Daikundi for Lunch Anyone?

When I walked into work on Monday I was expecting to go through the usual routine of morning brief on the last 24 hours, coffee and a stroopwaffel, clear my e-mail and work on some longer term projects before a big meeting in the afternoon. Nope. As soon as I arrived my Afghan boss, a brigadier-general, asked "Do you want to go to Daikundi?" I thought for while, of course I would in the abstract, we had been planning a trip that was cancelled due to weather. It had taken about two weeks to plan and coordinate the ISAF helicopters and nail down the passenger list. So, yes, in a couple of weeks, I'd be happy to go to Daikundi. "No,no, right now!" corrected the general, "in 30 minutes." Yikes, that's fast. For all the complaining about inefficiencies here, this was one time the Afghans showed us how it's done.

Now Daikundi, gentle reader, is not your normal Afghan destination. It is remote mountainous and sparsely populated mainly by Hazara, who are the Shia minority in Afghanistan. It's sort of like Shangri-la in RC(South). That was why our washed out trip had taken so long to organize. Everyone wanted to go! So here I was being offered a spur of the moment trip to this legendary spot. I handed off my day's schedule to my second-in-command and set off for the airport.

The trip itself was a surprise for the general as well. He had been asked to stand in for the Corps commander who was away, at a ceremony installing the new Provincial Chief of Police for Daikundi. The 2nd in command of the Regional Police was going as well to officiate at the ceremony. And oh yes, we were going in Afghan helicopters. These venerable birds, Mi-17s Hips are flown by Afghan pilots with US co-pilots as mentors. The Afghan Air Force has a few in Kandahar and this would be my first flight in one since I flew in a similar helo in Sudan.

We drove to the airfield and loaded on the helos, they always fly in pairs (Afghan and ISAF), then took off for Tarin Kowt where we would refuel. I had flown there two weeks previously in a Blackhawk and the trip was uneventful; the scenery spectacular. On the Hip the Afghans flew much closer to the ground so I got a better look at the countryside from close up. After a quick refuelling stop we set out again for Nili, the capital of Daikundi. About 50 minutes later we arrived but not before flying through some amazing mountains covered in snow. The Special Forces team in Nili did not know we were coming so they were a bit surprised to see 40 Afghans bundle out of the 2 birds, with one Canadian Colonel. We immediately went to the ceremony installing the new police chief. The requisite speeches were made and the guard inspected. It was also very cold, for Afghanistan, about -10, but it warmed up later. After the parade we zoomed off to the Governor's house for lunch. We had the usual Afghan fare, rice with beef stew, raw cabbage, tomatoes and very hot peppers. We also had Daikundi apples, which were quite delicious (even this post eventually gets back to food!)

After lunch we had a chance to visit our provincial counterparts in the Operations Coordination Centre. They keep track of what the police and military are doing in the province. Daikundi is a very peaceful province. The have very few insurgents, and those they have come over the border from Helmand. The Russians never conquered Daikundi and never will Taliban either. It's not hard to see why. If any insurgents came up from the South they would stand out like sore, cold, thumbs.

We ended our visit and headed back to the helicopter, but not before I was presented with a gift of a carpet and a big sack of almonds (also locally grown). Both these items were left behind in the rush to get to the helo, but the Police Chief says he;ll send them down on the next flight. I'm not sure I could accept them, given Treasury Board rules, so I'll end up donating the carpet to our office, and using the almonds during our many meetings.

So quick trip to Daikundi has merely made me want to go back as soon as possible. The general wants to wait for summer, when he says the valley in which Nili sits is green and beautiful.

A Trip to Kabul

My blog has been on hiatus for a while as my computer died (thank you Best Buy!) and I won't have any photos to post until I get a new one. I am currently borrowing a colleagues netbook.

Last weekend I had an opportunity to go to Kabul when a seat became available on the Deputy Commander's plane. I now realize that the must-have travel accessory in Afghanistan is a General. Doors open, vehicles wait for you, and there's always a seat on the plane. We flew up in a little twin engined turbo prop plane that reminded me of the ones Air Canada uses between Kingston and Toronto...only smaller. I tried to go through normal check-in until I realized that since I was traveling with the General I just had to walk out onto the apron. A weird sensation. The flight was uneventful but the scenery as we flew over the mountains of Southeastern Afghanistan was spectacular. Row after row of barren, snow covered ridges.

We got to Kabul after dark and I was then immersed in the huge ISAF machine in that city. Kabul is a city of 5 million with a functioning economy and government. The footprint of ISAF is everywhere as we drove through security checkpoints and into the Green Zone: the area in central Kabul of greatest security presence. For me coming from the South where we wear our body armour and helmets any time we leave the FOB, seeing soldiers strolling down the streets of the Green Zone without armour was a bit unreal. I parted company with the General at this point and re-entered the plebeian zone. My room, though functional, was Spartan - and by Spartan I don't mean full of half naked Scotsmen yelling "Spartans!" against a green screen, but that it was essentially three bunk beds and a chair. All good though, I had the place to my self.

Another thing about ISAF is that they get up at un-godly hours - 0500 hrs to be exact. We had to be at work to watch the morning brief by VTC. This necessitated a morning drive through Kabul's awakening streets to the Ministry of the Interior building. Very interesting to see the city outside the Green Zone - it reminded me very much of Addis Ababa, where I spent six months in 2006 (see my other blog). A few more meetings with my counterparts in the Ministry of Defence and more driving around Kabul brought me back to the airport where I had to wait for the General and our flight back to Kandahar. I had a surreal moment I wish I had photographed when I had to put by body armour et al. into the scanner like I was boarding a flight back in Canada. Seeing my 9mm pistol going through the screening scanner was odd. then I had to find the VIP lounge, which was unmarked, before boarding our flight - a jet this time, but still a 6-seater. A short 50 minutes later I was back in Kandahar and waiting for my lift back out to Lindsay - where I felt as if I was coming home. Now that I've been once it will be easier to get back.

Before I close I would like to thank all those who sent me care packages over Christmas, though my waistline does not thank you! It was very kind of everyone and much appreciated.