Karzai and Kids

I took this picture of Afghan President Karzai in my travels... it's a huge poster attached to a non descript building. I thought it depicted the spirit of the Afghan people.

Asa came into work the other day and just had to share her joy about her President. She told me he had been on television the night before and cried before his people about the poor education system in Afghanistan. She was obviously deeply touched by both his open display of emotion as well as his words. Unfortunately, I do not have education statistics to share with you, but know the educational system in this country is abysmal. Destroying this critical national program was probably the Taliban's greatest success. And unfortunately, the Taliban continue in their campaign to keep the Afghan people ignorant and those who are educated, controlled under the threat of death. One thing I am starting to observe here is that too many of the well educated Afghans are emigrating/escaping out for a better future for themselves and their children.

Thanks to my sister Mauria and friend Judy for their wise insights into my $100 escape/evade plan. Unfortunately Mauria, I'm not convinced the airless/flatless tires for our many company vehicles is a good option. And Judy, no I do not carry a gun and even if allowed, I would not. The seagull analogy was quite insightful though and will be taken into consideration.

New Meaning to Bad Traffic

Hey, I just noticed that if you look in the rear view mirror you can see me taking a picture of the bad traffic... cool.

Anyway, traffic to and from the Ministry of late seems to have gotten a lot worse. Given the many local entrepeneurs around Kabul, they've devised an ingenious new career opportunity. One guy casually walks up to the side of your vehicle and uses an ice pick to puncture your tire. That is, if you look like you have something of value which Americans or international folks tend to do. So, the tire puncturing guy's buddies wait down the road a few yards, now remember the traffic is at a standstill, and await their prey... visualize hunters in a deer stand. After traveling those few yards, the driver of the vehicle (usually Afghan) gets out of the vehicle to check what appears to be a flat tire. In the meantime, the buddies force their way into the vehicle and rapidly steal anything of value in sight (they also know all our hiding spaces)... computers and tools seem to be their favorite although briefcases are also a lucrative target. This actually happened to a couple of buddies of mine... scared the livin' .... out of them to say the least. Our USEmbassy warns that kidnapping is also a threat, especially if nothing of value is readily available.


I've now analyzed this threat and have a counterattack, yup all that USAF training is finally coming in handy. So here's the plan: I keep at least $100 dollars at the ready so if we do run into these guys I plan to throw it in the air and squeal (I know how to squeal now that I've experienced an Afghan eyebrow job) FREE AMERICAN DOLLARS!!!!! I'm hoping they'll prefer the dollars over me. Comments or further guidance from anyone is most welcome.


I've been very busy lately on a number of projects so I have found writing part of the blog in the evening is shaving some time off my morning routine. I think it's working, but now tired and have to go to bed. I'll edit and send in the morning. It's now morning, I'm editing and sending.


An extra big blog hug out to my Hebert Family who recently lost their beloved Little Andy in a most tragic incident. Know my heart is with you in this most sad of time.

Working Conditions

What you see is literally the size of our shared office at the international community base. Labor laws would outlaw these conditions in the states :-} and Asa wasn't there that day which just adds to the joy. This tiny office in the "Minuteman House" house includes office mates Rick and Scott as well as their interpretors... we call ourselves THE MINUTEMEN which drives the boss crazy but we have a lot of fun with it. As you can see from my position in the back, it's not fun if I need to step out of the office as all must adjust positions. And at times, we're all cramming on projects so movement by one causes aggravation by all. And then there are the office meetings when Rick or Scott have somebody stop by to discuss an issue... it just ain't pretty. But, we do tend to have fun and I learn a whole lot from all these guys.

Fortunately for me, my wonderful sister Mauria recently sent me an IPod loaded with all my classical music which I use as white noise when cramming on a staff paper. It helps tremendously.

Then there's my office in the Afghan Ministry... much more spacious and comfortable. Big drawback is the incredibly gross bathrooms which become necessary but only under extreme conditions. Another blog on that another day.

hi ho hi ho, it's off ...

Baad Tradition

I am now involved in helping develop Family Response Units (FRUs), specially trained police units formed to deal with domestic violence (spousal and child abuse). To say building and implementing a Domestic Violence program in Afghanistan is posing a challenge is a gross understatement. However, the international community through various Gender Affairs agencies as well as various Afghan groups are putting forth a valiant effort and I'm quite honored to be involved. However, it's not a challenge I look forward to working. FYI: I wrote my master's degree thesis on police response to domestic violence, so have some background/knowledge on the issue.

While reading a program document on the FRUs, I found a listing of what legally constituted spousal and child abuse and came upon the term Baad. I asked Asa what Baad was. Never would have imagined this one, it is not good. Baad is a payment of one family to another when a member of one family commits a grave offense against a member the other. To prevent retribution (killings), the families will negotiate a BAAD... when the offending family gives away a daughter in payment to protect other members of the family.

Asa told me Baad has been a common practice to resolve family disputes in Afghanistan for many years. Remember, a lot of these families have close to nothing and a daughter can be considered an expendable commodity. She has heard of girls as young as 6 years old being given to older men in a Baad who in turn marry these young girls. The Afghans do not believe in premarital sex and therefore must marry and remember (from a previous blog) that men are allowed up to four wives. Needless to say because this girl comes from a family who committed a grave offense to given family, she is not treated well.

I then asked Asa if the family of the girl had an alternative, she stated "of course" there are laws in Afghanistan now and the family could resolve the conflict through the police and court systems. She also said Baad is now rarely found in Kabul (the capital) but still common out in the provinces (countryside). I asked what her father would do if he found himself in a situation that traditionally called for a Baad, this got her goat but I didn't do it on purpose. She said her father would sacrifice his own life before giving up one of his five daughters in a Baad. That made me feel better.

As I said earlier, I'm not looking forward to working in the domestic violence realm over here but know it's important so I will. Fortunately, I'll be working with a wonderful community dedicated to improving the quality of life of the most distressed.

Okay, I think I belabored the point long enough... sorry, this one got to me.

A big blog hug goes out to all my

beautiful sisters, nieces and women
friends/family

we are truly blessed.

Some Things Just Don't Work

I shared with you in the past about the poor Traffic Police who are posted at many busy intersections here in Kabul. Unfortunately, when they do step out into traffic with their most obvious handwands no one pays attention. Well, they now have whistles and those round white handwands and the combination seems to be having an impact. Man, can they blow those whistles and they like to blow the whistle... I think it's become a power thing. All I know is that it no longer seems a suicide mission heading into some of the busier traffic circles. Overall, I'd say the Traffic Police are now up to about 40% efficiency.

I'm now noting more and more traffic control lights (see pictures) around. It's important you understand that many have been installed but I've yet to see one working beyond a yellow flashing light. I've also observed they are a pretty far distance from the targeted intersection. I'm guessing that if they are ever become functional, they'll parallel the poor local traffic cops... no one will pay attention. Right on red, left on red, straight on red; think Boston.

So, I continue to press on with criminal investigation deveopment processes. I sure hope we're more effective than the traffic cops or lights. But, I'm starting to wonder.

Tonight, Thursday, is my "night off" because tomorrow is my day off.

Peace Be with You,

GAIL

Election Over Back to Work

This photo depicts a local Mosque (church) which always tend to be this shade of blue and in this round shape with high windows. The Mosques do vary in size (not shape) and the roofs of some in the wealthier neighborhoods tend to have baeautifully designed and colorful tile roofs. The tower to the right where the Mosque "Crier" (kind of like the town crier of our early US history) goes to call people to prayer five times a day. After a "call to prayer" I will see people on the streets washing their feet, hair and faces with pitchers of water. Asa tells me she must wash all her makeup off as well as clean her feet and arms before prayer. Most do not go to the Mosque, but will kneel on a colorful "prayer rug" and pray independently, initially putting their forehead to the ground and then a little later rocking up and down from the waist. Then they stand in prayer. Asa tells me Shia fold their hands in front of them below the waist at this point but Sunni hold their hands to their sides. She tells me this difference in prayer style has resulted in a couple of wars.

The elections. Reports tell us here there were over 5300 polls that opened and remained open. Over 500 Taliban were caught or killed by government forces when they tried to attack the polls; unfortunately, they were successful on a few occasions. And, about 40% of the population voted, although one never really knows. I find myself looking at the right index finger of the officials here at the Ministry. When Afghans (as well as in many other world countries) vote, they dip their finger in permanent ink after they vote to prevent repetitive voting. It's nice to see these officials with stained fingers, but I was most concerned about the higher ranking ones I saw that did not have the stained finger... I wanted to chastise them for not voting. By the way, 40% of the population voting is higher than we will find in the US during mid term elections... and no one is threatening our lives or shooting at us.

I've become very busy at work of late with both the international community and the Afghans. I've written a couple of personnel management policies which are drawing a lot of interest. More on that in another blog episode.

Today, big hug for all because I feel most blessed to have so many of you in my life. Thank you for your blog loyalty. If you haven't let me know you're reading, I'd love to hear from you. My email: gailey56@aol.com. Your comments and requests are most welcome.

All Secure Here in Kabul

This is the very nice soldier/gentleman who goes out of his way to help Asa and I when we're in the Ministry. He's obviously quite poor in material ways, but most generous in his kindness toward us.

Okay then... yesterday, election day. You probably get more news than I do, but I do know there were continuous attacks throughout Afghanistan yesterday which may prove a win for the insurgents. Kabul took a few "hits" but all and all from my understanding, the polls stayed open. A win for the good guys.

Here's an update from yesterday's blog:

• It now appears I slept through most of the earthquake. The guys told me it hit for about 40 seconds and rocked the house... I woke up at the very tale end. And, I'm on the 2nd floor of the house which I'm told REALLY rocked. Guess I sleep better than I realize.
• The rocket/mortar hit pretty close to our secured compound. However, there are so many high antiballistic barrier walls between me and the explosion there was literally no damage anywhere near me. Unlike the earthquake though, it woke me up hard.

Off to work again today, as usual. However, I believe the roads are still "black" for us which means no travel to the ministry. Catching up on all kinds of paperwork and meetings.

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off to ......

Peace be with you all,

GAIL

An Interesting but Restless Night

Well, I experienced a a most interesting evening last night.

First, I received a call from an international security force colleague around 8PM as I was decompressing for the evening, the call went about an hour before finally concluding. Needless to say, my mind was racing after that with ideas I hope to share with the group tomorrow. So, I practiced some relaxation techniques that ultimately worked and I fell soundly asleep.

Then at around 2:30 AM we had an earthquake that shook the earth pretty good, nothing extreme, the building and windows held up well... haven't been outside yet so see the damage. It was my first earthquake experience. It didn't last long... used those same relaxation techniques and once again I was back to sleep.

Finally around 3:45 a loud explosive went off. No idea where but loud enough to wake everyone in the house. The good news, there was only one. My relaxation techniques didn't work so good this time, so I've been up since then. It should prove a long day, I'm tired already and it's only 6 AM.

It is national election day today and thus an Afghan national holiday... they do this to reduce traffic and thus car bombs in the city. This theoretically allows the population to get to the polls which are dispersed throughout Afghanistan. I pray they go well, an essential component of democracy the insurgents will go to great lengths to stop.

Open sources have reported the insurgents have been building up for a while now to disrupt these elections. In response, here's what the US Embassy is warning Americans against because of election day: Indirect fire (mortars, rockets) attacks (got that one last night already) as well as the possibility of suicide attacks (both on persons and in cars). It should also be anticipated there will be a significant increase in Afghan National Police Forces (and they will armed at the hilt and ready). The large protest I informed you about a couple of blogs ago resulted in 23 Afghan deaths from police bullets. So, we Americans are warned to stay away from large crowds/gatherings as well as polling stations. I will be hunkering down at the international security base. I'm bringing an overnight bag just in case.

Oh ya, tried the cheese grits the other day... they were pretty darn good so I will have to run past that post in the morning now. Today I'll check out the plain grits... all for you CT.

Today's blog hug and prayer goes to...... the Afghan people who will brave their way to the polls today

Parliament Elections Saturday

I'll admit life is a little precarious these days and I'll share with you why. What got things going was the Koran burning discussions here in America, that really gets the extremists motivated/empowered to get the people riled up. Imagine if there was an "organized" groups of Muslims over in this part of the world gathering to burn Bibles? I'm guessing we'd all get riled up too, but not to these levels (I hope anyway). Now, we've got riled up folks just before national level of election for the Parliament (our Congress). One of the primary goals of the Taliban and Al'Quaida is to stop democracy and thus empowerment of the Afghan people. Disrupting elections would definitely put a damper on both democracy and empowerment and large violent protests would definitely serve that purpose. The gatherings against yesterday's Koran burnings resulted in the death of 6 Afghan protestors from Afghan police bullets, interestingly, just 3 days before the elections. I was out at the Ministry when this happend and fortunately was able to scurry back to an international community secured compound before the roads shut down. Not sure if the roads will be shut down today or not, but my gut tells me to hunker down today. I'm trusting my gut.

Lots of funny and inquiring comments about yesterday's food blog. I will address a few of those:
Mary: Yes, the DFAC/chow hall is quite large... if I had to guess I'd say over 8,000 square feet
Kt: Yes, there is peanut butter but I'm trying hard to ignore it... thanks for reminding me as I head out for breakfast to start off my day
CT: Yes, they have grits and sometimes both regular and cheese. Haven't tried them yet, but if they have them today I'll do a tasting and get back to you.

Today's blog hug goes out to my dearest friends Kt and Bruce Brown who are celebrating their 5th Anniversary at Bloomsbury. Sounds like you had a most interesting(?) anniversary celebration.

Food in Afghanistan

As you can see from this picture, the food here is just amazing!!! Look at those eggplants!! The water melons are just spectacular too... they're ruby red color in the center and not heavy in seeds. I often drive by these markets and just salivate, but stopping and buying anything is considered too dangerous. Oh ya, then there are the breads... flat breads but the size of a 12" pizza and light and fluffy, they look delicious. On top of the physical security challenges to buy, there is the always impending typhoid threat. Many use sewer water to water their gardens, so we're told the fruits/veggies themselves absorb the disease.... it's killing me. Most of you know how I just love fresh fruits and veggies... Mauria is always sharing her local farm stories. I might just risk it one of these days when I'm at the Ministry.

So, I eat almost exclusively at the international run DFAC, with no clue what that stands for but in reality it's a chow hall. It's bascially a set of large connected tents with a solid wood (unfinished) floor. So, here's how that goes.

You scan your ID card for entry and then grab a paper tray (think the tin trays from MASH) and grab a package of plastic eating utensils and stand in buffet line.

BREAKFAST: It's actually quite a spread. First, a short order cook to make omlettes/scrambled as ordered. If you want a fried egg, it's only fried VERY hard. From there are larger dishes of food to include: veggie quiche, chipped beef with gravy (SOS), bacon, pork sausage, turkey sausage (Muslims don't eat pork), biscuits, some type of breakfast potato, and oatmeal. Lots of high fat/cholesterol and I work hard to RUN by it... it's actually delicious from what I understand but I'm afraid to try. Then you enter into another room, more on my speed. There is normally a nice selection of fresh cut up melons, strawberries, grapes, and sometimes kiwi (all pealed), where I fill my paper tray up. Then danger approaches again with a cart full of breakfast pastries, pies, french toast, pancakes (melted butter and hot syrup). Then another cart filled with sliced deli style meats/cheeses, fresh tomatoes and jalapenos (I normally have the tomatoes/jalapenos). Then (yes, another) a large selection of bread, bagels, English muffins and industrial toaster. One then progresses through a room with tables for 4 and a large screen TV with sports or news showing. Then you enter into another large seating area. There you find cold cereals, yogurt, and a large cooler filled with juicy boxes (like we give the kids only real juice), and like containers for milk to include soy milk. Oh ya, a huge coffee machine that produces both "regular" and "strong" coffeee. More pastries in this room just in case you bypassed the previously huge selection of decadence. No clue how these folks aren't huge!

My standard breakfast: selection of melons, cold cereal with yogurt and soy milk (I also include some ground flax seed I brought with me), and a very large cup of coffee I refill before departing.

More on other meals in another blog.

Love to All... gotta head to work.

Ramazan is Over!!!

So, what does that mean to Me????
(1) I can drink during the day and particularly out in public. In empathy to my Afghan colleagues who do not eat/drink/smoke during daylight hours for over 30 days during Ramazan, I did not do any of these in front of them. The problem was, I was always around them.
(2) The afternoon demeanors of my colleagues will be much better now given they have food, water, chai tea (caffeine) and cigarettes during daylight hours. This is a good thing for me. The bad news is that I'll have to drink Chai tea again. The senior Minister I work with has really been looking forward to sharing a cup of his beloved chai tea with me for a couple of weeks. Bad? Typhoid remains a problem here and the unclean cups we drink the tea from are a threat. But, I'll take a chance as it is just a beautiful thing to do.
(3) Asa now works a full day which means we can spend the entire day at the embassy. I plan to bring a case of bottled water in today. Given all this, I've just got to find that rumored clean bathroom!!! Will let you know how that goes.
(4) Extremists used the holy time of Ramazan as justification for further violence... whew! Of course, national elections are coming up in a little over a week, so violence will be back up and I'll be hunkering down in our safe zones for a few days.

Other big news: I went to the gym after work yesterday!!! Walked over to the US Embassy's gym and got in 30 minutes on the eliptical (sp?) machine. Of late, my cyatica has really been flaming up despite twice daily icings. I'm hoping this will help. Gotta send Doc Rosenbaum a note asking for a muscle relaxer.... I can't afford to be layed up with this. And, let's be real... I definitely need to work out and lose some of this chow hall weight. Oh ya, soon I'll let you know about the food here.

This blog hug goes out to my dear friend CT... I wish you a full recovery so we can drink lots of beer on your beautiful back porch when I finally return home.

September 11 Reminiscing

September 11, 2001 I was in the Pentagon and we were all dealing with everything that day brought. Since then, so very much has happened to both me, you, and our great nation. However in thinking about the subject of today's blog, I came to the realization that it's all about our future generations and for me specifically it's about the kids pictured in the above picture.... my dearest Ann's grandchildren.

So, its now September 11, 2009 and I find myself a civilian working to help ;in a huge international effort to stabilize the police capacity in Afghanistan... yet another monumental challenge. Actually, some would call it an insurmountable endeavor. After a little over two months here, I've learned a lot about myself (so much more to learn) and some about the Afghan culture and many of its people. While we (Americans in general) definitely have tremenendous advantages over the Afghans in so many ways, I find their spirit and desire to develop their country inspiring. Whether or not that's achievable is questionable, but their aspirations are noteworthy. Indeed, President Obama addressed our efforts over here in his press conference yesterday, but I found his position beyond optimistic, but holding out that he knows more than I do. Well, I hope he knows more than I do... oh please, let him know more than I do.

The Koran burning issue. Here's what I think: that "pastor" in Florida has the right to burn the Koran, protecting that right is why I served so many years in our military. But just because he has the "right" doesn't make his actions right. Why inflame any more hatred than already exists... is this "what Jesus would do"? I don't think so; actually, I know he wouldn't. I'm so very thankful for the national/international condemnation which appears to have stopped what I consider a heinous act. In addition to inflaming hatred during times when many of our American citizens (not just military either) are risking their lives to build bridges between our cultures, he's endangering both our efforts and our lives even further. Bottom line: I defend the "pastor's" right to burn, but abhor his behavior in using his rights. Guess I have an opinion, huh?

We will be hunkered down pretty tight for the next few days in anticipation of violence... no travel to the ministry today. If the Koran burnings do take place, we'll be hunkered down tight for quite a while. Needless to say, this does not help me in my development efforts nor my quality of life which is already limited.

This blog hug goes out from your Granty to all Grammie's kids: Nick, Kaelyn, Elena, Maddie, Seb, and Eli... XXXOOO

Friday Night on Thursday

Well, tonight is my big social night because tomorrow is our day off. It's all pretty exciting over here, but not to the point the Afghan police will be called in to respond. Here's the routine: (1) I get back to the compound from work around 5:30, change into civvies and head over to the Connecticut House where they have washing machines and there I put in at least one load. While we have a gentleman assigned to the house to do laundry, I really prefer to do my own... they fold the clothes on the dirty floor. (2) There is a group of us (I'm the only girl) who then walk over to the International Security Assistance Force Compound (Gen. Petreaus's base) through the US Embassy (they're usually sitting around drinking wine/cocktails because they can... we envy) for dinner. Lately, we've been going to one of ISAF's many restaurants... they're basic but a nice change from the regular cafeteria food. Tonight we're going to try a pizza night, ordering from a local joint that delivers believe it or not. I'll let you know how that goes. (3) We then return back to our compound for movie night (I put clothes in the dryer) in the Connecticut House lounge (I live in the Grant, but the guys in the Conn have adopted me)... it's normally a "kill lots of people" kind of movie. I've been pushing for a "chick flick" but have failed miserably in that endeavor. (4) I then collect up my laundry and head back to the Grant House, in bed before 10 PM. In a later blog I will share my traditional day off. But be prepared, it's not as exciting.

A couple of things I told you I'd share. Massoud was the Northern Alliance commander who helped defeat the Soviets who invaded back int he 70's/80's. An amazing guy actually, but like most capable Afghans he was assasinated in the end at the age of 48. After reading his story of amazing heroism and belief in his people, I found many similarities to our own George Washington, but far from synonymous.

As for the haircuts. I paid $10 each for our haircuts and then $5 for the torture session they refer to as an eyebrow shape. Oh man, I hope the Taliban never get their hands on that string because the international military units would be outta here soonest. Let me rethink that one.

Hugs for all today because my heart is just full of love for all of you.

Afghan Haircut

I hadn't had my hair cut since I left home and was finally desperate enought to have Asa find a beauty salon within the Kabul safety zone. one we could easily and carefully walk to. Anyway, we got there and much to my surprise (and great pleasure) the salon was meticulously clean and the ladies there quite friendly. In the picture is the lady who cut my hair, Rasima (or something like that), who shared that many American and European women frequented her shop so that made me feel better too, even if it weren't true. They are used going off of hair styles they find in magazines, which there were many in the salon. Needless to say, there wasn't a single style that my hair could carry, so Asa had to describe to the woman what I wanted. She cut it shorter than I wanted but layer it well so I'm not at all displeased. Asa took this picture, it's obvious I need to teach her how to tell people to suck in their guts before taking the picture... they tend just ot click without warning. While there, I also treated Asa to a haircut which she needed desperately. Then we both had our eyebrows done. Oh man!!!!!!!!!! Instead of wax, she used a piece of string that looked like dental floss... I squealed. I didn't know I could squeal.

Today is an Afghan Holiday, Massoud. Massoud was a national war hero many years ago and there are a whole lot of things named after him to include the primary traffic circle in Kabul... Massoud Circle. I'll find out more about this holiday and share with you later. Then, EID starts on Friday. EID marks the end of Ramazan and is a three day celebration, again something I'll find out more for you later. Given Wed and Friday are holidays, all Afghans are also off on Thursday. So, it will be time for us Gentiles to catch up on paperwork. Our drivers and interpreters are not available (the houseboys who clean and do laundry either) and that's okay because no government officials will be working at the ministry.

Thank you Judy Chaput for naming my bathroom lizard... I now call her Liz. Ants are all still gone, but I haven't seen Liz lately.

This blog hug goes to Joanne Marziano who is always rescuing me from bad haircuts.

Happy Labor Day Weekend

Hello All,

I found these gents sitting outside their shop selling their wares... lamb. I had a male interpreter take the pictures so we could see this up close. Thought you'd find it interesting. I was thinking with all the Labor Day BBQs happening throughout America it seemed timely... Afghans love to BBQ too. But, no Labor Day Celebrations here.

Like Asa, the interpreter who took these pictures is quite fluent in English and studying at the local university at night, Politics I believe. He's a most pleasant young man with a large extended family... I give him some of the goodies I receive from home so he can give them to his nieces. Well, he tells me he gives them to his nieces.

Good news, scary news to share. I noted yesterday the ants were no longer milingering around in my bathroom... no idea why but happy to see them gone. This morning I saw the lizard.

Well, start of another week. And, today is church day which I hope to make... they hold services at 4 which can be tough to make.

Today's blog hug goes out to my beautiful niece, STEPHANIE who's got to be awful close to bringing our newest family member, Gabe into the world soon.

Happy Labor Day to All!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our First Forum

I was asked by the Afghan leadership to lead a forum of women to obtain the women's concerns about their work environment. Interestingly, the men could not talk with the women because they knew it would serve no purpose as the women wouldn't speak up. What a wonderful opportunity to meet and ultimately converse with these women and many more than shown in the picture. Understandably, many did not want to be in a picture because of fear of reprisal from the Taliban.... they take no risk and I can't blame them. Unfortunately, I cannot share too much detail to ensure their safety.

I can say a few things though. Initially, they were very reserved and unwilling to speak with me. Not a comfortable situation for any of us. So, I started by telling them about my past in America just 25 years ago as one of the first woman in my police field. Like them, I faced many challenges that came with that position. I shared that I had to work harder and smarter, prove myself continually, and accept some ridicule. But, over time the men just got used to me and ultimately accepted me as a peer. I also shared the challenges I had with my husband who was was very happy when I had to get up and go to work in the wee hours in response to an incident. But like my peers, he got used to it. They were amazed America had some of the same challenges in its past that Afghanistan is experiencing today. The flood gates opened at that point and I was taken aback with the passion of these women. The next day I out briefed the male leadership and that proved a more fascinating conversation. But, must save that discussion for a different blog.

I hope all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!!!! I understand it's been quite hot back home in NH of late so the weekend should prove a nice reprieve. For Labor Day, I'll work a normal day. It's a war zone after all, no holidays here.

Love to All and Happy Labor Day... I'd love to get pictures of your various festivities. I still have some room on my walls available.