Life At Salerno

I got the chance to run around and take a few pictures today. Those are below. The team we're replacing was supposed to get out of here last night and head to Bagram, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. They were out on the tarmac waiting for the C-130 to land when it circled twice and decided to head back to Bagram due to the low clouds. That had to suck! They showed up in the office about mid morning, and they'll probably be here for a couple more days because the weather at Bagram is not supposed to get any better.

First impressions of Salerno. It's smaller than Bagram. Less hectic and quieter too. I like it except for the fact that I can't get a massage. There is no day spa here, and I'm none too thrilled about it either! I know, I know you all feel sorry for me, and you should! It did rain today which reminded me of the fact that there is no drainage in this country, and if there isn't any rock spread around where you're walking, it's just a muddy mess. Good thing it doesn't rain much.

The job, let's see.....we've been here a total of two full days now, and we're supposed to be the construction engineers and managers for the entire FOB. Doesn't give much time to learn everything there is to know about a place does it? We have no corporate knowledge of any of the existing projects; we don't know the contractors; we're not familiar at all with the processes to initiate, fund, contract, and execute the projects here; and we can't find anything without a map of the place. How do you like them apples? Oh, did I add that all of the contractors are Afghans and most are barely understandable. Oh, that's right. I live in south Texas. I'm used to that. Anyway, we're the only game in town, and all construction comes through us, so we'll figure it out one way or the other.

As I said, I did get a chance to run around and get some pretty good photos so here they are:

This is my room. It's about 12 feet by 8 feet. The blue wall is a brick and mortar outside wall, and the rooms are separated with plywood. This is the view from the door to my room:

This is a view from my bed to the door:

Here's the outside of our building and another picture that gives you an idea of just how many living quarters there are. There are multiple rows of buildings like these.

Here's our office. My desk is back in that corner.

This is the "pantry" where all of the items go that people send us, e.g. snacks, toiletries, stationery, etc. It's great because we don't have to always buy the things we need.

The next two are pictures of the building where I work and the view from the front door.

Finally, In order we have our bathroom and shower facility, the chapel, the Green Bean coffee shop, and the gym.

Well, that's all for now. Keep watching as you might actually see "Jack" in action at some point. Jack out!