Or, If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say…

I’ve been avoiding my blog. My last two entries were about people getting killed and how I plan to have my legs reunited with the rest of me should we become traumatically separated. I thought my next post should be something happier, but it’s been rather difficult of late to find happy things to blog about. I’m in a funk.

Things were pretty great a couple of months ago.  I had a nice R&R at home even though I discovered that the friend who was supposed to look after my house had killed several houseplants and had entertained her booty-calls there.  (Friend, you knew when I was coming home.  There’s really no excuse for not picking up that used condom off the bedroom floor.)

On the way back to Bagram from that R&R I had a wonderful Amazing-Race-style adventure with fellow Bagram civilian Ms. Wanda when we found ourselves stuck in Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, as flight after flight after flight got cancelled.  We decided that if the military couldn’t get us back to Bagram we’d get ourselves there by taking a commercial flight.  In the space of 36 hours we went from Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, to Arif Jan to Kuwait City to the wrong international airport in Dubai to the right international airport in Dubai to Bagram. Along the way we unnecessarily walked miles in temperatures well over 100 degrees F, argued extensively with the most unhelpful soliders in the U.S. Army, sprinted through airports all wild-eyed and panting, accosted innocent travelers who happened to have camo luggage with all kinds of questions when we were lost or confused (this happened a lot), were blessed to get help from the right people in the nick of time, saw lots of women with the most horrifying henna’d eyebrows ever, and took two taxi rides, one of which required the driver to break every traffic law in the Middle East and several laws of physics (he did it!).  We had plenty of opportunities to get mad or mean or upset or very crabby, but we just laughed and laughed.  It was great fun!

Back at Bagram, though, I just couldn’t keep up that happy, roll-with-it attitude.  And it wasn’t just me.  We had all kinds of scandal and accusations and firings in the Garrison, and a lot of other personnel upheaval.  We have about 60 civilians.  In the nine months I’ve been in Afghanistan, we’ve had five different Directors of Human Resources and five different O&M Chiefs.  More people than I can count have curtailed their one-year deployments and left early — two after just 30 days, many before they made it to the half-way point.  Two people were sent home after having heart attacks.

I don’t know if it’s the heat of summer, the new commands at all different levels with their new agendas, or the uncertainty of the Resolute Support Mission since the Afghan presidential election results and inauguration have been delayed yet again.  Whatever it is, everybody’s going a little crazy these days and being way less nice than they should be, and it’s really getting me down.

So, I’m trying to concentrate on the positive.  My extension got denied, so instead of staying on an extra six months (for a total of 18 months) I’m leaving after 12 months.  That’s a good thing: my home station wants me back which is why they denied my extension, and I’m glad to be wanted there as much as I’m wanted here.

The environmental folks I work with at Garrison, in the military units, and at the various contractor companies are really great.  This keeps me from going completely out of my mind when dealing with fairly egregious amount of disrespect I’m subjected to on a daily basis.  Whether people think that what a woman says isn’t credible, or that environmental management is easy and doesn’t require real expertise, I do spend an inordinate amount of time and energy fighting to be taken seriously.  It wears me out, but there are other environmental professionals here who have my back and do excellent work.  Thank Heavens!

I’ve been avoiding my blog not only because of unhappiness at BAF, but also because the drawdown of troops, materiel, and services has resulted in my personal internet getting slower and slower and slower, to the point where I can’t even open emails anymore (I dare not abuse my work computer to do personal internet stuff).

So here I am on my final R&R and I finally have working internet! I will catch up on my blogs and upload photos at long last.  I’m in Athens, Greece, on my way to the island of Hydra where they have no cars but do have internet (I checked!).  More soon…

MM