Library Corner
Philomel Base Library
Base Librarian Janet Gilmore
At last a book about New Zealand’s Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan.
Richard Hall
A long road to progress: dispatches from a Kiwi commander in Afghanistan
“This book is a personal recollection of leading one contingent of the NZPRT: ‘CRIB 13’, the thirteenth rotation of Operation CRIB as the New Zealand operation is called. It is an account of the many brave and sincere people I met whose dedication to making a difference made a lasting impression on me; of the complex and sometimes intractable issues that the contingent had to grapple with; and of the unforgiving but the stunningly beautiful landscape and punishing climate.”
So wrote Richard Hall in the Prologue of his book “A long road to progress”. This book is written as a day by day record of his six months at Kiwi Base in Bamiyan. The military personnel in Afghanistan have to be soldiers, politicians, humanitarians and also be very aware the culture of the local people. Three Naval personnel are mentioned in the book and they are Lt Gina Goodridge, WO Lionel Jamieson and WO Tom Teweehi.
A book well worth reading to see how the New Zealand presence in Afghanistan is making an improvement in the lives of the local people.