KLE Til It Hurts

I am sure friends and family can identify many traits I inherited from my mother -- there are two I know for certain: 1) I am a morning person, and 2) I can ask questions with the best of them.  Both come in handy in the military, the latter in my current position.  Talking to anyone who speaks a different language through an interpreter is an art in itself.  Holding KLEs with Afghans presents additional hurdles -- cultural considerations, testing the boundaries in your relationship, how candid you can be, meeting with Afghan men as a female, you name it.  This makes some CF timid and results in many conversations that resemble small talk with from my perception nothing learned/gained by either side.  Some walk in with no agenda and see where the conversation goes.  This isn't my approach.  I always have, if not a set agenda or desired outcome, at least a few topics I want to hit and questions I would like answered.  Sometimes this is painful for the other mil with me who have learned that I will keep questioning and digging -- often through sometimes very rough translation.  But sometimes we walk away with atmospherics or intel that wouldn't have been gained otherwise.  This particular KLE involved a good hour on the topic of reintegration.  My linguist is on leave so I was working with one who wasn't as used to my syntax and "will not accept vague responses, tangents, or obfuscation" style.  As you can see from my expression in this picture, it was a little painful for me too.