RC viruses and horses in Afghanistan

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

Hi guys,
I'm back from visiting my husband in Japan and sorry to say, immediately
came home to the bad trans worm virus going around.  My McAfee virus scan
did not stop it, so I apologize for anyone that caught it from me.  You
apparently do NOT have to open an attachment to get infected, and I got it
from someone in Germany (I think).  Anyway, it crashed my whole system for
awhile.  Now I've seen the light, dumped McAfee and loaded Norton which has
been lighting up like a Christmas snagging these little buggers.  Anyway,
hope everyone has a good virus program on their systems.

I saw some assorted comments on RC about the horses and "cavalry" in
Afghanistan and thought I'd pass along what my husband told me last week.
He's a warfare operations logistics officer for the Navy and currently on
loan to the Marines, has already spent five weeks in the Afghan region and
is back there now (about 60 miles outside of Kandahar).  Anyway, he said
that he's seen virtually all of the logistical requests coming out of
Afghanistan and the surrounding areas and while there have been requests and
discussions about getting horse feed for the Northern alliance troops and
their horses, he has not seen anything to lead him to believe that U.S.
special op troops are on horse back or will be any time in the immediate
future.  No requests for saddles or bridles or anything like that, no
discussion of troops that can ride or not.  Yes, he *would* know if there
were anything like that in the wind.

I also asked him how the Afghani horses looked and he said he thought they
all looked good.  Lean, but not starving, well-fitting tack (he brought me
back an Afghan snaffle-type bit that's really cool).  Tough horses,
outstanding horsemen.  He said the Afghans treat their horses with alot of
pride and consideration (considering the circumstances) and do the best they
can for their animals.  I had the impression that while horses are being
used, they are not even close to replacing mechanized tools of the trade,
and their use is not a critical factor either way---just part of what has
always been a part of Afghani culture.

Thought some of y'all might find this interesting.

Susan G