Kandahar

My first stop on my trip after Frankfurt and Dubai was Kandahar Airfield. In July, Kandahar is a ridiculously hot place, temperatures reaching 120 degrees pretty regularly. We were lucky I guess, it didn't get much over 110 the week we were there. The base here is huge, thousands and thousands of ISAF forces and civilians. 

These are the flagpoles in the middle of the main USACE compound. Note that they are at half mast. Apparently all fallen soldiers come thru KAF on their way back to the US. These flags are pretty much ALWAYS at half mast, how sad is that.

On the other side of the airfield during one of my runs

 This was my luxurious room, at least there was no roommate this time.

This is a large water treatment pond I ran by almost every day. There were wooden boats and things floating in it that people had put out there.

 

 There are three main attractions at KAF; the boardwalk, the Role 3 Hospital and the poo pond. The boardwalk is a large square boardwalk surrounded by stores and American restaurants like KFC and TGI Fridays. In the middle are sport fields and even a roller hockey arena. Pictures aren't really allowed at KAF, particularly with all the soldiers in and around the boardwalk. I did manage to snap this picture of the soccer field, it was the greenest thing I have ever seen in Afghanistan. Role 3 is depicted in the TV show Combat Hospital, but they took some liberties, making it tents like MASH. It is really an old building and now a new building, and it is hard to get near to take pictures so I don't have any.

 This is the famous poo pond. Why you would put a ridiculously over capacity sewage treatment pond smack dab in the the middle of a huge airfield is beyond me.  From this side it isn't too bad but...

 From this side the smell is almost overwhelming, it hits you like a brick.

 People have put up all sorts of funny signs around it, these are some examples.

Seeing this on the phone is a bit discouraging I have to admit. Only happened once thank god. I wasn't really unhappy to leave KAF when the time came I must admit.