Deployment #2

I am set to head out on my second deployment on Saturday, the 9th of June. It is going to be a base camping mission to Vietnam. What does this mean, you ask? Well, it means that 12 military personnel, 5 Vietnamese officials, 60 local workers, and I will all be living on a steep hillside in the Vietnamese jungle. In tents. For 45 days.

We have to bring all of our own food for 45 days worth of meals. What, you ask. The military doesn't provide the food? I am reimbursed for the cost off all of the food that I bring with me. It is actually a really great gig because it means that I get to eat what I like, not just what I am provided.

The location for the mission is in central Vietnam, a little ways outside of Da Nang. Da Nang is actually a city that I have been through before. It was in 2005 when I was on my SE Asia adventure. I spent a paltry hour in Da Nang on my way from Hue to Hoa's Place. I am hoping to get the opportunity to do a bit more exploring of the city on my way into and out of the site.


Unfortunately, since I am going to be living out in the jungle I am most likely not going to be able to post any stories or pictures. This is not a for sure guarantee though. I am going to have to wait and see if there are any surprises.

More from the site

Our break area.

Crashed out in the crash crater.

Fillin' the buckets.

J-E-L-L-NO

The Plain of Jars

We received a special treat on one of our days off. Permission from the Lao officials to travel a short distance out of Phonsavan to The Plain of Jars. There are thousands of jars scattered around this portion of Laos, but there are four main concentrations. We visited the largest collection of jars (334) at Site 1.


This north-central region of Laos was the subject of heavy fighting during the Vietnam War and as a result there is still a large quantity of unexploded ordinance in the area. The main tourist centers have been swept for mines and such, but it is still very important that you stick to the marked pathways...

The plain of jars is a lesser known archaeological site dating to between 500 BC and 800 AD. While there are many different theories about the origin of the jars, most of them center around burial rituals.


Compared to other sites in SE Asia such as My Son and especially Angkor, the Plain of Jars receives relatively few tourists. Phonsavan is well off of the normal tourist loop and because no backpacker is going to be able to afford a helicopter ride, they are forced to take a gruelling 16 hour bus trip from Vientiane. As a result, the backpackrs tend to be the sort who are SE Asia for numerous months.

More from Laos

Standard operating procedures at work prevent me from divulging a lot of the details about my mission to Laos, but I can share some of the other photos with you.

Enjoy...

Phonsavan, the main drag.

1000 lb bombs get turned into bbqs.

SSG Jimenez and Dr. Baker.

Screening going full tilt.

Team mascot.

My Site

Here are a few photographs of my site. They were taken on the last day when we had completed excavation and had cleaned up all of the units. They are overlapping photos assembled into large panoramics.

In all, we excavated a total 744 square meters (8008 square feet) to an average depth of 25 cm (10 inches). That is a total of 186 cubic meters (6568 cubic feet). That is equivalent to having a foot and a half of dirt covering an area the size of a basketball court.



Photos by Chris Flahive. Panoramic were assembled using autostich.

Vansana Hotel

Ok, so a nice hotel is probably not the best thing to get spoiled with on a first mission, but hey, I am not the one who determines all of this stuff. There are other people in JPAC who decide all of these things. I just take what is given to me.


All 50-some-odd of us stayed in the Vansana Hotel in Phonsavan. It is literally the hotel on the hill. It is also the only place in town large enough to accommodate all of us. There was a super friendly staff who completed a full maid service every day while we were out at work. There was also a pretty decent restaurant with a full complement of asian food and cooks who even went out of their way to learn how to make cheeseburgers for us.


We completely took over the entire hotel. One of the parking lots turned into out gear storage and staging area. Another, lower parking lot, turned into our landing pad for squirrel helicopters. The Mi-17 landed in a dirt area out on the other end of the hotel.


I also had a very nice view of all of town from my front balcony.


I have a bad feeling that I might be camping when I go to Vietnam in June...

Getting to Phonsavan, Laos

How do you move 54 people and enough gear to run four massive archaeological excavations halfway around the world? Start with a C-17 and pile everyone and everything on board. Leave Hawaii and fly to Guam. Hang out in the Anderson Airforce Base terminal for about two hours while the plane refuels and then get back on and fly to Utapao Thailand (About 100 miles southeast of Bangkok).

In Utapao all of the people get off of the C-17 and get onto a C-130. We were on the ground for about 45 minutes total.


This is a much smaller plane that takes you to Vientiane Laos where you go through immigration. After taking you, the C-130 flies back to Thailand to get your gear. In Vientiane you climb on board helicopters. We used two different types. Mi-17s:

And smaller helicopters that we called Squirrels:

After about an hour of flying across Laos we arrived in Phonsavan. Unfortunately I do not have any photos of Laos because the Lao government does not allow us to take any photos from the air other than of our excavations.

Our gear was trucked from Vientiane to Phonsavan and arrived a day after we did.

Returned to Hawaii

I have made it back to Hawaii after a very successful first mission. I am sorry that I was not able to post while I was away. The internet connections in Phonsavan were not capable of handling this web site.

I promise that I will put up lots of pictures very soon.

Mandatory Apparel

These must be worn at all times while I am deployed.

Gearing Up

When I have gone traveling around the world in the past few years I have always taken very little stuff. For Southeast Asia in 2005 and Australia in 2006, my bag weighed less than 30 pounds. This trip to Laos for work is a little different. Ok, it is a lot different. First, I have not had to take care of any of the logistics. The military takes care of ALL of it. They take care of all transportation to, within, and from our destination. All I have to do is show up at the terminal at the airport on time. Travelling with the military also means that you need/get to take A LOT of gear. This of course is heaven for a guy who always likes to be prepared. I am allowed two giant black plastic foot lockers as well as a super heavy duty pelican case which serves as my mobile office and personal dig kit.

The amount of gear that we take depends on each mission. If we are camping in the jungle for 45 days we have to take a lot of food with us so we end up taking more boxes and they get a lot heavier. For this particular mission, where we will be staying in a hotel in Phonsavan, we take a lot less gear.


It bears remembering that each person on my 12 person team has a similar amount of gear and that there are four teams going out on this particular mission. All of the gear gets palletized shortly before we depart. This of course occurs way too early in the morning. Because the military guys like to be on the ball the entire process was half completed by the time I showed up at 0630 when I was told to. The photo below shows all of the teams' personal gear. There are also four more pallets that have all of the general gear like generators, screens, and other necessary equipment.

San Antonio

I have traveled to San Antonio, Texas this week to attend the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). It is the giant conference for all of the criminalists, medical examiners, and coroners in the country. Those of us from JPAC also attend because we are also in the business of identifying people based upon only their physical remains. This has been a new experience for me as a person who has primarily worked in archaeology up to this point in my career.


San Antonio is home to the Alamo. It is located right in the middle of town. It plays a very prominent role in the city and tourism in the town is based around it. Interestingly, all of the signs and labels in the entire place are ONLY in English. Apparently, the Alamo was only an important event for the Americans. It seems really ridiculous to me that there is not a single sign in Spanish. This might also be one of the unique places in history where the losers got to write the story.

Another highlight of San Antonio is the river walk. The San Antonio River flows right through the middle of town and it has been modified to provide a wonderful green tree lined attraction for tourists and locals alike. There are numerous restaurants and bars to feed and entertain. Every evening they have all been packed by conference attendees. The sunny 80 degree weather has made it extra nice.

I hope that everyone has enjoyed reading about my trip to Australia. I am happy to let you know that the international adventures will continue next month as I journey to Laos for my first deployment with my new job. I leave March 5th and will try my best to update the blog while I am away.

Even More Random Pictures from OZ

More Random Pictures from Oz

Some Random Pictures from Oz

Sydney Harbor and Manly

I had two days to spend in Sydney on my way back to the United States. One of the days I caught a ferry from downtown Sydney out to a suburb called Manly. It is on the north side of Sydney Harbor and is situated on a narrow peninsula with beaches on both the harbor and the Pacific Ocean.

The ferry ride was wonderful and it really allowed me to see Sydney in a unique way. If you are ever in Sydney a ferry ride is an absolute must.