HA #1 - For The Women

On March 5, I finally left the FOB for a humanitarian assistance mission to support International Women's Day. All I did was sit behind a machine gun and observe for most of the mission. It started off by going to the test fire range to squeeze off a few rounds from the M240B, 7.62mm machine gun to make sure it worked. I also shot a few rounds off with my M4 rifle, just to say that I actually fired my rifle in Afghanistan. Once we got on the road to Herat, I really enjoyed it because it was a little warm and up in the gunner's turret you are in the open air. Just like a dog hanging his head out of the window. The other thing that was great was that I get to stand up in the car! Now, you have to understand that when I was a kid, Mom would have whipped my butt for standing in the car while it was moving. She probably would have reached into the glove box and pulled out her paddle. This, of course was one of those paddles with the rubber ball and rubber band that she bought at the grocery store. Me and Kris, of course, thought it was a new toy for us; but Mom opened it and immediately ripped off the rubber band and ball for future use on our asses. Mom naturally denies this, but hey we've all seen the movie Mommie Dearest. But, I digress. Anyway, my first reaction to the sights in Herat was, "Holy cow, this place actually has trees and grass!

Ah, the sights and sounds of the big (dirty, disgusting, third-world) city! City streets lined with 1950's power lines and North Carolina style pine trees. Don't forget the public transportation, and ooooohhhhh, the women!

Basically, we went to a hotel where local women held a bazaar to sell hand-made stuff. We blocked off one side of the street with the help of Afghan Army soldiers, so people could attend without fear of attack by insurgents and local idiots who don't like change (Not presidential "change," I'm talking change for the better).

I got to go in for a few moments to see the bazaar. It was so insanely crowded that I had to get out as soon as possible. It's really tough walking through a shoulder to shoulder crowd with all of my gear on. Plus, I was a little paranoid that some of the kids would steal my loaded magazines, pistol, or other tools of death and destruction off of my body; not to mention my camera, wallet, and/or cell phone.

We were there for only about two hours before we left to go home. Pretty uneventful, really. But I did have time to snap this gorgeous picture of myself, oh the vanity!