I spent Christmas of 2011 in Afghanistan, and all of 2012. It was an interesting, often frustrating opportunity to see the modern face of war. A far cry and contrast to Vietnam where my first experiences were gained. The culture, the country, and war all had some interesting aspects. Plus I was in the “imagery” business, providing both real time video and still photography from the relative safety of an unmanned air vehicle, where I was dubbed “mission commander.”
There was no lack of humor, nor lack of images that are foreign to most of us urban dwellers. Some more foreign to readers herein than to me, since I have tasted views of over twenty different countries. Nevertheless, they were new, interesting, but of course, most were classified and not available for your eyes. Sorry about that, but there are plenty I can share.
One of the things I did not expect was beauty in the featureless desert. But the “sand” off of the Red Desert made for some spectacular skies at sunset and sunrise. What we call sand is not what is found here. It is more like talcum powder, permeates everything, and is light weight enough that is will rise into the atmosphere like fog with a change of pressure. I think I took ten thousand sunset pix. I know, sunsets are so-o-o common, but they were the most interesting aspect of the desert.
