About Kabul

Hi May,

I hope you're having a great day today, i just returned back from the Dining Facility, The defacs always put out an abundance of good food.The defac or dining facility is the main place for civilians and the military alike for eating. The defac is generally a large tent-like building with a hard floor. The walls and roof are tent-style with mortar and rocket type absorbing covers, Tables are set up for groups of eight. Chairs can be plastic and/or metal. Dishes are disposable because there is a shortage of water.

At our base camp in Kabul, Breakfast is usually served from about 5:30am to 8:30am, Lunch can be expected between 11:00am and 1:30pm, while Dinner is served from approximately 5:00pm to 8:00pm, we can expect burgers, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, sausage and meat dishes with beef, chicken, and pork. These are served with french fries, onion rings, vegetables, and whatever you want from the salad bar. Some of the bases try to have a special night each week to add to your dining pleasure with themes such as steak night, Mexican night, Italian night, lobster and shrimp night, and so on.

Getting into the defac is easy if you have your CAC card. If you are an American who does not have a CAC card, you can still get in to eat by showing your passport. If you are not an American and you do not have a CAC card, it is a bit more difficult for eating.

Eating in Kabul in the defac is pretty tasty most of the time. It is not cooked by the military. The military has contracted with civilian American, British, and Kuwaiti companies to cook the food. Most of these companies employ people from India who do the actual food preparation and serving.

The land is a desert, yet for a few months each year, you think you are experiencing Noah's flood. For most of the year, it is hot with temperatures exceeding 130 degrees and yet some nights a winter coat is required. Believe it or not, some parts up in the mountains actually get snow!

Afghanistan is a bit different with it tall peaks, colder winters and milder summers. It is filled with many peace-loving people and yet there are so many hateful insurgents and terrorists who want to kill all Americans--The same Americans who have purchased the Iraqi and Afghanistan people's freedom with their very lives. By the way, most Afghan civilians were very happy to have us in their country, helping them to obtain freedom from terrorists. They just wanted to live in peace and were glad that we were there for them.

Our working hours here are regularly 8 hrs and  12hrs on a bad day, if there's any threat from the insurgents sometimes it's a 24hrs job, I think I have said enough..Just want you to know more about what we do here and our daily activities, have a great day.

Arnold