ChrisRay Griggs is a Naval Academy graduate (1980) and a classmate of my brother, Steve. He is a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel, presently working for the Department of the Army supporting a Lithuanian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan.
I am on his email distribution and when I received and read this (on 1/19), I immediately wanted to share it. Enjoy.
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As I count down my last days here, let’s start with the night sky. It is incredibly clear and you can see more stars than you imagined ever existed! We’re in the mountains, far from any industry, have enough wind to blow the smoke away that you get from the wood and brush used to heat homes in the area, and have almost no man-made ambient light. When it was warmer, I would not want to go inside at night because the sky was so beautiful. And now, even though it is sub-zero on some nights, I still linger when I’m outside. I’ve seen two full lunar eclipses, both of full moons. Watched moonlight reflect off the snow on the western edge of the Hindu Kush Mountains. The Milky Way has never been so distinct. Orion’s Belt is the most recognizable celestial feature, the three bright stars lined up as the Hunter stalks his prey across the night sky. Watched the sky turn from black to grey to blue with a few people from the “Greet the Sun” Club.
Always wondered if the airplane lights miles above our heads were commercial airliners traveling to someplace where I could walk around without body armor or if those blinking lights were a combat air patrol, waiting for a radio call to drop into action. I’ve watched the number of lights coming from the homes that we can see on the hills around the base increase as the city of Chagcharan expands and more people can afford their own generators or connect to the struggling power grid—if you can call it that. I’ve seen the western horizon “polluted” by the light of the solar street lights that our dedicated USAID people here worked on, bringing some welcome security and convenience to the local populace.
I’ll always remember the farewell dinner hosted by the Danish Contingent as they completed their mission in Ghor Province, dining and drinking by candlelight (and chemlight) outdoors, the lights above us more majestic than any chandelier could ever be.
However, will not miss the sight of a 107mm rocket passing 50 meters over our head when I spent the night at an Afghan Police Station to our east when I was traveling with a patrol escorting two Lithuanian geologists, exploding upon impact about 200 meters beyond the wire. Very pretty as it went by, exhaust sparkling as the engine roared. The explosion sent up some nice-looking fireworks, until you realized the fireworks were hot pieces of spinning metal, hoping to find a human target. Fortunately for us, none did.
I have one more full moon left in Afghanistan, and I will treasure it.
Ray
