What I Won't Miss About Afghanistan

So as I can now do some reflection on the last 7 months, I can say there are definitely things I won't miss about being in Afghanistan (in no particular order):

1) Gravel: The military puts this on almost every square inch of our positions and it makes walking difficult. I am so glad to walk on solid ground that doesn't move with each step I make. I never realized how much I appreciated walking on grass or concrete. This also makes running difficult and I had to reduce the frequency of my running outside due to the gravel and how it was tearing up my feet. It felt so good to run on the road the other day.

2) Military Plane Travel: It just sucks. Waiting at least 6 hours in a terminal for a crowded flight either on a C-17 or a run down charter plane. The wait is painful and for my flights in and out of the US on old charter planes where we had less room than a commercial airline made the wait even more depressing. Some guys get to fly back on commercial name brand carriers, but I didn't have that luxury this time. I think it will be a long time before I complain about commercial air travel as I now know just how bad a flight can get.

3) Dust: Not sand but dust as fine as baby powder. It is called "moon dust" by the military because of its consistency. A slight wind and it gets everywhere and then all travel shuts down. You just can't get and stay clean out there. I have a new idea of what dirty really is and missing a shower for a while doesn't bother me anymore.

4) The Military Industrial Complex: While I didn't reside on one of the large bases, it was completely disgusting to see what all our tax money pays for in country. Millions upon millions of dollars for gravel that isn't really necessary. Coffee shops at the large bases. In a combat zone. Thousands of civilians from odd countries to maintain all the larger positions and do things such as cleaning that the Marines and sailors can do on their own just like at the smaller positions. Chow halls that aren't necessary. We blow so much money on things that aren't necessary in combat. In a recession this is just unacceptable, especially when we could use that money for projects in the country. It takes so much pain and frustration to approve a road project, unless you want to pave some road at a large base. And I never went to the really large places such as Bagram, Leatherneck or Kabul. I can't imagine how my head would have spun there.

Just a few things I won't miss about Afghanistan. I'll post on what I miss and I guess that list might be a bit larger as it was a great experience overall.