My Brother was in Helmand province with the British Army…he hated it and was happy when the Britts pulled out. He did say there were opium fields as well.
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Military !!
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Thanks for that…I just downloaded it to my Kindle. £4.99
I’m sure I will like it…thanks again I like adventure and travel books.
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It should be a movie.
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Then the taliban should be smoking peace pipes and not fighting
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Maybe just wishful thinking, but I hope Afghanistan will be free of conflict in our lifetime. The medical potential of some of those strains locked in the valleys and mountains could be incredible if they ever make it out.
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Very true my friend.
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Gurdah 
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I was going to say… I think I’ve rolled past that field in a Humvee.
I think that is wishful thinking. Those people have not changed (culturally) since Alexander the Great. They live a savage lifestyle.
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So true
Peace out and stay aafe and prayers for the brothers and sisters still there
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Alex Cockers Poem
Says it all
Paz
Alex Cockers was born in April 1985. He was a Royal Marines Commando from 2005-2009 and served on Operation Herrick five and seven in Helmand province for a total of fourteen months.
How he came to write his poems. He explains, “During my fourteen months in Afghanistan, I had many feelings and thoughts that I was unable to share with anyone. Under the stars; in the desert, rhymes would manifest in my head. I would write them down, construct them into poems and somehow I felt better for getting it off my chest.”
The Brutal Game
I’m sitting here now
Trying to put pen to paper
Trying to write something
That you can relate too
It’s hard to relate
To my personal circumstances
I’m out here in Afghanistan now
Taking my chances
Read what you read
And say what you say
You wont understand it
Until you’ve lived it day by day
Poverty-stricken people
With medieval ways
Will take you life without a thought
And now we’re all the same
Each playing our part in this brutal game
Alex Cockersl,
2010
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So true!!! When stationed in Peshawar (in the '60’s), we would occasionally see bodies hanging from Power Poles. Our Pakistani Counterpart let us know we were in the “Tribal Area”, limited Government control, to include the Military. The different Tribes policed themselves, the Koran being the Law!!! With a majority of the population in that area being illiterate, that was the BEST mechanism to keep everyone in check. People travelled back and forth across the Border, no big demarcation between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Foot traffic, bikes, motorcycles, trucks all crossed at a two-man Border Crossing. When you see films/videos of the Marketplace, that is sooooo real!!! It’ll NEVER change, trust me. Family/Tribal allegiances prevail. They’ll tell you, “I’m Pashtu/Pashto”, not ever did I hear, “Pakistani”. SS/BW…mister 
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Cash talks !
I see why hash making is so popular here. I wonder what they do with the remaining plant material ? There’s a couple giant phenos in here.
Pashtunwali is their “code of conduct” and it’s been going on uninterrupted for 2,000+ years. No other nation has ever been able to subjugate them, just draw lines around them and call it “Federal Tribal Area”. They’ll never change, you’re 100% right it’s tribe over everything. Their own system for everything…like…violent Amish lol. Best left alone.
It’s a pretty interesting way to live, when the main tenets are “extreme hospitality to every guest” and “extreme revenge for every insult” haha.
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Exactly and so very true when we went there i said to myself dont these fukin generals study history especially recent his
tory with the russians considering they couldnt do shit in the 80s and they were one of the most brutal fighting forces in the world
Peace out and stay safe
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Three stars out of five…ye was ok , enjoyed it about the travel etc…but the author is a big hit for his self…always name dropping…ye ok…thought at the start was a road trip…
Paz
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He was kept to a page limit. There’s other books. Not mention clones he passed around here. You may remember a few of them…like cali-o.
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One love.
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