Inside The Wire

I'm writing you from a small plywood shack in eastern Afghanistan. 

Jalalabad is a great place to spend the winter; during summer on the other hand, it's a different story. The average temperature now is 114 degrees F…with humidity. Once the "summer" kicks in, the average temp will be in the 120-130 degree range. 

Afghan kids during MEDCAP supporting the US troops

Evenings are wonderful. It drops to a cool 80 degrees. Just watch out for the cobras. We found a six-footer two days ago. Fortunately, these cobras are the non-venom spitting variety. At least I don't have to worry about landmines anymore. Did I mention JBad is my new home? After returning from my eye-opening trip to Kansas, the Marine Corps decided that Marines assigned to ETTs can no longer work the ANP mission. The Marine Corps does not like the idea of splitting up teams.

So, Kabul Vice rolls no more.

Just In Time

I left my old team at just the right time. Once I received my marching orders to JBad, some new guys were assigned to my old team. And let me tell you, these newbies are a bunch of winners….

Women in burqa during MEDCAP

My new mission is to work with the Afghan Border Police (ABP). Last week I officially joined ETT 2-4, the Marine ETT responsible for mentoring the ABP in eastern Afghanistan. Fortunately, this is the same team that I trained with prior to deploying here (my original team, ETT 7-1, did all of our training with 2-4), so I've known these guys for some time. The intent is that I provide some continuity while 2-4 redeploys (aka goes home at the end of the month) and the new team gets the hang of things. I will be returning home with 7-1. We were supposed to depart Afghanistan in mid to late July. That overlap would put an "old hand" with the new ABP team. I'd be here to ensure they get the hang of this whole advising business. 

Well, like all things in Afghanistan, plans change. I just received word that my team will be departing country EARLIER than expected. I have about one month left, and to be honest, I'm not ready to leave. There is much more to be done. I've made relationships with the right people in the right places and am doing a lot of good here…even though the good we do is under the radar…at least until the end product is broadcast on the news. My parent command here really does not know all of the help we've provided to some of the other players in theater. Technically, this isn't part of my mission, but it would be negligent not to do this type of stuff. My new team, however, "gets it," and my boss here fully supports these endeavors.

Time for dinner.

1stLt Karnaze and Kabul Vice Team

About the Author: 1stLt Nicholas Karnaze, a Marine Corps Officer, is currently serving on an Embedded Training Team operating within Afghanistan. He is a 2004 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, with a BS in Political Science.