I’ve been in Afghanistan now for a week.  They had us sit through three days of briefings in a hot dusty warehouse.  After that we started our new jobs.  I will tell you all about that in my next update.  I thought I would tell you a little about my new home in this one.

Camp Phoenix is in the northern part of Kabul .  Part of it is an old Russian trucking company facility.  The main office building is still here and has the Russian name on front.  The camp is very crowded and very dusty.  We are actually not living inside the main camp.  We are in an expansion area on the north side.  I am staying in an “Alaskan” tent with 19 other officers.  It’s not bad.  The tent is air conditioned and stays pretty comfortable at night.  I ended up on a top bunk and the mattresses are horrible.  They must have been made here in Afghanistan .  They feel like they are filled with bamboo poles.  We can’t have any type of food in the tents because food attracts rats and the rats attract snakes.  Most of Afghanistan ’s snakes are poisonous.  I have seen the rats outside but, fortunately no snakes.  During our briefings they told us about the snakes and showed a photo of one coiled up inside a toilet just under the rim of the bowl.  That beats the “toilet seat spider” hands down.

The 4^th of July celebration here was different.  The command discouraged any big celebrations for fear of offending our Afghan hosts.  They made it quite clear in our briefings that the US did not invade Afghanistan .  We were invited.  Actually, as I remember it, we invaded, installed a new government, and then that government invited us to stay.  I guess that’s just a technicality.  They had a cookout yesterday down near the camp’s running track.  The area around the running track is irrigated with the effluent from the camp’s waste water treatment plant.  You don’t want to be running when the sprinklers are on.  Unfortunately the camp’s helipad is located in the center of the running track.  About the time they were serving lunch, a big Chinook helicopter, the biggest type the Army has, decided to land.  It blew dirt and rocks all over the cookout.  The food was ruined and the sound system was knocked out.  That pretty much ended the cookout.

This morning the chaplains sponsored a prayer breakfast in the dining facility.  They had a keyboard player and a choir for entertainment.  The keyboard guy must work in a funeral home as a civilian.  He kept player those slow somber tunes that you hear when you go to visitations.  The choir tried to sing “ America the Beautiful”.  It stunk!  Then they did a gospel hymn which was excellent.  Go figure.

This evening the Air Force members of the engineer shop held a barbeque.  This one was in a safe area but, the event was almost canceled as a result of disaster.  About noon one of the airmen smashed the grill with a bobcat loader.  They were able to make emergency repairs for one last cooking but, the guy who did the damage will get to rebuild the grill later this week.  They grilled steaks, ribs and lobster.  I have never had grilled lobster before.  It was very good.  Of course we cannot have fireworks here.  Someone might get the wrong idea.

The camp has a good dining hall.  It’s open 24 hours.  The PX is pretty good.  The gym is small but has everything you would need.  The showers are hot and kept very clean.  You have to pick the right time to go though because they tend to get crowded.  We have a small chapel and, once the folks we are replacing start to leave, we’ll get better quarters. 

I hope you all had a great 4^th of July weekend.  I wouldn’t know about that since there are no weekends in Afghanistan .  Just in case anyone thinks that I am making these updates up and really spending a year on an island in the Caribbean , I have attached a photo of me on the C-130 flying in here.  The only reason I am smiling is because the JAG lawyer, who took the picture, is a goof ball and said something that made me laugh.  I also attached a couple pictures I took while riding to Phoenix from the airport.  The sign is from the bus we rode in.  You won't see that on a Greyhound bus.

Take care and God bless you all.

John Lacourrége

Program Director

Council 9543

Knights of Columbus

St, Francis of Assisi Church

Madison, ms