About this Blog

This Blog is for friends and family to receive updates on my adventure in Afghanistan. I'll try to update it on a regular basis, post pictures, and tell you a little bit about my experiences (both the good and the bad)!

Thanks for stopping by. Oh, and BEAT ARMY.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Last Update of the year 2009

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Channukah. I haven't had a chance to update my blog recently but everything here continues to be okay.  On the evening of Christmas day, the FOB got hit with 3 rockets made from 107mm (Soviet/Russian?) shells.  No one was injured but one of the rockets came close to an ordnance magazine and another put a pot-hole in the runway.
 
Their targeting accuracy is no better than a water balloon slingshot, but every once in a while the Hadjis can score a hit on something important.  Not this time however.  That was the first time we've been hit by anything at all at this FOB in the 2 mos. I've been here.

There's a whole lot of construction on the base going on.  Most of it is for increasing the habitability for those already here.  I don't think that the surge will increase our numbers too much at this base.  Most of the surge will supplant troop numbers in the southern part of the country which has been much more kinetic.
 
I've been working in 2 disparate areas, the IED pattern assessment work and a set of metrics to measure Afghan population attitudes and perceptions.  We'll be sampling a set of chosen districts in our AO which consists of the provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar, Laghman, and Nuristan on a quarterly basis.  I created the first set of metrics using the famous principles of good MOEs.
 
I just started another task on my own volition, that of designing a curriculum for the Afghan Police in our AO based on an operational scenario tied to tracking down IED emplacers.  That one is interesting and I'm working with some law enforcement professionals (LEPs as we call them) who are former FBI agents.
 
I've been running and lifting weights, and trying to eat well.  I've definitely lost weight but it's a slow process.
 
The family's good.  Greg's ship is supposed to go in the yards but they keep getting bumped by CSG escorts.  Being that the FFGs don't generally deploy with a CSG they're in the back of the line.  I'm hoping his skipper does something to keep the JOs working towards their quals.  Greg passed his CICWO board on the first try which tells me that the command has confidence in him.
 
Matt's home from ASU until after the winter break.  He's doing well in school and becoming a serious student.  He's also becoming a lean, mean fighting machine!
 
Chris's campaign continues to move forward smartly.  She seems to be the frontrunner, attending close to 90 campaign events since declaring her candidacy!.
 
That's about it.  Have a very happy, healthy, and hopefully prosperous New Year.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

13 December 2009

Thanks to some gentle persuasion from friends, I've been peer-pressured to update this blog. I apologize for being less than prolific!

Today's absolutely gorgeous.  Deep into an Afghanistan winter, it's clear, sunny and about 80 out today and the day after KICKING THE HELL OUT OF ARMY!

What the Woops here lacked in enthusiasm prior to the game, they have more than made up for in apathy both before and after.  The game aired at midnight in Jalalabad, only the crazy and fool-hearty stayed up to watch the whole thing -- me and the Chaplain (USNA '86).  Now it's on to the Texas Bowl and a tough game against Missouri.

Chris attended the annual party at Seau's in San Diego and it was good to see pictures of friends!  Greg watched with USNA classmates in San Diego.

Life continues to be good here, working the counter-IED analysis along with measuring Afghan population attitudes and perceptions.

It's been tough missing family and friends, to enjoy the good times and being there to lend support in the trying ones.  It's painful to listen to soldiers' stories -- missing their young wives, girlfriends, and young kids.

I was glad to hear that we'll be surging 30,000+ soldiers and dismayed at even the hint of a timeline for withdrawal.  OUr biggest challenge is building the Afghan population's trust in it's government and building an Afghan army and police force that is well-trained and capable of defending the population against Al Qaida and the Taliban.  Crippling the drug trade and stopping the resultant flow of money is an enabler as well.

Thanks for reading!  Be well.

--
Bob Rubin
BobRubin@san.rr.com

Bob Rubin, ORSA
CSE JTF Paladin
FOB Fenty, Jalalabad
APO, AE 09310