Global Holy War

One Way: BRC-New Orleans-Afghanistan-Iraq-BRC

2006-09-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

Somewhere around three weeks in the Black Rock desert and I am anxious to get back to the war. My bad dreams have ceased. I still don't feel very social, and have problems with being touched. But whatever.

So I am getting this book shit together before I leave Gerlach. Also articles. I still have two from Mosul to write.

I feel sort of like I am dead and floating around to the life I left behind, except I appear to be alive and people see and hear me.

Ismist, Molly, Gringo and Headhunter rode with me in the DPW parade and we threw Fuckoffski's ashes out around the city. We also had his ashes thrown out over BRC from an air plane. Gringo even ate some of his crunchy stuff.

The DPW crew had the last two days off. I visited a bit, also hit some other bars. The people of Gerlach are being very nice to me after my tour of the war. Sometimes, it seems to go either way. Some people really like me because I do what I say I am going to do. Others, particularly certain people that do stuff like I do are not always so happy when I actually get stuff done, like I said I would.

Last year I begged and borrowed to get to Afghanistan. I landed in Kabul with $40. I feel a lot better about heading back to the war now that I know some people there. I am also thinking about the people I know there. Here is a good site for a break down of the deaths. http://icasualties.org/oif/USMap.aspx?hndState=Nevada

I dusted off my juicer and made a lot of juice yesterday. Too bad I don't have any beets or blood oranges. I have a lot of peaches. I juiced a melon this morning. And a lot of carrots I got from Exodus. I made some mint Julep mix for tonight. I've been enjoying the high speed internet. I watched this William S. Burroughs Documentary
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9198809969200913970&q=William+Burroughs&hl=en

This one is Hunter S. Thompson shooting stuffed animals with a machine gun.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1047553100152156134&q=hunter+S+Thompson

And Burning Man rants are great too.

http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/007415.html

I saw Marian at the Black Rock and managed to smooth a few things out. No sense in fighting a war on every front. And Tom Price can go to hell. That poser was in the RGJ this week. And I wont be posting that link. It's amazing that relief work only gets some credibility if someone from Burning Man does it—and like Tom, makes sure that no one but him gets credit. He wasn't even in New Orleans, where the DPW were 2 days after the last hurricane. But that was last year. He even said that the 100,000 that died in Pakistan/Afghanistan in the earthquake were irrelevant. That is where he really pissed me off. That is a hell of a lot more people that died than in all Katrina shit. But he wasn't there to take credit and get his picture in the paper, so it was, according to him, irrelevant and not worth mentioning, ever.

On a less morbid note, I am listening to internet music. Post some links if you know of anything cool.

Currently I am listening to rock.com particularly Dave Navarro's station. That is pretty cool, at least he hasn't bored me in the last two hours. Except when he interviewed Storm Large. I actually watched that Supernova rockstar audition show in Mosul.

I was given a very cool cab over camper by a fellow from the Philadelphia Experiment. It's too heavy for most of the trucks I have access to, but I managed to get if off the playa with some help from Amanda and Metric. That was trip. I should have taken a picture of the Samurai when I rolled off the playa a week after the event. I got a loveseat (that had minimal fire damage) a couple bikes and other goodies. I sat in my cabover on the playa watching the dust, reading, thinking about things more esoteric than the dust clouds that made me feel as if I were in a city in the sky. The best time on the playa is the week after the event. That is where I get to see my friends and really party.

I got this link yesterday. The CIA torture/secret prison shit is hooked to Reno. Excellent. http://www.sfbg.com/40/11/cover_plane.html

I feel the season's change as the planet rotates. I went all the way around the world in a West ward fashion, from SF to China, UAE, Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany, Baltimore, SF then a quick flight to Reno. On the plane, people were talking about Burning Man, Burners without Borders and the War. Since I was in New Orleans, left there for Afghanistan and Iraq, I found it interesting that I really didn't want to talk to the people that we speaking 3rd hand about this stuff. It was kind of weird. People are not always interested in the real thing. What adventures lay ahead this year? I plan on going to Columbia to see some friends, then China. From China, take a train to Moscow and fly down to the war from there. I plan on taking the summer off from war. I'll be in Africa. I am actually a trained, certified archaeologist, but never used that card. Been keeping it up my sleeve. I think I'll be playing it. I have the poker game going.

But October is still my favorite month. Halloween, and colored trees. I should be in Seattle by October.

I've really been sort of a hermit. I can only take people in small doses. I don't want to be attached to anyone or anything. I just want to get things settled and get back into the war with a better camera and laptop. Lean and mean, ready to rubble with the Taliban and al Qaeda for another tour. My third trip to Iraq.

I've been very inspired to do some art on my return. I doubt I will have time. But I want to get back into music and visual art. Beyond my little youtube crap. Hopefully I will be back from the war by October 2007 and can get things going for my band, and other sordid indulgences. I want a grease bus, and just want to wander the land playing music like so many of my friends do already.

I have a vision for my cabover. I want to turn it into a giant black window that sprays fire. I think it may be derivative of that WILD WILD WEST movie with Will Smith, but I haven't seen to many flame throwing, giant black widow spiders with a deck on the roof of the cab over. I just need to make the legs so they can fit in the smaller streets of BRC.

I moved to Gerlach in 2003, and started working for the Black Rock City LLC, who runs Bartertown, I mean, burning man. I lasted as a full time worker 9 months, then, I was sick of it. I loaded up my Samurai and rolled South to Bisbee then over to Florida. After a few months in the mid-West I got a job in Iraq as contractor. And I haven't stopped since. It's not so bad. Even couch surfing the war has its pluses. I am used to bombs and gun fire. And Black helicopters in the night with no lights.

For the War or Against the War

2006-07-30T10:18:00.001-07:00

I am nearing the end of the line for Mosul. This has been a very productive and enjoyable visit. Being a fan of Ernie Pyle, I am very honored to have worked with the Indiana National Guard. I spent a lot of time in Northern Indiana growing up. My mother was from central Indiana.

I should have lots of articles online in the next two weeks from this job. Next stop, triangle of death. I saved the worst for last. It's what I wanted to see. I came here to get in the shit. And I have it.

I am approaching 10 months in the middle East and I feel it. I thought I would want to stay here. I think the thing that drives me to leave here the most is the need for women. Women I know, or want to know. Afghanistan was filled with whores, gold diggers and very attractive Afghan women locked behind burkas and an oppressive culture.

So I am heading back to the states. I plan on hitting Burning Man, mostly because I can visit the most of my friends in that one spot and save me self running around the US to track then all down.

I try not to forget that my goal is to work in art. I really don't like journalism and do not plan on doing it for a career. I will be writing my book this fall and hopefully selling it. But I really don't want to be stuck in a hole as a writer. I hope I can sell some books and pay back everyone I know and have a little money left over, then maybe get a movie deal.

I made this slide show of some of the paintings I did. I also made the music in the background. The first is all me, the second, Andrea and I, and the third, a Mindless Thuggs Demo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dORw4RTYbL0

Lately I have been inspired by my good luck here. I sort of feel like I can do anything. I just can't die while I am over here. So I thing in October 2007, I will come back from the war, and do some work in music. I want to get a tour bus, and band, and tour around. I've had enough friends do it. That is what I want to do. But I am not going come back from the war until my buddies in the Nevada National Guard come back. I mean, I'll be back for a month or so this fall, but I will return this October for another year.

Interviewed the General in charge of all the Iraqi Police in the Mosul area. He is at the top of this blog. Here is a little video clip of him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAQS4BGXz_o

I also attended an Iraqi Police Graduation. The video is not that great. I put a song I did with a Creamy Goodness, a band I had in Seattle. The song is drunken Tai Chi Master.

I think I am getting a cold. Or at least a sinus infection. . .
A friend of mine I met here, another journalist, has a saying I like. There are people for the war. There are people against the war. Then there are the people in the war. That is what I feel like. I am in it. I want to get out of it and come back to the states and try and a perspective on it all.

Walking around here I am aware that I probably will be back in the US in three weeks. No more blast walls, 120 degree weather—No need for kevlar, a helmet or any of the things that are normal to me now.

This is something I wrote that will be out. I removed the name. The Army is still reviewing it for release.

“Feeling the Heat in Iraq”

Mosul, Iraq—This summer is hotter than ever for ______ City resident _____ _____. Based at Forward Operating Base Diamondback, _______ serves with the Indiana National Guard as a Sergeant.
______, 32, volunteered to go to Iraq. He arrived with the 2nd Battalion, 150th Field Artillery Regiment of the Indiana National Guard in January. His unit is know as the “Raiders” and trains the Iraqi police in the Mosul area.
The weather in Mosul hovers over 110 degrees most days. The insurgents have also cranked up the heat across the nation of Iraq with daily attacks on the Iraqi people. On 3 July, Staff Sgt. Paul Pabla was killed by sniper fire in Mosul. Pabla, 23, was from Fort Wayne.
“I felt that I could be a real help to the younger troops,” he said. “I can help them and the people of Iraq.”
Iraq would be in “big chaos” without US help, said Brigadier General Wathiq Mohammad, through an interpretor. Wathiq, 48, is a Commander of Iraqi Police in Mosul. He added that he is pleased with the help he receives from the Indiana National Guard.
_______ is an assistant squad leader in the 3rd platoon and truck commander of his Humvee. He helps train the Iraqi Police in weapons cleaning, tactical check points (TCP), vehicle searches, person searches and muzzle awareness.
Traveling to various Iraqi police stations and training centers is all part of the job.
“I am outside the wire 40 hours a week for work,” he said. His missions may be day or night. Like all the other soldiers he is deployed with, _______ works almost everyday.
_______ signed up for the Army Reserve 15 years ago. Eight years ago he switched to the National Guard.
“I signed up was for a better future for my family and to serve my country,” he said.
Originally from Pontiac, Michigan, _______ moved to ______ City four years ago with his wife, ________ and their four children.
_______ works for the Indiana State Prison as a supervisor for license plate manufacture.
“I had a lot of experience in metal work,” he said. “I beat out a whole bunch of guys to get that job.”

BOOTS ON THE GROUND

The barracks occupied by the Raiders are former Iraqi military buildings. Many of the soldiers have spent their spare time fixing up the place. Decks, shade structures and painting have been added over the last six months and construction continues. Rooms have the Armed Forces Network for television and internet access is available for an additional fee.
While settling into his barracks this spring, _______ witnessed something that he said defines his tour of duty here.
Around noon, his company was in formation. An explosion occurred about one mile away in the city of Mosul.
“We had heard explosions before, but something was different.” he said. “Later, we heard over 40 people were killed.”
_______ put on his ballistic gear and went to the roof of his building. He saw a small mushroom cloud over the city.
Volunteering for this deployment put him in with a number of other soldiers that did not know each other. Although the unit activated is the 2nd Battalion, 150 Field Artillery Regiment, soldiers were selected from the National Guard across the state of Indiana.
“There are a lot of different changes here for the guys,” said _______.
Being a squad leader, _______ deals with soldiers that are upset, even crying. He said that at those times, he has to be at his strongest and keep them focused on the mission.

NEVER BE IN A HURRY

The day started like every other one, a briefing before the departure from FOB Diamondback. _______'s convoy assumed the lead position. Another was to follow shortly after.
The driver of _______'s Humvee had to use the bathroom. It was an emergency and took 20 minutes. By the time _______'s convoy departed, the other convoy had assumed the lead position.
They were hit by an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED.)
_______'s convoy stopped short of the destruction.
“This was our first IED experience,” he said. “It scared us all.”
No one was hurt, fortunately. Improvements on armor and personal safety equipment are on going. The incident sticks with _______ because he knows it could have been his Humvee.
“This mission showed me never to be in a hurry,” he said. “You know what an IED can to do to you. It can be deadly.”

Reflections After Taking Leave

_______ recently returned to ______ City on leave. He arrived in Atlanta with 200 troops. He was impressed by the reception. The crowds of traveling people at the Atlanta airport clapped in unison for the troops as they departed the plane.
Back in Mosul, _______ is thankful for all the people that support the soldiers. He also expressed his thanks to God.
“The younger troops here are growing,” he said. “To me this mission is more than helping the Iraqi police.”
_______ wants to make sure that all the soldiers know that if they can make it through this, they can make it through anything.
Besides missing his family, _______ is an avid fisherman, and looks forward to leaving the desert so he can fish for steelhead and coho salmon.

I have Playboy's August 2006 blog of the month

2006-07-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

I was amazed to find out that my blog is listed as Playboy's blog of the month. I run three blogs, but they are pretty much the same. The blog they listed in my tribe.net blog under the name Shooter.

I am waiting to fly to Kuwait/Iraq. They just lost my bags, but I found out they went to Kandahar. . . I need to be in Tallil Iraq, tomorrow.

Fucking great!

The Playboy blog reprint is on page 22, August 2006.

OUT OF AFGHANISTAN

2006-07-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

We took the long the way out of Kabul to Bagram, cutting through dirt alleyways with wrecked armored vehicles. The main roads were cluttered with donkeys, bicycles, jingle trucks and assorted Toyotas.
One of my friends drove me. He is a former Special Forces soldier that does sort of odd jobs I can’t talk about. He has a big beard and looks sort of like a really buff bearded Jim Morrison.
I’ve run across a strange and deadly mix of people in Afghanistan. I wouldn’t have expected anything less. I never found a single decent woman here. But so it goes. Everyone is in it for the money, or some other more bizarre crusade.
Where do I fit in? Well, I came here as an embedded journalist, then bartended, consulted, and did other odd jobs. And then went back to the war, my fickle mistress that bleeds more than once a month. I never made any money, that’s for sure.
Last week, I was smoking hash with a member of the Afghan Parliament. Then I tried to pick up his girlfriend. Whoops. I was subtle, so I didn’t have a big scene about it. Plus we had some work related things to discuss. He is a pretty cool man, educated in the US. I’ve had my eye on his lady friend for a while. I call her Dove’s doppelganger, cause she looks like Dove, a friend of mine from Burning Man. We were at Area 51 last year. I sure know how to take the ladies out and show them a good time.
Someone told me that Playboy magazine listed my blog as something to read. I confirmed this today. “Shooter, Gonzo journalist in Iraq.” Well, I promise to keep you entertained at least twice a week with blogs.
I also was found by an agent, so I have get a book together. I am writing this from Bagram Air Field, yet another area conquered by Alexander the Great. My flight to Iraq leaves in the morning, INSHALLAH. From there, I proceed to Tallil, where the ancient city of UR is on the US Base, as is the great Ziggurat and Abraham’s tomb. I was stationed in Tallil in 2004 when I was temporarily employed by the DOD.
Next week, chopper up to Baghdad, then take a fixed wing to Mosul in the Northwest of Iraq. I will be writing about Indiana National Guard there. And after a few days there, I head back to Baghdad and chopper down to FOB Iskan in the triangle of death for 2 weeks in August.
I like hanging out at Bagram. I am at the Tilman USO http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13901534/
Pat Tilman was the football player that enlisted and was shot by friendly fire here in Afghanistan. They have wi-fi and free coffee, so I am all over it. Also, they have two guitars you can play and lots of books and movies, and very comfortable chairs and couches. It’s just across from the PAX terminal. Too.
I find staying here at Bagram to be relaxing. Kabul, for me, can be a non-stop party. Booze and whoring. The Chinese run brothels, which I have mentioned in previous blogs. Many have been raided and shut down, but there are a few that pay the right people and stay in business. It’s not like my state of Nevada, where they have lot of brothels, and they are legal.
I am so used to war that the problems in Israel and Lebanon don’t seem that bad. The Israeli’s seem to get away with some shit. When they grabbed 2 US soldiers last month in Baghdad, we didn’t blow up Iraq. We already blew it up. I guess it would be counter productive to blow up a country we are building up. I found this candid transcript of Bush at the G 8 to be worthy of THE ONION, but sadly, it is true.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13901534/

I have an article coming out in Southern Indiana this week and another in Seattle. I still have a bunch more to write about. I should do that tonight. If only I get paid. I can get published, but the check is another story.
I am down to my last $20, if anyone can contribute to the ghetto journalist’s funds. That is the best part of being an embedded journalist. I get to live and eat for free. I just have to stay out of the way of the bullets.
By the way, my laptop is on its last leg, if anyone has a dusty old one laying around. I need USB, at least, and all the keys working. I’ve spilled so much booze on my keyboard, I lost the “N” and the “G” but I did remap the keyboard. The screen is broke, and the DVD doesn’t work. But I still recommend Toshiba. It’s been around the world 3 times in 2 years and had the shit kicked out of it more than 5 times.
The soldiers in Iraq get better food, for sure. Although this Tilman USO is probably the coolest thing next to the Canadian journalists office/barracks in Kandahar. They even get beer. Probably the best embed I did was with the Italian Air Force in Herat. Pizza and beer on Saturday nights. The guys I was with got blown up by a car bomb the day after I left. They lived, but that sure as hell was a party foul.
Afghanistan is like a lot of developing nations, herds of sheep in the street, farm animals and SUVs sharing a lane with an armored convoy . . . but the death thing is always there. That donkey might be loaded with explosives. That handcart might kill everyone around it. This is the kind of stuff that happened while I was here. It’s worse than when the Taliban were shooting RPGs at us. Well, at night, it sucks.
I probably will not return to Afghanistan until this fall. I need to find a place with better women, beer and red wine. I haven’t had a good woman, or red wine in a long time.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

2006-07-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

This is me on an Abrams tank about a week ago. This is the article I wrote about the tank and the driver. http://www.forestlaketimes.com/2006/July/5CHoulestory756.html

Well I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head, that didn't hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad
So I had one more for dessert
Then I fumbled in my closet through my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt
Then I washed my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day
________________________________________________________________________________________________
♫ I've been drinking pretty heavy since I got back from Iraq. I have a beer before I roll out of bed, usually, then another one for dessert. I went out last night to LE ATMOSPHERE, a stylish French restaurant and bar. They had on the world cup. A lot of people were there. I ran into some Uzbek friends. I had already drank almost a 5th of WKD shit blue vodka when I left. The world cup started at 10:30 p.m. here.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'd smoked my mind the night before
With cigarettes and the songs I'd been pickin'
But I lit my first and watched a small kid
Playin' with a can that he was kicking
Then I walked across the street
And caught the Sunday smell of someone's fryin' chicken
And it took me back to somethin'
That I'd lost somewhere, somehow along the way

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

♫ I am hurting this morning. I had plans, but I am just laying around, guts on fire. I don't think I drank more than one glass of water the last week. The rest was beer and vodka. I puked all over the fancy French restaurant. My Uzbek friends and I smoked a fatty and they gave me some salty nut thing and I just lost it and puked. People didn't seem to care, except those I puked toward. Why is it that people run away from me when I start projectile puking in their direction?
________________________________________________________________________________________________

On a Sunday morning sidewalk
I'm wishing Lord that I was stoned
'Cause there's something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone
And there's nothin' short of dyin'
That's half as lonesome as the sound
Of a sleepin' city sidewalk
And Sunday mornin' comin' down
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

♫ The only fun thing I have been doing besides downloading porn is looking for fights on tribe. Burning Man is the best, but once I start laying into people the thread usually stops. I think I ended three or four threads. I deleted on I started on Burning Burning Burka. But that one was just me ranting about some one I don't like in the Burning Organization.

We couldn't take our AK-47s and pistols into the French restaurant. When I woke up this morning I had some Afghan house worker messing around. I slept with my pistol at near my pillow, loaded. The Afghan saw it and left. Then he came back, unplugged me computer and plugged in a long extension cord that went to a weed whacker outside my window.

I sometimes sleep naked. It's hot and no AC here. I don't mind. It is 20 or 30 degrees cooler than Baghdad.

My first night here I was really ripped—vodka, beer and Absinthe. I slept naked and my friend John walked in without knocking. I was supposed to visit a local warlord with him. He said I was naked with a big hard on when he walked in. So he walked out, closed the door and left me here. That was Tuesday. Why can't people knock? Otherwise, you get an eyeful of my Longfellow. Ha ha ha. At least I wasn't jerking it.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the park I saw a daddy
With a laughin' little girl who he was swingin'
And I stopped beside a Sunday school
And listened to the songs they were singin'
Then I headed down the street
And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringin'
And it echoed thru the canyon
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

♫ I realize I am the one that poisoned my body. This sickness in me. The burning stomach. Beer shits. My hands are not shaking too much. I am sure I would feel better if I just slammed a beer. I did that yesterday morning—and puked all over. I kept half of it down. After the third time I puked, I felt better.

I think the war is getting at me—hum, I just heard an explosion outside. Well, maybe some one just fell while they were banging a Chinese whore. This war is depressing. Really. Can you believe that? A depressing war. I had hope for Afghanistan, but all signs indicated they really fucked up here and we are leaving and it will be just like it was with the Taliban in the next three years. Let's hope not. But they are doing a lot fighting and killing. For stupid shit, like cutting a teachers head off because he allows females to attend school. What can you do with people like that? I guess send them to Mississippi, where they ain't for sure bout them words, and learning.

I am doing on more tour of Iraq. Each time I go I say this is the most dangerous thing I will ever do in the war. This next month of so is no exception. Tallil and Mosul are relatively safe, but South Baghdad—the triangle of death, is a shit hole, and Babylon is right between the ass cheeks of this global bunghole as well.

I don't like being some where that fucks with my head so much I can't drink it away when I have booze. But this is what I wanted to do, what I wanted to experience. And I did it. I still am broke. Whatever money I made I owe a gazillon people. So I have a new plan to raise cash. I am coming back to the states after this last mission and for a month or two, I want to sent up lecture/slide shows about the war and whores of the war, like me, holding opium poppies in my tattooed hands. That will be much easier to beg for money than standing on the street corner with a cup. Can you spare this drunk artist a dime? People don't get it that I tell them I am an artist working as a war correspondent. I am starting to not to get it, either. I want to paint, make crazy art, write books about women I have loved and my adventures, which at this point are actually pretty fucking grand, especially if I embellish a little.

Fuck.

I am still doing another year here, but I need a break from the war. Even Ernie Pyle took R & R. Before he got shot in the head, writing about the war in the pacific. Now it is IEDs. People wonder what the Islamic terrorists would do if they capture me and see my tattoo. Would they follow the directions and CUT HERE? Would they be so over run with cognitive dissonance that they would let me go? Or, would they fuck me is the ass a few days (these Arabs and Afghans are really into Pulp Fiction Zed and the Gimp back room discipline. . .)

Well, I doubt they will ever take me alive. I just have to make it through another month in Iraq.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

The picture is me burning some shit a week after the Burning Man event, 2001.

On a Sunday morning sidewalk
I'm wishing Lord that I was stoned
'Cause there's something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone
And there's nothin' short of dyin'
That's half as lonesome as the sound
Of a sleepin' city sidewalk
And Sunday mornin' comin' down

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
I have been on the move since 2004 when I broke up with Squirrel. I still write to her. She probably thinks I am crazy. Well, she dated me for nine months. She knows I am crazy. After her, I moved around for six months, then returned to Michigan to visit my family, where I helped my father two knee surgeries. I hooked up with Andrea. I had dated her older sister years before. That was a little strange. It probably was on reason she ended our relationship. That and she was married. Her husband didn't like the smell of our sex. She divorced him, I went to France, then Bisbee. She was a little pissed at me because in the middle of our relationship I got my job in Iraq. We had plans, you know, and then I was like, “Andrea, I am going to Iraq Monday.” She didn't think I would come back alive. But I did. I was only there a few weeks but made a lot of money and didn't have to do the entire year because they fucked up the contract. The base at Tallil, my first stop next week, is where I was 2 years ago.
I had a sat phone. Calling Andrea and my family seemed so distant and unreal on that phone. I didn't call anyone while I was in Iraq this time, with the exception of the newspapers I sold stories too.

I wonder if or when I am going to fall for someone again, preferably some one that likes me. I can only hope. Well, I have another year in the war. Where my head is going to be when I land from that will be anyone's guess. When I leave here I am driving a motorcycle East through India and down to Vietnam. Then up to Siberia. They get to Alaska and drive down. I'll need some time to think.

I started putting stuff on YOUTUBE.COM This is a music video with Andrea.

LAZY IN KABUL

2006-07-07T04:34:00.000-07:00

And there I was, in the Middle East. While some similarities exist from Iraq to Afghanistan, they are distinct cultures and societies. The Iraqi people had more modern infrastructure, while the Afghans live in the Stone Age and are more comfortable with it than someone in Iraq. For some strange reason the women work the fields around North Baghdad and the men just sit around and drink chai.

Explosions in my sleep are not new sounds, just like the taste of blood from a sucker punch is as familiar as a Bloody Mary at Sunday brunch. I’ve been very lucky in my travels and reckless endeavors. I arrived in Kabul with $40 and a vindictive will to survive. My exit from this country comes and goes, in plans within plans, missions, drunken death wishes and sordid affairs of an extreme nature.

I am tired of talking to people for the moment. I had so many lives pass through my ears and out my fingers in June. More than usual. I haven’t been out much since the 4^th of July. Well, I haven’t been out at all. I got out my Salwar Kamish I purchased in Kandahar and since I haven’t shaved, look reasonably Afghan. I haven’t lost the little bit of Dari I know.

I’ve been into http://youtube.com and got one of my videos up there. I want to put up some stuff from the Middle East and New Orleans. It’s just a pain in the ass to upload from here.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Panzwayi

That is all I have up for now. Some Burning Man stuff and I made a new video about the Romanians based on this article I wrote.

http://nuvo.net/article.phptitle=romanian_soldiers_hold_the_fort_in_kandahar&PHPSESSID=999b2d7d99c58c36f97f097c9c48a436

I am still toying with the TRIANGLE OF DEATH. I am talking to some people there and seeing if it really is THE triangle, or just some other part of sand covered in blood and body parts.

I am staying with some friends. They have wireless and beer, so I like it. I have all my stuff here, consolidated. I didn’t loose stuff during the riots, when I moved. We got a lot of guns here. Ha ha ha and an empty swimming pool. I have a nice room, bigger even than my place at Taji in the Tomahawk village, with a private bathroom.

They have drains on the floor and showers right out of the wall. No shower enclosure or bathtub, in my bathroom.

Karzai is in the New York Times today

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-afghanistan-japan.html

Violence in Afghanistan is the worst it has been since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, and hundreds of people have been killed in recent weeks.

``I am concerned about the rise of violence in Afghanistan, the Afghan people are concerned about the rise of violence in Afghanistan, and the international community is concerned about the rise of violence in Afghanistan,'' Karzai told a news conference in Tokyo on the last day of a four-day visit.

Tomorrow I am heading out for some errands. I’ll shot some video on the street if I get a chance and put it up on YOUTUBE.COM

I have tried to make some compressed videos but my power supply and battery are shot. I can get on the internet, but anything that requires a lot of power causes a crash in computer. It starts as the screen flashes back and forth from battery to power cord. My original cord took a shit before I left and I still haven’t been able to find a 15 volt 6 amp power cord. They just don’t have them around here. Will have to order some when I have money, some day. . .ha ha ha. The ghetto journalist. . . with my bag of hand-me-down technological artifacts. . .

85 People Kidnapped

2006-07-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

Mass Kidnapping in Iraq

Camp Taji, Iraq: 30 km North of Baghdad

"It seems cooler today," the Sgt. 1st Class says as we walk from the DEFAC to the office.

"Yeah, it feels about 110 today," I tell him as we walk through the gravel and the dust between a couple 10 foot concrete blast walls.

We continue walking through the shade structures that the Iraqi Republican Guard built under Saddam Hussein for tank shade. It's similar to the shade I build as a construction manager at Burning Man, except the squares of shade are concrete and attached in a diagonal diamond shape along rows. Some of the concrete blast walls are stenciled DPW here. That takes my mind back to Black Rock desert.

I've interviewed about 20 soldiers from Nevada here at Camp Taji. They are excited that someone from Nevada has come to write about them. Most of them are pretty happy with there job. Many have been to Iraq in OIF 1. Winnemucca Dave's son told me, "As soon as I stepped off the plane, it was like being out in the Black Rock." Of course there aren't a lot of raves, or black rocks, here. Burning Man is held in the Black Rock Desert and Winnemucca Dave was one of my co-workers.

For the past three days I have been working with the 414 Civil Affairs (CA), a New York State Reserve Unit. Yesterday I drove to the Ministry of Oil and they talked about problems with propane, and propane accessories. The "insurgents" blew up the pipeline two months ago. So trucks are used to transport propane, and it doesn't seem to get to its proper location. Most of it seems to hit the black market. There is a shortage of gasoline and propane here. Isn't that funny in an oil producing country? Gas was about 45 cents a gallon three months ago here. Now it is about $2.75 gallon. (They buy it in liters and I have converted it.) Skilled labor pays about $25 a day and unskilled is $10. Afghanistan: $2 a day unskilled, $6 skilled, with an average wage of $35 a month. I am not sure what the average monthly pay in Iraq is, yet. Or what the soldiers make. In Afghanistan, a soldier makes $70 a month and the family gets a little over $500 if they get killed.

They do not have reliable electricity here, either. Just like Afghanistan. All they have in Afghanistan is poppies. It must be frustrating to have oil but no electricity.

Most problems seem to come from insurgents. Really! They killed the workers sent to fix the propane pipeline.

The two US Soldiers that were kidnapped the other day were 40 miles South of Taji. 85 people were kidnapped yesterday about 10 clicks North of here on MSR Tampa. I drove by there today. We visited the Mushada Medical Clinic. The electricity was not on when we came in to meet with the head doctor. It was fucking hot and smelled like a county jail, with BO.

There was a Nahia scheduled. That is sort of like a city council meeting. But the streets were empty, which is a really bad sign if you are moving around on a gun truck. No one showed up for the meeting. So, as I mentioned, 85 people were kidnapped.

http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/ap/2006/06/22/ap2832870.html

85 Iraqi's that were getting on buses after work to go back to their homes in Baghdad city. Gone. I heard, unofficially, that the factory made hammers and stuff, including bombs for insurgents, which offered them some degree of protection. But that protection seems to have expired since they bombed Zarqawi.

We went to the local Iraqi Police Station, next. This was interesting, as it was a recruiting day. Each room of the station had men in it, testing to become a cop. One guy took a picture of our interpretor, a cute little Jordanian woman. We made him erase that picture. One room had the recruits doing sit-ups. Another they checked the backgrounds of the recruits. I am not sure how they did this. But I do know they are starting to use fingerprinting here on the Iraqi's in our own database.

The upstairs of the cop shop was being refinished. The CA did not fund the operation, but were asked to look over it as it was in there Area of Operations (AO.)

There were two US Tanks parked at the cop shop entrance. They recently put up 12 foot concrete blast walls around the entire compound. One contractor was already killed for working there. Killed on the job by gun fire.

We step out towards the roof.
"You may not want to come out here," the Sgt. Tells me. "We take sniper fire from West."
"Are you going out?" I ask.
"Yeah."
"Well, so am I," I say and step out. I had on my kevlar, so I was willing to take the chance for a few photos. I didn't come here to hide from the money shot.

We made it back to Taji without incident, which was fine with me. I have another week here. I am working with CA, as mentioned. They called a most of the guys out of Individual Readiness Reserve (IRR), which means you get paid $5000 a year to be on a roster for duty, in case of war. One fellow told me that only 1/3 of the IRR showed up for duty out of the Washington, D.C. area, where he is from.

So the 414 CA have a number of grey haired gentlemen that were re-trained to come fight in this war. Most of them did not have CA as there MOS. One fellow from Texas was in Vietnam, where he got his combat 4ID patch in 1968. I am doing a story on him. Will be riding out into the wilds with him on Sunday and Monday.

Bombs regularly go off on and around the base. From what I gather, most of them are mortars shot at us. They run a lot of UAVs, particularly the Shadow, 24/7 so they usually catch the insurgents after they fire the first one.

Three days ago an Iraqi soldier had both of his arms blown off by an IED on MSR Tampa (Iraqi HWY 1). They covered that in our briefing when we drove off the base. Apparently there is a new bomb maker in town that likes to use pressure plates covered in gravel. These plates may also be used on walls, say, for a anti-American poster. When someone goes up to grab the poster, boom!

The morale of the troops here is pretty good, much better than I would expect. No one likes it here, and why should they? It is a war. It is an unpleasant environment. But the soldiers do there jobs.

This place is a lot worse off than Afghanistan, although I read everyday that the Taliban are up to their old tricks in force there, too, since I was shot at by them in May and they wacked Captain Goddard ( http://www.theitem.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060529/NEWS01/105290076 ) and looted Kabul. Still, the US has lost less than 300 troops in five years in Afghanistan. That war isn't over, but NATO committed to ten years there and on 31 July they take over Regional Area Command South (RAC) and the US footprint there will be pretty reduced to nothing. Operation Enduring Freedom will be pretty much over for us. The Canadians and the British have a big bite of shit sandwich on their plates, now.

This War on Terror has lasted longer than WWII. That is something for perspective. This global war on terror rages on. I think that the Iraqi Army might be able to take care of business for us. I have seen them, talked to the Maj. Gen. Bashar Mahmoud Ayoub, who is in charge of the 9th Iraqi Mechanized Division. We just gave him 615 sq. km of battle space. He and his Iraqi soldiers handle everything there except helicopter medivacs, which the US still assists on. He reports directly to Maj. Gen. James Thurman, Multi-National DivisionBaghdad, commander.

Iraq, unlike Afghanistan, had an Army and some what modern infrastructure. It is a misnomer to say the reconstruction of Afghanistan. They are largely in the stone age, or just past it. No water, electricity or anything that would have surprised Alexander the Great or Genghis Kahn, with the exception of a moped or Chinese made tractor.
Maj. Gen. Bashar Mahmoud Ayoub signed up for the Iraqi Army in 1967 at the age of 20. He seems pretty tenacious to survive in the Iraqi Army to the last 39 years. Some of the Afghan Generals served the Red Army. It's fun to study how these people get recycled into duty. Afghanistan even has one female General. I wonder how many the US has.

One more week here and I catching a hop back to Kabul. I flew through Qatar to get here. Not sure which way I go back. Maybe Kuwait. I have two weeks, well, a little less, in Afghanistan, then I fly back to Iraq. I will be South of Baghdad for my next mission. It is some what safer there. I'll be at Tallil, where the Ziggurat is, and Abraham, of the Bible, Torah and Koran was born, lived and is buried, right on the US Air Base. There is also a pizza parlor and espresso shop there, courtesy of the Italian soldiers.

I've been a tourist of death and destruction for eight months now. Watching four Apache helicopters kill the Taliban was one of my more memorable sites, along with watching a JDAM "Bunker Buster" smite insurgents. Maybe they should do that to the Burning Man. . . After all, the bombs are laser guided and government approved.

Well, that is all for now. I am running out of cash, as usual. If anyone has some extra cash, you can paypal me at editor@nvnewswire.com
I am going to have a lot of articles out. Some might even pay. Others, like this one, do not. http://www.fernleynews.com/1400000/military/SgtRoccoDanna061806.html

http://www.nuvo.net/article.php?title=stories_from_iraq-_pfc__robert_neeld,_carmel_in

Body Parts

2005-11-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

I am getting over my cold. Been writing my ass off, even though I am sick. I have an article coming out in both the newspapers in Tucson about three Army Civil Affairs soldiers I meet. We are going outside the wire in about 8 hours. Today there was a suicide bombing. Only the bomber was killed. I interviewed one of the guys that was there. He showed me pictures of body parts. My interview was not about that, though. Things are well. I may end up staying in Afghanistan through Christmas. I am not sure.

I seem to have developed a twitch in my pinky on my right hand.

THis is about the bombing: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4444110.stm

THE GHETTO JOURNALIST

2005-11-11T18:46:00.000-08:00

Kandahar Airfield was attacked with rockets while I was out in the field. No one was hurt. But I heard that one of the airconditioners is pushing up daisies.
I traveled around the red desert with the 82nd Airborne looking for Taliban. One of the HMVs in the convoy was destroyed with an IED. No causualties. Just perforated ear drum on the machine gunner.
I spend 5 days and 4 nights in the desert and villages South West of Kandahar. I got to meet a warlord, see lots of camels and travel through the endless maze of dirt roads that connect rural Afghanistan. . .
I felt comfortable being in hostile territory. I am writing a bunch on this, so be patient. I wish I had a better bullet proof vest. Mine is a joke and I will die if I get shot or blown up. But I am the ghetto journalist.

This is the end, my only friend, the end.

2005-11-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

We don't get the smell of Napalm here. The smell of shit fills the air, most nights. Up wind, the pools of sewage were strategically placed. Every day shit and piss are dumped into these three little lakes. A week ago, two Hummers were mysteriously driven into these foul smelling oasis's of waste.

I flew a mission over the red desert two days ago. My Black Hawk Mission was canceled, for now. I picked up a three day gun truck mission. We are driving around looking for Taliban returning from Pakistan. I can't give details, but it promises lots of firefights. The Captain of the unit told me my laptop probably will not get shot, but may be blown up by an IED. I wish I had a better bullet proof vest for this one. 3 days on the road hunting insurgents. And we hunt at night. Fields of marijuana were all over in the areas I visited on Saturday. The red desert was a blast. It covers hundreds of miles, and the Afghanis call it the Desert of Death. There is no place like home. I got to fire the M-240H machine gun from the right gunner's position over the red desert. As looked up, I noticed that the Black Hawk escort was right next to us. That was a strange feeling. . .
For the next three days I will be dodging bombs and bullets. . . I think I am going to extend my stay in Afghanistan for 2 more weeks, then go to Iraq. There is so much fun stuff to do here, I just can't get enough. I can't remember if I posted this, but my articles are out now, too. At least the paper in Pahrump is on line.

National Guard in Pakistan
http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2005/11/04/news/guard.html
Jim Cyr at War in Afghanistan
http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2005/11/04/news/cyr.html

For the last week, I have lost feeling in my left hand. I have not had any feeling in my pinky and ring finger on my left hand. I think it is carpel tunnel. Not sure. My back, as usual, is killing me as well. I sleep OK, but at odd hours. . . everything is odd here.

This is the end, of our elaborate plans, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes, again.

Jingle Trucks and Warlords

2005-11-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

I still have trouble figuring out what day it is. I am on Zulu time, all the time now. That means I don't know what the fuck time it is in Afghanistan, or the US. But everyone uses Zulu time here. The world is divided into basically 24 time zones. For easy reference in communications, a letter of the alphabet has been assigned to each time zone. The "clock" at Greenwich, England is used as the standard clock for international reference of time in communications, military, aviation, maritime and other activities that cross time zones. The letter designator for this clock is Z. Times written in military time (24 hour format) are four digits, such as, 1830Z (6:30 pm) with the Zulu suffix. Note that the phonetic alphabet is used for the letter Z (Zulu). This time is usually referred to as Zulu Time because of the letter assigned to this time zone. Its official name is Coordinated Universal Time or UTC. This time zone had previously been called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) but was replaced with UTC in 1972 as the official world time standard changed. While GMT is based on Earth's rotation and celestial measurements, UTC is a based on cesium-beam atomic clocks. The two clocks are rarely more than a second apart as leap seconds are applied to UTC. So the real fucked up thing is that Afghanistan time is something like 4.5 hours different from Zulu. So 1600Z = 2030 Local. Got it? Now, what day is it here? And what day is it in Nevada? I think I am one day ahead of the states. Or some shit like that. Today was an incredibly good day. I have two helicopter missions this weekend, back to back. One to the South of Afghanistan on a CH-47, then another on a Black Hawk into some combat in an undisclosed location. I wish I could say more, but it really is classified. I am also writing about the Jingle Trucks, which are art trucks the Army leases. They are very colorful and have jingly things hanging off of them. While setting this up, I was offered dinner with the local warlord, who owns the Kandahar Airfield, and leases it to the United States. So, dinner with the warlord next week, as well as trip into Kandahar on gun trucks. With all this combat, I wish I had a better bullet proof vest. Oh well. I don't die. Friday marks the first day of publication for the Northern NV News Wire. I have the front page of the newspaper in Pahrump, NV, hometown of Art Bell. Next week, I will be in the Battle Mountain Bugle and Humboldt Sun. I also have some stuff in the East Oregonian and some little paper in Milton-Freewater, Ore. Reno Gazette Journal is pending. Things are going well for me. I am in my element. Still broke, though. It will be weeks until I get a pay check and it gets into my account. Also, the person that was going to send me a care package flaked. Oh well. I guess I will go without Hunter S. Thompson to read, cigarettes and snuff. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! My missions are getting progressively more dangerous. I am aware of this. But that is why I am here. I'll let you know what it is like to rub elbows with Mr. Death. That's my job. Just hope I don't get the shit blowed out of me. OK, so I have up loaded more photos. http://rawfire.torche.com/~priapus/images/caleb1/
There are 8 pictures of a Jingle Truck. There are a few pictures of the hanger on the base that the CIA built during the cold war to house U2 spy planes. You can see lots of the bullet holes in the hanger from years of love and war. Also, pictures of the Kandahar international airport, which is supposed to open next month. It still has bullet holes, too. There is the Mosque on the base that is going back to the public, soon, and some houses that people live in, Russian barracks that were bombed, just outside the wire.

Halloween

2005-11-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

I dreamt of flying last night. Of course, I spent over 6 hours in the air over Afghanistan in a CH-47 with the Nevada National Guard. They decorated the inside with a number of American Flags and one Nevada State flag. It was very touching. I got to ride in the jump seat, which is in the cockpit of the helicopter between the pilot and co-pilot. I had a specatacular view of the flight. I got to see camels, goats and numerous Afghani villages. Afghanistan is about 2/3s mountains and I got to fly over a bunch of them. I can't say much about the places I went to, or what we did. That stuff is classified. I have some pictures I will be posting soon of the unclassified stuff. I can't post pictures of Black Hawks. Those are classified. But I will be riding on one next week. I am setting up another mission. Not sure where I will be going next. MAJ Capps and I had lunch today and he told me to stop by tomorrow at 0300 ZULU to set up another flight. Some how I find it strange that I can just walk into a military operation and ask for ride. But I can. Tomorrow I am setting up some rides on the gun trucks. When I leave Afghanistan, I am riding a convoy from Kandahar to Kabul. I am in my element here. I've been in Afghanistan over a week. I like this place, and I like my job. I am getting along well with the troops. I finished two articles and they should be printed in the next week. Internet is totally fucked the past few days. I haven't been able to get but one or two emails opened, and usually can only respond to one. PLEASE NOTE: If you email me crap, or want to start shit with me, or waste my time about rumors of things I have done in the past, or anything unrelated to me being in the war, now, and my immediate needs, you will not hear from me, and you will piss me off and I will block your future emails.
I got to set in on the briefing before I went on my flight on Halloween. I left early in the morning and did not return until almost sunset. I had on a headset, so I was able to listen to the pilots and the crew. They are a fun bunch of guys, all from Nevada. They treated me very cool. Certain restrictions of my job do make me feel that the balls are more than a little shaved from my writing and the information I am able to pass on to you, my humble and faithful readers. I am working slow, getting a feel for what I can and cannot say. Things regarding the special forces in any capacity are a no-no to talk about. Wink, wink. Numbers of troops, and helicopters shot down are also a faux pas to mention. Well, at least I like the job. I should. I made it, and I am the boss. Today, I took it pretty easy. Slept in. I have 3 more weeks here. As I get closer to the troops and my writing format unfolds, things will go much more faster. Then I am most likely off to Iraq. I tried to watch the movie THREE KINGS last night. They have a little movie theater here in the MWR that seats about 24. I couldn't really get into the movie. And the DVD messed up in the middle, anyway. I did watch THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK this afternoon. That was OK, I guess. Some kind of distraction. Watching a war movie in the war just doesn't cut it for me. I have more stuff to say, but I guess my blog is being put second. I am developing a column called DISPATCHES to sort of blog-like-cover what I am doing here. But I want to get it in a newspaper before I put in my blog.

CHARMKINS RIP

2005-10-28T18:16:00.001-07:00

“Of course I am very sick of the war and would like to leave it, and yet I know I can't. I've been part of the misery and tragedy of it for so long that I feel if I left it, it would be like a soldier deserting.”-- Ernie Pyle, letter to his wife in 1945.

I just want to mention now that I have a lot of trouble getting on the internet. If I have not gotten back to you it is because I only get 30 minutes of internet at a time and it takes about 5 minutes to get my email open and another 5 to send a message without attachments. So, if I am lucky, I get out 4 or 5 messages in my 30 minutes of time. And Tribe.net rarely works. That is why I switched my blog to http://charmkins.blogspot.com By the way, if anyone has a video camera I can borrow, have an account for shipping. A fedex package can get here in 4 days. I am settled in my room in Kandahar. I share my room with other visiting journalists. But it is very comfortable, and spacious. We have 110 electricity and hot and cold running water. The concrete floors bet the wooden ones I had in Iraq when I lived in a tent there. The room has 5 bunks 2 being bunk beds, then my bed in the back. Being in back offers a little privacy, and is actually nicer than my apartment was in Gerlach. The area I am in houses many soldiers. It is something like a low income housing project in Southern Nevada. The mess hall is a block away from my complex. This place is a lot like the Black Rock desert and Burning Man. Lots of shipping containers and tents are sprawled out in the dust. Crazy military vehicles, and art cars. Well, art trucks. I shit you not. The military has leased giant art trucks for the locals. Pierre Pre$$ure was the first person to type me off on this phenomena of decorating trucks in Pakistan, India and Afganistan. I saw many trucks in Kabul. They are also on the base here in Kandahar. Yesterday, I stopped in at the hospital and updated my shots. They were out of Antrax shots. I probably don't need to finish that. But I got my last shot in the Hep A vacinations. I stopped by the PX yesterday. They have Subway, Burger King and Pizza Hut run out of semi trailers, as well as a 24 hour coffee shop that resembles Star Bucks, but is called Green Bean. Most places on the base do not allow you to have bags with you. The PX is an exception. The Mess Hall and Morale, Welfare and Recreation center (MWR), gym and computer center you can't have a back pack, or anything. This is after the attach in Mosul last year. A foreign soldier had a back pack with explosives and ball bearings in it. Many people were killed. I end up packing everything in my pockets. I feel in my element here. I am my own boss. I have free reign of the base, within reason. I set my own schedule and whatever I see that interests me, I can write about. In two days, I have my first mission on a CH-47 Chinock. I am flying around to a few Forward Operating Bases (FOBs). This where the Special Forces operate. I am flying to Kalat, which is a Fortress once occupied by Alexander the Great in 300 B.C. It is still in use. The 113th Co D. specializes in CH-47s. I am also interested in flying some combat missions on Black Hawks. That is another unit. But I am setting up a few rides doing that next week. And then, the other combat trip I am setting up is on the gun trucks that patrol in and around Kandahar. I can't go out this week. They have shut down the media embeds due to recent political unrest. But I will get in a few missions before I go. I have only been gone a week, and only in Afghanistan for 4 days. I have 26 more days on my visa. I am setting up 3 embeds in Iraq. Nothing is guarenteed, of course. But I may be in Iraq from 23 November to 7 January. As far as Pakistan goes, I filled a request to travel there for two days. If I get that, I fly over to Islamabad, then fly some aid routes around the disaster area on Ch-47s. Time permitting, I am going to write about the French and Canadien troops that are here. Remember, the Afghanistan invasion was UN and Nato supported, so many of the countries that did not support the invasion of Iraq are here. Currently I am writing up and in interview with a guard member that did aid work in Pakistan and just returned. I am also writing a column about CW4 Sean Laycox from Stead. I should have that stuff down tonight. Then will write more. . . So, I went for a walk and drank an N/A Beer while sitting outside. I started talking to a fellow named Peterson from Gardenerville, NV. He told me that this morning “someone” drove two HMVs into a the shit pool, where all the shit literally goes from the base. I hope I can get out there and get a picture. Real DPW like here. Ha ha ha. I am staying with two Army journalists currently. SGT Jackson and SGT Wilson. They do video and radio for the Pentagon channel. They are pretty cool, and have given me a lot of good advice. Last night SGT Jackson almost died. He was in terrible pain over the last week. The doctor he saw previously gave him antacid. Come to find out his appendix almost burst last night. So he is in the hospital for a while. I stopped in a set up a flight this afternoon on a Black Hawk. CPT Austin is in charge of that unit. I asked for “action and adventure.” He said that is the kind of stuff they don't like. He looked at the schedule for the week and told me that it would be after November 4th for “action and adventure.” So, I'll be flying into that in about a week. I am also going to set up some gun truck embeds. I want to drive around Kandahar and check things out from a HMV. In two days, I'll be flying out on a CH-47. . .
My address, if you want to Fedex me: Caleb Schaber Northern NV News Wire c/o US Army Press Office Building 5798, Room 7 DSN 841-1314 Kandahar Air Base Afghanistan

2005-10-28T18:16:00.000-07:00

Getting to Kandahar from San Francisco

2005-10-27T04:27:00.000-07:00

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Greetings from Kandahar, Afghanistan. I apologize for this less than personal response, but my access to Internet is limited, and my time focused on writing about the war. If you do not want to be on this list, or do not want attachments sent to you, please let me know. I am posting two different versions of this. One with photos attached and one without. The text will also be posted on my blog @ http://tribe.net/ under Shooter. Feel free to forward this to others. After numerous delays, cancellations and tribulations, I have been able to launch my company, the Northern Nevada News Wire, with tons of help, especially from Matthew “Metric” Ebert. Originally, I was headed to Iraq first as an embedded journalist. However, that didn't pan out, yet. But I made it to Kandahar, where I am embedded with the 113th Co. D, a Nevada National Guard aviation unit. I am here for a month. Then I will be heading to Iraq, most likely 2 weeks in Baghdad and 2 weeks in Kabul. I am setting my schedule today. I'll be flying some combat missions, supply missions and most likely heading with the 113th to Pakistan for a little aid work. I live and work with the troops. The Northern Nevada News Wire is the company I use to distribute my articles to various newspapers and magazines. Eventually, everything I write and photograph will be on the website. Thanks to all of you that helped me with this project. Your help and my persistence made it happen. I left Saturday 21 October 2005 at 1:20 am. from San Francisco. I stopped in Hong Kong for about 12 hours, then flew to Dubai. I had a last minute going away party with beer and big chunks of meat: steak , ribs and boneless chicken breasts. I took some chicken with. I kept it in a baggy in my breast pocket. Security never inspected it. I ate it for breakfast in Hong Kong. Thanks Brett and Big Daddy! Later in Hong Kong, I sampled a Tsing Tao at the Champ1ons Sports bar (they use a “1” for i.) Champ1ons did not have ESPN and wasn't playing the baseball game in Houston. At least 5 people came in and asked for it, and left, murmuring things about what kind of sports bar doesn't have baseball at this time of the year. . . Things were pretty smooth until I got to Dubai. My bags were only checked to Dubai, not to Kabul. I had to go through passport control, then get my bags, then go through customs. At that point, I was told I could not get to the departure area of the airport AND it was a 15 minute drive away. I left with $80. I was down $60. So I had to spend another $20 getting to the other part of the airport. The ride didn't cost that much, but I only had $20s to change into the local currency. Once I got to the airport, I was not allowed to check in for 8 more hours. A big Arab in a white gown kept yelling for everyone to get out of the airport, in various languages, if you were not getting on a plane that was immediately boarding. Around 2:30 am. Dubai time, I was let in. Once I got in, the big Arab was back and told me I was too early. But he relented and let me sit around for another 90 minutes until check in. There is a jpg of me waiting at the airport attached. At this time, I noticed a lot of Arabs that looked remarkably like Taliban. I've been around to Kuwait and a few other places and seen Arab fashions. This was distinct. And then I realized that I was going to be on a plane with these guys. They looked like merchants, because they had a lot of stuff. Most of the guys did not use suitcases. They had everything wrapped in a big tarp, then they tied it. After that, they wrapped the packages in big sheets of saran wrap. My favorite “bag” used by the men I was flying into Kabul with was a 55 gallon blue plastic drum. And I thought I traveled in excess. . . Upon check in I was told that I was 13 kilos over the weight and would have to pay $35. I was down to $40 and I needed cash to get a cab from the Airport to Camp Eggers and from Camp Eggers to Bagram. I asked my military contact how much I should pay and he told me no more than $20 for both rides. So I needed that $40. I got out of line, unpacked my guitar amp (I always bring my strat to the war. . .), flak vest and leather jacket, plus a few books. That lowered my weight 10 kilos and I made it to check in, with a lot of carry ons, plus a bunch of wires. I was searched checking in after making it through passport control. It was about 5 a.m. Local time now. The morning prayer began. I have frozen images of barbed wire, turbans, robes, vests and funny little hats set to the morning prayer songs. The leg room on Ariana air lines was great, although the seats a little narrow in coach. Cathay Airlines was made for smaller people, and were bad all around for my size body. Ariana's fleet is a bunch of old planes. So old that they had ashtrays in the bath room. They gave us shesh-ke-babs and coffee for breakfast, with a small croissant. I asked for beer and/or wine was told that they do not serve alcohol. I figured as much, but always ask. The flight proved to be filled with spectacular views of Afghanistan. I flew over Kandahar. From there to Kabul, I only saw one small settlement. This was the first time I cut through the mountain ranges in a 747 jet. We often flew eye level to the tops of mountains. The land between mountains looked like rumpled brown paper. Jagged mountains and irregular shapes of geographical chaos marked this land still untamed. I noticed a little playa, but much smaller than the Black Rock. When I get a map, I can look up the names of these places. We were in a holding pattern for at least 30 minutes, circling the mountains and outskirts of Kabul. From the air, I noticed a lot of square walled areas made of brick that had nothing in the middle. I have some photos of this from the side when I drove to Bagram. So, when we landed, we were not allowed off the plane for about 45 minutes. We noticed a diplomatic procession out side of the plane. The plane was 20 or 25 degree hotter than the out side, and it is 75 tp 85 degree F in the day. I noticed clean shaven white men in 3 piece suits walking around the runway with unusually large machine guns, and a motorcade with a Mercedes and a couple black SUVs. I thought maybe it was Condi Rice, but found out later that it was the Governor of the Kabul Provence. He was flying to Pakistan. This is were my nightmare begins. Custom/passport control was not a problem. I did notice that some people, including Americans were able to bypass customs and passport control. (CIA is what I thought. But then aren't they supposed to blend in, not just waltz through customs and passport control?) The airport is really small, too. I waited in line and got to my bags after passport control. Pick up trucks brought our bags in the back. . . I don't really want to write about the part from the airport to Camp Eggers. I find it rather disturbing. Let's just say that my cab driver was not really cabbie, and he wasn't taking me to camp Eggers. . . I don't care to get into the details. So, fast forward to Camp Eggers a few hours later. The guards at the gate searched my bags for alcohol and bombs. SGT Donde met me. He was my press contact. “There has been some changes since I last talked to you,” he says. “All embeds have been canceled for the country.” Because of the recently cremation of Arab bodies, all embedded media were kicked out and no new embeds were allowed. I played it very cool and said, “OK.” I was then asked if I could leave the base and get a hotel for the month I was in Afghanistan. I still looked cool and acted cool. But inside I was a mess. The idea of trying to survive Kabul for 30 days with $40 felt like a death sentence to me. With the embed slot, I get free food and place to stay. I would need no money. My press contacts took me to lunch on the base. The buffet had a lot of meat. I ate BBQ ribs, hot wings, meat loaf and fried fish. The sign on the mess hall exit read: “Got Gun?” like the got milk signs. Everyone carries guns here. It is a military base and we are at war. After lunch, I sat down and read and was told to wait for further instructions. SGT Chang later came out and sat down next to me. “Let me ask you a question,” he said. The fear and loathing had set in. I thought he was going to ask something like “Are you really a journalist?” But it was the other “J” word. “Are you Jewish?” he asked. “If not, you'd be kicked off the base.”“Yeah, yeah. I am Jewish,” I said. He said that he got me a space on the base to stay by saying that I was Jewish and feared for my life should I return to Kabul unescorted. Later that night, I found out why I was going to have even more trouble gaining an embed slot than because of the two dead Arabs getting cremated in psych op: The day before I got to Kabul the Press Officer googled me and found out all sorts of things about me, particularly my work in college as a gonzo journalist. The Brigade Commander was not impressed with my previous work and did not want me around. Regardless, I was told that I was heading up to Bagram. It was unlikely that I would be embedded in Kandahar, but I would find more to write about there than at Camp Eggers. The Press Officers at Bagram air base were very cool, and appreciated my work as a gonzo journalist. One of the guys was fired from the Stars and Strips because, as he put it, “I pissed off Donald Rumsfeld.” It was this guy that got me in. I heard him argue for over 30 minutes with officers way up the food chain on why they should take me. He told me that I was flying out to Kandahar and should be ready to go, regardless or not if they were ready for me. I did not sleep well that night. Anxiety and despair plague my waking mind a restless dreams. After dinner, one of the press guys told me his impression of Kandahar: “Everyone is on acid down there.” Just like Willard in Apocalypse Now, everyone gets what they want. I've been waiting for this mission for almost a year, maybe most of my life. And I made it to Kandahar, and I was granted an embed slot with the unit. I encountered minimum resistance, once I arrived here. I attached a couple images for your pleasure. Kabul 1 is leaving the airport; Kabul 2 looking for camp eggers; kabul3/4/5 art cars (they are all over here); kabul6/7 on the way to Bagram; Kabul 8 waiting to get off the plane; Kabul 9 me in Dubai waiting to fly to Kabul; Kabul 11 notice the vehicle. This was on the road to Bagram. So I am flying to Pakistan for a while with the 113th, hopefully in a week or two. Then I get to ride in a few combat missions so I can experience firefights, and write about them. Other missions I ride on I am not allowed to discuss many of the details, except those that do not involve who or what is being transported to what location. Towards the end of November, I am heading to Iraq for more combat, on the ground. The Northern Nevada News Wire website is not up yet. I directly distributing articles via email to newspapers. I will let you know once I start putting images and content on the website. You can Fedex/DHL me. I am only here a month, so first class mail, if not sent right away, wont make it. Email me for the address. I could use some Gaulouise filterless cigarettes, raspberry Ozona snuff and some kind of liquor put in a mouthwash bottle. Also money. I am broke until I start selling articles and it will be weeks by the time the checks are deposited and get on my credit card. Paypal editor@nvnewswire.com
Hope everyone is well.
Caleb “Shooter” SchaberPO Box 111 Gerlach, NV 89412Cell: (206)-856-4594
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY If this e-mail is marked FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY it may be exempt frommandatory disclosure under FOIA. DoD 5400.7R, "DoD Freedom ofInformation Act Program", DoD Directive 5230.9, "Clearance of DoDInformation for Public Release", and DoD Instruction 5230.29, "Securityand Policy Review of DoD Information for Public Release" apply.