Life at Bagram

Air Force Nurse Kirsten V., a family friend, recently sent this reflection on her recent deployment to the Bagram Air Field Base Hospital…

Now that you know where I am, you are bound to hear about Bagram and Kabul on the news. I’ll pass on one word of caution that was passed on to each of us. Please do not focus day and night about the local news, the tragedy, the injuries, the lives lost. Freedom is not free, but worry day and night is not healthy. We are each here by free will, to serve an inner calling, to provide the skill we each bring to this war of injustice and peace-building.  BAF itself is very safe, but of course not entirely protected from harm’s way. We are reminded daily of the reality of our environment, but overall we are all happy to be here, be contributing to a higher calling, and of course looking forward to the day we are reunited with our families.

We are not sleeping in tents, searching for meals to eat, having to wait days to take showers. Instead we live in b-huts with plywood walls separating the eight members in the hut or in dorms with sheets strategically hung to give us each a section of privacy and seclusion. We get 3 minute “combat showers” on the honor system every single day (or twice a day if desired) to preserve the limited water supply which is trucked in. We have at least five DFAC, the Army’s way of saying Dining Facility, to choose from. Each of these has options, albeit maybe not to our liking. Every Friday is Seafood Friday, with steak, lobster, crab legs, shrimp (two of the options at each dining hall).

We have internet service, tons of books/videos/magazines that have been donated by wonderful US citizens and organizations or left behind by fellow Soldiers and Airmen. We have Bingo nights, Texas Hold ‘Em (never played), Karaoke, various music nights (Country, R&B etc). We have a wonderful chapel with an awesome Catholic Priest, Father Matt Foley. We have lots of options to provide for one’s physical, mental, and spiritual needs. We have fellowship and are meeting great people who we would not have otherwise met. Most importantly we are realizing how wonderful our families and friends are back home and how lucky we are to live in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.

So thank you for your ongoing thoughts, prayers, cards, emails, packages. Every single one is valued and treasured.

God’s peace and blessings to you and your families, Kirsten

Late afternoon sun breaks through clouds, illuminating Bagram Air Field on July 26, 2008. Clouds during the summer are a welcomed sight at Bagram during the summer, when temperatures regularly exceed one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

Tags: Bagram AFB, nurse, safety, Stories

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Active Duty, Families, From the Front, Information, National Guard, Parents, Reserves, Spouses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.