The main thrust of the week was writing COA’s (Courses of Action) for the potential surge and land use. I feel more confident in my ability to give good information on this topic at this point - so that is a bonus. We also spent time as a Squadron trying to refine our organization and use of folks to become more effective in meeting our mission. We are currently missing 27 civilian contract engineers from our organization – that would make a big difference!
My brush celebrity for the week goes like this: I was at breakfast a morning this past week and this guy walked by. I asked my friend Dave Pollock if he watches the news often, he said no. I said I think that that is Richard Engel from NBC news - he's the middle east correspondent on NBC and MSNBC. They all said, I'm sure he would be wearing something or have a group taking care of him. I sat down and started eating. I watched and when he went up to get something else to eat, I went up and asked the Air Force Captain who was sitting with him "At the risk of sounding stupid, does this guy work for NBC" she said "Yes" I said "Richard Engel" she said "Yes, would like to meet him" I said "Sure". When he came back he was very nice and asked "How are you? How long have you been here? It was nice to meet you “ etc. We shook hands and that was it. I didn't get a picture because it was at breakfast, it was crowded and it was a short meeting...but kinda cool anyways. This story will be lost on anyone who is not a news junky, but....
The picture of the week is of RLB’s (Re-locatable Buildings). These are our housing construction of choice right now.
They come in a flat pack and can be erected on site. They are attached together to make a housing unit. The unit has a bathroom and a shower in the block as well. This particular design requires a walk outside to the facilities. They were chosen because they could be rapidly constructed on concrete slabs, are solid structures that could stand the weather, could be heated and cooled and were still considered temporary. The wisdom in this train of thought is being questioned now with construction, water, sewage and power problems. We have a ton of these going in and will end up housing most of the soldiers coming to KAF. As a side note, the wire you see at the bottom of the picture is called concertina wire. It has little razors on it. It comes in rolls and is used as a quick way to mark off territory and provide some minimal security. The best way to do it is to do what we call triple strand concertina – which uses three strands, two on the bottom and one on the top like a pyramid. If it looks like one big construction site from the picture….welcome to KAF.
Well, I’ve almost made it to November! I remember back in August thinking that November will never come. A lot of work still to be done, but it is nice to be getting along. Miss you all…Until next time….
