Graduating Class

Good evening everyone. I have just returned "home" from spending the week down south in and around Kandahar. Kabul and Kandahar at times seem like two different countries as they are so far apart and different in so many ways. It took me all day to get back to Kabul from KAF because of the various delays and the general challenges in moving around Afghanistan.

The guys down south had prepared a very busy schedule for me and we ended up getting quite alot accomplished. One of my stops was at the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (KPRT) at Camp Nathan Smith (CNS). I wanted to see first hand the various courses our civilian police officers are teaching. I also had the opportunity to present graduation certificates to a group which had just finished the advanced police training. The one thing you may notice in the photo's is most of the Afghans are quite small in stature. The main reason for this is malnutrition when they were growing up. Most of the people we deal with are extremely poor and grew up eating bread and water...literally. To combat this, the majority of an Afghan Policeman's salary, is paid out in food. Two reasons why we do this, first is to try and reduce the corruption of the senior ranks. When we were paying the police cash, the senior officers would simply keep it and not pay their staff. It was not unusual for an audit to reveal the working level police officers had not been paid in months. The second reason is simply to try and make sure the police officers are eating properly. Because of the extreme poverty, the police officers were not buying food with their pay, but having to pay off senior officers and relatives, debt, etc. and then they were unfit for duty.

The two Afghan gentlemen in the photos with me are the senior officers of the Narcotics Bureau. The guy with the blue shirt is the Colonel and the other fellow is the Captain. It was quite an experience to pass out the certificates, as the candidate would march up to me, shout various statements of allegiance to Afghanistan, give me a salute and then I would present him the certificate. He would then turn around to face the class, hold the certificate high above his head and shout to the class that he will give his life for Afghanistan and his superior officers.

Canada built these classrooms and accommodations for the ANP officers at the PRT where they take these courses. The one picture shows what the inside of one of the barracks looks like. By Afghan standards, these rooms are very luxurious.

I did have to throw in a picture special for Lloyd. I saw one of our guys driving around in a "gator" with a hard hat on. He was delivering lunches for all the courses as well as some material for the CF who were building some sentry towers...I had to jump on and go for a drive through camp. I offered to help the CF frame for awhile, but they politely refused...thank god. Although it was 43 degrees that day, I could smell the lumber and hear the sound of the hammers...it made me want to call Lloyd and start building a new school right there and then!