# Off to Afghanistan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 30, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477 "2006-10-30T20:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![False\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@False\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/False_God)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/1 "2006-10-30T20:20:15Z")
Well, after several months of thinking I was going to Baghdad, I got a pleasant surprise last week when I recieved my assignment notification to go to Afghanistan instead! I think the job will be more interesting and it’s a more pleasant work environment, as well as a good deal safer. While it’ll mean spending 12 months away from my wife, we’ll get to see each other at least 4 times during that year. so it won’t be too bad. And I have a feeling that the job (political reporting officer in the Embassy, charged with parliamentary issues) will take up a lot of my time that would otherwise be taken up with missing my spouse. So off to the land of kebabs, the Great Game and the Taliban August 2007! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/2 "2006-10-30T20:39:29Z")
How very exciting for you! Where will your wife be living while you are over there? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/3 "2006-10-30T20:47:03Z")
[QUOTE=False\_God] I think the job will be more interesting and it’s a more pleasant work environment, as well as a good deal safer. [/QUOTE] That’s not something you hear said about Afghanistan too often. Good luck over there, **God**. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/4 "2006-10-30T20:49:13Z")
Dare I mention the ancient national sport of Buzkashi? Seeing this boards obsession with dead goats, you’ll have to send pics. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/5 "2006-10-30T20:58:37Z")
Have fun, good luck, and keep your head down just in case. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/6 "2006-10-30T21:04:29Z")
It really is a beautiful country. I’m a tad envious. Still, be careful and, of course, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/7 "2006-10-30T21:30:25Z")
I wish you well, but please be aware how bad the the situation is in Afghanistan: ‘The battle erupted on Saturday afternoon in the remote Chora valley when up to 150 Taliban fighters attacked a joint Afghan-Nato patrol. Mostly Dutch and Australian soldiers are deployed to Uruzgan, a lawless province where the Taliban’s leader, Mullah Omar, has close family ties.’ > **[Nato claims 70 Taliban killed in firefight](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/oct/30/military.afghanistan)** > > Hopes for a winter lull in fighting in southern Afghanistan were halted by a weekend firefight in Uruzgan province in which Nato said it killed 70 suspected militants. ‘For the best part of two months, they experienced the kind of vicious combat British troops haven’t seen since Korea. Roughly every seventh man in the original 65-strong company was killed or wounded. One platoon, the 1st, lost almost a third of its fighting strength: not quite D-Day levels, where airborne units were halved by combat, but getting close.’ > **[James Meek joins British troops in Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/oct/14/military.afghanistan)** > > It's five years since the war in Afghanistan began yet, in the badlands of the south, the Taliban still hold sway. James Meek joins the British paratroopers who've been where the fighting is fiercest - and the casualty lists longest - to find out... ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/8 "2006-10-30T21:54:44Z")
Keep yourself safe and wave at the Canadians for me. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/9 "2006-10-30T22:10:20Z")
Wow. Things must really be crook in Iraq if Afghanistan is a preferred destination. Stay safe. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/10 "2006-10-30T23:03:31Z")
Good luck. Come back safe. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/11 "2006-10-30T23:38:27Z")
Safe trip bub! I thoroughly enjoyed my seven months up in Bagram. Good times indeed! Tripler Let me know if you need anything (care package wise)–e-mail’s in my profile. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/12 "2006-10-31T05:28:50Z")
I know it’s not that close to Afghanistan, but a buddy of mine just got back from being a prison gaurd in Iraq. He actually plans to go back and visit on his own time. If you get time, he specifically mentioned going and visting Qatar. He said he would have done it while he was there, but didn’t have the money to spend. Apperently Qatar is to the mid east like Vegas is to the states. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/13 "2006-10-31T11:19:33Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] I know it’s not that close to Afghanistan, but a buddy of mine just got back from being a prison gaurd in Iraq. He actually plans to go back and visit on his own time. If you get time, he specifically mentioned going and visting Qatar. He said he would have done it while he was there, but didn’t have the money to spend. Apperently Qatar is to the mid east like Vegas is to the states. [/QUOTE] From what I understand, _Bahrain_ is the Vegas of the Middle East. I’ve done enough time in Qatar to want to go to Bahrain. It’s just a short jaunt up to the Northwest, but _waaaaaay_ better’n Doha, Qatar. Tripler I didn’t care for Doha. ---
**Author:** ![False\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@False\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/False_God)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2006, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-to-afghanistan/378477/14 "2006-10-31T12:13:43Z")
I’ve been through Bahrain before, and it’s glitzy with Western-style hotels and casinos. However, I get 2 regional rest breaks to Dubai, which is even better; and 2 R&R trips to London. Something tells me I’ll be needing them. Thanks for all your good wishes and statements of support. I think it’ll be interesting and for me it’s the right thing to do right now.