Sunday, July 19, 2009

Journal 10-16 July

July 10 – MSgt Gonzalez does not have a place for me, yet. Staying in the 6-man hooch. CPTs Reagan, York and England don’t know what I do nor where I will work. I went to drop off laundry and also ended up getting a massage from Melody, the Filipino masseuse for $20/hour. She’s not nearly as good as Elizabeth White of Newport, RI, but I was very surprised to find an actual massage person. The Filipinos run the barbershop, coffee shop, hair product shop and the massage business(it’s actually a tiny room (about the size of our trailer bedroom with two tables, Afghan rugs on the walls and a thin bed sheet (unstained) acting as a partition between the room and the rest of the shop. Oh, the Filipinos will also do your laundry for $2 a load. They also run the internet servers and probably anything else one might want here on the FOB. There is one Filipino whose gender I am yet to determine – I don’t think I want to know.

July 11 - MSgt Gonzalez does not have a place for me, yet. Staying in the 6-man hooch. CPTs Reagan, York and England don’t know what I do nor where I will work. Spent most of day on internet at MWR and watching The Unit Season 3.

SHANK July 12, 2009


July 12 - MSgt Gonzalez does not have a place for me, yet. Staying in the 6-man hooch. I met with CPTs Reagan, York and England to establish my credentials and asked for a desk – got one. Called Lora and wished her a Happy Anniversary. Went to chapel – sermon was from Hebrews 12 regarding hardships and how God chastens those whom He calls sons and loves. Had lunch with Chaplain Brad West of Fort Drum, originally of Minnesota. His 26 Y/O son and 23 Y/O daughter are having a grandchild within a few months of each other.

SHANK July 12, 2009


July 13 - MSgt Gonzalez does not have a place for me, yet. Staying in the 6-man hooch. CPTs Reagan, York and England don’t know what I do nor where I will work.

July 14 – Moved to my new B-Hut number 27. On the end right by the front gate. 2 huts down from the Filipino Barber/Coffee/Hair product/Wireless Internet server/Massage Shoppe/$2 laundry – wash/dry/fold. Built a wall and door for my 3-walled, 6x6 foot hole. Brought over the high velocity fan and snap-on lamp from MSgt Gonzalez’ hut (they weren’t using it, anyway.) First Sgt Johnson, the FOB Mayor, gave me all the materials and loaned me all the tools I needed to do the job. Afghani screws aren’t very well made, though. They melt during insertion – one must be gentle and slow. There has to be a joke in there somewhere.


Shank July 14, 2009


July 15 – Got tasking from CPT Reagan, acting S2: find out any Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) associated with Unknown Ballistic Eexplosives (UBE) and the chemical makeup, who’s doing mine clearance operations, where is the money coming from?

July 16 – Came down with the Shank runs. OK – it was only once, but a lot of others had the same thing last for 2-3 days. Either I am immune or did not eat as much of the same thing. The food is quite good, but I am restraining myself to non-red meats, fresh veggies and fruits. No desserts, no sodas, no bread or starches: basically no sugar or flour. I am feeling good. Went to Bible Study tonight. We are going through Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life” and are on chapter 23, at one chapter a week pace. How We Grow is this week’s discussion. Chaplain Brad West posed the question: What is God’s Will? He quoted Romans 8:28-29 and pointed out that in v. 29, God wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son. Ultimately, that is God’s will for all of us: How He does that is unique to each of us, but we have the promise that He will use all things to work together for good to those who love God. No matter what we decide, He will use the circumstances to make us more like Jesus.

SHANK July 16, 2009

2 comments:

  1. OK, so now we know you got the Afghanny Runs. Is it the water? I thought you weren't suppose to drink the water. Maybe it was the massage?

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  2. Actually, there was some sort of virus going around. I, apparently had the lightest 'run' of anyone. Just the one squirt... We drink bottled water. Did you know that bottled water comprises 25% of the supply convoys in AFG?

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