Getting There: Getting Close!

Zach called from Bagram Airfield, which is "a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan" (per Wiki).

He was astonished at both the freedoms the troops there have, as well as the options. "You can buy microwaves and plasma tvs... there's American fast food...!" He was also surprised by the dress code. The Marine Corps regulations are apparently much more stringent than Army ones in-country. As much as Zach chafes sometimes under the restrictions of dress, I guess he supports the underlying concept. I could tell he was not impressed by the more relaxed code at this base. But there must be a good reason, to learn over time.

Here's some about the country in which they spent the last few days: Kyrgyzstan.

Bordered by Afghanistan and China, there's so much to learn about the culture and the country: bride kidnapping, as a graceful way to escape arranged marriages. Tortuous travel year-round, impossible in winter. And much unlike our country, only 6% of the people are over age 65: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstan

...and you have got to LOVE the headdress that's part of their traditional garb. It's a for-real Princess Hat that I dreamed of as a child from pictures of medieval tapestrys and art. I most definitely need one of these:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.state.gov/cms_images/kyrgyzstan_girl_2006_05_18.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5755.htm&h=381&w=300&sz=17&tbnid=PnyylAACxZ5IdM:&tbnh=123&tbnw=97&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkyrgyzstan&hl=en&usg=__3O3vPObUkmNuhKgZLzmNL-sQ7v0=&ei=-R1nSsSRAs67lAfR17XdDA&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=7&ct=image

That was most of last week. Today is Bagram at www.bagram.afcent.af.mil/, where you can get a flavor of what's to come.

Thanks for visiting.