Oct 11, 2004 - Road Trip!

Hello again everyone! My experiences driving in Bosnia continue to be...interesting to say the least. I've commented previously regarding the drivers here, and I'd like to get back to that in a minute, but first I'd like to tell you about the journey I took last week to and from Sarajevo. The Polad was keen to go to Sarajevo to take her successor to meet with the contingent of Polads that work in and out of Camp Butmir in Sarajevo. This camp is the headquarters for NATO's SFOR mission in Bosnia. Of course, all of us were, like, "ROAD...

Sep 26, 2004 - The First 2 Weeks

Well I have been here 2 weeks now and what a time it has been. I think the hardest part has been the inability to leave the camp whenever I please. Due to security reasons we are unable to leave the camp for social reasons without approval at least 48 hours in advance and we must be in groups of 4-12 people. That is one thing back home that I really took for granted, just being able to leave my home whenever I choose and go for coffee, go shopping, or go to a park. It is a big adjustment. We arrived on September 8th at about 12:30 in the...

Sep 17, 2004 - Living at the Ritz

Well, here I am again! I have been on task force training all week away from BLMF and although the training has been in the nature of "death by powerpoint", and generally something that I cannot comment upon (it's boring anyway and you're not missing much...), I thought I would throw out a few comments about the hotel that they have us ensconsed in. Imagine, if you will (fans of the Twilight Zone) a place stopped in time, detached from the "real" world, attempting to provide some semblance of hospitality - if you can come close to that, you...

Sep 10, 2004 - The Banja Luka Metal Factory

I'm beginning to settle in a bit at BLMF (the Banja Luka Metal Factory) which is the home to the SFOR (Stabilization Force) for NATO in this part of Bosnia. The rotation that is just preparing to leave call it the Banja Luka Mental Factory. Guess that is an expression of exactly how long they have been here! My counterpart has been very gracious in not planning a hand-over for me this week; which provides me with the opportunity of getting over my jet lag and becoming accustomed to the camp. Given the two days of travelling, my clock has...