"They have the watches, we have the time." It's an Afghan proverb that sums up a few hundred years of foreign involvement in Afghanistan, including ours. Its comes to mind as the "drawdown" of US forces starts to take shape. The big question will be what the remaining US presence will look like. This article on US posture in AFG post 2014 is quick look at one of the possibilities. While my tour starting up next year will be interesting, my tour in 2015 will be VERY interesting. I can see the US maintaining to some degree its larger bases in country while we continue to support Afghan security forces.
In 2010 I was part of the drawdown in Iraq, but my focus was mostly on equipment (ie getting Big Army from Iraq to Kuwait without losing a few billion dollars of tax-payer gear). This tour the focus will be on building relationships with Afghans. And there are still a lot of unknowns about the specifics for my job (location, team, environment, etc) but the basic concept of partnership will be keystone to the tour. It's gonna be an adventure.
In 2010 I was part of the drawdown in Iraq, but my focus was mostly on equipment (ie getting Big Army from Iraq to Kuwait without losing a few billion dollars of tax-payer gear). This tour the focus will be on building relationships with Afghans. And there are still a lot of unknowns about the specifics for my job (location, team, environment, etc) but the basic concept of partnership will be keystone to the tour. It's gonna be an adventure.
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