When we’re not on patrol: Kiwi One at 'Chunuk Bair'

Pictured from left -Tpr Bruce, Pte Wahrepouri and Pte Taupawa (WN 08-0048-65)    

By Capt Aaron Soppet

The toilet’s a long drop, the place is constantly dusty, washing is done by hand (well, until recently anyway, cheers to the Engineers for fixing the washing machine!) and we’re running low on instant pudding (the Doc says it’s energy food so it’s ok to indulge).

Welcome to Chunuk Bair - a little piece of New Zealand in the Afghan district of Yakawlang. And home to Kiwi One for the next six months.

In the stunning Hindu Kush area, overlooking the District Capital of Nayak, our patrol conducts daily meetings with local villages and government, as we try to improve the lot of the Afghani people. But when we return from patrol there’s a host of things to do at the Forward Patrol Base (FPB).

First up is the maintenance of the vehicles and the team’s personal kit. Due to the hot and dry conditions, dust gets everywhere and the lads have to keep the engines and vehicles up to scratch in order for us to do our jobs. Once the vehicles are sorted they crack into the everyday maintenance of weapon cleaning, making sure they’re good to go for the next day’s task.

Conducting base maintenance is pretty time consuming. After cleaning and tidying the kitchens, ablutions and their own personal kit (weapons, communications and grab bags), there’s further tasks to be done to keep the FPB in tip top condition. These include wiring, building additional furniture, and conducting checks on all types of different supply items.  Maintaining communications with the rest of the Kiwis is also a big part of our routine, as is training in the various skills required for modern peace support operations.  But by far the biggest task is the maintenance of our water levels.

Because the FPB runs off water tanks, the patrol conducts constant water re-supply runs, (either from the local river or the local wells) to keep our tanks filled.  There’s nothing quite like getting up in the morning and finding there is no water to wash out the soap suds! This is a priority so the guys are often conducting a local patrol to keep the tanks topped up.

On a  recent patrol we saw how the locals conduct a spot of fishing. No fly rods here, one group holds a net at one end and then a single chap with a big stick runs down the river thrashing the water and yelling (do fish have ears?), and tries to drive the fish into the net. On that occasion the locals weren’t having much success. 

The biggest attraction is the gym. While small, it is reasonably kitted-out with free weights and machines. Kiwi ingenuity has come to the fore and much of the kit is improvised. Leading the charge to the gym is Cpl ‘Oz’ Austin and the guys pump iron ito the relaxing tunes of techno dance music. We’re a little short on the running track side, with our treadmill broken, but Pte Wharepouri (pictured) is making the most with the room available by jogging around the inside of the compound. The compound isn’t huge (maybe 60m across) and can be run around in about 8 seconds.

Meals in the FPB are excellent. Our medic, LAC Stacey ‘Doc’ Adam, has been working wonders in the kitchen. Because it’s tad cramped, we have taken to eating outside. Breakfast is generally self help and lunch is usually eaten in the field. But the dinners have been top notch and Doc is ably assisted in the cooking by everyone in the FPB.

We have a dog at the compound by the name of Gunner; a great big white Afghani Wolfhound who has taken well to patrol and does his bit for sentry during the night. Rigger has struck up a good relationship with Gunner and is the patrol’s dog handler. The lads play with Gunner during their downtime and he’s pretty affectionate to those he knows. He does get a bit feisty around his food (I found this out first hand…arm…and leg), but you can’t blame him for that, given that the lads have a very healthy appetite. He’s a welcome addition to the patrol.

When not doing one of the above or base maintenance (and there is a fair bit of that), the guys pretty much do their own thing. Pte ‘Pawez’ Tuapawa (he picked up this nickname while on patrol, it’s an Afghani name and close to his NZ nickname) practices his art and drawings, and has plenty of subject matter here. Pawez and the 2IC, WO1 Rolfe can often practise guitar together - old time rock and roll songs and a bit of Tui Teka mostly. The nifty Chess set from the warehouse (thanks Mum!) has also seen a fair bit of use and it looks like a Chess ladder is going to be set up. The team also has some softball kit that, while we haven’t got a diamond, the lads can at least practice their throwing arms.

So you can see there is plenty to be done in the FPB, and I’m sure the lads wont get bored over the next 6 months in Afghanistan.

Ends

The Yakawlang district is located in the north western part of Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan. Its population is about 80,000.