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.