Finished Project

My day started at 0405 with a minor earthquake, which lasted about 15 seconds. It was not a pleasant way of being woken. Some of the soldiers woke up, but most continued sleeping, unaware of the shaking of their surroundings. A few hours later, the OCCP mentoring team, MOT D and MOT E went to their respective playing fields. I stayed at the safe house and started to introduce the new second in command to his duties. It rained the whole day and it was surprisingly cold. The new guard, who we interviewed in november, and who had his security screening last week, was employed today. We took his picture for the ID-card, and ordered a summer uniform for him. The mullah next door invited us to an opening ceremony for the new footpaths to the mosque. We sat a few minutes in the rain, and then it was time to cut the ribbon. In the evening, the EOD contractor who had gone out to dispose of a 82mm mortar granade that MOT D had spotted, got stuck in the mud, and MOT D volunteered to go and pull him loose. Just one day of rain can turn the rock-hard desert into a mudpile, but the soil dries and hardens just as quickly when the sun comes out.


Tea and sugar-coated almonds in the rain with the village elders. What fun.


Standing on the brand new footpaths, cutting the ceremonial ribbon.

2IC

The new 2IC (second in command) is finally here. He is retired and in his fifties, but seems ok. I hope that his arrival will eventually - after a few weeks of orientation and training - ease my work load considerably. We left for CNL in the morning, and brought him and the CO of the OCCP mentoring team to Aybak in the afternoon. In CNL there was again plenty of business to attend to. On the way there, the gearbox oil of one of our vehicles overheated repeatedly, but fortunately we made it there without any major delays. It rained the whole day but the air was reasonably warm. The damp but mild weather of the past few days has given the desert a thin shade of green: the grass is growing everywhere.

Ordinary Friday

Maintenance and administration, good food and even some rest. I started my day with 30 minutes on the excercise bike and some sit-ups etc. After lunch there were some people from the embassy of Great Britain at the gate. All teams were busy writing reports, and in the evening we did some planning.


I found yet another peculiar sign at the safe house.


And another. There seems to be no end to them.

From Sergeant to Lieutenant

In the morning I said goodbye to our senior chef T, who went on a month's leave, two weeks parental leave and two weeks ordinary leave. Our medic H was going on his first leave already after two weeks. The patrol left for camp Marmal, and the MOT's also headed out on patrol. The food trucks came in, then the logistics transport, and a delegation of EUPOL officers, who came to take our second EUPOL representative on leave. Then the welders came in to build us a new frame for the sun roof, which had collapsed under the weight of the snow. They also repaired one of the drainage covers, which keep bending under the armoured vehicles' weight.

In the afternoon me and the operations officer T went to have a look at how the construction of the footpaths in the nearby mosque is going. The mullah invited us for a cup of tea, and we accepted. We sat and talked for more than 30 minutes. After that I wrote the SITREP, the WOU (weekly operational update) and sent in the IP's timesheets. Then it was time for another cup of tea, this time at the promotion ceremony of one of our guards. He was promoted from sergeant of the guard to lieutenant of the guard in one go. What a brilliant career. That tea time took a full hour. Then I had the usual evening brief, and then it was time for the first barbecue of the year. We were on the roof as usual and I had invited all the local employees for dinner. MOT D was a little late, because they had gotten stuck in the mud with their vehicles.


It is an Afghan tradition to hang huge, colourful, decorations around the neck of the person who is being congratulated.

Mine 2

The NDS found another mine today. It was actually of the same type than the one from yesterday, but the location was about 60 kms away, in Rabatak village. They had brought the mine to the NDS HQ and called for us to take a look at it. We went and took a look at it, the rusty HMG cartridges, and the 10 kg bag of gunpowder beside it, and swiftly called for our friend the EOD expert to take a look at them, too. He came, took a very quick look at the mine, disassembled the mine without flinching, tossed the parts in his car and drove off. The NDS kept the gunpowder as evidence.

All of this happened in the afternoon. During the day, I had two parties of people asking for generators, computers, printers and all the usual stuff at the gate. I promised to forward their demands. I also did a lot paperwork, including two reports. The weather was very windy today, and cool. In the night there was a short period of heavy rain. MOT D discovered in the morning that they had left the top hatches of their vehicles open.


It's not yours, it's a mine.

Mine

I was woken at 0700 by the duty officer. There was an ANP officer at the gate who said that they had found a mine nearby. I reported the incident and called a local EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) contractor, who took care of locating and disposing of the mine. The OCCP mentoring team went on patrol with the police liaison officers, but I set of to meet the chief of NDS with the guests from G2. The guys from Stockholm continued their security screening of our guards. MOT D went on a patrol to Langar village, and MOT E were training. Everyone was busy with something.

In the afternoon we wrote altogether four reports, of which I only had to do one! Now that's an improvement - not necessarily on the reports, but on my work load. I even got to go to the gym, and only missed 6 phone calls while I was there. Now I only have to go to bed a little bit earlier than usual in order to rest after yet another day of non-stop business.

Transfer of Authority

Today was the TA (transfer of authority) parade for the DCO PRT MeS (deputy commander of the provincial reconstruction team Mazar-e Sharif), or the CO of FINCON (commanding officer of the Finnish contingent), which are one and the same person. At 0830 there was a rehearsal, and at 1050 all units were assembled on the parade ground at the flagpoles. That was also the end of the second period of the ice-hockey game between Finland and Sweden in the Olympic Games in Vancouver, but by that time Sweden was ahead with 2 goals, so it was just as well to have a parade. Then there was a lunch with Carelian stew and ice-cream.

We had ordered a periodical maintenance for two of our vehicles, but one of them was not going to be ready until at about 1500, so to save some time, we left for Camp Marmal with two vehicles to get some items from the stores, and one additional vehicle. When we were done at Marmal and headed back to CNL, the new Mercedes' turbo didn't work. Upon arrival we handed it in for maintenance and hoped that the problem wasn't anything serious. It shouldn't have been, as the new car really was new: it has only 7000 kms on the clock. While I was waiting for dinner (hamburgers and French fries), I noticed that the sauna had already been heated. I had 30 minutes with nothing special to do, so I went in and relaxed.

The new car's problem was fortunately easy to fix, so we got to leave for Aybak on the same day. The road was again full of lorries and trucks, of which a dozen were broken down along the way. At exactly 2100 Lion, Piggy, Bunny and Lizard (that's our vehicles) arrived safely in Aybak. MOT E and guests from Stockholm, G2 and G5 had arrived earlier in the afternoon.

Plans and Expectations

We left for CNL at 0900, because two of our vehicles needed maintenance. The trip was as usual, except for that we were three vehicles, and that in Mazar there was a lot of traffic. It was a pleasure to arrive in CNL for a change, because they were expecting us and all of the Finnish contingent. That meant that the accommodation, parking space, etc. had been well prepared in advance. These are small but important details. I had a talk with G2, the political advicer and the new commander of the Finnish contingent and his deputy, the FIN NSE COS (chief of staff). They seem ok, although very different from the old ones, who will hand over their duties. Our discussions made it very clear, that there are many plans for the future and major challenges are to be expected. The new CO also clearly expressed his high expectations for good results in PO Aybak. This admittedly puts some extra pressure on me.

Amidst all the talking and planning, I took the time to get a haircut and to go for a 15-minute run.

Fired (Part 2)

Today I had to terminate the employment of another one of our guards. The order from PRT staff came two days ago, but I delayed it and tried to get more information about the reasons behind the termination of his contract. The official explanation is "for security reasons", but that isn't too descriptive. He was upset and angry, of course, but took the bad news well, all things considered. The result of the security screening is absolute: just "yes" or "no", no "if's" or conditions. And no explanations. Just like last time. Afterwards, we had a long discussion with the guard commander about different issues.

In the afternoon, it was time to go to the shooting range with the new guys for the first time. We had good luck with the weather once again, as it was raining in the morning but dried up just after lunch. The ground, however, was still quite soggy from the melting snow. It was to be expected after what MOT Z had experienced just the other day, but still we learned the hard way. We also found an ununsed phosphorous handgrenade, Swedish model, that "someone" had dropped beside the road leading to the shooting range. It's a good thing that we found it and not some shepherd boy.


Preparing to winch 2 x 5 tons out of the mud.


The driver and "Lion" with a lot of Afghan soil around the wheels.

First Spring Day

Why is it that Fridays, that are supposed to be quieter and easier days, often turn out to be the busiest? I tried my best to relax, but today it seemed that there was no rest for the wicked. No patrols went out today, but there was enough to do at the safe house. Maintenance, cleaning, repairs, laundry, reports, paperwork, and training. It was a warm day, the first one in weeks, and the snow in the mountains was melting fast.


In today's medical training we practised inserting a cannula for intravenous therapy.

Training Patrols

Today we did two patrols in Aybak, one in the morning and another one in the afternoon. Before we left for the first one, the food trucks came in, just like they usually do on Thursdays. After they were unloaded, we rolled out with three cars. We visited OCCP, where I introduced some of the new Finns to the organisation. Then we did some road recce in the outskirts of the city and practised a vulnerable point check. When we came back, J, our signalist, accidentally fired his pistol at the unloading point when unloading. Me and four other soldiers were standing right behind him. No-one was hurt: The bullet went exactly where it is supposed to go, into the unloading barrel, which is filled with sand. With that, the situation is Sweden 4 - Finland 2. And in this game the lowest score wins.


Bang.

Everyone of course came outside to see what had caused the sound, even MOT Z, who had just come in before us. After lunch, just when we were leaving for the second patrol, the logistics transport came in, so it had to be unloaded. We drove around the on the other side of city before going to the ANP HQ to meet the chief of police. I introduced our new police LNO, I, to the chief of police and the ANP chief of operations, and we discussed current topics. Back at the safe house, I ordered an investigation into the accidental firing, wrote a report, did the weekly operational update, sent a couple of emails and went to bed, hoping that Friday will be a somewhat quieter day.


The roads roads are starting to show early symptoms of ceasing to exist, as MOT Z found out at the shooting range today. Even MOT D were out and about today, but for some reasons their vehicles stayed much cleaner.

More Training

After breakfast, I had a briefing about the current operations order. After that we practised patrol routines without actually ever leaving the compound. After lunch I had a briefing about the job descriptions of the PO staff and some sceduled tasks and routine paperwork. Then I slinked to the gym for an excercise pass. I almost got away with it, too, as I was interrupted only twice. In the evening the Americans came in once again to have a warm dinner, a shower and somewhere dry to sleep. We actually like having the Americans here, not only for force protection, but because they are nice guys. This time they were especially welcome, because we knew that they know some details that we need to know, and that they are willing to share their information with us. We had already agreed upon that per email.


In the lunch break we had a photo session on the sundeck. I invited all local employees to join us in a group picture.

Last minute addition: Good news from the personal finances point of view. I suppose that the rumours we have been hearing about problems recruiting qualified people hre are true, as this is the third pay raise during my time here. This time it's a substantial one, too.

Foot and Paw Patrols

Today we continued the rotation training for the new arrivals. I had two briefs for everyone: The first one was basic information about Samangan province and the Provincial Office. The second one was about the duty officer's tasks and responsibilities. MOT D went out on foot patrol in Aybak city three times today. I joined two of them, the afternoon and the night patrol. One the first one, Isaf joined the patrol. I was told that she walked all the way in formation, except for when she was getting into trouble with other dogs in the street. She is now in the age where she is exploring and expanding her turf every day.

On the patrols that I joined, we just walked around the city and talked with people we met. With ANSF (Afghan national security forces) representatives we talked a little longer and used different talking points. The purpose of these patrols was to show presence and to protect the people. The opponent uses fear, intimidation and violence to contol the population, whereas in our approach to reaching our goals we use quite the opposite methods. This is not propaganda, it's fact. Foot patrols are, like all operations, fundamentally information operations. Paw patrols are, I suppose, just pure fun.

New Rotation

The new rotation is finally here. They arrived a couple of hours late, just after lunch. We had had a short patrol to the police districts in the morning, and MOT D went out to the firing range. Just when the new rotation's convoy was coming in, both the water delivery truck and the sewer drainage truck also wanted to visit the compound to do their respective jobs: one to fill the water tanks and the other to empty the other kind of tanks. Finally the convoy got inside and the newcomers climbed out. I wonder if I looked so out of place when I arrived just over 5 months ago?

We started the new staff's HOTO (hand-over take-over) training with an introduction and a camp walk. MOT D provided some additional exitement to our afternoon by not having informed OCCP about their LFX (live-fire excercise). The sound of their new heavy machine gun echoed all over town, and practically the whole police force was alerted. Even our guards were a little anxious. I thought that it would be a good idea to make the new arrivals feel more at home by having a more relaxed first evening. Anything to break the ice - literally, as it's still extremely cold outside. We tried to achieve this by arranging a Guitar Hero competition between Finland and Sweden. Sadly, it was cut short by multiple electrical breakdowns. The heaters were on full effect in practically every room and it was just too much for the generators.

(The above is true also for our welfare network: the laptops are humming beside every bed, so there is just not enough bandwith to try to upload any pictures today.)

Provincial Council

At the OCCP meeting they told us that we were supposed to take part in an escorting convoy for a prisoner transport. The time of the transport was not revealed until late last night, and nobody at the OCCP had been kind enough to forward the information to us, so we were somewhat surprised at the request. At one hour's notice MOT D was still able to pull it off and they did the whole joint patrol. Well done. By the time that D was leaving, we went back from the OCCP to the PO to collect the nurse to be able to act as a QRU (quick response unit) for D should they get into trouble.

At 1000, it was time for a meeting with the Provincial Council. Although I had never met them before and I knew practically nothing about who the council are and what they do, I had a fairly good idea of what the meeting was going to be all about: complaining and begging. And, sadly, I was right. At first they complained about how the PRT and development organisations have done nothing in Samangan in the last five years, and how all other provinces get much more development aid, and how terribly concerned they are about this. I told them that their information was false, and listed up some of the major projects that are ongoing and have been started during my five months here. I emphasized that we are a security organisation, not a development agency. Then they went on to tell us what they would need: a computer, a copying machine, a scanner... It's ridiculous. Who do they think we are? After the meeting the IP told me that there is a common belief among the locals that we carry thousands of dollars in our vehicles. Some people still think that we should build them houses with bathrooms and showers and paved roads. Anyway, it was a good meeting. They were educated people, and half of them were women. It's really extraordinary to have women in any positions of power here.

I spent the afternoon writing reports, responding to messages and doing various paperwork. I'm really looking forward to getting a second in command and an operations' officer here soon to share some of the work.


The neighbours were burning plastic and whatnot in their stove again. And all the arid fumes plummeted straight into our yard. Again.

Sleet

The food transports, that were delayed because of the accident in the Salang tunnel, arrived today. Now we are again stocked with fresh vegetables and all kinds of goodies for at least a week. It rained the whole day, from morning until late at night: at first it snowed, but that soon turned to a slow drizzle, that in the evening turned back to snow. Or sleet. The roads are getting really muddy now, but I fear that it will get much worse before it gets better. In the afternoon we went to meet the chief of NDS, who, as usual, was very friendly and provided a lot of useful information. Fortunately I was well prepared for the meeting, and could give some information as well, instead of only receiving it. When we returned, I hurried to the gym to get some exercise. The sauna was warmed before dinner because of the chilly weather, and I used the opportunity. In the evening I wrote the liaison report about the day's meeting, a few work-related emails, and finished the contingency plan, too.

Departures and Arrivals

Our reinforcements left today after the brunch. They were all quite happy and even grateful for having the opportunity to spend some time in Aybak, which is not so strange when you think about what the atmosphere in CNL must have been like the few past days. Before they left, PRT staff called us and wanted that we check something that was reported to them along the ring road, but we found nothing. Incidentally, the request to go out came just 3 minutes after I had started walking on the treadmill. Typical. In the afternoon I worked for hours on the contingency plan but wasn't able to finish it just yet. In the evening but MOT D returned from their leave, bringing with them a replacement nurse. The reinforcement is needed, as our new medics are still in CNL. It was a cloudy, damp day with temperatures just above 0 degrees.

Pea Soup and Pancakes

I went with the Swedish rifle squad to the OCCP. I found out details about yesterdays fire and the disaster in the Salang tunnel. After returning to the PO, I had a chat with our new IP's. They seem to be ok. Being Afghans, they already tried to trick me into making each rest day count as two. After a traditional Thursday lunch, I wrote a report and a weekly operations update, and then went to the gym for the first time in days. After a Karelian stew dinner, I worked for a couple of hours more on the contingency plan for the PO. It had to be updated until the end of January, but I got some extra time to finish the job.

Road Recce

Today we went out for some road recce. The purpose was to check on our emergency helicopter landing sites and emergency rendez-vous points. And to keep our reinforcements busy - we could have checked the sites on any other day, but today we had the vehicles and the manpower, so why not. The weather was still quite wintry with cloudy skies and temperatures below zero even at noon. In fact, someone said that in the dead of night the thermometer had shown -16 degrees! Still our water pipes did not freeze up. There was another patrol at the same time: K and P went out to visit a police station and some checkpoints.

Our patrol had some bad luck: First, we almost got stuck in a muddy section of the so called "secondary road", which really is nothing but mud. After that we had a flat tire, but fortunately made it to the safe house before having to change to the spare. And finally, we came to the scene of a fire in the centre of Aybak, but couldn't do anything to help. We didn't even stop. Later we heard that no-one was hurt, but three or four shops were destroyed in the fire. In the evening it was poker night again (with the Swedish and American guests here, there no avoiding it).


Isaf ran into the safe house yard again, although she knows quite well that she's not supposed to go there.

Freezing

It was 11 degrees below zero outside in the morning. The sky was clear and the sunlight reflected from the snow that was everywhere. Some of our water pipes had frozen during the night, and solving that problem with the means that we have available kept us busy for a while. I didn't join today's patrol, which was led by K. Just before dinner two Swedish teams arrived to reinforce us: A mobile medical team and a rifle squad. The American call sign Tracker also turned up with their Humvees. This, together with the EW (electronic warfare) squad that was already with us, means that all our accommodation space is once again used up. But it was important that everyone gets somewhere warm to sleep as the temperature outside is what it is.

Our chef T got a son today, so he baked a huge cake with whipped cream for everyone. I took the advantage of the situation to celebrate my promotion to lieutenant commander, which was signed today. It's my rank only for the duration of the operation, so I am sure to retun to being a lieutenant senior grade when I return to my normal office.


0630 in the morning, -11 degrees.


The sun is shining, but no-one is using the sundeck. I wonder why.

Below Zero

Today was a real winter day. It was almost unbelievable, how much the landscape had changed overnight. We put on friction chains on our Mercedes' and drove out to the OCCP. They listened with solemn faces as I told them about yesterday's incident in Chahar Bulak. From there we drove through the snow-covered city to the ANP headquarters, where our police LNO met the training officer. On the way back we stopped a man who was carrying a shovel, and asked him to clear the snow from the mudhouse roof. We paid him a days wages for two hours' work, and gave him a pair of gloves to go. At least he had a pair of Chinese rubber boots on his feet - most locals wear low shoes or sandals without socks. In the afternoon we continued to clear the compound of snow. There was quite a lot of the stuff, and more keeps coming. Some reinforcements also arrived. They told us about the short ceremony they had had at CNL, when the coffins of the fallen officers had been brought into the camp.


A man and a woman were visiting the police station.


This stray dog was curious about me but didn't dare to come too close.

(I've now added some pictures to older posts.)

Blizzard

Today it was time for our guests, the three Finnish officers who were on a planning trip, to return to CNL. We had to drive them there ourselves, because the reinforcements that PRT had planned to send us hadn't arrived yet. Except for the nurse, B, of course. It rained all the way to CNL, and the locals looked really miserable in the mud. It was only a couple of degrees above zero, but many of them wore sandals. In CNL I got some more money from the paymaster against the PO receipts, and took care of some other business. On our return trip the rain turned to snow, and the snowfall soon turned into a blizzard. We saw at least five accidents on the road, and some poor guys on motorcycles. When we arrived at the PO, there was already 5 centimetres of snow on the ground. The forecast said that in the next 24 hours we could have up to 40 cm of snow in Aybak. Later in the evening a team that was travelling from Pol-e Khumri to Mazar-e Sharif came to the safe house to seek shelter from the blizzard over night. The evening also brought some very, very bad news.


A Swedish team putting on tire chains with happy faces despite the bad news. Snow can do that.

Future Plans

We are living in interesting times. There is a Chinese proverb - or so I've heard - that says "May it be your fate to live in interesting times". It is said as a wish of good fortune, but of course with a confucian twist. These are indeed interesting times, at least here in Afghanistan. Today's theme was the future of the Finnish troop contribution to ISAF. Of course it cannot be discussed without addressing the future plans of the PRT, the Americans, and the ANA. Our discussions with the Finnish officers who are staying with us were very interesting, but the topic is very, very difficult. At around lunch-time the logistics transport arrived, and with them they had three new water heaters for us, and a registered nurse. He was urgently needed, as all three of our medics left yesterday, and according to SOP (standard operating procedure) we should always have a professional medic on patrols. Also with the logistics transport there were two officers from the coming Swedish rotation, FS19, and I gave them a quick briefing on PO Aybak. Just moments earlier I had given a briefing to our guards about their working hours, because the guard commander had asked me for such a reminder.

In the afternoon we went out on a three-hours' recce patrol and visited various points of interest. We went to the OCCP, the ANP HQ, the planned new PO lot, Dal Khaki village, the old NDS compound and the ANA garrison. In the evening it started to rain.


Isaf always happy when we come back from patrol.


She is growing fast and is looking healthy.

Goodbye

In the morning I spent an hour working out on the treadmill. After Friday's brunch I cleaned my room and the CO's office. We spent the afternoon waiting for the transport to take the Finnish soldiers, whose turn it was to rotate home, to CNL. The transport was late due to a traffic accident in Khulm pass, but eventually they arrived safe. We loaded all equipment into a lorry and the soldiers boarded the APC, but not before a short farewell ceremony had been performed. No-one got emotional, or at least they didn't show it. With the transport three gentlemen from Finland arrived. Their mission is to plan how the reinforcements that the Finnish parliament recently decided to send to Afghanistan should be deployed here. Today was quite warm, 17 degerees in the afternoon, but in the evening it started to rain.

Guards' Trouble

In the morning we went to the OCCP with the TPT and our new police NCO (non-commissioned officer), P. We made a preliminary agreement about a future joint patrol, and tried to find out more about an issue concerning the alledged distribution of Bibles in our AOR (area of responsibility). After we returned, I took the opportunity to spend some time on the exercise bike, and was interrupted only once! (But I did miss three phonecalls, because I deliberately left my mobile phone in the main building.) In the afternoon I paid the remaining salaries to those local employees who were having their rest day on pay day, and counted the cash register. Every dollar that I have signed out from the paymaster was either in the cash box, or written down on a reciept.

At about 1530 one of our guards, R, came to see me. He was quite upset about something. Once I got hold of an IP it turned out that our guard commander had slapped R in the face because he had been rude towards his commanding officer. I talked with R for about 15 minutes, and after that with the guard commander for about half an hour. There were allegations from both sides, and it was clear that we would have to do a minor investigation into the matter. I put our policemen on the job.


Yet another peculiar sign, this time on the fridge door.

LFX with LEPs

Today we spent most of the day on the shooting range with our guards. We went there before them and made the preparations for the exercise. The guards drove to the range in the guard commander's Toyota Corolla in two groups, one before lunch and another in the afternoon. We had the zero in their Pakistan-made Kalashnikov copies, before doing some very basic drills. Our PLNO (police liaison officer) K was the instructor, whereas I was responsible for safety. I must say that after a day's shooting we were surprised at the discipline and the skill of our guards. They did well. We also found out that two of our guards' weapons malfunctioned, which is of course good to find out at the range and not in a TIC (troops in contact) situation. The weather was perfect: warm but not hot, slightly windy, partially cloudy with showers that just about passed us by.

Oh, and the abbreviations in the headline mean "live fire exercise with locally employed persons".


The IP's clothes are imitation leather. Very stylish...NOT.


The rain came in from the southwest.

Another Busy Day

After the OCCP meeting we did some road recce. We drove around looking for a place in a picture, with the help of a description of the route given by a local national. It was hopeless, basically. Then we drove to Takht-i Rushtam, which isn't at all far away. We didn't visit the place this time, because this was road recce only, and I had to be back at the PO at 1100, because there were guests coming for lunch. I director of SIDA (Swedish international development agency) paid us a quick visit. After lunch we did another short patrol in Aybak, to the IEC (independent election committee), which turned out to be a complete waste of time. Then I had a haircut by a local barber, who we sometimes call in to groom us. To my surprise he was ok, actually. After the usual situation reports and briefings I went to the sauna and then to bed, unusually early. But I still didn't have time to go to the gym today.


We pay the exuberant sum of 5 USD for a haircut.


There's always enough time to play with Isaf.

Busy Day with a Nap

The interpreter's rotation should have been today, but it was postponed for a week with only four days' early warning. What followed was, as can be expected, a controlled chaos. After all, this is Afghanistan. PO Aybak ended up with just one IP for almost three days, but now it seems that the IP situation will be just bearable in the near future. I didn't go out on patrol today. The rest were out, but I had arranged a couple of meetings at the safe house. I wrote reports on my meetings, and had personal evaluation conversations with colleagues. I don't know how it happened, but when I laid down on my bed in the afternoon just to take a break, I fell asleep, and didn't wake up until a full hour had passed. What's even more strange is that no-one wanted anything from me during that hour, or that either one of my two phones did not ring. It was a well needed and deserved rest.

It was poker night once again. I would have not joined the game, but perhaps a moment in the gym would have done me good - had I had the time.