Q:What town are you in?

A: I am stationed in Jalalabad, Afghanistan at a forward

operating base about 35 miles from Pakistan.

Q: What has been your usual schedule?

A: My schedule changes from day to day. Some days I work around the post preparing billets for incoming soldiers and writing up request for new equipment to improve the post.  Other days I go out to the outer guard posts that are manned by Afghan soldiers to check on them.  I try to do this everyday.  But one of the best parts of the day are teaching the guards English. I have five small schools that I go out to from time to time…  It is so great to see how eager the soldiers are to learn.  They call me “Teach” and always welcome

me with big smiles, hand shakes and recently hugs. They really amaze me how fast they learn. At the same time I am learning Pushtu and Dari. Both languages are very hard to learn, but I am trying and you can see they appreciate it. The best days are the days I get to go out on convey duty which as you know are dangerous, but I am able to see more of the country and the people. We also have an Afghan General here and he has taken a liking to me and I have tea with him almost every other day.  He has been a soldier all of his life and fought against the Soviets back in the 80s during the time they invaded Afghanistan.  Later he was jailed by the Taliban and now is trying to do everything to make

Afghanistan a free country.

Q: What are some interesting things you have done so far?

A: Some of the interesting things I have done so far –

Last week I went out on a mission to another post that has US troops and Afghan troops.  The ride there was eye opening to say the least.  Hundreds of poor

people everywhere and lots of traffic on the roads.  I saw people up in trees chopping wood with small axes and even knives.  Wood is very valuable here. If we have any wood left over from projects during the day, the local workers can’t wait to get their hands on it. It is like gold here. Well back to the mission – the post we went to had been one of Bin Laden’s HQ and the Americans dropped a

few smart bombs there back at the beginning of the war. The buildings hit by those babies are gone. The rest of the post is a mass mess of fighting positions

and destroyed cannons and other military equipment. One building that I got into was full of Soviet and Chinese equipment that the Taliban had been using. I found five Soviet helmets there and – well you know where here are now. Another interesting thing is my visit with the Afghan guards – As I said before – they seem to really care about what they are fighting for.  But one thing we

are thought and it is hard to get use to – Never trust anyone here and sad to say – be prepared to kill them.

Q: Is it difficult to communicate with local people?

A: Yes and no.  A lot of Afghans speak some English.  We

have a lot of translators with us and it really doesn’t seem to be a problem unless you have a project that is very detailed. The level of English I have seen varies from outstanding to a few words.  But I think it is very important for us to learn as much of

their language as we can.

Q: What are some common misconceptions most Americans

have about Afghanistan?

A: A common misconception most American have about

Afghans is that they are stupid.  Let me tell you – They maybe not be able to read and write, but they are not stupid.  They come up with some of the most ingenious ideas on how to repair things and I see this

everyday.  They are not lazy and with our local workers on post, they can do two times the work of an American.

Q: Anything you would like to say to the school?

A: I want to thank everybody for the emails and all of the support in getting things for the schools and troops here. We are located so far out that we have a

hard time getting a lot of needed items. The generous support of the students and staff back home is greatly appreciated.  As I stated before I have seen a somewhat different picture of what is going on here compared to what the media is showing.  Great strides

in improving the life of the people here is seen everyday.  The people here really appreciate the

efforts that are being made to better this country.