Day 246: The Egg

I apologize for going without an entry for 10 days, but sometimes things aren't as blogworthy as I would like them to be. Well, today I have something worth archiving on the good old blog.

In early Feb, I blogged about an IED casualty that we cared for in our medical clinic. Luckily, he only had minor injuries and did very well. He's a very nice gentleman who is a civilian contractor for a company responsible for providing security around various construction projects here in Afghanistan. Well, he recently returned from leave, which he spent at home in South Africa, and approached me to present a thoughtful gift of appreciation...let me digress for a moment.

Thoughtful gestures from patients are a rarity. More often than not, I have dealt with patients who can be demanding, needy, self-centered, or simply downright horrible. So one may ask, "How do you continue to do what you do?", and my answer to that would be in those few patients that have taken the time to remind me just how much of a difference I have made in their lives as result of my medical care.


...back to my story. What he presented to me was a beautifully painted, hollowed-out ostrich egg from South Africa with some very intricate artwork placed all over the egg. I thought it was the coolest thing! In addition to the gift, I had the pleasure of hearing such kind words of appreciation, but more importantly, I was reminded of the very reason why I was sent here and the differences I've been able to make.

"Pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:17,18 NASB

Day 236: The General

In my short career as a Naval Officer, several times have I been a part of what is often called in the military, a "dog and pony show". It amuses me how tightly wound up command leaders get when an admiral, or in the Army's case, a general comes for a well-intentioned visit. Everyone else usually tries to hide....literally! This time of tension and pressure to look absolutely squared away is the reason for the rather facetious nickname.

The General

Anyways, the past several days were marked by a visit from our commanding officer, General Huber, who is in charge of all US Embedded Training Team (ETT) combat advisors in Afghanistan such as myself. Rather than staying away I decided to simply approach him, meet him, shake his hand, and ask for a quick picture. Besides, how often am I ever going to interact with an Army General in my lifetime? We even had a brief conversation. Turns out, he was a very nice man, down-to-earth, and seemed very supportive of our mission here in remote Camp Clark. I guess "dog and pony shows" aren't as tense of an experience as people make them out to be.

Day 235: Shots

Today's Mission: Vaccinate 600 soldiers in 1 day, 4 vaccines per soldier = 2400 vaccines

This was a mission that I had discussed with my Afghan counterparts weeks ago and in great detail. My medics and I decided to pay them a visit 2 days prior to the proposed vaccination clinic day to see if they had hashed out a plan to administer the vaccines. Was there a plan? Of course not! So we huddled together and discussed a plan to run an efficient shot line, and we involved every Afghan medic we could find to prepare the vaccinations in syringes prior to vaccination day which was a total of 2400 vaccines.

Team ANA Preparing the Vaccines

Long story short, every Afghan medic in the clinic ensured that the vaccines were prepared and the clinic was ready for the soldiers. Talk about pulling together as a team. I think my US medics and I were way more panicked than the Afghan Army medics as 600 soldiers was a huge number for a small clinic staff to handle all at once. But, if they were not going to panic, then why should we? All doubts aside, on vaccination day we found that the ANA medics were ready for action with all vaccines drawn up and ready for swift administration.

BAM!!...Let's Get to Work!

ANA Medic Gul Rahman administering Oral Polio Vaccine

Mission Complete: All 608 ANA recruits were successfully vaccinated in a matter of 4 hours. Talk about a preventative medical team built on speed and efficiency. Strong work!

Day 234: Shamrock Shuffle

I'm not a big St. Patrick's Day which apparently is a big beer drinking Irish holiday according to my fellow military members. I also recall in grade school that if you are not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day, you deserve to get hit. Other than that, I know nothing else about this notable day. Out here in Afghanistan, in celebration of this Irish tradition some proactive folks planned a 5K race right on the base. The race reminded me of Guam as 5K races are going on all the time!


It was a beautiful early morning, prime weather conditions for running. Here is a group of us Navy and Air Force folks ready to run...we're almost awake!

You gotta have the token pre-race group picture.
Love the Irish touch!

I live on a base within a base. Imagine a postage stamp on an envelope. Camp Clark (my base) is the stamp and the outer edges of the envelope is Camp Parsa (the Afghan Army base). A little over 1 full lap around the Afghan wall of the base is 5K. I remember running this course when I first arrived which also was the last time I ran it as I heard rumors of snipers hiding in the mountains. Well, I wasn't going to let that rumor stop me from enjoying this event.

I'm not much of a runner, but I have been doing it more and more as I have had lots of time to workout since being on this deployment. Although I'm not a Speedy Gonzalez, I'm still a big competitor so I wanted to see how I compared to the other Camp Clark runners.

Here I am huffing and puffing my way to the finish line!

I finished the race in 24 minutes flat which isn't too bad. I was fourth overall and what do you know...FIRST in my age group! I was very surprised. As you can see in the picture below, my 5K keepsake was a smaller replica of the Afghanistan national flag. Our complimentary T-shirts are still in the mail.


I must say that I had a blast. For those few hours of the race, I felt a sense of normalcy and contentment that I haven't felt in a long long time. It's thoughtful events like this one that keep us troops closer to home.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Hebrews 12:1 NIV

Day 233: Fair Winds

There's an expression of farewell in the Navy, "Fair winds and following seas". It's never easy to say goodbye to people you care about, especially on a deployment. Part of the sadness comes from forged friendships with fellow troops who are leaving, but the other source of sadness is the reality that I can't hop on the helicopter with them and simply go home.

A Final Picture of Team Navy with the Navy Jack

Today, I had to say goodbye to fellow shipmates as their tour has come to a long-awaited close (a long 9 months!). They have endured the fight and have held on to the end! It was nice to see a crew beaming with excitement as today marks the beginning of their journey back to normalcy. A life that includes family, roads without bombs, privacy, cars, silverware, restaurants - all the things that were sorely missed on deployment.

Navy Crew Anxiously Waiting For a Ride

Fair Winds...

As I helped them onto their helicopter and waved goodbye, I was bummed at the thought of their departure while at the same time comforted at the reminder that my time will eventually come. Until then, the work must continue to push forward.

To my fellow sailors, "Fair winds and following seas", your presence will surely be missed.

Day 231: RBWT

Every year we host approximately 600-650 recruits to Khowst as they are here for basic training. The official title of this training evolution is Regional Basic Warrior Training or RBWT. My role in all this is to coordinate the first aid training for the 600+ soldiers which was done in conjunction with my all-star Afghan medics. In the picture below, you see Mohammad Ayub, probably my best-trained medic, teaching the first aid class to the recruits. My US medics and I just hang in the back, and we provide teaching tips on request. The whole class was taught in Dari so I'm assuming that it was medical stuff they were talking about.


As I was watching the training class, with Ayub on a makeshift concrete platform for a stage and 600+ soldiers attentively gathered around him in a horseshoe formation...it reminded me of an outdoor church setting. The moment that I took the picture posted above, for a moment I realized how much I missed being in the calm serenity of a quiet Sabbath at church. Thankfully, the Lord has remained abundantly good on this deployment as I have had several avenues and opportunities to share my faith and encourage others through the study of the Bible. Initially, a lack of the formalized church experience had me worried...no lesson study, sermon, special music, song service...no POTLUCK :( but being out here made me realize that church isn't about the building or even fellow members...it's about a real, personal, life-altering relationship with a living God who wants his children to experience "church" all day, every day through communion with him.

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." II Timothy 4:2 NIV

Day 230: Camel

One of my medics came up with the crazy notion of taking pictures with a camel before her deployment was up. Well her wish came true! All it took was a request to our local bazaar shopkeepers and Voila!...a week later, we had a jingled-out camel brought right onto base. We totally had a blast and enjoyed an up close & personal experience with an amazing creature.


Hopping aboard the hump of a camel was adventurous to say the least. It also was horribly malodorous. But, the fun of it all kept the smell tolerable:) Who says you can't have a good time on deployment?

Whoa there...stay! Good Camel!


A Camel Close Up

Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Luke 18:25 NIV