The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

soldier drive and Humvees accom- pany us. While Nangarhar province is more peaceful than some places, particularly the southern provinces, it is much less peaceful than others, especially those in the north. The situation has deteriorated since I arrived in August, with an increase in the number of incidents and attacks, so we limit travel as much as possible. Normally, we only leave the base to attend a meeting or ceremony or to inspect a project site; we travel in a convoy with a minimum of three Humvees and nine armed soldiers. And we all wear body armor and helmets whenever we are “outside the wire.” Jalalabad is a big market town of approximately half a million people, but I have never been to the market, a restaurant, someone’s home, or any place that isn’t the location of an official meeting. As a former Peace Corps Volunteer, this is very disap- pointing, for I would like to simply walk around town and talk to peo- ple. However, our commander’s highest concern is for our safety, and I will never challenge his deci- sion or authority over what is, or is not, safe. Even with this very limited scope of activities, I find every mis- sion we go on, or meeting we attend, very interesting. Traveling through the desolate but beautiful landscape, filled with sheep, goats, nomads with camels, snowcapped moun- tains and vast, rocky deserts, I often feel like I am in National Geographic magazine. We also have many Afghan visitors come to the PRT F O C U S M A R C H 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 45 Because it is easier to get to Jalalabad than many other sites, and because we have a very articulate and active commander, we get lots of visitors.