Well, after all the hassle from the other day, I found out that the ANA only delivered 4 truck after all.....the fifth one broke down on the way there. Our team has been busy over the past couple of day, as we have been getting ready to do our first real mission. I will be the convoy commander, and thus have been busier than most. What this really means is that I will be tactically in command of the trucks, guns, and Marines going out. I have an assistant who is also a 2ndLt that will be in charge of all of the administrative aspects of the convoy (i.e. reports, accountability, dispersion etc...). This mission is to check out some of our other position in the battle space, and to link us some of our new advisers with their ANA counter-parts. We will be working along side the ANA route clearance Tolai, so that will also be a first for our team.
A bit of culture now...
The Islamic religion really does dictate how our ANA counterparts live on a day to day basis. Unlike Christian's who have no problem calling themselves so without ever really praying or attending religious services, the ANA play their days and weeks around religious customs. For instance, they pray three times a day without fail. At times, this hinders our progress with them, but without our understanding of this culture we would get no work done at all. They also take Friday's off as well. This isn't like they take if off if they have no work to do, they just simple stop working and take the day off for prayer and services. Their Friday is like our Sunday, except here everyone practices their religion.
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