"HELLO FROM AFGHANISTAN" Celeste Gamache |
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Hi everybody I'm finally getting around to letting everyone know I made it safely to Afghanistan. I arrived here on 12 Nov. It took 5 days to get here. I left on the 7th and arrived in Kyrgyzstan on the 9th. Our C-17 to Bagram broke so we didn't get out until the 12th. When we got to Manas, Kyrgyzstan, it was snowing hard. Luckily, I was able to stay in a dorm, instead of in a tent like last time. With the cold nights it was nice to have indoor plumbing. Hanging around Manas waiting to move forward gets old quickly. They had us check in our luggage on Sat, in anticipation of leaving. When we didn't get out, we didn't get our luggage back. We finally got out about 11 on Monday, 12 Nov. The flight was uneventful and took about 1 1/2 hours. Bagram is as I remember it. It is a much bigger base than where I was last time, Camp Eggers. I work with the 82nd Airborne Div, the division running the show in Afghanistan. Most of my office is from the legal office at Ft Bragg. They've been here since last Jan and will leave this spring. So, I am just another AF attorney who will come through during their tour. They are happy to see me because I am the first attorney who will be here after they leave. The 101st Airborne Div will come in this spring. My office is in a building built inside of an old Soviet hangar. It is called the JOC (Joint Operations Center). Needless to say, there are no windows. This building even has a small gym and DFAC (dining facility). My room is in conex buildings adjacent to the hangar. All of these buildings are in a compound within Bagram called the JOC compound. Except for going to the Base Exchange (BX) for toiletries, you could never leave the JOC compound. My office is one big office for everyone in legal. You can see in the pictures, we all face inward so there is no privacy or quiet in the office. I am at the end of the room with the TV. The SJA and deputy are at the other end. In the picture named "Conex," I live in the conex that is completely visible (not cut off in the picture, closest to the person taking the picture). I live on the second floor, by the stairs that you can see. Right behind the conex are the bathrooms. Yes, we have to go outside to get to the bathrooms. I have to say, it's getting mighty chilly at night. You can see how close we are to the runway. Earplugs are a must at night. You can see in the conex picture how clear the air seems.(these pictures were taken some time ago) The first couple days I was here, you could not see those mountains in the background. Now you can see them a little, but not much. The picture "dust devil" shows a little more pollution so you get an idea what I'm talking about. There are many separate compounds that make up Bagram. The AF wing is on Camp Cunningham, another compound within Bagram. There are several other compounds. I've heard no one really has a good handle how many people are actually on Bagram. I can believe it. We also have a Gitmo-east here. I don't think I'll be getting off base much, if at all, while I'm here. So, unfortunately, you won't see all the wonderful pictures of the people that I took last time. I'll send what I can. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I've attached two from a bunch of photos taken by other people. Bill O'Rielly visited Bagram a couple of days ago. He visited the JOC and he came around to all of the offices. We got a couple of pictures. Well, one week down, 25 to go. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! Celeste |
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