Overcoming personal doubts of age, ability, and the prospect of working in a War Zone; a middle-aged civilian, never before serving in the military, becomes a contractor in a “vital support” capacity for a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Afghanistan: the longest armed conflict in American history. The risks were leaving a secure job of 11 years in pursuit of adventure. The reward was seeing and experiencing life that was a world apart from what was familiar. The challenge was not only surviving the Taliban bent on killing as many “infidels” as possible, but also mentally outlasting the stress of being deployed in a strange and hostile land away from home.

   The day-to-day life on base is presented; not from the commonly told military view-point, but from a civilian along for the ride. The base is called FOB Tarin Kowt and was operated as the main base for Australian Army operations. The author pursues his job with dedication, but is confronted with worn-out equipment and apathetic superiors and co-workers. That’s not including the 15 fellow employees that did nothing for 6 months but play video games and collect their 6-figure salaries.