Day Eleven

Today has been a great day, despite getting into bed at around 0600 and getting back up at 0800. Chris came to get me at 0800 to tell me that Major Niem wanted to see me over at the ANA camp at 0930. Good times. Just when I was catching up on my sleep.

We went over to the ANA side and, of course, did our usual 30-45 minutes of socializing. The Major told us about his trip yesterday, where he had received video and photos - of dead and captured Taliban members - from the Afghan Special Forces. I'll save everyone the gory details. Let's just say that there was no filter on the raw footage before I saw it. Gruesome stuff. One Taliban leader was captured though, so that's a big plus for the "good guys."

After that, I was finally able to start looking at equipment. Chris got their DVD duplicator to work, so he was busy making copies of some DVDs he had for them. I was able to look at most everything and figure out where they stood. They had two cameras; one was a Canon XL2 which was in horrible shape. I looked through the dirty viewfinder and could barely see the picture because there was so much dirt and dust inside the lens. It was unlike anything I had ever seen for a camera that was actually being used every day. Apparently, they would just pop out the LCD monitor and use that instead. As any good videographer knows, it's hard to get a good, crisp focus on a shot using the LCD screen. I'm very particular and precise when it comes to focusing. This just wasn't going to work...not as long as I'm teaching them anyway. I decided to bring the camera back to the office with me to take it apart and clean it. The rest of the stuff was just thrown around, covered in layers of dust and dirt. Nothing was organized, so it was a little difficult figuring out what was what and what went with what. It was going to be a chore cleaning this place up and getting it organized and in "working" order. At one point I just put my face in my hands and thought, "I don't even know where to start." Chris got a great photo of that. Regardless, it will look good when I'm finished with it...bet on it.

After looking at more equipment, and taking a few photos, we talked some more about what we planned to do and how we were going to do it. Major Niem was so happy with us and the things we have done so far. He was so thankful to me for providing a way to burn videos to DVD. He called everyone he knew and told them about it, from the regional PA officer, all the way up to the Headquarters PA Officer in the capital city of Kabul. Apparently, that PAO is anxious to meet us and will be coming here soon for a visit. It made me feel good to know they were all so happy, and I can't imagine how they're going to feel when I get done doing everything I plan to do. They're not going to know WHAT to do! Chris and I talked about how to set up their office better, and building a wooden "rack" - to put on the desk they have in there already - would work for all the editing equipment. Actually, I think it was Chris's idea to put the shelves on top of the desk, and a good idea it was. The ANA office is very small, so we have to put the space to good use. We can only expand up, not out. So we talked about measuring everything and then going to the self-help wood shop here on camp to build them a rack. We can do that with no trouble I think. Just the idea of it excited the Major (now a LtCol) and the Capt (now a Major), and they couldn't smile or thank us enough for all the plans and headway we were making. Just the DVD-burning capability alone had them ecstatic, and I was happy to make them feel that way. I told them that before long, they'll be able to do everything they need to do right in their office, without having to rely on anyone else. The LtCol's response: "Thank you friend."

I played with one of their newer cameras for a little while right before we left. My ANA video guy (I've got a list of all their names and I'm going to start using them eventually instead of saying "my ANA guys" all the time), showed me some footage he shot yesterday and I noticed that many of the shots were out of focus. He proceeded to tell me that he wasn't able to focus with the camera, so I checked it out. This was a newer, but basic, Sony digital HD camera. It had the pull out LCD touchscreen, which I had seen before. When I first looked through the camera and turned the focus dial, the exposure went up and down instead of focusing. I knew exactly what the problem was, but wanted to see if the ANA could troubleshoot it first. It didn't dawn on me that all the menu boxes were all written in English until after about 10 minutes of watching him push every button there was in the menu. Finally, I took the camera and went into the menu options myself. Having a camera like this previously, I already knew that there was an option to change the function of the dial on the camera. You can use it to adjust exposure, adjust focus, or for zooming in and out. Of course, I got to the menu for the dial and it was set on "exposure" instead of "focus." I switched it and gave my ANA guy the camera. I turned the dial and he watched the picture turn from fuzzy, into a clear, crisp picture. He slapped me on the leg and belted out a "YAAAAAAAAA"...almost as if he'd won the lottery or something. Once the rest of the ANA's realized what had happened, they were all "YAAAAA'ing" too. Little things.

Capt Gerst had taken their Mac computer back to the office and was trying to partition it so it could be used in a Windows platform. We're going to hook it up that way so I can train these guys on Adobe Premiere Pro editing software, which is more user-friendly than the Macs. I hate Macs also, so I have no problem with that. All my equipment is Windows-based and I work on Premiere Pro, so it only makes sense for us to work that way to train. They'll be able to use it fully before I leave.

We left the ANA office and went back to our own office feeling pretty fulfilled about what we had just done. I already have given them a capability that they didn't have before I got here. We made plans to build them an editing suite. We checked out their equipment and found out what they needed fixed and what they were missing. We have their computer and a camera to fix up and get ready for them. We kicked around ideas for our first video. We were actually WORKING. It's so nice to finally be making some progress...and also nice to see them so happy. I haven't even scratched the surface yet. I kept listening to them with a smile on my face thinking, "they just have no idea what I'm about to do to them for six months...they'll never want to let me go."

It's going to be a great partnership, as these guys are amazing to work with. Friendly, eager to learn, anxious to help, and grateful...just the type of environment that makes a person in my position really want to help. I already feel like we're one big PA family, and I guess that's pretty rare to have happen so fast from what we hear. The interpreter told me today that he was even surprised at how fast they took to me, and that I'm all they talk about all day to everyone. It's not about me though, and I continuously try to make that very clear. The focus is on me because I'm the seventeen-year video expert that has all the answers, and video is all the help they really need here it seems. But, it's a team effort. It really is NOT about me. Sandy and Capt Gerst are my facilitators on many fronts; from administrative and logistics issues to media relations plans and dealing with politics. They have a great amount of responsibility about things that I'm glad I don't have to worry about. Chris has essentially been my right-hand man the whole time, and I wouldn't have been able to do much of anything had he not been right there to say something, find something, or do something that I really needed at the time. While he may not be a video expert (he's a journalist and an amazing photographer), he's certainly going to have some video skills also when I get done with him. He seems to be a multimedia junkie like me, and will soon be able to do it all; photo, journalism, AND video. He's been a great help to me so far, and again, I probably wouldn't have been able to do much of anything had he not been right there to help along the way. So again, it's not about just me...it's about all of us. Our little four-person Public Affairs Advisory Team will probably make more of an impact than anyone could ever imagine. We talk to each other, our personalities work well together, we're drama-free, and there just is no "wrench" in this machine...I don't know what else to say about us...we're just the perfect team.

The rest of the night was uneventful. A couple movies and some internet time. Dinner and talking with the team. It's been a long 48 hours for this Master Sergeant, yet I feel pretty good. Tomorrow is an off day for the Afghans, which means an off day for me. I'm sure I can find something to do though. I think a good cleaning of the office is in order, and I think I'll finally make that back room into my new video editing suite. Yes, that's what I'll do. Still feeling good here and praying it stays that way. All is good. Time to put an end to day eleven and get ready for day twelve.