The Shortest Distance Between Two Points

Travel in Afghanistan is an interesting proposition. If you happen to be Afghan it’s no big deal. Pack as many people in a car as you can and off you go. Not very different from any other 3rd world country I’ve visited. If you are in the military, a DOD civilian or a military contractor, things are different. These groups travel by convoy, Mil-Air, Jingle-Air or Rotary Wing.

Convoy travel involved climbing into an up-armored Humvee or MRAP and commanding the road with M2’s, M240’s, M249’s and Mk19’s (all crew served weapons mounted in turrets). If you are real lucky perhaps you’ll ride in an up-armored SUV. Everyone has seen these before. They are the same in the states when big wigs travel about. Over here the only real difference is that in addition to Suburbans there are up-armored Toyota Land Cruisers and Nissan Patrols. More comfy than the Humvees and MRAPS and they travel quite a bit faster.

MIL-Air includes jets and large turbo props, C17’s, C130’s and the like. These are good because they are not very dependant on the weather. They can also carry more passengers along with cargo. I flew with mail, panels of used Humvee armor and 155mm artillery rounds on one hop. These aircraft have no windows to speak of though and you’ll likely be sitting in a jump seat. In the C130’s it’s a bit disconcerting to look up and see a row of parachutes hanging just in front of you. This is very utilitarian travel. The inside of these aircraft look like a set from Aliens. Everything is grey, exposed wires and hydraulic lines run the length of the fuselage, not the most attractive ride.

Jingle-Air is contracted air. Blackwater is the operator. These are mostly small turbo props that most resemble Chevy Vans with wings. They carry up to 8 passengers and some cargo. These are an interesting ride. They have windows and fly rather low so there’s a good view. They frequently drop off schedule because of weather though.

I can't speak for the rotary wing yet... I have yet to ride in a helicopter. I'm told the back seat in a CH47 is a great ride if you are in the last one. That one will have the ramp open for a tail gunner.... fantastic views!

You can try to get “space blocked” on these to move about the country of simply fly space A. Given the number of cancellations I just wing it with space A. This entails spending a great deal of time in makeshift passenger terminals, nights on cots in tents and very fluid schedules. Most of the personnel in theater only experience these modes of travel. It’s a shame because you never get a reasonable understanding of the country moving about like that.

Unlike my brethren, I have had the opportunity to travel like a civilian. Moving about in a normal Toyota Land Cruiser, in civilian clothes gives a very different perspective. No need for body armor. There is significant freedom in moving about as the low value target. Who wants to waste an expensive IED on some stupid civilian? The contractors we work with for fuel and cargo deliveries travel like this. It’s not odd, or particularly dangerous.

My mom sent me a magazine recently. It seemed a bit out of character because it was a very local periodical from my home town. It’s a very left wing rag, not that I have any issue with that. One of the articles in it was written about Afghanistan by a Brit who was a one time prisoner of the Taliban Militia. She published the article in Dec 08. In it she claimed that 72% of the country and 4 of the 5 highways leading to Kabul were controlled by the Taliban. I found this astonishing because I’ve driven over 3 of them in the past month. No worries. No bad guys controlling the roads, just lots of Afghans, traveling, selling fish, selling sugar cane. She made mention of 20+ fuel trucks littering the road from Jalalabad. To be fair there was an attack at the Torkam border in Nov or Dec and a number of fuel trucks did burn. That was one attack, in one place. I am bothered that the facts have been so badly misrepresented. I expect severe spin from the right. I suppose it ignorance on my part to expect that the left would do any different. So, where can anyone get objective news from Afghanistan? Beats me, I wish I knew. In the mean time I’ll just continue to jot down my observations and thoughts here in cyber space.