So. Michel hinted in an earlier post that we were going off-base… and the other day we finally did.
Michel and I spent one night at Patrol Base Mirwais (pronounced meer-VEYS), about 30k north of Tarin Kowt.
It was interesting to get off the base… of course, we basically just landed on another, smaller base, so it wasn’t exactly communing with the Afghan people, but it was still interesting.
We went by helicopter (more about that in a later post!) and arrived in the early afternoon. We dumped our bags in the guest tent, went on a short tour with the commanding officer, and then we were on our own. And we took advantage… doing a little editing (ok, napping) in the “sun garden”. Yep, I said sun garden.
The guys (and gals) have set aside a little corner on the base for relaxing in the sun - there’s a big bank of mattresses and a couple chairs made of old shipping pallets (check out the pics below to see what I mean). The “garden” even has a fabric wall so people walking by can’t see in… giving the guys lying around in their briefs (yes, literally) a little sunny privacy. Not bad.
As you may have guessed, it’s a little more casual on Mirwais.
Of course when they’re on patrol they have to wear their uniform properly, but on the base they could wear sneakers instead of boots or take off their outer camo shirt/jacket and just wear a t-shirt.
I’m not sure if that’s normal for a patrol base but it was kinda nice - especially when the guys all took off their shirts to work on the trucks! Maybe it was a little sunstroke, but I swear all the best-looking Dutch army guys were on Mirwais.
Ok. All “hotness” aside, I think the guys deserve a little R&R in the Afghan sunshine.
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- The Mirwais sun garden from the outside
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- Mirwais sun garden - sorry, no sun-bathing beauties - I was too nervous to ask to take a picture when they were all there in their briefs!
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- Mirwais sun garden benches made from old transport pallets
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