Weekend update

Well it has been an interesting experience here. The team site is very remote. There is plenty of wild life around here. Packs of wild dogs, wild pigs, goats, gecko and chickens.

I was given two bars of soap and a can of air freshener upon my arrival...The air freshener was "Tobacco" scent...LOL

The hill right in front of our camp was on fire the other night. It was eerie watching it burn across throughout the night. Ashes would fall on the camp site. There is two thoughts...One is that the locals burn it to scare away and kill all of the snakes and other nastiness. The second is that it signifies the local harvest time.

I went on my first patrol yesterday. It was to a JIU (Joint Integration Unit). A concept whereas you put equal amounts of each faction together and build a unified team so that when peace is final they will then become the standing army of the new nation. Yeh... it does not work! Both parties live "near" each other, and they often fight between each other.

We went to do a verification of one of the factions... the commander was..umm.. drunk..(it was 0900am!) he played a political game of denial... the end result we never accomplished our mission... so Patrol over.

What to do.... I was warned about the free time you have here... So My next patrol is next Sunday, until then I have NOTHING to do. Just show up to work at 0800h, shake hands with everyone (everyday), steal a computer... Lunch at 1300h, meeting at 230pm... radio check at 600pm... done..

I have decided to become a member of the G5 branch - CIMIC - Civilian and Military Cooperation. This, I feel, will give me a greater opportunity to see the local communities and villages from a non-military view. It will also mean that I work more closely with the local NGO (Non-Government Organizations) Charity groups.

So it's Sunday, one of our patrols was cancelled and the other one has departed. I will now try to occupy the next 8 hours... The worse part - can't work out or really disappear during that time... hmmmm