I arrived a couple of weeks ago in Khost Province. I’m not allowed to blog about the specifics of where I am, where I go, or who I encounter for security reaons. But I can give general impressions and thoughts and challenges. So here goes.
The FOB (foward operating base) where I’m stationed is relatively luxurious. I have a room that locks, a little like a dorm room. It’s in a building of 8 other rooms (all females), and the walls don’t reach all the way to the ceiling, so it’s not actually private. But it’s nice to at least be able to close and lock my door. It’s also required: because I was issued an M9 (handgun) and M4 (rifle) I must keep them behind 2 locks – it’s Army regulation. So the locked door to the hooch (my building) and the lock on my door are adequate to meet standards.
The second or third day I was here we recieved indirect fire (mortar lobbed on the base), but it didn’t hurt anybody. Word on the street is that indirect fire will let up as the cold weather rolls in. I’m lucky to be here during the winter, because there’s an Afghanistan-wide lull in the fighting.
The nights here are pitch black – you can’t see your hand in front of your face. The moon doesn’t rise until about midnight, and the base is on blackout, meaning that no white lights are allowed to be on…. ever. Which means we carry red, green, and blue flashlights, and there are no bright white street lights or vehicle lights.
The base is like a small town. There’s waste management, firefighters, police officers, water treatment. It’s a 3 minute walk to the gym and to the cafeteria and my office is across the street from my hooch. In contrast to Bagram, which is a zoo of people and noise and traffic, my base is much quieter. It’s not quite as intimate as the COPs (combat outposts), which only house a few platoons of soldiers.
The difference between a FOB and a COP is size. A FOB houses a brigade – there are about 4,000 troops in a brigade. A COP houses platoons, or part of a company, and there are only about 30-60 people in a platoon. The last COP I visited has about 120 people total – 3 platoons. So the COPs are less usually luxurious in terms of living conditions, but the atmosphere is less strict – no saluting higher ranking officers – and everybody knows each other. This is also good for personal safety, since it’s harder to get away with an assault or theft when everybody is on a first name basis. As opposed to a FOB, where there are all kinds of random people who are for the most part strangers. But FOBs have advantages too – for example, you can get fresh strawberries for breakfast.
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