Pre-Kabul, Early November

110307 This has been a very busy week! The decision came down from above on Monday approving our practice flight with all the Flight Attendants, Management, and some VIPs going to Kabul. We will spend one night at the Safi Landmark Hotel in Kabul City Center and return to Sharjah the following afternoon.

So of course this meant that everyone was going to “general quarters.” Flying over here is definitely not the same as flying for a major in the United States. From my end it meant getting the overflight permission from Iran, getting Boeing to facilitate our AFMs (Aircraft Flight Manual), flight planning, fuel planning, getting the pilots back into the books, uniforms, and SECURITY!

The original intent was to never have the plane RON in Kabul, but everyone knows plans are always in flux. In Bogota, the plane was always safe with just the security tabs placed on all the openings. In Kabul, anyone who wishes to enter the aircraft after shutdown could just open a door and walk in. Of course that would be preferable to blowing a hole in the side or underneath and walking through it. So, the bottom line is we are still sticking with tabs but also “numerous” armed guards for the entire stay.

Our custom tailored uniforms were to be delivered on the 8th of November, but the powers that be weren’t thinking of that. So, we had to quickly re-schedule our final fit and I believe pay a premium to get them five days early. They actually arrived at 1530 the afternoon prior to the test flight. The fit was actually pretty good. I did require more material than in my Navy days. While I was thinking,” wow, they arrived,” I decided to inventory the suit bags. I was surprised to find the epaulets were missing. After a couple quick calls, it turned out that the Duty Driver had left them in the back of the van and was back in Dubai. Just another trip back to Sharjah for him to deliver them back to my room! The president of the airline wanted us to have silver strips as opposed to the traditional gold, so now we need a belt to match---so many problems!

As I mentioned earlier, we will be taking a few VIPs on the RON to Kabul. One of the VIPs will be A. She received her expedited Afghan Visa on Thursday and is now ready and eager for the next thirty days. She has even started doing research for possible rug purchases in Afghanistan! No time wasted for this woman in this part of the world! One can only guess who she will have carry it for her?

While she has been transitioning to the time zone over here, she has been able to visit Deira City Center Mall, Festival City Mall, Sahara Mall, Safeer Mall, Wafi City Mall, and the Sharjah City Gold Souk. Together we will explore the Emerates Mall for the Rs arriving around the 11th of November. So many malls, so little time.

This will be sent out when we arrive in Kabul and are at the hotel. Next week we will cover the first Safi Trip with Flight Attendants and VIPs. This is the whole reason we’re over here and we do find it exciting!