What's mined is yours

15 September 2009

Have you ever been this close to a minefield? I hope and suspect not. I can think of two reasons why you might not have experienced this pleasure. First, minefields are fairly uncommon in the U.S. Second, who in their right mind would get this close to a minefield with a non-telephoto lens in hand?

Well, if you happen to walk out of the North chow hall at Bagram and decide to meander north along Disney drive (the main road in Bagram), perhaps contemplating the mysteries and contradictions of the ancient Greeks or debating the profound question of whether the stuff you just ate for lunch was chicken or tuna salad, you would immediately see dozens of signs just like this one on your right side. In fact, there are active minefields all over Bagram, inside the wire, left courtesy of the last tenants of our real estate, the Russians. The EOD (explosive ordinance detachments) are actively trying to demine the base, but the work is a tall order. I understand there is a new movie out about the EOD. I would love to see how Hollywood portrays these guys.

By the way, Disney Drive is named after Specialist Disney, KIA in Afghanistan, not Walt Disney. Most streets on Army bases have been named for people killed in combat. While I’m sure it would be quite exciting to have a civilian street named after you, if you are the namesake of a street on a military base, odds are you won’t be attending the dedication ceremony.