Epiblog

Hello and welcome to my blog. It is a blog about an Air Force Physician that was reluctantly deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan for 6 months.

I have to admit, I did not exactly volunteer for the deployment, and I was a little anxious about how it would all turn out. I ended up making the best of it, and surprisingly, I actually had a pleasant, life changing, experience.

I decided to keep the blog up and running because I kept on hearing, "Why is it that you only hear the bad news coming from Iraq and Afghanistan." I figured that I was helping spread a positive message about what we are doing over. Even more important, I wanted to continue to spread the word about the plight of the Afghan people, 99.9% of which are the most incredibly friendly people that you will ever meet. The title picture is a great example of that. I have never encountered such genuinely warm and friendly people. It was so strange to see so many people with so little material objects, yet at the same time, filled with so much of the joy that comes with close family ties, abundant friends, and a close knit community. We could definetly learn a lot from them.

You may notice, as you read the blog in its entirety, my arc. I shift from focusing on myself and my personal comforts, to shifting my focus on the Afghan cause. It is very easy to get distracted by the hustle of daily life and the comforts that the U.S. provides. It is really a challenge to awake from that coma and to start to care and think about the welfare of other people unrelated to you. I think it really took me about 4 or 5 months before I really opened my eyes and became personally affected by what I was experiencing. I hope I was able to recreate it.

I have tried to keep the blog squeaky clean so as to not offend anyone (or get me in trouble-I am still in the military). Even though I am a political junky with very strong personal opinions I have been steadfast in keeping this site free of any politics. I was called to do a job and I tried to do it to the best of my ability regardless of my political stance.

I recreated the blog to read more like a book, or should I say blook (get used to the corniness it only gets worse from here) just to make it an easier read. I have removed some names and pictures just to keep it more anonymous. I hope that it helps in making it less about me and more about the cause.

Lastly, in the spirit of the blog, I decided to include the Chipin Widget that I used to raise money for Nazia. If I get any additional money I will send the funds to The Women of Hope Project and someone over in Kabul will discretely give it to her (unless I hear otherwise). You can also contribute directly to the Women of Hope Project website. They are a wonderful cause. If you enjoy this blog then feel free to contribute. I am sure that once you read her story you will be very moved.

So kick back. Get ready to hopefully laugh and definitely cry.
If you like what you read then post a comment. I will be continuously editing this site in an attempt to improve it. Who knows maybe one day it will become a book!

Enjoy. Thanks for reading.

-Shazdoc

Today Show Clip

Chipin Widget

Monday, May 19, 2008

Rambo

"Speak the truth, but leave immediately after."
-Slovenian Proverb

I have been working on my blog a lot lately. I have decided I need an editor. It is so funny because I will write something that, at the time I am writing it sounds funny and clever, then when I read the same thing one week later I will say to myself, what was I thinking that sounds really stupid. Anyways, I think my new tag line should now read- New from Shazdoc Inc., 6 Months In Kabul Version 2.0- now with 50% less misspellings and grammatical errors. You see, I am going to read that line one week from now and think that it is really stupid. Oh well.

I also would like to thank the creator of the blog A*W*A*C*, Capt Traverso, for mentioning my blog on his site. He is responsible for a lot of the traffic on my site. If you are ever cruising the blogasphere pull over check out his site, here it is:

http://traversa.typepad.com/

Today I thought that it would be a great to get a picture with Rambo. For those of you that do not know, Rambo is somewhat of a legend in these parts. I really can not do him justice in explaining his contributions to Camp Phoenix. I will refer you to the USA Today Article that I have linked. I first heard about him over at Fort Riley. It was during my anxious phase of the predeployment period. When I was inquiring about the security over at Camp Phoenix someone told me, don't worry there is a local Afghan named Rambo. He stands at the gate and makes sure that no one bad gets it. At the time I thought to myself, are they kidding? How is one guy going to protect the whole camp. We even had an ongoing joke whenever I mentioned any security concerns, Maj Martinez would say in a loud tone, "Don't worry, Rambo will protect us."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-03-08-rambo_N.htm

Rambo's wife and one of his children were killed when a rocket that was shot by a Taliban member hit his home. He was a truck driver and security guard for a transportation company that existed on the land that the U.S. bought to build Camp Phoenix in 2003. He has been here ever since. The incident that made him famous was back on 1/16/07. A suicide bomber driving a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) had entered the gate of Camp Phoenix and he opened the driver's side door and pulled him out of the car before he could detonate his explosives. Rambo was even mentioned by President Bush in a national speech.

Here is the familiar salute that everyone receives when they return from a convoy and reenter the base. Thanks for reading.
Posted by GP at 2:24 AM

2 comments:

Douglas Templeton said...

I was there when Rambo saved the day. His story is one of saddness and of hope. He is a hero to all who have had the pleasure to know him...an Afghan making a difference in his own way. Coming back in the wire everyday to his salute is something I will never forget. Because I knew I was home and safe.

October 29, 2007 7:19 AM
Doug Traversa said...

I too was there when Rambo saved us. He is a real-life, honest-to-goodness hero, a true legend in his own time. Such people are rare, and it was great to know he guarded us each day.

November 2, 2007 6:16 PM

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