Kyrgyzstan

I am now in Kyrgyzstan. I can't say much about the country since I'm not allowed to leave the American Air Force base. Still, I'm enjoying the downtime here since I got very little of it in Afghanistan.

I departed Kabul early Sunday morning on a small prop plane. The flight to Bagram AFB was only about 30 minutes and the scenery below was beautiful. I wish I'd had more of a chance to explore the country. Anyway, I dreaded arrival in Bagram because it was so difficult the first time through. Bagram's terminal is notorious (according to a Major I traveled with) for being the worst in the country, kind've like O'Hara in the US. Sure enough, getting through Bagram proved to be as difficult as before. No one to guide you upon arrival. People giving you answers in an uncertain tone. The worst was when I returned to the terminal for my next flight. We had to file into a room and dump all the contents of our suitcases into bins. Then, MPs inspected the contents item by item. At least the German Shepards were friendly. It took forever and I wonder what with all its money, why the US can't buy one x-ray machine.

To add insult to injury the flight was delayed three hours. But, what can you expect. The military personnel are thrust into positions they haven't been properly trained for and only stay in for a few months so no expertise can really be acquired. I hope that's my last time through that place.

So, I'm flying through the night with my body armor on (I hope it protects me from plane crashes) and pretty exhausted. Finally, I arrive at Manas AFB and civilization. Efficient and professional compared to the reception I received at Bagram. I'll be here for several days and then rotate back to the US. In the meantime, I'm catching up on this site and trying to explore a little.

More in a few days . . .