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LIFE ABOVE KABUL
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Warrant Officer M. Riley 7 Sept 04
 Being in RECCE Sqn in Afghanistan brings a whole new meaning to the term having a birds eye view. As the Kabul Multi National Brigade (KMNB) Reconnaissance Squadron we have a multitude of tasks, one of which is to provide over watch onto the city of Kabul. The city’s average height is approximately 1800m above sea level with mountains both in and around the city that jut out of the ground like large pillars reaching as high as 2900m and taking up an area not much larger than 1000 square meters. Life at an observation post, when your at 2300 meters, can be somewhat peaceful and at the same time though, a little weird when one considers what is going on below you.
When you leave the city streets and start the long slow climb up some of these mountains, life seems to change with every meter. Once you reach the top and set-up your new home you realize that for just a short period of time you are the king of the hill. Some of the mountains are so high and the roads up to the tops are so narrow that the local inhabitants don’t go up there. However, due to infrastructure deficiencies, it is the less privileged people that live at the higher altitudes.
With our optics we can observe a huge portion of the city below and are able to report information to KMNB and have patrols on ground level respond to any situation. With the mast deployed or the remote out on the edge of the mountain now I understand what a soaring Eagle would see prior to its graceful swoop onto his unsuspecting prey.
As a little bit of good from this war torn country, one thing everybody can agree on is that there are two perfect times of the day here, sunrise and sunset. Being at 2300 meters and watching the sun disappear behind the mountains to the west is a sight that will last a lifetime with you. As the city below prepares for night and the oil lamps start to dim, you can once again look out onto a city some 500 meters below you and only imagine what life could have been like 30 odd years ago. The temperature drops some 20 degrees at night, giving one some relief from the unrelenting heat of the day.
As the sun rises the following morning and the city comes back to life, the air becomes thick with smoke being emitted from the many fires being lit by the people below, that is when it sinks back in that you are looking down on a city only meters away from being an annexed by Hell. Life above Kabul ends with the long slow and somewhat uneasy drive to the city streets below.
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