A different view of Kabul

Enclosed is a description of one of my husband's layover experiences in Kabul-there is nothing like flying into Kabul Afghanistan to give you a different perspective on life there. It is a far cry from his USAirways layovers ...

It was a quiet week in my home town, Kabul, Afghanistan...the fall colors were brilliant, glowing in the bright morning sun with the snowcapped peaks of the Hindu Kush as a back drop. There was a slight chill in the fresh morning air but the brilliant Afghan sun produced a comfortable environment for the Afghan trekking adventure.The golf pro from the Kabul Golf Course would be our guide to the immobilized Soviet tank position located on the summit of a mountainpeak overlooking the golf course and Kabul city. He asked us what pace he should maintain and we told him we would keep up. The 50 year old former prisoner of war gave us a work out and soon the sweaters were shed and it gave us an excuse to take a short break. Enroute we enjoyed climbing on the Soviet tank bunker's which were additional reminders of the "occupation" three decades ago.Our first Afghan mountain summit was soon realized with the bonus of an awesome vista from our perch on a disabled Soviet tank. Garreth and I took turns photographing each other as "Senior Tank Commander's" while a vivid oral description of that era came to life by our local Afghanwitness. It was much like visiting Gettysburg, except we werewitnessinga life size diorama on location with a play by play of the Mujahedinand the Soviet's exercising their independent combat strategy. We all too soon had to depart from our "Walter Mitty" experience, a bit reluctantly.Visual aids certainly make the geography and history lessons more interesting and memorable while a written documentary solidifies and confirms the experience. It was truly a day to remember and we were non-to-less for the wear. And that's the way it was in Kabul where thewomen wear burkas, the men carry "AK-47"s and the children are all too soon adults.

It's a small world

It’s a small world when you are connected to the military. Just yesterday I got a surprise phone call from my Navy son who is currently deployed, He told a story about flying and needing to contact a ship. The responding officer was one of his USNA class mates. The world gets even smaller in the Marine Corps-especially in Marine aviation. So when I heard the news this morning that two Marine helicopters collided and the crew was lost the lump jumped into my throat. Even though my Marine is safe and sound in San Diego those pilots and their families are on my heart.
I used to get the Marine Corps Times-I stopped when I began traveling so much this past summer. The casualty lists are posted each week along with the photos of the nation’s newest heroes. I would think about their families and how proud they were to carry those pictures of their sons and daughters . Even though we never met, we share a connection and a kinship that comes with having a child volunteer to serve in harm’s way.
So tonight I am praying for those who will soon learn that they have lost someone very precious to them. We share the pride and the pain-it is a small world for those of us who love someone in the military.