Dilbert Characters and strips (c) Scott Adams

Yea, it’s a lot like that.

We can’t just plan a meeting or event, oh no…we can’t even do that at a pre-meeting…we need to have a telecon to decide when and where we will do MDMP (military decision making process) so that we can prepare a powerpoint brief to present at a VTC to decide the COA’s (courses of action) for deciding the name for the subject.

THEN we get to the pre-meeting, only to find out that the decision for naming the subject is being dictated to us from higher.  So we take the COA that we have been instructed to follow, plan to have a “reset” on the preliminary pre-meeting, do our staff estimates, turn them into another powerpoint presentation so we can discuss THAT at the pre-meeting.

Then we find out the event has already started and did not go according to the name that we planned, so at the pre-meeting we develop another COA, prepare yet another powerpoint presentation, get input from all the staff sections and BSGs, schedule another VTC, refine the presentation and then, finally, we schedule the meeting where the decision will be made.

Once we have decided the subject for the meeting, we have a pre-meeting to discuss the agenda.  This part usually goes quick, until we realize that nobody did MDMP to decide the agenda, so we do another “reset” and get input from all the staff sections and BSGs.  At the preliminary pre-meeting, we decide which staff sections and BSGs are required to attend the pre-meeting, then those sections go and refine their staff estimates.

Ok, so now that the subject of the meeting has been decided, the agenda are done, and required attendees identified, we are ready for the pre-meeting.  Here, staff sections are tasked to define their requirements, refine their staff estimates and submit them no later than COB the next day so the planners can prepare another powerpoint presentation to be presented at the meeting.

Did you catch all that?  Me neither.  That’s what we get for jumping straight into the preliminary pre-meeting.

[NOTE:  All Dilbert characters and comic strips are the work and property of Scott Adams.  I will never be as funny as him, but hopefully this little parody was maybe slightly humorous enough to elicit some sort of half-smile, or least not a frown]

Quick:  who said it and in what movie?  First one to guess right wins half of an authentic, soviet era Afghani.

We has an awards ceremony this past week.  It was mainly for the campaign medals that we receive.  It was done early so that at the end of the deployment, the ceremony will be a little shorter.  The first medal is the Armed Forces Reserve Medal and the second is the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

The Armed Forces Reserve Medal is awarded to any member of the Reserve or National Guard who is involuntarily mobilized for a contingency operation under Title 10 USC or Title 14 USC.   In such cases, the medal is presented with an “M” Device, or mobilization device.

The Afghanistan Campaign Medal is awarded to members of the uniformed services of the United States who serve or who have served in Afghanistan (or its contiguous air space) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from Oct. 24, 2001 to a date to be announced.  To be eligible for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, a servicemember must be assigned or attached to a unit participating in Operation Enduring Freedom for 30 consecutive days or for 60 nonconsecutive days in Afghanistan.

Aside from a ribbon I received during last summer’s AT with my unit, these are the first awards I have received with the Army.  The Brigade Commander and Command Sergeant Major presented the award to my shop after the Commander spoke to us about how pleased he was with our performance thus far.

I’m excited.  Some people don’t get all the excited about campaign medals, because “you just get them for being here,” but I do, because “being here” is hard.  It’s hard being away from my family and there is a lot of hard work to do here.

It’s funny in away…the occupy movement has been in the news talking about the 99% verses the 1%.  Well, one of the things the Commander mentioned is that only 1% of Americans have come to Afghanistan.

I am proud to be part of that 1%, very proud to be here and prouder still to serve with such great people.  Not every day is a walk in the park, and I may have lost my cool (and said “Gosh Darn”) a time or two, but if I had it to do over again, I would do the exact same thing.  I work with some outstanding individuals, who I am proud to call colleagues and friends.

So we got disconnected.  That happens; it’s fairly typical, even.  It was when I tried calling back that the adventure began.  Our entire network went down, apparently for maintenance.  Normally I am out of the office this late, but I stuck around to do my Comcast thing.

Anyway, phones and e-mail both were out, so I came back to my room to get online and get the number.  Then the search for a phone began.  First I went to the main building on base.  I have some friends there and asked to use the phone.  Well, one poor girl knocked over about half her desk (the phone had no reach, would not have been practical).  I felt bad, so asked about the phone in the conference room.  That one didn’t work.

Next, I went to the MWR building.  Well, their phones are on a completely different system.  At first I thought, GREAT!  But alas, you have to go online, sign up, get a pin, pay a fee and then you can use the phones.  I just needed to call an “800″ number, so I left and went to see the chaplain.  We’ve become friends, so I figured I’d ask him.

Well, the phones in the chapel were out as well, but the chaplain assistant guy knew how to get a line with our cell phones.  He walked me through it, but it would not work on my phone…it kept hanging up on me.  So then he tried it on his phone and he got all the way through to the operator, and handed his phone to me.

Sure enough, as soon as I got on I got the “we’re currently experiencing technical difficulties” message.  It figures.  I left the chapel and had one more thought…the contractors!  They are on a different system…they have real phone numbers…maybe one of their phones would work.

Still, it was getting late, but maybe if I asked nicely…

So I went and knocked on a Major’s door.  No answer.  Next to him was a Lieutenant Colonel.  I figured, what have I got to lose? and knocked on his door.  He answered and allowed me to use his phone.  Call went through just fine, I got everything fixed, settled and done.  The day was saved!

PHEW!

I have mentioned before how dirty this place is.  Its not just the streets, or the buildings, or every single surface.  There is dirt, dust and…stuff…everywhere. It’s on everything and in everything, including the air.  Kabul, in particular is known for its very poor air quality.

Except when it rains.

The rain actually cleans the air.  When the rain is gone and the sun comes out to dry everything, the air is actually fresh.   The air is clean.  I can breathe! The more it rains, the easier it is to breathe.  Sure, storms may not be much fun and they may keep us in doors, but the cleansed air makes it worth it.

As a sinner, I am pretty polluted.  There is all sorts of dirt, dust and…stuff…all over me, inside and out.  Fortunately for me, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, came to cleanse me.  He lived, died and rose so that I could be cleansed of my sin.

Getting scrubbed clean is not much fun.  Sometimes it can be painful, but it is so worth it!  Just like the rain cleaning the air enables me to breath, being Jesus cleaning me from sin enables me to live.

Sadly, the clean air does not last  long here.  Typically, within a single day, the air is right back to it’s usually dirtyness.  Sadly, I am the same way.  It doesn’t take long for me to become dirtied with sin again.  However, just like the rain will come once more to clean out the air, enabling me to breath, Jesus will come and clean me, enabling me to live.

* The immediate and unconditional release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

OR

* A meeting between US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Dr Terry Jones to discuss the plight of Christians, women and minorities in Muslim/Koran dominated countries.

The last time Mr. Jones pulled this stunt, two U.S. soldiers were killed as a direct result of his actions.  Twenty other people were killed in Afghanistan, including seven U.N. staffers.  Mr. Jones does not appear to care about the people who die as a result of his actions.

He was contacted by the U.S. Department of state and the Commander of ISAF, but he refuses to relent.  I actually sent him an e-mail, but I have not heard back.  I do not expect to write to me, but you would think he would pay attention to people who have some clout (ie. the Commander of ISAF). Apparently not.

Still, it is not too late.  If you have not done so already, please go to his website, and send him an e-mail on the contact form that is there, or e-mail him: info@standupamericanow.org.

If enough people contact him and warn him of the dangers of his actions, maybe he will relent.

It was just after lunch.  The wind had picked up, the sun was gone and the sky was ominous.

It wasn’t long before the first dropped fell against the tin roof.  Not much longer after that, the thunder started rolling…and then the heavens opened wide.  It was pouring…it was like someone up in the sky turned on a giant faucet and let the streams, not drops, streams of water fall.

Just after the downpour started, we noticed a slightly different sound on the roof.  I opened the door and sure enough compact balls of ice were falling from the sky.  That’s when one of my coworkers said to me, “Sir, it’s raining like hail out there!”  He was right, both figuratively and literally.

Needless to say, I did not make it to the gym this afternoon.  That’s ok, there’s always tomorrow…