15 May 08 Bosnians and Sex Ban Lifted...in Afghanistan

15 May 08 Bosnians and Sex Ban Lifted...in Afghanistan

This last weekend I was at the Green Beans coffee place on the west
side and saw Igor whom I worked with at Tallil a little over a
year ago. (Igor is in the pic in the solid red shirt below.) Korman
is in the checkered red shirt and both are Bosnians and we were
all receiving medals for doing such a swell job! Anyway, Bosnians are
generally white people from SE Europe who happen to be Muslim.
(Serbians are not Muslims, thus the whole Bosnian-Serbian conflict.)
A lot of Bosnians discovered that they could work for the US
Army and make a lot more money than they would in the Bosnian economy.
Before working for the US Army/KBR in Iraq, Igor was a
professional soccer player in Bosnia which while glamorous still
didn't pay what he makes in Iraq. Now the US Army pays for a job
based on the job AND based on that persons Nationality. US citizens
get 100% (and of course are subject to US income tax), Canadians
get about 90% and Bosnians get about 50-60%. I believe that the
reasoning is that the cost of living is much less in those countries.
Needless to say, Bosnians are accutely aware of this differential.
Igor and I had some pleasant small talk and he said we should get
together again some time. I left him my email address and I've not
heard from him since. I don't think I will either.

The Army also tries to implement some 'dumb' rules that while lax in
enforement, still carry the weight of law if needed. Recently
the Army has modified its stance in Afghanistan on a rule that is
virtually unenforceable. It should only be a matter of time before
such progress of allowing responsible adults to act like responsible
adults comes to Iraq.

And the Porta-John arsonist is still on the lam.

R/Chris