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14 February 2011
12 February 2011
08 February 2011
The Last Farewell
I transferred my mentor and advisor duties to the Air Force major next to MGen Nooristani. The AF major wanted to talk to BGen Shoutl next to me in the red beret. BGen Shoutl had some interesting stories to tell about her life. She is very courageous to just be in the Afghan National Army as woman are severely discriminated against in this society.
BGen Shoutl & AF Jag
BGen Shoutl (red beret) is an Afghan Commando with over 500 hundred parachute jumps. She gave MGen Nooristani some of his own medicine when he started teasing her. She must be a very tough woman.
03 February 2011
Camp Eggers Award Ceremony
My boss at ANA Legal Development handing me my Joint Services Commendation Medal certificate.
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02 February 2011
Street Girl at the Bazaar
These little girls sell scarves (chador) on the street towards ISAF. My co-worker and an American who has been in country eight years were able to sponsor the the girls for the Women's Bazaar at Camp Eggers. This photo was taken just after the bazaar opened. The girls were charging twice the price what they charge on the street. When I returned at bazaar closing, most of the chador were gone. The girls had fat wallets and huge smiles. The sponsor who has been here eight years told the girls mother they had made enough to get off the street. I haven't seen them the last two weeks. Success!
28 January 2011
Mr. Barker's Gift
One of my co-workers noticed this little street urchin's crayon art work. He was generous and thoughtful enough to send over a box of 64 crayons as a present. As you can see, the gift was a big hit
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21 January 2011
18 January 2011
UN House now Fun House
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15 January 2011
Warrior
Me in my flightsuit for a mission to KMTC to review the Law School training. M-4 and full battle rattle.
14 January 2011
Afghan Women Vendors
Eggers is sponsoring a women only bazaar in a few weeks. These women came on base to get ID cards. I asked to take a photo and created a hubbub. One women dawned her burqa before she'd let me take the photo. The AF major in the middle is fantastic in her compassion and energy on behalf of these women.
Afghan MoD Farewell
I gave Colonel Popal a certificate of appreciation in hopes of encouraging him to follow through with our objectives after I leave. Col Popal speaks English quite well and has the energy to accomplish things at MoD Legal.
The three musketeers who will be leaving our mentor jobs at MoD Legal over the next 3-4 weeks. MGen Nooristani and BGen Karim gave us traditional Afghan garb for our farewell gifts. This Marine Major and Air Force TSgt have done an outstanding job in helping our Afghan partners with Rule of Law.
This our Office of Staff Judge Advocate leadership with MGen Nooristani, BGen Tafun, Judge Rahim, Col Popal, an AFPAK Hand AF Major, and the three departing ANA Legal Development team.
MGen Nooristani, BGen Karim (TJAG), Judge Rahim with me in "Karzai" coat, pakola, and small.
As my parting gift to MGen Nooristani, I gave him a Dale Gallon print of "The Day is Ours." It is the high-water mark of the Confederacy of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg on 3 June 1863. MGen Nooristani, though Chief of MoD Legal, was trained as an artilleryman. The print has cannon leveled at the charging infantry and firing canister.
31 December 2010
Street Kid
This little guy has been selling hand drawn pictures and photos on the street going to ISAF the last few weeks. I bought a crayon drawing from him two weeks ago and gave him a dollar last week. Today he was inside our Hesco barrier and had both a photo and a drawing. I asked him in Dari how much for the photo and he had trouble holding up five fingers along with the two objects. I gave him a dollar as a gift and then remembered I could get a photo of him with my BlackBerry. He is adorable.
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Snow on the Mountains
There is snow on the mountains visible between the white building on the left and the antenna. It was a clear, warm, and sunny day today in Kabul. The smog has been oppressive several nights this week. Its so bad that it takes your breath away. I knew I could feel snow yesterday; just that it didn't fall in Kabul, but rather up in the mountains. Usually it is so dusty and smoggy we can't see the mountains. A double bonus on New Years Eve. Happy New Year to all!
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Street Friend
A closer shot of my little friend with the art work.
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30 December 2010
ISAF Christmas
Five attorneys from our OSJA office and an Air Force Public Affairs Officer celebrate Christmas Brunch at the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) dining room. ISAF offered salmon, shrimp, turkey, et al. while Camp Eggers had sandwiches.
ISAF offers china plates, metal cutlery, and a European flare for meals. ISAF's dining room is a pleasant respite from our paper plates, plastic utensils, and more mundane American cooking. We go over to ISAF for brunch every Friday (Jumma) and then go to their Bazaar (the highlight of our week). We look forward to Friday's.
My good friend from Day 1 in Kabul. Unfortunately, I'm leaving soon and he must remain until next June.
TV Hill Sunset & A Cloudy Day
This morning started off cloudy and overcast. It felt like it could snow. There was high humidity for Kabul and cold enough for snow. However, by mid-afternoon the clouds were gone, the skies clear, and warm, as usual.
The time was about 1630 and here is an approximation of the ambient light. The mountains were unusually distinct without the omnipresent smog, dust, and pollution.
This was the cloudy day from two days ago, 29 Dec 10. This picture was from around mid-day and it stayed cloudy all day; another rarity. The clouds were a wonderful change of pace from our ever sunny days.
25 December 2010
Aschiana School
The instructors told us to start distributing the school supplies to the boys at the rear. I said I wanted to start giving the supplies to the girls at the front. Women and girls are discriminated against in this society and I favor them every chance I get. I buy from women at the bazaar and give them things before the men and boys at every opportunity.
These little girls were so shy they wouldn't answer questions about how they were doing or how old they were. I hope they are able to learn and to grow into strong persons to defend themselves and their families. They are going to be the vehicle of change in the Afghan society if they are going to be peaceful and prosper.
These kids were so happy to get pens, pencils, and notebooks. Try this in the United States! This is the best and most rewarding thing I have done over here.
A navy Lieutenant with the Afghan who helped arrange our visit to the Aschiana school and orphanage for street children. All Afghan public schools close for three months in the winter. This school remains open to attend to the needs of kids who beg on the streets or work in bazaars.
This is me in front of the Aschiana school. We didn't coordinate very well when we delivered the school supplies and clothes last Saturday. The children weren't in school. The muslim holiday of Ashura was on Thursday of last week and thus, the children had an extended vacation.
I was worried about the clothes and supplies going "missing" while in storage at the school. I took photos of me in front of the piles of donated goods and I told the instructors I had these photos and the piles should be the same height when we came back to hand the stuff out to the kids. The instructors and director promised they wouldn't touch them and gave us the key to the locked storage area. They were true to their word and the piles were untouched when we returned.
16 December 2010
Air Force legal staff - Camp Eggers
The Air Force sent us a Christmas care package that included antlers for all of us. Here are your Air Force legal staff stationed at Camp Eggers. Happy Holidays!
Caveats: FOUO
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: FOUO
15 December 2010
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