Today's Adventure

Today I visited Bagram Air Base. It has been a key base since it was built in the 1970s. The Soviets used it extensively and the Northern Alliance and Taliban forces fought over it for years. The years of fighting were evident from the many destroyed buildings and vehicles surrounding the air base. It is currently occupied by multi-national forces in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF is on everything from coffee cups to underwear). I saw troops from U.S., Canada, UK, Turkey, France, Italy, Korea, Poland, and the ANA (Afghan National Army). I'm sure there were others, but that is what/who I saw today.

Bagram is roughly 30 miles (~one hour's drive) north of Kabul; the roads took us through some higher draws and across some high rolling valleys, many filled with vineyards. There were many stands along the side of the road selling big, beautiful grapes. They looks so good; I wish we could have stopped and eaten some. Sorry, no pictures today. I was driving the lead/point vehicle and was too busy to take pictures. Also, it was raining most of the way and I didn't want to get wet and rust.

On the driving front: for those of you that thought I was a fast/aggressive driver before, you should see me now. All of us that learned about defensive driving, drive friendly, etc...; that all goes out the door when you drive convoys in Afghanistan. It's all about who is biggest, fastest, most aggressive, and the last one to blink wins. It's a cross between Dakar and Formula 1, except with big, heavy armored vehicles. It's quite a rush!