District Center

I spend a lot of time at District Centers (DC).  They are the Afghan equivalent to your town hall, mayor's office, and hub of city or county government life in the U.S.  This is where the ANP has their headquarters, where the District Governor and his line ministers work, and where the judicial sector (where it exists) operates.  The DCs are generally the safest places in the districts thanks to the presence of ANP (and sometimes still CF) followed probably by the bazaars.  Most of the DCs I have been to have no heat (the chai is a decent remedy), minimal office furniture (the furniture that does exist has obviously been provided within the last few years), and let's just say my husband may be shocked by the newfound strength of my bladder when I get home.  The districts I am working in are fairly fortunate to have office space that is more functional than some others I have seen around Afghanistan.  They also have most of their key govt officials actually in place and working for them.  Are some corrupt and taking bribes?  I'm sure.  The salary system for GIRoA is skewed in certain sectors and not everyone makes a living wage.  Most people will do what it takes to support their families and changing a system riddled by corruption does not happen overnight -- or in a decade apparently.  So far I have come away from the work I've been doing with a sense of optimism.  The Chief Judge in one of my districts in particular shows a real passion for holding public trials and an energy that is not always apparent in GIRoA officials.  AND b/c LT said my blog was good blackmail, I'll say that 3 Charlie is my favorite platoon to roll with.  Here's a shot of LT, myself, and Ric.  The photographer wasn't terrible -- I cropped our interpreters out.  Snow capped mountain is beautiful from afar -- but leads to a pretty dangerous valley.

 
  

Happy Husband = Happy Wife

Glad the chips and salsa of the month club is keeping you fed my love!  Miss you!

Land Disputes

Afghanistan’s total land area is 652,090 square kilometers.  While agricultural land accounts for 58% of the total land area, only 12% is useable farmland.   Of its population of 32 million, 78% live in rural areas and 20% are classified as nomadic.

Decades of conflict, population displacement, and changes in national political and economic beliefs and systems have resulted in a complex and dynamic land ownership and management landscape.  As a result, land rights are perceived to be highly insecure and disputes over land are widespread, frequently driving criminal activity.  

As I have been making the rounds meeting with the judicial sector the last month, it is obvious what a huge problem this is.  There are largely two types of cases in Afghanistan:  1) insurgent/national security cases, and 2) crime that in some way involves a dispute between two parties over land.

The Afghan Constitution (enacted in 2004) establishes a legal framework for property rights and protects the right of individuals to own property.  The Law on Managing Land Affairs (2008) lays out principles of land classification and documentation and governs the settlement of land rights.  Interestingly, this law recognizes Sharia and defers to principles of Sharia in some areas.  Issues not covered by the law are governed by the Civil Code, which largely reflects Sharia.  Bottom line is you have the statutory legal system intersecting with Sharia and traditional forms of dispute resolution when it comes to land disputes.  It’s a complex legal landscape and people choose the system they see will most benefit them (forum shopping anyone?).

Combat Penguin, at the Ready

Thanks to a great care package, P.J. is ready to go -- notetaking materials and combat coffee mug in flipper :)

The Air Up There

I do quite a bit of flying around the province.  Here are a few pics from today with some weather rolling in.

The Soldiers I Serve With

Ever since I joined the Air Force (and probably a good 5-10 years before), a great deal has been written about the high prevalence of sexual assault and rape in the military and at the military academies.  In fact I still recall the story of Jamie Jones and her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee about being raped in Iraq.  It is a very real problem.  I also think that it is a problem that Commanders and DoD leaders at every level take incredibly seriously and have been doing everything within their power to address.  I would even argue that some of the new steps being taken (Congressionally mandated and/or DoD self-imposed) are inadvisable overreach.   

I am still on the front end of my deployment, but when I go to bed tonight I will be the only female on the COP.  And I am completely comfortable with that.  I have been treated with nothing but respect and professionalism by the soldiers I am currently serving with, from the BSO and company commanders down to the young privates I am getting to know as we roll around in MATVs talking about hometowns and college football ("ND has a great recruiting class ma'am."..."Yes, but something happens when we actually make them go to class...we'll see").  I would characterize myself as more of a media defender than basher, but I would hope that the intense spotlight on this issue does not deter women from serving in the military.  We need more women in the military like we need more women in government, research labs, big business, and tenured professorships.  And to bring it back around -- like Afghanistan needs more women as participants in EVERY aspect of its society.

No More M&Ms!

The 27 Nov 11 AFPAK border incident has officially hit home.  FLUOR put up a sign in the DFAC informing everyone that the border closure will begin to affect supplies and food in the DFAC.  Now granted, the same signs were up when I arrived in country in Kandahar in December so I’m not sure how much of a decline we’ll really see.  Thus far I have only noticed a lack of coffee creamer, which when the coffee already tastes like sludge, is more necessary than ever.  I also heard there was a two week period during the current battalion’s deployment when they only had banana milk.  I don’t know that I’ve ever had banana milk and I’m not really eager to try.  So we’ll see.  I’ve read as I’m sure you all have that Pakistan has rejected a meeting with the U.S. Envoy, but that the U.S. has resumed drone strikes.  All I can say is, please keep my supply of M&Ms coming – they are vital to RoL!

Public Trials

Earlier this week, I attended my first public trial in Afghanistan.  Courts in the U.S. are no big deal.  They go on every day at the city, county, state, and federal level (oh and military).  We have court TV and only those pesky Supreme Court justices don’t want cameras in their courtroom (but they’re still public with spectators and the media).  In Afghanistan public trials are a big deal because they are a relatively recent phenomenon within the last couple years.  They are symbolic of GiROA as a functioning government working on behalf of its people – justice under the Constitution and laws of Afghanistan versus the Taliban shadow justice system.

So I was curious as to what I would find during my first trial.  It lasted for about an hour and there were three defendants (brothers) charged with stabbing a man during a dispute.  Both the prosecutor and defense attorney argued their cases.  The victim, a witness, and the treating doctor all testified and the AUP police report was read as well.  Very dramatically the victim lifted his shirt to show the judges the scar from his stab wound and then (for effect!) turned to show the spectators.  After a short adjournment the two judges (they sit in panels of up to three) came back to render their verdict. 

A few takeaways:  1) I am pleased to report that defense attorneys are just as dramatic in Afghanistan as in the U.S. – and I have his business card, so if you’re ever in trouble in Afghanistan, let me know, 2) I was impressed that there was sentence disparity – the same sentence was not rendered to all, and 3) it was wonderful to see how proud the spectators and district governor were that a public trial was being held in their district.  

Sidebar:  This is me in a cropped picture meeting with the district governor after the trial.  Can you tell what my name is?  Or my branch of service?  Probably not -- the AF thought they should be different and make our name tapes brown on the multicams.  Yeah cammo!

Provincial

I have spent the better part of the last week at the provincial seat meeting the provincial judicial players.  Just to break it down, Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (like states).  Each province is then divided into a number of districts (like counties).  So when I spend time at the provincial seat it's like being in a state capital meeting with the equivalent of a state governor, state supreme court judiciary, attorney general, and the like.  Here's a rudimentary map courtesy of google.

 My father-in-law got me some great maps well before I deployed that I dutifully stuck on my office wall and promised I was going to study and learn.  That didn't happen.  Even with how much Afghanistan is in the news, being here you realize how much the focus is generally only on a handful of provinces.  Since getting here, it has been pretty easy to learn the political boundaries (at least where they are on a map, if not reality) and feel like I have been here much longer than I have.

So I was able to meet with all of the provincial judicial players on two different occasions this week.  My State Dept counterparts are fabulous and have been kind enough to make all of the introductions.  They are incredibly smart and have done some great work in this province (and have grown some pretty outstanding Afghan style beards).  I think the judicial folks almost count my RoL counterpart as one of their own.  They welcomed me and are excited that my primary work is going to be in a couple of their districts helping "build justice from the ground up" as it were.  My first impression is that these are all hard-working professionals who are taking a lot of personal risk to implement justice in their province.  Just this week a suicide bomber killed a district governor and his two sons in Kandahar http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/us-afghanistan-blast-idUSTRE80B0RS20120112  

Sidebar- The best conversation I had this week was with one of State's cultural/political advisers who is a local national.  He has worked for the U.S. (State or military) for most of the past decade.  We talked about our families a lot so he learned that I am a newlywed and Steve is applying to medical schools.  So he asked "and you support him?" somewhat incredulously.  Then he asked me about the high divorce rate in the U.S. and seemed very concerned for me.  I assured him that Steve and I are going to be married for a very long time and I wasn't worried!

 

One Week with the Army

A week down in my new location and officially/unofficially (depends who you talk to) attached to the Army unit here.  I sit with the battalion commander’s staff which is a great way to become completely indoctrinated in Army life.  I won’t even try to update my acronym list.  I’ll stand by my previous post about it being one big PowerPoint shop.  But it’s also full of a pretty great crew.  They all admit they weren’t sure how it was going to be to have me (female, JAG, Air Force, all together foreign…) in their midst.  Now that they have realized that I have a sense of humor, am not easily offended, and that they can continue to dip, cuss, etc. in my presence, all is well.  And there are a couple other Ohioans – and from NE Ohio to boot.  

I spent this week pretty much gathering data about the two provincial districts and province seat I will be covering, talking to the BSO and civilian experts (read: Department of State, USAID, USDA) that have been here for a long time.  And now I am ready to get going already!  Oh and I had my second Afghan lunch today with the ABP.  I told my commander that I was going to attack it with more gusto and hope for better results than last time.

My FOB is almost completely surrounded by snow-topped mountains.  Whenever you are flying around Afghanistan, it’s impossible not to contrast the beauty of the terrain (mountain peaks and narrow valleys) with how dangerous it is on the ground.  The last few nights illumination has been near 100% -- night time walking back to my room and when I first wake up to the sun rising as I go work out, just for a second I almost forget where I am.

Pics with Afghan school girls

These are the pics of me with some Afghan school girls on a visit to assess the conditions of their school -- visit I talked about a few posts ago.

PowerPoint

First day on the job at my new FOB and what did I do but create my first deployed PowerPoint of course :)  You may recall this article a couple years back http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/world/27powerpoint.html  

And it's true, the military lives and breathes through PowerPoint (as I suspect many other government organizations and corporations alike do as well...to a certain extent anyway).  I remember being surprised when I first met Steve that he emailed me a PPT presentation with directions to his office picnic.  Now, this wouldn't phase me.  I sit in an office with about a dozen officers/NCOs on the CC's staff.  And on day one I can officially tell you (as I told them) that my PPT skills will never match that of my Army brethren.  Sure, I've thrown a few briefing slides together in my day.  But never has it been part of my daily battle rhythm or raison d'etre.  So we'll see, hopefully my briefing skills will make up for the lack of dazzle in my slides. 

Snug as a Bug in a Rug

As I battled my first case of Afghan food poisoning the last couple days, there are few things I was more grateful for than my Army issued sleeping bag.  As I lay curled in the fetal position, I was happy that at least I was warm and at a relatively safe FOB.  Then I thought, this sleeping bag seems strangely suited for someone 62” tall.  While I don’t consider myself to be on the “small” side, for the military that is probably the case and I have run across only one SGT smaller than myself since I got here.  So how do taller folks fit in their sleeping bags?  Perhaps I lucked out and had grabbed one at Manas specifically made for us shorter folks?  So I checked out the Army instructions – always a wealth of information.  Very detailed instructions on how to clean the sleeping bag, brush your clothes off before climbing in, and most helpfully “DO NOT SMOKE in sleeping bag.”  But alas, no height/weight specifications.  Oh well, I’m just glad that although the military apparently wants me to gain 30 lbs to fit into my trousers and could only find one pair of boots my size before I left, at least my sleeping bag is perfect for an Allison!