The Blackhorse Flood

you can see the difference from when there is almost no water to when it was raging

Well if your reading this and you saw the title of this blog your most likely saying to yourself, nick honestly a flood in afghanststan no way you’re in a desert. But yes, i am not kidding i saw it with my own two eyes, the floods of Blackhorse on the warm day in July. it was a normal day here at Blackhorse and i was off shift hitting some golf balls into jbad road when i noticed a very dark cloud coming my way, and i thought to myself no, can’t be can it? Then it happened, lightning! This is not the way i wanted to go out so i hopped off the connex i was on and went inside and looked at our cameras to see something i thought i would never see. dime sized hail coming our way down pouring rain and wind like you have never seen, creating a wall of dust blacking out the whole area. Then the downpour started overhead. And man it was loud! Now we have had a sprinkle or two before that lasted about 30-45 seconds but this lasted a good half hour or so, and then i got the call. "Hey SPC Latino, just to let you know building 409 is flooded we need sandbags now!" i started to laugh and he said this is not a joke so i ran over to the building and before i could get there i noticed a wall of water coming towards me from our perimeter wall. I thought to myself well this could not be good. And at this point I was already soaked so I hopped onto the gator and went to our sand bag pit and started loading up sandbags about 15-20 of them and drove back to the flooded building. I realized shortly thereafter that I did not have nearly enough sand bags for this flood. I grabbed me a local national and we started making sand bag runs until we had somewhat a handle on it (but we really didn’t) so I went up into a guard tower to see just how bad it was and the street outside our base was a river and the waddy to our left was over flowing. Now this waddy never gets used from what I was told but today it was a river that you did not want to be in it was unbelievable.  The pictures can’t even do it justice but you can see a little bit of what it looked like here. So what other things can I fill your brains with? Well I’m starting my leave process in a day so I’ll be home next week or so. The only part I’m not looking forward to is Kuwait, which yesterday was 127 degrees, yup so excited for that. But hey its halfway over I’m pretty excited about that part because the people we deal with on a daily basis are very incompetent. I don’t say that just to say that but when we do pull out of this country, it will not be all butterflies and a new place, it will go back to it was before we got here, plus a few new roads, schools, vehicles, and an army. Now don’t get me wrong I do believe we are doing a good thing here but these people have no desire to liver a western lifestyle and will not be able to stand up without us constantly helping them.  Also on a contractor note, if you want to be a contractor in Afghanistan more power to you because the US Military is here to support the contractors. At least that is the way it seems. Because everything we provide for them is not good enough, oh y aim sorry I forgot all of you are making 90-300,000 a year and we have to cater to your every need and want. And then when were done you can charge the US GVT $560 for changing a lock on a door. Hmm I remember the days you could go to homer d pot and I could pick up a lock for 10-15 bucks, nope not here in afganaland. I also was told that it costs 34 dollars each meal I eat here, well I should be getting a 5 course meal for that but no most of it is cold and not to good. Lastly before I go it is now a requirement by the AFGAN GVT that two days a week we have to have AFGN food for dinner and or lunch. SWEETTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!

Oh Canada!

Wow, it has been a while since i have last published anything in this blog of blogs, so why not do it today on Canada day! So a lot has happened since i last posted anything so i will start off with what i can remember. Well we have drug and bomb dogs working for us now and i have to say they are pretty sweet! I am trying to talk to their handlers to let me wear the marsh mellow suit and run from the dogs and let the dog take me down. Now i was just expecting a laugh and a haha kid yeah right, but the handler actually said, "yeah i think we can work that out." wow, wasn’t expecting that whatsoever so it looks as though I’ll have to wear the suit and run for my life. In other news it looks like we have finally seen the end of old blue, it was a sad, sad day when i saw him getting taken away on a flatbed! The doors wouldn’t close, all 4 tires did not have tread on them, the ac didn’t work dents, and a whole lot more. So we are currently waiting for a "replacement", i put that in quotes because we don’t know what where getting and there is no way in this world that it will be a new one, no way.  But hey i want them to just let me take the gator out everywhere we go, I’ll just mount a 50 cal. on it and will be good to rock and roll! My birthday was good here, i didn’t get to do much so I’ll have to make up for it when i get back, but it did get RED SOX tickets from my amazing girlfriend!! I can’t wait to take a trip out to Boston to go see them with her it will be pretty sweet to say the least! And i also got a bunch of birthday cards from my friends as well and well, let’s just say they were entertaining! But ah yes today is Canada day and well we have a boat load of Canadians here at the base that recently replaced a US infantry unit. Well actually let me take you back a few weeks to the bruins winning the CUP first. Since we are huge Boston fans here at CBH we had made a bet (no money involved) with a Canadian Major. The bet was this: If the Bruins won the Canadian Major would have to wear a bruin’s hat for 1 whole day and if we lost my Sargent would have to wear a canucks hat. Fair enough. Well up until today we have left messages with the major requesting that he pick up his item in the BDOC and up to this point is has been unsuccessful. We realized we would have him trapped today when all of his fellow Canadians would be with him at their festival a few building down from us. So us being the nice neighbors that we are walked over to their celebration to mingle and have a good time, all the while we were really looking for the Major that has evaded us for the last few weeks. At last we had found him but it got even better when we found out that the Canadian minister of defense was present so we knew this was our chance to get him. We walked up to him with big smiles on our faces and he knew it, right there, right then that he had been caught! We presented him with the Boston Bruins hat of glory and he was a good sport about it and lots and lots of pictures were taken! The minister of defense loved every second of it and told us we did a good job so the mission was a success. And the whole company of Canadians got to watch him dawn the hat in front of everyone and had to wear it the rest of the day, while he drank his molsen. yup that’s right beer, they get to drink it on special occasions, while the American army still has not allowed it. One day. Well I’ve got to be productive; i will write again soon i can promise you that.
Two eyes, one mouth.
SPC Latino.
" I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones" Albert Einstein

A DFAC Complaint

As part of our training in fort hood, we fielded various day to day issues that may come up during our deployment. Some of these issues included IEDs, attacks on the base, protests, and working through contract disputes with local contractors. Other issues were more mundane, like this email SSG Klaver eloquently handled:
  I know this was a while ago but i thought it needed to be posted
 
From: Eggers (Tenant)
Sent: Monday, March 28, 20112:00 PM
To: 26 YB Eggers
Subject: DFAC complaint
BSG,
Has the price of bread and eggs gone up? I was just wondering because that is the only reason I could come up with for the chow hall not having French toast in the morning? Obviously, a LOT of soldiers want French toast for breakfast, so why would they quit having it? If soldiers had the option to eat breakfast where ever they want and if the chow hall profits were based on the number of soldiers that eat there, they would seriously lose money on this decision. I think it is a shame that when a soldier in a war zone gets a little something that reminds him of home and gives him a little bit of pleasure, and someone with no concern for the soldier just yanks it away from him.
CW2 Henderson
2/234 IN
——————————————————————
From: 26 YB Eggers
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2011 4:30 PM
To: Eggers (Tenant)
Subject: RE: NTMA: DFAC complaint
I can’t thank you enough for bringing this matter to our attention. I would be derelict in my duties to uphold the value of integrity if I did not admit that it has been far too long since I have thought of French toast. As I read your e-mail, I was reminded of my youth, specifically my earliest recollections, and how the smell of French toast would waft through the early morning air and wake me with a gentle nudge as if to say “hello”. I would swing my feet out of the Raggedy Ann and Andy blanket and crinkle my toes in the deep shag rug as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. All the while the French toast beckoned.
I would slip on my Garanimals and a clean pair of socks (though between us they hardly ever matched!) and start my journey down the hallway. I could see the early morning haze as the sun burned its way through the window panes and the smell of syrup seemed to dance like succulent ballerina on the warming sun’s rays. Oh it was delightful!
I would bound down the stairs and use that last balustrade to swing around toward the kitchen door, inevitably my mismatched socks would slip on that last hardwood stair but, seriously, I didn’t care! French toast, French toast, French toast! Was all I could think! Then there it was the last barrier between me and the luscious French toast. No six panel door would be strong enough to hold me back! I WOULD NOT BE DENIED!!
I crashed through the door and blurted out “FRENCH TOAST!! YES, YES, GOD IN HEAVEN, YES!” and before me I saw her, my nanny Ramelda. The whisked eggs glistening off her spatula, the reflection from the pure (imitation) maple syrup, the pillowy bread slices lying atop each other. She was a breakfast goddess and this kitchen, beneath her in every sense, was her kingdom.
I seemed to float into my chair and like a synchronized Swiss watch the plate of French toast seemed to appear before me. The slices were bronzed and yellow with patches of soft brown like flower patches in a field. Atop the mound of heaven was a large pat of butter that was melting as if it were giving its life so slowly for the benefit of all. I reached to my right and, without having to look, wrapped my small fingers around the warm Aunt Jemima figurine bottle of faux maple syrup.
To this day I swear the cap eased off itself and I smile every time I think of how the syrup was always ready at the edge of the spout. It flowed across the French toast, skimming the dying butter, and reached for every edge of my plate. It was art, in its purest form, to watch. The symphony of interaction still brings a tear to my eye.
So, Chief Henderson, do I understand the impact of this? You bet I do! Chief… you bet I do…
But we don’t have any more French toast here so I suppose it sucks for you. Have a great day.
SSG Klaver

Summer Days

Well summer is starting to roll in and the days are getting hotter, longer, and more polluted. However since are camp is located outside of Kabul a good ways we don’t have all the pollution the city does, pretty happy about that. So with the summer here that means people start going on their 2 week R&R and we have one soldier already back in the commonwealth and once he comes back another goes and that will continue throughout the summer and fall, mine is at the end of august as long as the world doesn’t end first. The one good thing about R&R is the army will pay for your flight anywhere you want to go in the world and back! I have decided to take my talents to Bradley Int Airport! But I was thinking about it, people were saying they are going to Ireland and Australia, I mean ya its nice and you save a plane ticket but the commonwealth is good enough for me.  Enough about me I’ll tell ya about what’s been going on here the last few weeks! We recently got bomb and drug dogs and they are pretty good at what they do, that is all I can say! They can smell everything and won’t go near you if you smell bad it’s pretty funny.  I am trying to get in good with the handlers so that I can get a chance to wear the marshmallow suit and get chased down by a dog I think that would be sweet, others not so much! Well I have some sad news about Old Blue, the tires are all completely bald, and when I say that I mean there’s no rubber tread at all and is not drivable and it just sits there, a 40,000 dollar paperweight. Now we have to use Humvees that don’t work half the time. But nick it’s a Humvee it must be better than old blue! No, no its not. We have a few Humvees here all are also not street worthy and technically we need to have 2 people in there to operate it, however I tend to break that rule, a lot. But hey if the camp needs water and we only have me to get in the Humvee to esquorte water trucks in, I’m going to do it by myself!  On a different note we just renovated our BDOC office and it’s really nice now, however since you need a minimum of a secret security clearance to get into the office I can’t talk about what we did so some other day, but it’s really really nice! Hahaha so I asked them if we could have a day off on our birthdays and it would be greatly appreciated but they just laughed and said no, no days off, so will stay on out 24/7 shifts. The army however really does love it when you have a birthday, there is so many army traditions when your birthday comes around it is really a special time! (Very sarcastic) I let you think about that. Let’s just say my 21^st birthday was during annual training last year, everyone in the company knew it was my birthday and 49 people had lined up outside my room to tell me so!  I’m tired I’m going to go sleep. I know this wasn’t much, I’ll write more later.

Old Blue

Yes I’m back don’t worry I am here to fill your head with about 3-6 mins of information that you don’t really need but want to hear about!  So the current time is 2:20 am and I am still on the night shift its great. I start to say that with a little bit of sarcasm now.  don’t get me wrong I still like working the night shift because I have no captains or master sargents in my ear 24/7 so it’s nice but I am missing my dinner meal and are little shoppet that’s open during the day and the latest Blackhorse Gossip. It’s funny you would think getting away from Westside I wouldn’t hear any more gossip and I didn’t for like the first 3 weeks but then you get to know people, people from other countries, the sweet kitchen staff and the people within the mayor cell (us) and then comes the gossip.  I usually work till 10 am right now and lunch is at 11:30 so I don’t want to miss that so I hang out for a bit go to lunch pass out by 12:30 and wake up late but hey what can ya do. So we have an up armored NTV (non tactical vehicle) like a Chevy suburban but with a lot of armor, that’s not what we have but an example. Any way on our NTV is a driver side door that does not close and weighs about 400 LBS and when in the rare case that you get it to close it will not re open without help from the outside or crawling over to the passenger side and getting out that way, and when in the case that you have to wear full body armor that sucks, a lot. I know I had to do it today. The vehicle is falling apart. The brush guard in the front should not even be there is serves no purpose it’s bolted on in about 3 pieces. The radio works but only have 1 speaker that works and if you’re lucky you might hear AFN (armed forces network) the 4 wheel drive doesn’t work and there is not one smooth part to the vehicle anywhere, we call it “old Blue” “blue” “pos” or “dents” but alas, we have figured a way to open the driver door when it is closed, either you have to open the rear driver side door and the front door opens for some reason. Or you can do my preferred method, with your right boot and you facing away from the vehicle, raise leg up and perform the heel kick to the center of the door, leaving boot imprint on the door and door will open! As you can see that is what we are dealing with here at Camp Blackhorse, while Camp Phoenix has upwards of 15 new vehicles, and they are asking us why we need just one more when our truck is “fine” hahah as you can see we are the red headed step child of the KBC. But hey we have more important things to do like make me fire marshal and draw up every building on this base and label where all the fire extinguishers are located and do it all on paint, yes Microsoft paint because we’re that cool. But hey yes sir is all I say and carry on.  Oh hey also just because Bin Laden is dead doesn’t mean we go home just in case you were wondering because I know one of you out there was.  Moving on I think I have made a mistake about my address to some people so here it is to clarify any mistakes made by yours truly:

Nick Latino

Camp Blackhorse

26^th MEB

APO AE 09320

Good? Ok thought so that’s what it is so if you want to send money or gold I will be more than willing to accept the Gift, and notice I say gift so it you try to take me to judge Judy I  have it in writing that I was a gift, not a loan or anything like that. Also people have been asking me what I want or need here so I’ll try and give you some ideas, now by no mean do you have to get me any of this, these are just some ideas to get your mind going if you do feel the need to send me anything:  candy, qtips, Oreos, (double stuffed) stuff to mix in bottled water, anything Boston sports related. Pictures, magazines, disposable camera, notebook, money, money, cash, greenbacks, legal tender notes. (but really dont send money, i dont need it or have a use for it)

Combat Pach cermony and random things

the lucky strike

getting the combat patch

in traffic, thought this was supposed to be a back road?

on the C-17

Well it has been a while since

Post Easter

To the Followers:

room take 2

Add caption

looking back from my desk

Well a few days have passed and I figured I would update the blog. Well it is currently 2:45 am and I’m once again working the night shift. I will be working it for the next few months and so far it is pretty good I have no complaints. I am the only one up and have no NCO’s yelling at for random stuff that doesn’t involve me. So Easter was good here, well as good as it could be.  We had a nice Easter dinner with all the good dinner foods that Easter has to offer.  Got to talk to everyone on dad’s side of the fam but for SOMEEEE reason couldn’t talk to mom’s side haha even though I was on Skype at the time the designated haha. But what else well the other night I got to witness something pretty cool.  If you remember that I talked about one of the things we oversee here is new afghan units getting put together and standing up for the first time. Well once the new unit has completed there training here they roll out and go to their new home for the first time.  So the other night I had the pleasure of watching what seemed like hundreds of vehicles roll out of the gate to start their new mission.  It was pretty cool and it took hours for all the trucks to roll out and it was a sight to see.  If you could think of it this way, it’s like the 82 airborne division getting put together for the first time and rolling out.  Pretty sweet.  So what else.  The other unit finally left so were in full control of the base now and it’s a pretty good feeling to see that Afghans finally getting their country back together. And it is happening contrary to popular beliefs. It’s the first time people have legitimate jobs and they are happy to work, most of them, yes there is a percent that is still bad but we are steadily eliminating that percent. Oh I think I found out the reason ford didn’t go under in the auto collapse. It is because all the police and army here have brand new Ford Rangers and I’m talking like hundreds here and that’s just at our base. I can’t imagine everywhere else. Again most of my entries to my blogs are all thoughts that come into my head and I write them down and I know some people are laughing but hey it works for me.  So also we have a new cammo specifically for Afghanistan that you won’t see anywhere else. They say it helps blend more to the environment and I agree but we are accountable for it and I think all together all the cloths and gear that was assigned to us was over 5,000 $ so ya and god forbid something gets lost they will take it out of ur next pay check but when you are due a promotion or you need a helmet for your safety they will drag their feet on that as long as they want.  So if you looked at any military picture of a normal solider back in WW2 or Vietnam you would usually see a pack of lucky strikes in there helmet band and my friend Kevin gave me a pack to keep the tradition going, mind you I don’t smoke at all but it was a good jester and I have already gotten comments on it from everyone and a few officers here and one of them stopped me and Said  “soldier …hey hold up a second, ….me : yes sir?....Him: do you know you have a pack of lucky strikes in your helmet? Me:  why yes sir, is it a problem I can take them out if you want?....Him: No absoluty not, PFC you are to keep them on ur helmet all deployment, that is got to be the coolest thing I have seen since I have been in country, 3 times!! Way to represent the soldiers before us, carry on. Me:  Roger sir will do” that was one of the highlights so far of being on Blackhorse. So I don’t have my mini fridge yet but I can’t wait to store all the “Rip its” in it when I do. It’s the army’s version of a Red Bull and it helps me get thus the long nights, but you can only get them on Fridays so I have to be tactical about getting as much as I can.  Well this about raps on this post, I have a lot of work to get done tonight.  Two eyes one mouth,

PFC  LATINO , next time I post I should be addressing you as SPC LATINO