Part 2: Kandahar Airfield Base in Afganistan

When you think Kandahar Airfield base... what do you think of? Some sort of desert, filled with troops, tents, tanks, maybe even some barracks'? Well the fact is that Kandahar Airfield base or KAF, the general abbreviation for it, is actually the size of a town.  The base is filled with approximately 40,000 soldiers, with only 2500 Canadian troops at the moment.  Many Afgan civilians also live on the base. The civilians are rebuilding and constructing of base for their future, the Afgan Military plan to keep the base operational and run it themselves once Canadian and American troops leave.

The people of KAF are most likely to live in really big tents, which hold 30 or more rooms.  Or what is called a modified sea-can as in a shipment container.  They put in windows and doors to make it appear like a bedroom with a personalized touch.

Afganistan is in the desert, so there is a ton of sand. "The biggest beach in the world, but there is no water."  There are a lot of trees however, and ground wells, but there isn't much water, so they have to conserve.  KAF gets shipments of bottled water from neighboring countries like Egypt or Pakistan.

American money is the common currency at the base.  Everything is paid for in American and they all carry cash on them.  When they do run out of money, the soldiers just walk up to a cashier and take out money from their allowances.  Allowances are monies received in Afganistan on top of their normal Canadian or American pay.  With their American money, soldiers and civilians have all the perks of home with: a Tim Horton's, Pizza Hut, and Burger King located on the base.

Most soldiers work long weeks, some work all week and receive only a half day off, others work two weeks before getting a day off.  Soldiers have weekly barbecues and are allowed a beer or two a month.  They have hockey rinks and baseball fields on KAF.  They also have a place for internet accessibility and it's filled with many computers.

Most of the time KAF is safe, it is well patrolled, occasionally KAF gets hit with rocket attacks.  The rockets however, are from the '70s, what was left over from the Russians and most find them to be more annoying than anything.  During such attacks, everyone has to throw their kits on and hit the floor until they are told otherwise.  On top of the attacks there are the occasional 'bad guys' that lurk in the mountains and caves, who try to sneak their way into the camp at night.  But once they get in, I am told they are taken care of fast.