Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Base tour with NATO





NATO docs who work near the Herat airport came to visit the ANA hospital we mentor. We had visitors from Italy, France, Germany and the Czech Republic. With the hospital commander, we toured the hospital inside and out, including the (empty) morgue.

On the spur of the moment, we decided to walk around the rest of the base. We swung by the dining facility which feed over 1000 soldiers three times daily. Shown is the butcher area where they chop up meat for stewing. Also shown is one of several vast tubs of rice. We also saw tubs of stew and beans. These are all cooked over wood fires. Also shown is the fire fighting equipment composed of shovels, buckets, barrels of sandy dirt and various tools. A smoke alarm is not used since they cook inside over the wood fires.

We also visited the new mosque and were invited in for tea by one of the mullahs. The Afghans pride themselves on hospitality. The NATO docs (and a visiting US Navy pharmacist from Kabul) were quite impressed by the facilities and the progress we are making.

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