Stuck Again

MOT E left for Aybak and the PO CO went with them. Me and medic M stayed behind, because the new Lion had to have some repairs done. The road conditions here really wear the cars down quickly - they need repair much more frequently than the owner's manual suggests, and a brand new armoured car could be ready for scrapping after just 60.000 kilometres. The repairs didn't take long, or at least any longer than expected, but now that the two vehicles of MOT E had left, we are (again!) stuck here at CNL. The SOP (standard operating procedure) about patrols says, that military vehicles are not to move outside camps on their own, so we have no choice but to wait for a convoy to join us to Aybak. I'm confident one will turn up soon.

In the mean time, while waiting for the vehicle maintenance to work their magic, I ran errands in the camp. I revised the PO's cash for the new Swedish paymaster, and signed out a new cash of the new postmaster. I also had a long afternoon nap. Today is the old Swedish rotation's (FS17) second last night in Afghanistan. The soldiers of the new rotation, FS18, are learning and asking questions. I'm certain that our co-operation with them will be as good as with the old one. The new rotation consists to about 10% of women, which is much more than the old one. The new postmaster and paymaster were both women, for example. The Finnish rotation only has one female soldier.

The temperature last night was below zero, and in the morning the water puddles were frozen and most things were covered with a thin layer of frost. For the first time, I had to wear my winter coat during the day. But as expected, the temperature in sunny spots reached over 20 degrees in the afternoon. What I like most about the winter season here, though, is that the air is so much cleaner to breathe.