FYI: Article from Stars and Stripes

Buildings going up at Bagram Air Base as U.S. forces dig in for the long haul


By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Michael Abrams / S&S Modular housing units on Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Most of the housing being built can accommodate two people per unit. Michael Abrams / S&S The new Pat Tilman USO center at Bagram Air Base is scheduled to open in early April. Michael Abrams / S&S The foundations are set for the first brick-and-mortar barracks building on Bagram Air Base to replace the B-huts now being used. More construction projects in works Construction at the main U.S. base in Afghanistan has vastly improved troops’ quality of life. Here are some of the projects built in the last year, under way or planned: The first brick-and-mortar Army housing is under construction. It has 38 bedrooms and indoor plumbing. Other such structures, and modular, metal, housing, are planned. A chain fence now encircles the perimeter, replacing concertina wire. Three dining facilities, two base/post exchanges, an Army hospital, offices and headquarter buildings have appeared in the last year. Burger King, an Italian pizzeria, two coffee shops and a Thai restaurant are serving troops now. Popeyes, Dairy Queen and Orange Julius are scheduled to open in the next few months. Besides the two exchanges, there are also a few shops selling local goods. Facilities for continuing education, working out and staying in touch with those back home have also been built across the base in the last year. Construction on the Pat Tillman Center, which will house the USO and a cafe for those coming in or departing, is underway. An additional runway is planned so more fighter jets can use the air base. Airmen volunteers built a post office, recreation room and library on the Air Force side of the base. Modern shower/latrine facilities are coming soon. — Kent Harris

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — Whether you call it Bagram Air Base or Bagram airfield, the U.S. military facility in northeast Afghanistan is no longer just a glorified city of tents.

Slowly, but steadily, a slew of construction projects is providing troops with better housing and improved work areas as well as a handful of new shops for eating and entertainment.

“We’ve been in expeditionary mode, and now it’s sustainment,” said Air Force Col. Rita Meyer, commander of the 455th Expeditionary Mission Support Group, echoing the comments of her Army counterparts.

For airmen, soldiers and Marines on base, that means better living conditions, though no one is promising an overnight fix.

“In two to four years, we expect that everyone will be living in permanent housing,” said Army Lt. Col. Jim Anderson, commander of Facility Engineering Team-17 and the de facto director of public works on base.

In fact, the foundation for the first brick-and-mortar structure designated for Army housing has been laid.

Its first occupants will likely be members of the 12th Aviation Brigade from Giebelstadt, Germany.

Capt. Paul Salinas said the two-story facilities would contain 38 bedrooms, with the possibility of a single soldier or two soldiers sharing a room.

They’ll also have indoor plumbing — a rarity on a base that has virtually no sewer or water lines.

Lt. Col. Kurt Floyd, Anderson’s deputy, said that fact alone has made developing a blueprint for the base quite a challenge.

Trucks carry water to containers around the base and haul away sewage from portable latrines.

There’s also the matter of clearing any building sites for mines before any construction can begin.

Most troops live in B-huts — though no one on base knows what the “B” stands for — 18-by-36-foot structures made of plywood designed to hold eight troops.

Air conditioning units are installed. Some troops sleep on cots and some have beds.

Toilets and showers are in centralized locations that can be up to a long city block away.

Floyd said the B-huts are an improvement on tents, but not as nice as the SEAhuts — which stands for Southeast Asia Huts — in places such as Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo.

The Army’s newer housing options, metal modular housing and the brick-and-mortar buildings, will gradually replace all of them.

Local nationals will build the brick-and-mortar buildings using materials they’re familiar with, Floyd said.

Command Sgt. Maj. Tim Green, the top enlisted soldier in Bagram’s base operations group, said he’s seen a great deal of changes in his year in country.

“We went from tents to B-huts, tents to permanent structures for DFACs (dining facilities) and the pavement,” he said.

The pavement that Green referred to is a narrow strip of sidewalk that runs parallel to the main road on base: Disney Drive.

The road, which runs from the main gate in the south to the north perimeter, won’t always be the only paved road on base, Floyd said.

He pointed to a road under construction that will follow the base perimeter.

Another major accomplishment is the perimeter itself, Floyd said.

There’s now a chain fence with sensors along the entire perimeter, instead of just concertina wire that encircled it a year ago.

At present, all living quarters and the majority of base facilities are either located off Disney Drive or on small, dirt roads stretching from it.

On the Air Force side, Meyer said major improvements are being made on the existing runway, despite a constant, heavy influx of passengers and material.

New hangars are planned, but that wouldn’t come until maintenance facilities and other offices are built.

Airmen also are living in crowded B-huts, she said.

“We are not living in the best accommodations in the region and we’re going to get that changed,” Meyer said.

Anderson said construction might seem slow to some, but progress is being made rapidly across the base.

“I’d like to see some pictures in five years.”

Seth and friend.....his friend is holding a Russian AK-47

Ready for Patrol

Back to Afghanistan

It's been some time since the last installment of The Seth Chronicles. When I last wrote we were anxiously awaiting Seth's arrival for a fifteen day leave. I can report that he arrived home safely and we spent a wonderful fifteen days together before returning him to Dulles Airport for a return trip to Afghanistan. Some observations from his leave:

1. He looks good (skinny, but good), sounds good and has a good attitude about the experiences he has had and the experiences he will have.

2. There's much more going on in Afghanistan than he has led us to believe during our telephone conversations. We heard many stories that began "Mom isn't going to want to hear this, but......." These stories included the occasional rocket attacks on the airfield, patrols into areas where intel predicted possible ambushes and insurgent activity and movement in and around civilian areas where everybody has a gun.

3. He's the same skinny, white boy we sent to Afghanistan. He has the same wonderful sense of humor, the appreciation for family and friends, and a firm faith in God and belief that he is doing what he should be doing.

During his visit we ate all of his favorite foods (we did the full Thanksgiving feast) visited with many friends and lots of family, played cards and enjoyed each others company.

Seth's return to Afghanistan took a little longer than it should of. He left the United States on March 12 and arrived in Kuwait on the 14th. There were a number of soldiers returning to Bagram from Kuwait and about 30 had to stay in Kuwait - Seth among them. This group ending up spending several days in Kuwait when no other transportation was available to Afghanistan. In the end, Seth traveled to Qutar, and back to Kuwait before finally finding his way back to Afghanistan - a process that took one week. He arrived back at Bagram on the morning of the 19th (his time.) Now, for the interesting part. During his absence, the Army has figured out how to pack more fun into a day. In an effort (misguided as it may seem) to get the soldiers more down-time they have introduced the 28 hour day! A day at Bagram now consists of 28 hours. Seth returned to a schedule that is 12 hours on duty and 16 hours off. He does this for four days, then spends a day on Ready Reactionary Force (Patrols) then back to the 12/16 schedule. I'm not sure the Army understands the concept of a biological clock. Seth's reserving judgement on this schedule although he doesn't seem completely sold on it.

It continues to look like he will move the Ghazni, the forward operating base sometime in the near future. At Ghazni he will only be involved in Patrols. They patrol for days, or weeks, at a time, before returning to base for an extended period of down-time. Seth is looking forward to that move, although Jan and I prefer the relative safety of the airbase.

Be sure to scroll past the next post to find pictures of Seth's visit home.

Finally Home!

After numerous fits and starts, Seth arrived back in the U.S. of A. on the 24th of February. We have him until March 12 when he departs from Dulles for his return to Afghanistan. He had several departure dates from Afghanistan, which were changed for various reasons, but he finally left on Tuesday the 22nd. He trip took him through Kuwait, Germany, Atlanta and finally to Reagan International Airport in D.C. Even Mother Nature is happy to have Seth in the States! After months of complaining about the lack of winter weather and days off from school, the weather has cooperated beautifully. The 24th was a snow day, meaning Jan, Brittany and I didn't have to take off from school to pick Seth up. A major snowstorm starting Sunday night has given us Monday and Tuesday off school. Josh arrived home last night and we've been enjoying some wonderful family time together. Today we celebrated Thanksgiving......one of the meals Seth requested for his trip home. Scroll down for some pictures of the family. Seth brought lots of pictures home and I'll be posting them soon.

Not letting go! After the turkey dinner - you sleep!

The gang's all here!!!!

Thanksgiving Dinner - February 28. One of Seth's requested meals.

Katy, Eli, Brittany and Seth at Roanoke.

Seth and Brittany at Fudrucker's (a hamburger joint) in Roanoke after the ODAC Game.

At the ODAC Championship Basketball Game to watch Katy and Bridgewater play against Randolph Macon. Unfortunately, BC lost.

Coming home and other news!

It's Tuesday morning in Afghanistan. Seth leaves Bargram Air Field today for a couple of days in Kabul. He will be at the Presidential compound assisting with security for the Afghan president. Seth was unsure if this was a routine rotation or if there is something special going on that requires additional security. At any rate, he called today to tell us that he would be out of touch during the time he is in Kabul. And again, short on details he's unsure of how long he'll be there.

Good news.....Seth has informed us that his leave will begin on February 13. He anticipates two days of travel time, arriving at Dulles on Tuesday, February 15. He'll probably be home about ten days before returning to Bagram. He's given us a list of foods he's looking forward to eating, beginning with a his mother's traditional Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings. We'll gladly pamper him for the time that he's home.

When he returns from Kabul he will be going on QRF (Quick Reactionary Force.) During the two weeks of QRF he'll live in a hanger with his squad and some helicopters. They are on call for any emergency or incident that requires a quick response. Since they stay in the hanger they can be airborne in a matter of minutes. A couple of weeks ago he went out on support of the QRF when a helicopter crashed in bad weather. He said they set up a perimeter around the wreck while they stripped the copter of usable equipment, then blew it up. Any time there is suspicious activity of any kind near the air base they call the QRF to respond. Overall, he's looking forward to the next couple of weeks - going to Kabul then doing QRF - because it's a change in routine. QRF also has the added benefit of being able to watch more TV while they're sitting the hanger - just in time for the Super Bowl! He's looking forward to the opportunity to see the game. He was able to listen to both playoff games this weekend as he stood guard in the tower.

It now looks like he will be going to Ghazni sometime this spring. As I've said before, nothing is ever certain with the Army until it done. Ghazni has been an on-again, off-again kind of thing. It now looks like it's on-again for sometime this spring. He's happy about going in the spring. Ghazni currently has about 3 feet of snow on the ground. The weather should be breaking about the time he has to go. Bagram's climate right now is very cold, but dry. They don't usually see much snow, although they did have about 4 inches last weeks. He was amused to hear about our recent days out of school due to our one-inch snowfalls.

I'll close for now with thanks for listening and thanks for your continued support and prayers. Seth thanks God every night for his family and friends and for the many blessings he has received.

East meets west

Post-Holiday messages

We've heard from Seth a couple of times since the holidays. We shared one long phone call last Sunday (talked for over a half hour) and Jan had a long conversation with him the middle of this week. His spirits are very good - I think attributed to the fact that Christmas is over - and he seems pretty content to be doing his job (even night towers!) He even noted that he expects a second deployment before his hitch with the National Guard is over and that wouldn't be so bad. He's hoping for a 2 week leave in April and has plans to meet with the middle school students at my school to thank them personally for their tremendous support. He's hoping to get his computer back so he can do a couple of powerpoint presentations with his pictures.

Some Christmas Thoughts......

Christmas is over, and in many ways, we're glad. Christmas without Seth left a lot to be desired. As the four of us sat and opened presents, there was a hole that couldn't be filled. We talked to Seth on Christmas morning when he called about 10 AM. It was 7:30 PM his time and he was planning to watch a movie and go to bed. He had the entire day off as the officers manned the towers allowing the enlisted men to have the day free. Seth opened presents in the morning, watched some movies, ate a decent meal of turkey, lobster and shrimp and generally did not much of anything. Talking to Seth is a double-edged sword. It's good to hear his voice, but leaves you feeling so empty. The pictures below are from a disposable camera he sent home this week. When we picked up the pictures at Walmart, Jan couldn't look at them because she started crying. She waited until we were in the car to take a look and cryed the whole way home. Upon arriving home we had a Christmas Card from Seth that I'll put on the Blog soon. As I read it to Jan we both cryed. In both our conversation with Seth and in the card he continues to sound good and seems to be keeping a positive outlook.......We know though that he just wants to come home and we also know that that day will arrive soon. Enjoy the pics.

All things considered.....I'd rather be in Virginia for Christmas

Armed and Dangerous

Seth on Patrol in Afghanistan

Most recent family letter

Here's the latest family letter:

Dear TF Normandy Family Members,

I apologize for this being delayed. It seems I say that too often. I hope everything finds you all well for the holidays. I know your loved ones are missing you very much this holiday season.

There was such a great response to the letter from the soldiers at Bagram, I have again included a letter from them. In the future, we are looking at possibly including letters from the individual companies or platoons. These “soldier letters” are created by the companies or platoons together and are specifically for you back home.

Everything continues to go well at BAF and at Ghazni. Thanksgiving was a big success with all the trimmings, both at BAF and in Ghazni. In fact, in Ghazni some local officials even brought us some turkeys to help us celebrate. The only problem is they were still alive so we didn’t have time to prepare them for dinner. There are plans now to use them for Christmas. At Bagram the officers and senior NCOs stood guard duty for the day. This allowed us to give some of the lower ranking enlisted the day off. We plan to do the same thing on Christmas day.

On December 7^th, the Afghans had a historic day. The first democratically elected president was inaugurated to office. And more importantly, there was virtually no violence to mar the inauguration. Several of our units supported security for the inauguration by helping local police with Traffic Checkpoints along the main roads to Kabul. At Bagram we conducted surge patrols near the base as part of the extra security required by the presence of Vice President Cheney and Secretay of Defense Rumsfeld at the inauguration. Two days before the inauguration our patrols helped to discover rockets that were aimed at Bagram. They were safely disarmed. This incident serves as another example of the contribution that our Soldiers are making to the security of Bagram. Several of our Soldiers even had the opportunity to have breakfast with the Vice President. All in all the inauguration was a great success.

We have been receiving additional heavy weapons and vehicles to better support our missions at Bagram and Ghazni. New armored vehicles have been provided for the Soldiers patrolling at BAF. The heavy weapons will be divided between Ghazni and BAF. We have also received some additional protective items to help us against IED’s and new body armor gives greater protection to the arms and sides. This was issued to us at the same time it was issued to all the active duty units.

In Ghazni we have started to get more and more rain. On occasion, it has turned to snow. One of our patrols had to return to base because they could not get through the mountain passes because of the snow. We are actually tracking the rainfall to compare it to previous years to see if the drought might be lessening. Ghazni Province needs water almost more than anything else.

The weather in Bagram is getting colder but we still have some nice days. A new system for manning towers and conducting roving patrols is providing a little relief from pure tower duty. Some of our Soldiers rotate between towers and roving patrols during their shift, providing them with some variety during the day.

Rotations of units between Ghazni and BAF are almost complete. There will be one more rotation after Christmas, and then we should be stabilized for a couple months.

As we prepare for the holidays, I want to thank you all for the support you have been giving your loved ones over here in Afghanistan. There has been such a great outpouring of support from you all, it reminds us all of how great America is.

Take care, may God bless you and your family and God Bless America.

LTC Blake C. Ortner

Battalion Commander

From the Soldiers at Bagram

Dear Family Members:

At Bagram Air Field, we have been very busy since the last letter. Various dignitaries here for the inauguration of President Karzai, including Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, recently visited us. Their visit necessitated increased patrolling in the area as we searched for rocket sites and any anti-coalition activity. Thankfully, the visits and the inauguration went off without a hitch. The local villagers are starting to be more helpful, and we have been finding weapons caches and rockets before they have a chance to use them on us.

When not guarding the perimeter, we have been taking advantage of the time to conduct training at the Urban Warfare (MOUT) site, which allows us to practice searching buildings and taking hostiles into custody. The training is very realistic thanks to the use of simunitions, which are like paintballs specially made to work with our rifles. The site has sound effects, as well as cameras and microphones to record our training so we can review it later. This training is both valuable and quite enjoyable to the troops who need a break from the monotony of guard towers.

Several platoons have rotated up from Ghazni and everyone is adjusting to life here. The amenities are certainly nicer here, and the schedule is far more challenging, but we make do as best we can with the mission we are given. The new MWR building is now complete, thanks to the efforts of several of our soldiers who volunteered their limited time to construct the phone and computer areas. We are now waiting for the base contractors to install the computer and phone lines for it to become operational.

With the holiday season upon us, the number of letters and packages rolling into BAF for our soldiers is astonishing. We are all very grateful, and it makes missing our families during the holiday season slightly more bearable. Know that we miss you all, and wish you all a very happy holiday season.

Sincerely and respectfully yours,

The 3-116^th at Bagram Air Field

Mountain view through the scope