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1. Main road – that’s not haze, it’s dust. The dust is
about 2 inches thick on the road, the consistency of
talcum powder, doesn’t brush off, just sticks to you
– gets up your nose, in your eyes and mouth. You
cannot get away from it.

2. Interior of the tower – Main AF building, prime office spaces…

3. Basement of the Tower – under renovation to become Rec Center

4. Another room in the basement

5. AF Village – note that these are actually GREEN tents

6. Another view of AF Village – dust in the
foreground is about 4 inches thick. Note that the
first two and the fourth tent are actually green…

7. One sink and three showers for ALL the
women in the AF village. Men’s side is a bit
larger, but not much.

8. These folks are doing
laundry – in basins with
no running water
They do have dryers,
but this is it for the
entire AF population…

9. AF Fitness center – looks
pretty good, but you can’t
see the dust, or the fact
that about 1/3 of the
cardio equipment is inop

10. AF volleyball court – built “self-help”

11. AF Rec Center

12. AF Morale Call tent

13. PX – line was short since we went at a
mealtime, usually wait 25 minutes just to
get in, 25 minutes to check out. Very
limited selection.
Supposed to be
cases of juice,
Gatorade, etc.
Supposed to be
CDs, DVDs,
books, etc.

14. One of the “chow” lines.

15. The main “chow” line. People start lining up at about
0615 for an 0700 – 0800 breakfast. Supper is longer
– two whole hours! The line is even longer.
You get what’s served, you don’t pick and choose
what you want. They put it on a plate and you grab it
from the assembly line. The hot food is all UGRs, no
A rats.
You wait through the line even if you just want to grab
cereal, milk and fruit. Bottled water is only provided
at breakfast and supper, and you are only allowed
one bottle per meal. Lunch is MREs.

16. One of two “mess” tents. No A/C or heat.
Tables are raw plywood, can’t be properly
cleaned
If someone large sits at one end the whole
table tips…

17. Exterior of the Army Rec Center – there’s only
one for the entire camp population…

18. Interior of the Army Rec Center – fridges
contain only bottled water, which you must
consume on the premises
Morale calls – you make your call with your
neighbor right at your elbow, not even the
semblance of privacy

19. The middle portion of the Army Rec Center
Two ping-pong tables. One shelf of books.
A few more morale phones, still no privacy.

20. The Army theater. Note the fine seating
arrangements. Space for about 25 to sit…
Remember, this is IT for the entire camp
population…

21. Army Laundry drop off
and sorting. You drop off
on a specified day, you
get back four days later.
Unfortunately, they recycle
their water too many times,
and they do not ensure your
clothes are completely dry.
Therefore, when your
wadded up, bagged clothes
are placed back in the bin
they sit there and obtain a
really distinctive reek…

22. Red Cross office. The
Chief and Shirt specifically
wanted me to see that the
Red Cross is doing more
for the troops than the
Army is.
The Red Cross Rep made
it very clear that she
depends heavily on the AF
contingent for her support –
a place to sleep with A/C,
furniture, manpower…

23. Just another view of the dust, and a reminder
that it’s about a 15-20 minute walk from the
AF village to the chow hall…