volkov

The reason I've had so much going on is that I'm detached from my battalion that I activated with and am now serving as a member of the NATO training mission. I'll be operating with a small team of Marines somewhere in Afghanistan training & advising National Police so that they will someday, hopefully soon, be able to take over the security of their country. It's a mission that presents it's own unique challenges, but I'm enjoying it so far and I think it's important to get it right. The main gripes are the extra level of bureaucratic bullcrap and all that goes with that....not getting gear issued that we need, having to wait for help with administrative issues etc.
I'm getting to do a lot of language training, which I enjoy. Focusing on Dari and doing my best to get functional, if not fluent. I imagine that will come from months of living and working with the Afghan police themselves. All in all I'm looking forward to it.

NATO training mission for Afghanistan website Mostly Public Affairs stuff but it gives you a sense of things.