August 8th, 2008

Justin here, writing to you for Baghram airforce base in Afghanistan. It's about 4:55 in the morning here and all is well. To say that it's been an amazing trip thus far, is to severely undervalue the experience. I've traveled to many places all over the world, but never to the Middle East. It's a truly beautiful place, even though it's a war zone. There are so many amazing experiences that I can't really fit them here. So I'll make you a deal. If you give me a day or two. I'll post the pictures I have, and even give you a little taste of the stories and experiences that we all are having here. I'm going to ask the other Idols with me to sit down and share their experience with me on tape, then I'll put it up on blogtalk, or my site. Cool?

My head is a little foggy this morning, so I don't think I could write too clearly any way. Besides, I like to talk my time with my writing. Would you believe it took 4 hours to write some of my Fancast blogs about Idol? Especially in the beginning when I was trying to describe (as richly and vividly as possible) my experience as an Idol.

I will tell you this though. I am up at this hour for a very good, albeit sad, reason. At around 2:50 this morning, there was a service known as a "Fallen Comrade Ceremony". An American soldier wsa killed in action and his body was due to be transported from the base back to the States.

Instead of just letting him go in the middle of the night, the soldiers here line the street the body is driven down. With practiced precision they stand rigidly at attention and salute as the casket, resting on the back of a modified HumV and draped in an American Flag goes by. It was a beautiful sight. The street was lined, on both sides with soldiers from the Army, Air Force, Marines, and even soldiers from other countries that are here supporting the fight. With guns slung across chests (almost everyone here lugs around automatic rifles at all times) and in perfect silence they wished their comrade in arms farewell. I'm not a soldier, so like the other civilians at the ceremony I stood along side the soldiers and placed my hand over my heart as the coffin drove by.

I was reminded of my own mortality, as well as where I was, and what our men and women (most of them younger than me) are going through and risking every day to preserve our way of life.

This trip has completely and irrevocably altered my perception of the armed forces...for the good.

More to come.

Justin

August 11th, 2008

Here are 2 of the many photos that I've taken in Afghanistan. The first is of two ANA (Afghan National Army) soldiers outside of a base south of Bagram called "Morales-Fraiser".



They are stationed there with the French and American troops, learning from the Marines. They were very nice, and all they wanted to do was take photos with the girls that came along with us.

The HumV behind them is mounted with a "240-Bravo" machine gun on the turret. The Marines were nice enough to take us outside the base and let us fire the 240 at the mountain range, as well as a 50-cal gun mounted on another HumV that they let me drive out to the range. I killed a lot of innocent rocks with both...but all is fair in love and war. The interesting thing about the 50-cal gun is that standing about 20-25 yards away you can actually feel the imapact of the recoil in your chest. The velocity of the bullets is such that the soldiers can't really use it during local urban combat. The houses are made of mud, and the bullets would rip through at least a city block before stopping...probably taking a lot of innocent civilians with it.

The other photo is of one of our guards looking at the Afghani countryside out of a Blackhawk helicopter. The Blackhawk is our only method of transport from our base (Bagram) to the outlying FOB's (Forward Operating Bases). I swear the military has invented abbreviations for everything, for example: DFAC (Dining Facility), B-HUT(Barracks), not to mention the multitude of rank symbols. I'm proud to say that I can pick out most any rank (at least the basic rank, the various levels inside the ranks are still spotty for me)...anyway. The Blackhawk rides were amazing, especially when we rode with the doors open. The photo hardly captures the fact that Afghanistan is a beautiful mess of a country, but I took it with that thought in mind. The mountain ranges, the emerald lakes, and the vast stretches of desert dotted with lush valleys (most of which have large fields filled with Poppies & Marijuana) are a stark contrast to the abject poverty, lawlessness, and human rights abuses that prevail in the country.