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Major Benjamin Ingham writes:

I have been deployed for just over five months now and have been keen to try to explain what a typical day might entail. A single day feels like a week back in the UK, however very soon the hours blur into days and days into weeks. Regardless, I dare not count for fear of ‘wishing my life away’. Instead, I set small goals each week such as 30,000 meters on the rowing machine or 15 laps of camp. To put time into perspective, two weeks of R&R goes by quicker than a single 24 hour block of time in Afghanistan.

Living. 

I share a tiny room with three other guys from my headquarters in a utilitarian ‘hardened accommodation’, so called because they are designed to protect against rocket and mortar attack. Bunk beds are used to save space and we share two wardrobes and a desk between us.

Our beds are shrouded using old sheets; if you are night shift, it keeps the light out when trying to sleep during the day and although small, it is the only truly private place available. With space at a premium, kit is stored in any available nook and cranny: under beds, on beds, behind the door, stuck on the wall, taped to the site of wardrobes… you name it, there is a piece of kit sitting, lying, stuck or draped on under or over it.

I avoid the morning shower rush and in order to save time, shower and shave in the evening. Water is also at a premium so we ‘ship shower’: water on – water off – soap on – water on – soap off – water off. All water is pumped from the natural Kabul sub-surface water supply and is therefore not drinkable and incredibly salty. It strips the skin of any moisture in just one short wash.

Feeding. 

There are two DFACs (Dining Facilities) on camp run by a large civilian contractor. The cheapest contract wins and thus we lose out on food quality. For breakfast: sausage ‘things’, semi-cooked bacon and a choice of cereal is accompanied by 1 x serving of fruit, all served from an industrial sized food counter.
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Major Benjamin Ingham has sent us this latest post having recently returned to Afghanistan following 2 weeks rest and recuperation. Ben says it was great to return to Parwich and was delighted to receive positive comments on his posts to us.

Summer is finally upon us and over the space of a few weeks the heat has risen considerably.  Summer also marks the arrival of ‘fighting season’ when the insurgent fighters return to Afghanistan from their winter bed-down locations, usually within the security of the mountains and valleys hills of the Pakistan border region.  Eager to demonstrate their intent to continue the insurgency campaign the rise in attacks increases considerably and, therefore, no coalition camp is exempt from increased security measures.  The only time you are not within arms distance of your issue rifle is when you are in the gym or running within the relative security of the camp perimeter.  Unfortunately, a rifle does little to deter the insurgents from mounting IDF (indirect fire) attacks against us.  Additionally, in a separate attack the tragic death of 7 US members of camp came as a great loss.

Although it took a while to track him down, I finally managed to meet up with another Parwich villager, Nettle (Jonathon or Larry) Foden, for a brew and a chat.  Tucked away in a small compound in the bowels of one of the largest, dustiest military camps in Afghanistan, over 2500 thousand miles from Parwich, we swapped tales of village life and our respective military experiences to date.  We had originally made contact through Parwich.org but had we walked past one another in uniform I am sure we would never had recognized one another.  Although he has spent a majority of life within the military, on numerous operational deployments, Nettle is still passionate about Parwich and village life in general.  Despite us both being ‘outsiders’ we agreed that him having spent 40 years and me 30 years living in Parwich that we could almost categorise ourselves as Parwich ‘locals’. We marked the occasion with a photo for Parwich.org and a promise to meet again when the opportunity arose.

Over the last few weeks I have been making a concerted effort to try and put on some weight.  The change of location, monotony of the same meals, irregular working hours and heat and general stress had all taken their toll on my eating habits and I have been steadily losing weight for the last 3 months.  For the first time in many years I have been able to see my ribs and the arrival of a homemade fruitcake was gladly received which, between the members of the office, was quickly devoured – thanks Mum!

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