Land of the midnight sun

Midnight in Stavanger, Norway

We had two weeks of NATO training and exercise at the Joint Warfare Center in Stavanger. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) exercise was in preparation for the battle rhythym and working with Gen McChrystal as the ISAF commander. NATO ISAF staff at the exercise respected Gen McChrystal and were anxious about his resignation. However, I believe we will suffer no drop-off in Gen Petraeus.

The 300 training attendees came from 44 nations and it warmed my heart to serve along side French, Germans, Danes, Dutch, Estonians, Slovenians, et al. talking about us and we. The world has grown so much smaller since I was stationed in Schwabish Gmund, West Germany in the early 70s.

Afghan people need our assistance and understanding. They have suffered much brutality and barbarism over the past three decades. We need to show the majority of them our generosity, compassion, and charity. Those who are fighting us need to be shown our might and resolve.

Norway is a beautiful country with fjords and verdant spruce trees. Stavanger is the third largest city and the base for their North Sea oil operations. The economy is expensive with a bowl of soup costing 140 NOK and a draft local beer 65 NOK (6.5 Krone to $1) or 20$ and 10$ respectively.

We were there for the longest day of the year and it was twilight from midnight until the sun rose and birds started chirping at 0230. It was tough to sleep.

Some of our class headed straight down range after the exercise. It was difficult for me to shift back into civilian mode and walk down the streets of Washington, DC. I feel like I should have continued on to Kabul for continuity.

Farvel!

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