2nd Lt. Sourya Saleh (left) stands with me and 2nd Lt. Masooma Hussaini (right) on the formation pad at the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing Thunder Lab. This photo was taken on Sourya’s 20th birthday.
By Capt. Jamie Humphries, 438th Air Expeditionary Public Affairs
People ask me all the time what it’s like working with Afghans. That’s a question I love to answer because not only do I work with them, but I also live and eat with them as well.
I live at Thunder Lab.
Located here on the Afghan Air Force base in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thunder Lab has the mission of preparing prospective Afghan lieutenants for further English and pilot training in the United Arab Emirates or U.S. Here, the students live and train alongside American and British military members.
We typically begin each morning by conducting physical fitness activities. Then the Afghan Airmen attend English classes along with training in aviation terminology, flight simulators and offcership. We also eat breakfast and dinner with the students and facilitate evening activities to help with their conversational English.
What’s unique about Thunder Lab right now is that there are four female Afghan lieutenants who live here along with their male counterparts. You must understand that during Taliban rule, women in Afghanistan were not allowed to work, drive a car or even attend school. Some women’s families actually paid private tutors to come to their houses under the cover of darkness to teach their daughters the basics of math and science. To say we’ve come a long way in Afghanistan would be quite an understatement in my opinion.
At Thunder Lab, these men and women come together with common goals – to learn English, prepare for formal training and then to return to Afghanistan to serve their country. There is no gender bias here…we are all one team working together to improve the well being of the people here. The men help the women and the women help the men. We eat together and train together…one team, one fight.
The most interesting part of the day for me is traveling with the students to the dining facility. After we negotiate the maze of confused glances from the enlisted Afghan airmen, we sit down together for a meal. We ask about their day and the Afghans ask about our day. We sometimes discuss family or culture or religion or whatever happens to be the topic of conversation that evening – all in English. It’s an educational moment for me; one that I try to take advantage of. It’s interesting interacting with these bright students and motivational at the same time.
It finally dawned on me the other day just how special our situation really is here. One of our students, Sourya, was celebrating her 20th birthday. She told me she’d received a phone call that morning from her dad who wished her, “happy birthday.” Sourya also told me it’s not customary for Afghans to give each other birthday presents. I decided then we should bring a little American culture to her. We agreed it would be nice to buy her a traditional Afghan head scarf that she could wear if she wanted. I later presented that scarf to Sourya and she smiled, thanking me for the gift. That’s when it occurred to me that although our cultures are different, the basic bonds that form friendship and respect between people is the same no matter where you are.
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