Hey Kids, What Time Is It?

Afghanistan is in one of those weird half-hour time zones, which means rather than being 9 hours different, it's 8 and a half hours different. It'll be 9 and a half hours different once Daylight Savings Time ends.

Fortunately, there are plenty of websites that will calculate the time for you. If you want to know what time it is over there, you can click here. You could also get one of those cool dual-time watches. Or just consult this handy little list:

East Coast / Kabul
7am / 4:30 pm
8 am / 5:30 pm
Noon / 9:30 pm
5 pm /  2:30 am (the next day)
9 pm / 6:30 am
10 pm / 7:30 am

Countdown To Kabul

Well, there's no getting around it - my time is getting short. I leave for Kabul in less than 20 days. Eighteen days, to be precise. Or, as a buddy recently pointed out, just 197 days until I come back!

It's a surreal feeling, knowing that I'll be on the other side of the world soon. We're all making an effort to spend our remaining time well. Some of what we're doing involves getting ready (updating wills, renewing passports, reviewing finances), but we're also making sure we're spending fun time together (pumpkin patch, etc). So far it hasn't felt too frantic, but I'm definitely feeling the deadline looming ahead.

Lorne Michaels from SNL once said "The show doesn't go on because it's ready; it goes on because it's 11:30." (That's 2330 for you military types). I'm in the same boat - I'm shipping out to Kabul when the day comes, whether I'm ready or not. I think we're in pretty good shape already, but no matter how much I prepare, there will always be One More Thing I'd like to do, if I just had a little more time.

I Got Skillz!

OK, so I've mentioned Combat Airman Skills Training (CAST) several times, but I realized I haven't been terribly specific about what skills they actually taught us. Let's remedy that today, shall we? Here's what I learned on my summer vacation.

Small Unit Tactics
This skill set basically involves learning how a group of military folks move from point to point in the field and what to do if we come under fire. We practiced a few different formations (line, wedge, etc) and learned the responsibilities of each person in the line (first guy is Point, second is Navigator, third is Squad Leader...). We learned how to "bound" (i.e. move away from bad guys), as well as how to do flanking movements on an enemy position. Keeping an eye on your particular field of fire was important here too (i.e. left side or right side).


Land Navigation

In Boy Scouts, we called this Orientation. We learned how to plot points on a map and calculate distances and headings. Then we went out into the field and hit those points. This involved, among other things, keeping a pace count (tip: if you're going 500 meters, pick up 5 stones and drop one every 100 meters. When you're out of stones, you're there). I enjoyed this part quite a bit.

TCCC (Tactical Care under Combat Conditions)
There was no Boy Scout equivalent of this, although First Aid came close, and let me tell you, it wasn't as much fun as Land Nav. The TCCC module was all about helping an injured person while the shooting is still going on. Lesson 1: superior firepower is the best medicine. Basically, this involved running out to a "wounded" person while your buddies lay down cover fire, then dragging or carrying the injured person back behind cover, then doing the first aid thing. The trick is to have one or two draggers do the heavy work, then pass the casualty along to someone else for first aid while the draggers try to catch their breath. Remember, we're all wearing body armor and carrying rifles while doing this, so it's pretty intense.

Convoy Operations
This is where we got to drive around in humvees and see the Texas countryside. Much less physically demanding than TCCC, and if you're the gunner in the turret, the view is pretty nice. Turns out Camp Bullis is pretty big. Along with driving, we had to watch for simulated IED's, navigate from point to point and communicate with our radios.

IED Identification
The instructor had set up a "petting zoo" of different types of IED's, so we could see how they were constructed, how they functioned, etc. Very instructive to get all up close and personal with these nasty little devices. Then we went out and drove around looking for them. At first, it was amazing how often we'd drive right past one, even though they weren't really concealed very well at all. By the end of the training, we got really good at spotting them.

Urban Operations
This was sort of like Land Nav through a town. The course had a mock villiage and we practiced getting into a building while being shot at, then getting back out. Most of the time the instructors were shooting blanks, but a few times paintballs were involved. That meant we had to wear these terrible neoprene masks and goggles, which made it hard to see and hard to breathe. It also meant anyone who got hit in the leg ended up with a pretty impressive bruise. I collected two while I was there.

To be sure, this was the Skills 101 course, very much an introductory level designed to give us basic familiarization. As more than one instructor said, they're not trying to make us into ninjas. But at the same time they really put us through the paces. A more advanced course would be longer, giving us more practice and more nuances, but as far as I can tell, CAST covered the skills pretty well. Ask me again when I'm in Kabul.

CAST Details

As I got ready to go to Combat Airman Skills Training (CAST), I really appreciated a couple bloggers who had shared some of the details of their experience. Accordingly, I figured I'd pass along some info and suggestions, based on my two weeks at Camp Bullis, in lovely San Antonio TX (I can't speak for Ft. Guernsey or Dix).

Meals: Let's start with the most important aspect of any military experience: the food. We had hot chow for breakfast and dinner, but got MRE's for lunch every day. That's an improvement over previous sessions, who got MRE's three times a day (yikes!). 

The hot food was actually pretty good most days, although there was an almost disturbing quantity of gravy available. I tried the biscuits and gravy for breakfast  twice... then figured I'd hit my annual quota of breakfast gravy. We took turns as servers in the chow lines - don't forget to bring your hat when it's your turn to ladle the gravy!

As for the MRE's, my "favorites" (if there's such a thing) were the vegetarian entrees. The cheese tortellini got pretty high reviews from several of us. Some of the MRE's come with M&M's or Skittles... but somehow I never managed to pick one with candy in it. I wish I'd brought a water bottle so I could have mixed up some of the drink powders that come in each MRE. The drinking bags they provide are pretty hard to drink out of. 

As you might expect, the first few MRE's weren't so bad. The first couple of days were also some of the most physically demanding, so we ate everything but the matches out of those bags. By day 7 or 8, we were getting pretty picky - partly due to MRE fatigue and partly 'cause when you spend all day driving around in a humvee, you don't build up quite the appetite as when you're running through the woods wearing body armor.

Hours: Breakfast started at 0600 - which meant I rolled out of bed right around 0559 most days. After eating, it was time for a quick shower & shave, then we had some time to check email before class started at 0800. Lunch started somewhere between 1100 to 1400, depending on the day and whether they remembered to bring the MRE's with them out to the shooting range. 

Class generally ended by 1700 (sometimes earlier!), and dinner was at 1800. I almost always was able to catch a shower before dinner... and I almost always needed one! I was able to call home in time to tuck the kids in every night, and was in bed myself by 9pm most nights... and asleep by 9:05. Maybe the younger troops stayed up later - I wouldn't know. Which leads me to...

Sleeping: We bunked in tents - I shared one with 5 other Lt Col's. We called it the Old Folk's Home, and although it didn't have wifi, it did have electricity and the most powerful air conditioner in the world. Because the tent isn't exactly insulated, it was either freezing cold in there or hot and stuffy. Mostly we froze, which was great - Camp Bullis is in Texas, after all. One night a massive storm blew through and it sounded like we'd camped under a waterfall. Pretty hard to sleep through that, so I was awake almost all night. There was a little bit of leakage, but we mostly stayed dry.

 Training: The training was outstanding and the instructors were all top-notch. It was some of the most physically demanding stuff I've ever done - running around in the woods wearing body armor, dragging "wounded" people around while getting shot at with blanks (and sometimes paintballs), navigating through the dry Texas scrub. Running the AF Half Marathon was a piece of cake compared to this - at least the half marathon only took 2 hours. CAST went on for 10 days.

I'd spent a lot of time in the gym prior to CAST, which definitely made a difference. I highly recommend getting into shape before reporting in. I just wish I'd done more sprints rather than just focusing on long runs, although I'm sure my endurance training paid off.

Other Stuff: One of the highlights of CAST (aside from getting Sunday off!) was meeting the other trainees. Several had been to Kabul before, so I got a first-hand account of life at ISAF HQ. Several others are going there at the same time as me, so we'll all have some familiar faces when we get there.

All in all, I feel about as ready as I can be. Several of us agreed that we'd like to get our deployment started asap, so we can get it done with. Just four more weeks to go...

CAST

Well, my combat airman skills training is complete and I think I'm about as ready to go as I can be. It was great training and the instructors really knew their stuff.

At CAST, I met up with several other people who will be in Kabul around the same time as I will - along with a few who had been there on past deployments. Their first-hand accounts of life at ISAF really helps with the mental preparation.

I'm glad I won't be wearing body armor and running around the Afghan countryside on a regular basis. That stuff is heavy! But I now know how to wear it and what to do in any number of unlikely scenarios.

I'll post more pictures and stories from CAST soon.

Acclimating

When I first started carrying my rifle here at CAST, it was awkward (and heavy). My right hand held the pistol grip just fine, but my left hand couldn't quite hold the muzzle correctly.

We're supposed to carry it in a "depressed ready" position, which basically means the muzzle is pointed down and to the left. The "low ready" position is raised up a bit higher than than, and "high ready" is what it sounds like.

I couldn't get the hang of it at first. Instead of the tactically appropriate palm-up grip on the underside of the muzzle, my left hand felt more natural on top of the muzzle, palm down. The correct hold felt awkwardly twisted.

By Thursday, I noticed I was carrying the rifle the right way, without a second thought. Amazing what four days will do.

Organization & Mass

On several occasions now, various CAST instructors emphasized that if we ever need to actually use the skills they're teaching us, then something has gone seriously wrong. Virtually all the material we're learning is last-resort, just-in-case sort of stuff. Students and instructors alike take it all very seriously, but we're not expecting to use it on a regular basis. Or ever.

In fact, the same is true for a lot of our deployed military personnel. Only a relatively small number are actually out there hunting and killing bad guys. Most of us are doing other stuff.

In an article I can't find at the moment, Gen Stan McChrystal made a similar point. He's quoted as saying that what the military brings to the table is "the ability to get stuff done in difficult places." This ability is rooten in two key military attributes: organization and mass.

In other words, the military has the ability to put a big group of organized, trained and equipped people into a location where it's hard to make things happen (for any number of reasons). Those people then, well, make things happen.

And that's a pretty good description of what I'll be doing in Kabul. I'll be part of the "organization and mass," helping get stuff done in a difficult place. Yes, I know how to shoot a gun, provide "casualty care under fire" and find my way from Point A to Point B using a map and compass. I even know those cool hand signals soldiers use to give silent commands when we're on patrol outside the wire. Plus, I'm immunized against anthrax.

But as my instructors keep pointing out, if I ever use any of those skills, it's a bad day. My real mission is to be part of the organization and mass in a difficult place, to help support stability, security and autonomy for Afghanistan.

CAST - First Thoughts

Here I am at Combat Airman Skills Training (CAST), at Camp Bullis, TX (near San Antonio). It's already the most military thing I've ever done in my life and we're only on day 2. We're wearing body armor, shooting rifles, riding in "tactical vehicles" (i.e. Humvee's). I think tomorrow we're doing Small Unit Tactics, whatever that is.

CAST is an interesting experience for a science & technology guy like myself - and I've met a few kindred souls who also feel like we're in unfamiliar territory. That may sound like a strange reaction for a dude with 17+ years in the Air Force, but this training is like no AF I've ever known. Now, they're not trying to turn us into soldiers or anything - in fact, the stated purpose of this training is just to ensure we can "survive for 1 hour" in a situation where we've been separated from friendly forces.

As far as I can tell, this training is far above and beyond what I'll actually need when I'm in Kabul. Most of the time I expect to be in an office, working on a computer, having meetings and drinking coffee. But on the off chance that something crazy and unexpected happens, I think this training will go a long way to delivering a happy ending.

Anyway, being me, I've naturally been looking at the designs of our various equipment. As far as I can tell, whoever invented my bullet proof vest is a genius. Here's why: It's not exactly comfortable, but it's much easier to wear the thing than to carry it around by hand. And once it's on, it's a lot easier to just leave it on than to take it off and put it back on again 10 minutes later.

The end result: we put it on and leave it on. Which is kinda the point. Like I said - genius.

Now, by the end of today, I'm pretty sure someone swapped my vest out for a much heavier version that looked & smelled just like my original one. OK, maybe the heavier one smelled a bit worse, but I definitely don't recall my morning vest being quite as ponderous as what I wore at the end of the day.

So... I'm making some friends, learning some stuff and constantly being thankful that the heat wave broke before we showed up. The weather has really been gorgeous so far.

And now... I'm off to get some sleep.

Maslow's Heirarchy in Kabul

As I think about my upcoming deployment, I find myself focusing on different aspects of the experience. Sometimes it feels like the objective is just to survive - and much of my recent training has certainly reinforced that message: counter-IED training, first aid training, chem/bio warfare training... and the list goes on. But obviously the objective of going over there isn't just to survive it.

Other times, questions of comfort take center stage. Do I have all the right gear? Should I bring a big fuzzy towel? How's the food going to be? Will the weather be alright? How much sleep / exercise / mail will I get? And how about internet access? How often will I get to skype with the fam?

To be sure, I spend a fair amount of time thinking about doing the mission... even though I'm not entirely up to speed on what that mission will entail. But things like taking care of my team and being a good leader are certainly on my mind. Serving the community in Kabul, helping out with the local kids... these are things I want to do as well.

And then there are the personal objectives - a deployment is an opportunity for spiritual growth, professional growth and all that stuff. I'm hoping I'll be able to make time to do some writing, catch up on some movies I missed.

I'm aiming to hit a  balance between all these objectives - safety & comfort, service & growth. It's a lot to keep track of. I'm sure I'll manage it, some days better than others, and hopefully some of the planning & thinking I'm doing now will help keep things on track.

Before And After

Before the High & Tight haircut, wearing my fun Pac Man shirt

And here's the After photo - ready to go!