Baraki Barak

 Part of the reason I didn't take any photos from the helicopter was that visibility was terrible; it was just an abysmally gloomy day even by Afghan winter standards.  Part of the reason was that it was too damn cold, as this shot from the district center outpost in Baraki Barak shows.  And partly it was because the flight back was in pitch black darkness.  We came out of the last meeting, at a tiny outpost in Wardak, well after sundown.  Such outposts aren't lit up at night - that would make them easy targets.  So they are absolutely dark.  You can't see your hand in front of your face - literally.  Someone with a tiny light on his helmet appeared out of the darkness and led us to the helicopters.  We could hear them - they couldn't have been more than twenty yards away - but you couldn't see anything.  One person in our party started wandering toward the choppers and a soldier hurriedly grabbed his arm and led him back, presumably because he was headed right for the back rotor, which would have hurt.  Anyway, after we loaded up, the Blackhawks were flying completely dark.  Plus, with the earplugs, the roaring of the rotors and the rush of air, you couldn't hear anything.  So with no sight or sound (well, white noise), all you had was the sensation of movement as the chopper took off and headed back to Kabul.  It wasn't until you saw the lights of Kabul approaching, and then later the flares to distract enemy fire, that your eyes started helping you out again.  And then landing in the same damn dusty field.   The second photo is also from the BB outpost; it's an Afghan water delivery truck, gaily painted.  The water that had leaked from it was an ice slick when we walked by.  From Wardak I did not take a photo, though I was sorely tempted to do so by the dirtiest sign I have ever seen in an office setting anywhere.  I thought it might have looked inappropriate to take a photo.  I know it would be inappropriate to post it on this blog.  They also had up on the wall a board where they tracked the usual stuff - vehicle maintenance status, weapons, supplies, etc - and also "Animal Kills."  The score when I was there was Cats 9, Dogs 3, Mice 1, Cobras 0.