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I apologise for that lack of personal content in the latest article but hope that the article gives an insight into some of the difference between the people and culture of Afghanistan in comparison to our own. The longer I spend here the more evident it becomes that the differences in our respective ideologies are chasms apart and that what we, in the west, perceive as abnormal or dysfunctional is viewed totally differently though the eyes of an Afghan local. 

  Major Benjamin Ingham of the Royal Artillery.

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The spare time to sit and write is being rapidly eroded as the workload continues to mount. It is hard to define if we are making a significant improvement in the overall security of the country and my perspective, from within the headquarters, will differ greatly from the perspective of the typical infantry soldier out on patrol and moreover to the message being delivered by a western politician. Nevertheless, a rough timescale in which the Afghan Government will transition to control of its own Provinces has been set for 2015. By this stage it is hoped that we will have created an Afghan National Army and National Police Force, which will counter the insurgent threat that proliferates across the country. Additionally, the aspiration is to provide the Afghan Government with the skill set to correctly govern what appears to be an ungovernable, fragmented society.

The multifaceted nature of the Afghan society is a direct reflection of its ancient roots. Its central location and porous borders has led to transit migrants and invading forces add to what is a melting pot of religion, culture and ideology. This broad and diverse multi-ethnic mix makes it impossible to specifically characterise the nature of the typical Afghan individual. What can be defined is that an overwhelming majority of Afghans are Muslims tied through the Islamic religion. Characteristically, the family is the mainstay of Afghan society and extremely close bonds exist within the family unit. Honour, pride and respect toward other members are highly prized qualities. The mainly rural country, geographically roughly the same size of France, is littered with villages, or qalats. The extended typical family will live within a mud walled compound within several mud-brick buildings, which we term ‘adobe’ structures. Through our western eyes is it a primitive lifestyle and it is impossible to draw any tangible parallels with the way we exist in the UK, except, perhaps, for the proliferation of mobile phones. With the family and then village forming the main context within which most Afghanis gain their sense of belonging this leaves little room for the state to exercise real governance. This issue is further compounded by the lack of infrastructure such as roads, rail, telephone lines, electricity or even running water. Unfortunately all I have seen of the real Afghanistan, during this tour, is whilst flying at 3000ft in a helicopter of through the bulletproof windscreen of an armoured vehicle.

One aspect of my job involves travelling to the various regions across the country providing training to the subordinate command headquarters. On a recent training tour my small training team and myself arrived in the dead of night and located a spare accommodation tent. With no lighting I managed to walk into the only solid object in the tent and cut my eyeball to the great amusement of my team. I naturally refused to wear an eye patch and played down the pain for the following two days of presenting and instruction. To my great embarrassment I am still receiving the obligatory joking emails from the American Marines Headquarters staff, whom I trained, about the incident.