sentiments on this are well expressed in those
E-mails.

I'm disappointed that the USMC has become so career-oriented.  I just
sent a good E-mail to Erik Sand encapsulating my feelings.  He wrote
about he had the same problem in the Navy.

Erik,

Yah we didn't get to talk much, but I do vaguely remember you.  I hope
I didn't say anything nasty about the senior service.  Perhaps it is
something we can rectify our lack of conversations if you ever park
your boat in San Diego.

Since I live in a glass house, I won't throw any stones, but I do
think a lot of things would be better if the pension system were
removed.  I see three types of Marines.

First, Basically everyone on their first tour who believes in service,
is still having a rough go of it--real Marines

Second, The High-fliers, they are brilliantly suited to their jobs,
and well-exceed the expectations put on them, the future flag
officers--real Marines

Third, The rotten middle, those who stay in because they are scared of
the outside world, don't know what they would do, and really want the
pension.  They are willing to do anything for a pension, bend the
truth, forget about the country, forget about what is right.  Once
they hit sanctuary, or are guaranteed retirement you see their true
colors come out, they generally don't do anything.  These guys rapidly
expanded in the last ten years, and they are dragging us down.
America would be better without them.  If we cut the pension-leash I
believe they would roam free.

I bring this up with a lot of the pensioners here, but I think they
are confused.  They don't see the conflicted lives they lead.   I
think that is because everyone starts off in the first category, a few
press on to the second, but the majority of those who stay in are
absorbed into the third, and the absorption is slow.  They still hold
an idea of service in their mind.  They believe it when people say
thank you for your service, but they are living a lie.  I don't blame
them entirely.  I feel the pull, I've got a mortgage, a wife, and I
can't just do whatever I want and I think about my fast-approaching
pay cut and am occasionally given to bouts of fright, for some people
who just scraped through college, have lesser skills, have kids, have
a true 'dependant.' the prospect of leaving must be terrifying.  I
just wonder if that is the right thing for the country.

Thoughts?

Rock on,
Scott

The Marine Corps I once knew is dead, replaced by mercenaries.

Month 12 Day 14

Notebook entry

13 reports given, Qais not at class, corruption Garrison support unit, Munir and Garrison support unit 1400 no-show, DRMO plotter.

Journal entry

Normal morning routine.

I met up with Munir briefly in the morning.  An inspector from the
Corps Topographic section was there.  He is part of the overall Corps
inspection team.  I said 'welcome, did you get our map requests, and
what's up with this form that no one can show me that we are supposed
to fill out to get maps, since you are here, do you have a copy?'
Well he didn't like it, he is down from corps and things he's big
shit, I don't fucking care any more.  I just want to get stuff done. I
scheduled a class time with them, and went to talk to the GSU CI.
Munir said that he couldn't compell the CI guy to come to class even
though his unit is subordinate to the brigade, and that he couldn't go
remind him every day "oh, you mean like I do for you on a daily
basis."  I went to talk to the GSU CI Mohammad Aqa,  I told him about
the class he said
"I am very busy"
"with what"
"I'm making this roster of all of the contractors on base"
"How is that part of counterintel?  Do you have a database you are
going to check them against?  This is Afghanistan, such a database
doesn't exist"
"Well, the commander told me to"
"Why do you think he did that"
"I don't know"
"Think real hard"
"I don't know"
"Lets step outside"
We moved about ten feet outside of his office and looked at the
unmortared cinder-block wall between the General's office building and
the GSU commander's office building.
"Where, did this come from? Do you have a block machine on the camp?"
"No"
"So where did it come from?"
"The contractors."
"Yah, the contractors that are trying to build your camp.  You are
stealing from them and putting together half-baked walls over here so
that the General can have a private shitter and shower. This is
bullshit, the contractors factor this stealing into their budgets, and
they end up charging the US more.  You are stealing from my country."
"Oh..."
"So what does that mean about your list?"
"Maybe I shouldn't make it."
"Congratulations, you can be an intelligence officer."

At 1400 they were supposed to show up for class, but they did not.  I,
for one, am shocked. Both Munir and Aqa didn't even let me know.

Instead of class fought the battle of the inbox.  I found out that the
plotter they are using at the Corps level is one of the ones that I
was so glibly rejected on by the MEF G4 almost a year ago.

this was his original E-mail:
-----Original Message-----
From: Knapp LtCol Karl (IMEFFWD G-4)
Sent: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 17:49
To: Nguyen Maj Thai N
Subject: Giving gear to ANSF

Absolutely not! No printers no computers no parts no end items no
uniforms etc. They have their own supply system they can use. We have
been over this a dozen time with units, the answer is always no! If
the kits are excess they better WIR them so another Marine unit can
use Marine funded gear. You need to get this word out to the 'new'
guys. We have already lived this pain last rotation.
S/F
K

LtCol Karl Knapp
I MEF (FWD)/RC-SW C-4
Supply Officer
DSN: 318.357.6413
NIPR: karl.knapp@afg.usmc.mil
SIPR: karl.knapp@afg.usmc.smil.mil

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional,
illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream
media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible
to pick up a turd by the clean end."  - R. J. Wiedemann LtCol. USMC
Ret

Funny what a difference a new command element makes.  I guess the
answer is to just ask when the next guys arrive.

The XO is also putting up a HESCO fence around his container, keeping
up with the General/Jonses.

I was so excited about planning my raid to take the community gym
equipment that MWSS has claimed as their own that I had trouble going
to sleep.  This is going to be fun.