Camp Leatherneck must be one of the hardest places to live on earth. It is a Marine Expeditionary Base on what seems like the surface of the moon. There are, I think, a few permanent structures for showers and toilets, but the bulk of people are using port-o-potties but I was told they clean them twice a day - so there is that. I linked some photos that are more artistic, but my photo shows basically the same thing - the dustiest, middle-of-nowhere place I have ever been. Two Afghan journalists traveled with the Ambassador to cover the visit. We went first to a training center for Afghan police and military, unique because they are training them together to try and engender some trust between the two groups. I was told by one of the trainers that a few months ago they wouldn't have been able to have a woman come into the training area. Almost all of the recruits are from villages where they may have never seen television. It takes days for the guys to learn how to eat in the DFAC (it is a lot of food and they can eat as much as they want). They worry about there being enough to go around. One day, early on when one of the groups were being given uniforms, there were two trucks. One was large and extra large, the other small and medium sizes. The majority of the recruits are smalls and mediums, but when the few that needed large uniforms saw that more were in line for smalls and mediums, they assumed those were better. So now all the larger guys are wearing shirts that barely cover their elbows. But somehow, by the end of the training, they can march and are, apparently, working well as a unit.
After visiting the training unit and eating a quick meal with them, the rest of the group got to fly on a V22 Osprey to visit Kajaki dam. I, unfortunately, got to sit on a bus...at Leatherneck. But I heard it was beautiful at this critical dam built by USAID in the 1950s but since falling into disrepair. We want to fix it to provide power to much of Helmand but there are a lot of security problems in the area.
Finally, we flew back on an old Russian cargo plane, an Antonov AN 124. I was back in the office by 5 pm with another two hours to work, then home to wash off an inordinate amount of dust before heading to a ball to celebrate the British victory at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar at the Gandamack Lodge. I even put on a gown, but by 9:30 I was beat and headed home. A study in contrasts. Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather now.
I
