There are some crazy estimates out there about how many American men and women have rotated through Afghanistan over the past seventeen years. Millions, and for some it has been generational with mothers and fathers here and later children serving not far from where their parents were a decade before.
So, one thing you can count on here is the revolving nature of new people arriving and friends leaving. One of my friends and colleagues here was expressing how amazing it is that we run this with people leaving every few months or at most each year. The amount of turnover is somewhat shocking if you were to compare it to a major corporation.
With all that said, it was inevitable that the “new people” would arrive. I’ve been so excited for their arrival, and we’ve done everything from cleaning the office to placing name cards on their desk complete with brand new notebooks, staplers and pens. The new people arriving means my time here is almost up!
Leading up to their actual arrival we’d had many discussions about which person should turnover to whom, and how we could make a smooth transition. I didn’t realize until after they landed that we had really planned all this without their input – and that really wasn’t a winning plan.
The new people arrived by helicopter (as we all do) on a very hot afternoon. We met them at the
helicopter terminal with our command shared Gator and helped them load over 15 majorly heavy duffle bags, camera cases and more luggage to transport to their new living accommodations. The Army folks here make fun of the fact that I use the Navy term “berthing” for where we sleep – they call these areas “barracks,” but seventeen years of Navy has berthing firmly in place in my head and I’m not changing it.
They arrived exhausted, dirty and pumped full of adrenaline. With a million questions a minute and a sense of false urgency about everything – it was de ja vu.
It was exhausting, and I immediately recognized in them the way we arrived over six months ago. Later in the day I sent a message back to the group that we relieved thanking them so much for their grace and patience that I hadn’t fully appreciated until now.
There is a lot of frustration when you arrive. You want to immediately get started and jump in and contribute. But the bureaucracy of the place makes things slow and painful. You have to fill out paperwork that is inevitably incorrect, find your computer certificates online and print them – without yet having computer access because these certificates are a prerequisite. Just one roadblock and hold up after another, when all you really want it to get settled and acclimated as quickly as possible.
The new people also come with new eyes. Any are eager to start productively contributing. You don’t know it when you’re new but you say a lot of things that sound like criticism to those who’ve been working on the ground for months prior. It is hard to hear, when you’ve been here for months and have so many lessons learned you are eager to share with those who’ve just arrived.
It is an awkward dance trying to be open to sharing, listening and accepting from both parties. And I know I said it earlier, but it really is exhausting. By the end of the first day, I was reeling from a shift in thinking and approach when it came to the whole turnover process.
I realized that I needed to take an approach where I supported them with their vision and if I could sew in seeds of lessons learned here and there that would suffice. It is a bit humbling, more than a bit, and I appreciate life experiences where humility places a role. That always stretches me for the better.
It is so good to see the energy and hope in the new people. They arrive with big visions and passion. That isn’t to say those of us on the ground lack energy, but we’ve built a rhythm that operates smoothly and strongly. That too is a beautiful thing to witness.
It is like we’ve spent the last month perfecting a dance, and now some new people have been thrown into the dance while it is still going on. Our role is to help them quickly and successfully learn the steps, while maintaining the rhythm and moves as we go.
It isn’t easy, but if we can do it right the end result brings us that much closer to a beautiful future for Afghanistan.
**This blog post is dedicated to all those who came before me. From the team that we relieved that welcomed us with grace, patience and humor -to- the many, many people that came over the past nearly two decades and brought with them passion, ideas, and energy.
