Things I’ve learned from KAF - 25 March 2009 - 1330

Seeing as this is possibly my last night on KAF for a while I thought I would post some things I have learned about it so that others coming here may read this and have a better idea of what they are walking into. I know when we first heard we were coming here the first thing most people did was hit the internet and find out what they could about it. The things Soldiers want to know about are the amenities; the little things that make a base more like home. I’ll start with the restaurants. Boardwalk consists of now Tim Horton’s Coffee, Green Bean Coffee, The Igloo, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway and a French Café and the new Kabob House. For coffee, donuts or a bagel I suggest Tim Horton’s unless you’re in a hurry. There is always a line at Timmy’s and rarely at Green Bean’s. Green Bean is good too, I think Tim puts crack in his though. The Igloo is a small ice cream stand that must be open seasonally. Pizza Hut runs out of stuff on occasion, like beef and larges. How you run out of something intangible like a size I have no idea but they get ‘er done. The subway usually is out of everything except for seafood. The Burger King is usually out of beef for their Whoppers which only leaves the Chicken Royale which is out sometimes too. I haven’t tried the French Café but I hear its good. I tried the Kabob House last night, it was alright. They just opened a couple nights ago and either ran out of everything instantly or just didn’t order very much. Out of there 14 menu items they had 3 to pick from last night. There is also a restaurant that I was unaware of right behind the Boardwalk named The Four Seasons. It’s a little spendy but decent quality from what I hear. The there are several Chow Halls here on KAF but they are all run by Supreme. They just can’t compete with KBR in my opinion. I’ve mentioned them before but they are the Far East (Asian), The Niagara (American/Canadian), and the Luxemburg (German). There is one more that is closed for renovations right now and I hear that KBR is opening one down here in Southpark. The Far East is terrible in my opinion and I never at the Luxemburg although I heard it was average at best. Most people agree that the best one is the Niagara. We walk an extra half mile, right past the Far East, 3 times a day to eat there. Not that its great food but if all three were serving shit, you’d still want to eat the best tasting shit. Every Wednesday is Taco day, it’s my fave. There is also a Green Bean in one of the MWR tents. For you gym rats, there is a pretty decent sized gym with all the equipment you need (I hear) ;). KAF takes rocket and mortar fire not too infrequently. There are shelters everywhere and it’s a pretty big post so the odds are in your favor. Every Saturday there is a Bazaar. A bunch of locals bring in goods and you can go bartar with them. I actually haven’t hit that either in an effort to thwart money spending. Southpark is the Tent City. I’ve also heard Southpark being called Harvest Falcon, so that maybe the “official” name. It was pretty baren about a month ago when we showed up. In fact we were almost the only unit out here then. Now, this place is filling up like crazy and they are setting up modular housing units, shower and latrine trailers and like I said, I know they are setting up a DFAC out here and we hear it will be KBR run. There are lots of ways to get on the internet on KAF. There is no Wi-Fi in Southpark but as fast as they are building out here I wouldn’t be surprised to see it make an appearance. The Boardwalk has free Wi-Fi, just ask someone there which network they are using, the people are generally very helpful. It’s “quick” most mornings and brutally slow at night most of the time. There is also internet jacked into the housing trailers that run between the Far East and Niagara. There is an MWR Computer and Phone lab. Usually not much of a line, depending on the time of day and they are pretty quick, again depending on time of day and I’ve noticed, maybe the weather too. There are several general stores all over post. Each of the major countries that has a presence on KAF has a PX or their version of it. There is also a duty free store right behind the Boardwalk and a ton of little shops all the way around the Boardwalk. If you want to find where one of the countries hides its PX, ask um. I get asked several times a week where they moved the US PX too. If you are given a vehicle or a gator, if you have the room and you see someone walking, pick them up. Nothing pisses a guy off more than to see one guy roll by in a 15 pac van and then see that van down at the PX or Boardwalk, or coming the other direction, end up back at Southpark. The Air Force wins the taxi award as I have been picked up about 6 times in my month here; 5 by the AF and one Civilian. If you read this and have any other questions give me a holler. There is a laundry drop off service with next day turnaround from what I hear, but I never got to use it. They have a bunch of laundry trailers, which are usually pretty empty since most people probably use the service. I’m kinda sad to be leaving (maybe) tomorrow. But on the brighter side, if we stay here for as long as our orders are cut for, today we are exactly 30% done. Hopefully I have a lot of good things to write the next time you hear from me, which may be a few days while I figure out my new home. I hear I have 3 care packages already waiting for me so thanks already for your support. It’s hard to be optimistic though that this flight will go off like it is supposed to since every other flight this deployment has had issues. Talk to everyone again soon.