Fob Lane

So I'm hoping you all enjoyed reading about children in my perspective. Writing this blog is so you all can feel like you are here, sorda. I know I misspell alot of words when I'm typing fast and probably write slang words here and there but I'm human, I'm not the news. That's the difference. Anyways, let me move on. I've been at FOB Lane for about 2 weeks. I don't have much longer here but I'll return sometime in the near future. I still have to visit FOB Sweeney and FOB Bullard. That's where the rest of my team is. As of now I think I'll return to FOB Smart for a couple of weeks and then decide where I head to next. or get told.

I have been enjoying my time here at Lane. It's definitely different from Smart. This is mountains and Smart is city. Not New York City but a poor city. You've seen the pictures. Well I hope you have. The threat here is different, the terrain is different, the missions are different. Change can be good. It helps me not get complacent. The missions here are mostly for Civil Affairs. So I've drank more Chai Tea here than I have in Qalat but they definitely do make a difference here. People feel more secure, they are glad to see us, and love that we bring the Afghan government with us so they know they can trust they’re afghan law enforcement, army and etc.

Afghans like to drink Chai Tea and sit down and talk. When I say talk, I mean they can talk for hours and that is their way of having a good time and enjoying life. As a Combat Photographer I have to document the mission, therefore, I document the Key Leader Engagement [meeting] and capture the security outside the KLE. I try to cover every perspective. It's my job



Almonds are pretty popular out here. and good




This is a key leader engagement. More people to the right though



So the food here at Lane is definitely different from Smart. At Smart it's known for the fob of the 4 with the best food and it's definitely true so far. The food at smart is good and we actually have options. Well of course here at Lane there is an option too, to eat or not eat. The food at Lane is also good though, the bad thing about it is that there isn't much option. Normally you have a choice of 2 meats and 2 or 3 sides. There's always cereal and milk though so can't complain. Well I never complain I'm just letting you know the difference. I can eat anything, well almost anything till I was throwing up one night at 0130. Sucked!

At smart our food is transported by truck. At Lane, the photos below will show you how we get the food, water, and anything else we need to survive out here.



A Whole lotta food

 

An air drop for those of you who have never seen one



During a mission one day these kids had the times of their lives. They jumped in their "pool" and when they saw the camera they started doing all these jumps and enjoying themselves. Here are some photos. 

This is how ALL the kid's feet look like

Went for a swim

and a dive

A few days after I was laying in bed working on some photos from that morning when Lt Lopez came in my room and said "Betz might save a life." I jumped up grabbed my camera put on my crocs [best thing to have on a deployment] and ran to the clinic along with Lt Lopez and Sgt Mader. We all ran with whatever we had on in our rooms and started helping Betz. My way of helping him was by making him famous. A little different I know. He was already there starting to prep things but he was pretty much prepped. He is the only Combat Medic on our team of 90 something people. He grabbed a few extra things when he had found out the kid had fell from a tree.

Well the father comes into the room and we're wondering why he's bringing dirty laundry and wondering there the kid is. Ok maybe I was a little sarcastic or maybe not but you can see for yourself. This is culture, this is how they transport their kids at times. Well this 4 year old boy had fell from a tree and possibly broke left ribs, he was missing a tooth, and could of broken his jaw and ankle. Several injuries we'll say. Well the biggest injury of them all was the left axillary laceration or a deep cut under his armpit. This poor kid was the bravest kid i've met thus far. If this would have been me or one of my brothers we would of been yelling at the top of my lungs but this boy barely cried. We were all shocked of how tough this kid was. It was either because he was scared of his father or because it hurt his jaw too much to cry. Either way he was tough.

Thanks to Betz, this kid was put in a stable position. Betz did a great job and it was the first time i've seen him perform in his expertise area. Here's a slideshow of this event. 

Well that is all for now folks. Thanks for following and feel free to share with your family, friends and co-workers. Till the next one.

The Future of Afghanistan...

Children. I loveeee children. I can't wait to have some of my own but I can wait. Well I feel horrible for the kids around here. When we walk through the streets all they ask for is a pen. They say "pen pen pen" and probably don't know what it means but they get taught to ask for pens. Some of the kids do know what it means. Some of those kids just want a pen to go to school with. 

In the states we grow up asking for iPads, laptops, iPods, new clothes, and the latest gadgets out there but in this country all these kids ask for are pens. Breaks my heart. Some of them don't even have shoes. The tough thing is keeping a balance. Yes I can give a little boy a pen because I carry extra but when you have 20+ kids asking you for pens I just don't have enough for all of them and I don't want them fighting for one pen so I don't give any away.  I told my mother this and she is now sending me a bunch of pencils. How sweet of her.

I cannot believe how big families are here. It's part of their culture though. Family members can be married to each other and a man can have multiple wives. I hear that there are times when a father does not remember which child belongs to which wife. In America we are definitely not used to that but here it's a whole different world. 

He knew my pens were in my left pocket

I made Lt Steuart famous

She's adorable!

I don't know about you but if I was 8 years old and I saw a group of soldiers from some other country walking through my local park I would run away to the cops or to my mama or papa. Not Here. These kids have grown up seeing us in their daily lives. The only thing that changes is the people and uniform but they all they know is that they are soldiers and they kill and fight. They actually attack us asking for help and trying to get our pens or sunglasses. Some even say watch because they want our watches. 

This is their global sign for pen! And like that EVERYWHERE I don't know how. 

The global "can I have a pen" sign

Now this little boy in the photo below was super scared and it's my fault but I'll explain why. I saw the little boy and he had such a nice smile on his face. Well he I quickly lower myself to get to his height and take a photo and he thought it was a gun. He ran away so quick it made me upset to know that he thought I was attacking him when all I wanted was a picture. It made me think though. This little boy must of seen some crazy stuff if he knew what a gun can do to someone. It's surreal.

The scared boy

One thing that many kids do here that is very grateful of them [sarcasm] is throw rocks at us. I mean seriously, we go to the school and donate things to them and play with them and our way out they throw rocks at our vehicles and us. One day I was taking a knee and pulling security and all I felt was my head be hit with something hard. When I look to my left I see all the kids laughing and sticking their tongue out at me. Not much I can do there. Bummers. 

Sgt Farrell and Afghan boys

This little boy was walking alone with no supervision in Qalat City

 

 

Overall, the kids here are poor and it makes me sad. I wish I can adopt them all and take them to the states with me but I probably couldn't maintain one with my paycheck. Maybe if I become a billionaire I will. Till then I'll stick to documenting this war...

Im teaching these kids 'the fist bump'