Kabul

John Morris the Project Manager and Creed McCaslin the head of security for GTW Consultants arrived at the Bagram airbase around 8:15 to Drive me to Kabul. We made the trip in a reinforced Land Rover which means it had bullet proof glass and body armor. It was about a 20 mile drive that took an hour. That was a very interesting hour. First we had to get through the quagmire of vehicles that were trying to get on and off the base. Many Afghan support people and services were pushing their way onto the base as we were trying to get out. The Afghan Army actually mans the gates and takes care of security.

Once off base traffic opened up quite a bit but the roads were absolutely horrible. New asphalt that had gapping holes in it then abruptly back to the original dirt and rock road, No true shoulders so people walked and road their bikes on the edge of the road. The most interesting part of the trip was no driving laws. You make forward progress however you can. That means you drive on whatever side of the road that allows you to keep moving forward. You can pass on or off the road. If it is a divided highway and you aren’t moving forward as fast as you like you just jump the divide and make your way in those lanes. Accidents are taken care of at the scene generally a cash settlement. That includes pedestrians being killed. You agree to a settlement at the scene in most cases. Traffic police are there to keep traffic moving if it happens to get overly congested.

The land is desolate and the people very poor. Brick makers dotted the landscape. Many little roadside stands lined the highway. Herds of goats, sheep and some donkeys were prevalent on the plains. These herds belonged to nomadic tribes who set their tents up and graze the area then pack up and find a new spot. There is very little vegetation available to support the herds so movement is constant.

I was driven to a facility in Kabul called the Green Village. This is a high security facility in Kabul that houses contractors from around the world. The Russians own it and Nepal is in charge of security. You have to go through a series of solid steel gates which are guarded by armed personnel to gain vehicle entry. ID’s are checked and the vehicle is inspected for bombs. Once you gain entry you have to go through a metal detector also and security to bodily gain entrance.

The whole village is surrounded by 20 ft steel walls reinforced by 4x4x4 containers of sand that ate stacked to the top of the wall. Armed guards with machine guns are posted along the wall. A security detail of several dozen armed men patrol the grounds 24/7. All where very friendly and vigilant.

The compound consisted of 12 or so residence halls that each had 30 rooms, a office facility that contacting agencies housed, dining facility, soccer field, sand volley ball, basketball, swimming, shops and a spa. The place was very nicely landscaped using poplars and willows for trees and lots of rose moss and sunflowers for color. The court yard of the spa had seating and was very nice. The food was awesome—it had a very European flair.

I stayed at the Green village for the week recovering from the trip and the Kuwait experience. Arranging for transport also took some time. Travel on Fridays does not happen because that is their day off basically and if you drove the highways you would be a big target so travel is avoided as much as possible. Next....Travel to Gardez