Hello from LT Miller Oct 7

Hello from Herat Afghanistan. The 120 days of wind are officially over so only one big dust storm in the past two weeks. Temps are moderating in the 90's with cool 60's nighttime. Still dealing with the flies. They are kind of like the Taliban you just cannot kill them all. They just keep coming.

We are continuing work with the wells and tunnels.They are progressing rather nicely. Five out of 65 are cleared out and we are hoping by early next year they will be all cleared and water will flow into the valley. Since it is an interconnected system all of the tunnels have to be completed before any water can be tapped into. Hard work for the villagers, it is all manual labor. We are providing them with tools, supplies and guidance. It is a good project to bring the village together since it will take everyone's effort to make it work. Afghans are a different people however. Now they want the U.S. to pay them a daily rate for the work they are performing. I have explained to them that this project is for their benefit and that we will not pay them to work on a project that is for their village. This is very typical of the Afghan culture. No matter what you give them they will always ask for more. Villages also get very jealous of other villages so we have to make sure we provide support for all of them. We will be going into more villages soon. The idea is to provide all of the villages in our area with a clean source of water and a school with supplies. The long term plan is that this will help to make them self sufficient and educated. Which in turn will make them less dependent on others like the Taliban and drug lords for support.

I have also been working on the Afghan base with training of the Afghan Army. It is still like potty training, until they want to learn I am not sure we will have much success. I have a real good Afghan officer that I am working with and hopefully he can transfer some of his efforts to his men. Most Afghan soldiers do it for the money not for the good of their country so it will take some time and a lot more tough love. There are lots of times I just have to say sorry I cannot help you just suck it up and figure it out.

I also spent a day driving General Durban around the city of Herat. He is the second in command in Afghanistan. Tough character. We had some interesting conversations. He likes to smoke and swear. By the way I do not know were the saying swears like a sailor comes from because the Army has the Navy beat hands down in that category. It was actually the first time for me into the city itself. We usually work around the out skirts and to the south. Actually looks like it could be a very nice city. There are beautiful large trees all over the place and a really nice park in the center of the city. Too bad people have to worry about when the next explosion will be. I did not get a lot of good pictures since I was driving. I thought about asking the general to take some snap shots but decided against it.

We had a bingo night and I won a pool stick and carrying case. Not that I play pool but it was fun winning. I will have to use it for trade for something else. We also have a daily bingo game with one number a day drawn and I won a folding chair, now that I can use. I thought I would be in my 70's before I looked forward to bingo night but our entertainment options are limited. My grandma would be proud. Remember the election is coming up so pay attention and vote. Support our troops by holding our elected officials accountable.

Take care and keep in touch.
LT John Miller US NARMY