Today was "tough love" day. The ANA guys were about to see a side of me that most don't normally see. I didn't plan to get too crazy with it, but I was going to be firm. I've given in to their social pleasantries for too long already, and this time...I was going to get my point across.
We got to the ANA office and exchanged our normal "good morning" greetings. Sandy kind of started the conversation off and it went from there. We talked about them leaving the ceremony yesterday and their mismanagement of the situation. Of course, there was an excuse...everyone was "off" of work yesterday. I told them that if two of them were there, FOUR of them could've been there! Who made the decision for two people to show up? If you made two people work that were supposed to be "off," why not make four people work? We also explained that they shouldn't have ALL left the ceremony, and someone should've stayed behind to finish the job. That, they admitted to and said they'll make better arrangements next time. Again, since everyone was off work and not in the office, there was no one available to go on the next shoot with the General when he left...hence them all leaving the ceremony. Trackin' so far?
I finally started getting into some of the things I have been feeling over the past month or so. I let them all know everything I was thinking, from my thoughts of them just going through the motions and that they'll go back to doing what they want when I leave...to Rohullah Amin's "I know it already" attitude...to my thoughts of the fact that I feel I'm wasting my time and I could be at home with my kids instead. That turned some heads. They knew I was serious. Sandy was talking about things that she's said numerous times already that they still don't get, and Chris was piping in information too about them pretty much pulling their heads out of their asses. We were all getting into it at this point, and they were all listening...for the most part. The deputy was flipping through a magazine the whole time, but caught a fierce glare from me at one point and realized that maybe he should stop reading it. That lasted...for about thirty seconds.
One of the main problems we heard during the course of the conversation was that they are there to document their commander, Major General Murad. Sandy explained to them that that is NOT their job, and that they're failing at their job. Their job is to report news, not be the General's very own little papparazzi. I think it's a matter of not knowing in some aspects, as they don't think outside the box too much. They don't see the stories for what they really are. Yesterday was a perfect example. They left that ceremony to go follow General Murad around. They didn't have any idea why, they just knew they were going to go follow him with cameras. And, when we asked them today, they did nothing with the video and photos but give them to General Murad for him to have. WHAT?! That's not your job. Your job is to get news out to media outlets. So, we explained it. Why did General Murad leave (as rude and disrespectful as it might've been)? He left to go visit with a U.S. General to talk about new facilities and weapons and how they were going to expand and add another ANA corps in the southern region. OK, now why is this important? It's important for the security of Afghanistan. And why is the security of Afghanistan important? So the Afghan civilians can live a better life and the country can function on its own. BAM! There's your story. It's not about GENERAL MURAD. Find out where he's going, why he's going there, what he's doing, how it's affecting them, who he's talking to...THAT'S your story.
We talked about many things, and I could go on and on. I have to say that the end result was much different than I anticipated. At one point, LtCol Naim (who seemed to be our only ally in the office this whole time) seemed very frustrated, and that worried me. I even turned to Chris at that time and said, "if we lose him, we're through." But when it was all said and done, the dynamic changed completely. Next thing I know, Chris is teaching two of them how to work with a camera and one interpreter was helping,
Sandy is talking with LtCol Naim, his deputy, and Nasir about training schedules while the other interpreter was helping them out. I was sitting there on the floor taking photos of it all and couldn't help but think to myself, "Could it really have been that easy?" All this time we've gone around and around...did I just have to be firm and take control? 
Did WE just have to be firm and take control? We let them know that they were doing things wrong and failing as a section. We let them know what their mission was and told them they weren't doing completing it. We told them that they were lazy. We told them they had mismanagement issues. We told them everything. It was amazing to sit there on the floor and watch the transformation. It was almost like one of those moments in a movie where you see a guy in a cubicle in the middle of a busy office, where everything around him is moving like clockwork. I was that guy in the middle, and this...this was clockwork.
Again, it was so unexpected to have things play out the way they did. As I was walking out, LtCol Naim stopped me and told me that he liked the things I said and how I said them. He told me that if I wanted to come in and "control" his office anytime, I was welcome to do so. He also said that he wanted me to go to the Brigade level PA and "use same voice" on them. That was a shock. Sandy, Chris, the interpreters and I walked away so happy today. In fact, it was probably the happiest I've been with them yet. To go from one extreme to the other in a matter of an hour was quite amazing. I'm not saying it will stay this way...but I'll take it while I got it. At least we have figured them out a little bit, ya know?
I went to the gym today and got in a good back workout. Once a treadmill opened up, I got on and felt pretty good. I felt real good in fact. Eight miles later, I was in "cooldown" mode and then hit my abs good. It's still strange to me how I can struggle to run three miles one day, then run like the wind the next day.
The rest of the night was uneventful, as usual. I get to work with Rohullah Amin tomorrow and get some training done, so I'm looking forward to that. Hopefully he'll have a good attitude since everyone seems so motivated now after our "discussion." I still can't believe it worked out as well as it did. It's amazing the things you find out about in this culture every day. Today was no different.
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