Day: July 16, 2009

On my final trip to southern Kapisa, we again stopped at the dam. This time, the water was flowing in full force.

Our contractor told us that the water is turned off for a few minutes each week, so that people could gather (not really catch) fish.


Here are the road workers picking out large rocks for the sub-base on the asphalt road. Progress is slow, but mostly steady.

Another view of the water, complete with rainbow.

This is construction of a culvert. The bad news was the quality was bad. The good news was the contractor identified the deficiencies himself and made corrections.

For some of the guys, this was their last mission outside the wire. So, near the end, they were understandably excited.

After we finished our inspection of southern Kapisa, we went to Kabul. While there, I had the opportunity to meet Mitch and Jen. Mitch had just been selected for promotion and had to re-enlist. I was honored that he asked me to perform the ceremony.

It was reminiscent of Guam, when he asked me to perform the same ceremony the last time he was promoted.

Next stop was out to Western Parwan. However, instead of a long drive, it was a short flight.

This is one of the district centers we are building. This complex will house the sub-governor and his staff.

Yeah, I agree, this construction is BAD!

The green valley is a sharp contrast to the austere mountains.

This walled fortress housed one or several families and is known as a qalat.

Next stop for the day was a school. Here you can see our ride and the mountains that surround the school. It was over 9,000 feet, and the altitude was noticeable with all the gear we were carrying.

Although plain, this school will enable two villages to have a building to hold classes in.

You can see we attracted a crowd very quickly.

Our interpreter is ethnically Hazara, as are the people in the area. So, he felt a strong affinity and even gave them a little money out of his own pocket.

The kids loved the pens. This girl immediately tested it on her hand.

This girl had very striking eyes, don’t you think?

Perhaps influence from Alexander the Great’s army?? I’m not sure, but there seems to be strong evidence of Caucasian influence.

A piece of grass makes fine dental floss.

This is one village I felt very safe in. The people were very appreciative that we built the school and were pleased that we made the trip all the way out to come check on it.
That was my final trip in June, but July marked the arrival of the replacement team and our final month in Afghanistan. Although we are right in the middle of construction season, it was nearly time to pass our projects on to a new team. Before we did that though, there was much work to do.
–Jim