Still here....fighting the ground-hog day syndrome

Hello,

I know it's been a while since I've updated everyone on my progress here. It's been a busy 3 weeks.....

I'm fairly settled into the 'Camp Mayor' job here, but I'm constantly being bombarded by requests, mini-crises, plans for construction and repair. Let's see.....in the past three weeks I have supervised the movement of around 110 people who were leaving afghanistan, and the 110 people who were replacing them, created a base defense plan, in the process of creating the training of a new fire fighting team, planning the construction of a base expansion, winterization of the current B-huts, repairs of generators, water storage and our defensive perimeter. Add onto that the constant movement of military and contractor personnel visiting; it's been a bit busy.

The Army tends to look at you weird when you talk to them about fire safety, prevention and response. The problem that we have here is that the Afghans cut their paint to make a gallon go farther. Makes sense until you realize that they 'cut' their paint with fuel. Sometimes with diesel fuel and sometimes with gasoline. So, what you end up with is living within a matchstick. So, as a Sailor, I have a particular sensitivity about fire. So, I've come up with a team of Navy sailors, chiefs and myself to be a fire response team. I say fire response because if a b-hut catches fire, unless there is someone in it, we will not enter the space. In fact, we won't even put out the fire. It takes about 10 mins for a b-hut to burn to the point of being unsalvageable. So, our SOP is to just make certain that the b-huts around it do not catch fire.

Winterization is the other issue. Before I reported here, there was a contract put into place to install insulation in the B-huts. My only issue with the contract is that the contract requires insulation in the floors. Now, my natural inclination for winterization would be to put insulation in the ceiling. But, the contract is finalized and the best I can do is see if I can get spare insulation, if possible, to put into the ceilings. We'll see.

Another project is to install sidewalks throughout the camp. This is a cool project. We currently walk on gravel which is usually about 6 inches deep. Great for working out my calves! Sidewalks make sense. Hopefully, the winter will not set in early, because the time frame for getting this done is closing quickly.

Working with our general services contractor is a constant battle. They do good work and they are fairly responsive. The problem with them is proper time estimates for repairs. They are overeager, so they always give me short repair times. Then, invariably, they have to extend their time requirements in the middle of a job. I tend to have to tell them how much time they have and it's usually longer than they originally tell me. I default to the rule of three's. I give them up to three times more time than they tell me it will take. It works most of the time.

Sorry about not having pictures. I've attempted several times to get pics of the sandstorms that are constantly coming through here. However; I haven't been able to capture any decent pics of these storms. It's difficult, I've found to accurately capture the feel of a sandstorm.

Anywho...time to herd the cats.....