Parade

I slept late enough to miss breakfast. We walked a tour of all the staff offices with the new commander and second in command to say hello and to introduce the new guys. At 1100 there was a parade in which the deputy commander of the PRT (who is at the same time the commander of the Finnish contingent) handed over responsibility to his successor. The parade was refreshingly short and the strong wind blowing across the parade field made the the air feel reasonably cool. The ceremony was followed by a Finnish lunch with plenty of everything. Before we left for Marmal I handed in my ID-card and said hello to MOT D, who were returning from Shibirghan.

I camp Marmal I helped the new 2iC to fill up the PO cash at the Swedish paymaster's office. Then I said a final hello to the Aibak crew and they drove off. We waited for a couple of hours for the NSE personnel to get ready at the stores and then started handing in our equipment. After three hours I only had one set of bedsheets and my uniform left. I packed my bags anew, trying to make everything fit. The NSE was having a barbecue. I was not surprised to find that there was plenty of food to go around. The sauna was crowded so I walked over to the Norwegian hygiene containers to have a shower. I found a bed in Transit tent 1, which was half-full with Latvian soldiers.


There seems to be alternative routes to choose from when running the lap around Camp Northern Lights.


The parade line-up.