KABUL AIRPORT... Late this afternoon, I put on my ballistic vest, buckled the chin strap of my helmet and took my seat in the back of an SUV for the drive from NATO headquarters in the center of the city to the airport.

After more than three weeks here in Kabul, I am headed south to join the Fort Lewis-based 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which is patrolling the Kandahar region with the aid of eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles.

Before departing the downtown base, my Scottish convoy organizer, Cpl. Hart, made sure she gave me a full run down on convoy security. If there was any trouble along the route, we should stay inside the vehicle.

While riding down the road, we should be on the look out for suspicious cars that might be up to no good.

Cpl. Hart spoke with a wonderful brogue that turned the briefing into a thing of beauty. She is here on a six month deployment, and every sixth day she runs the airport shuttle convoys, which typically involves about four-round trips each day from the city center.

From Pictures

Cpl. Hart

This is nothing like the infamous run from the Baghdad Green Zone to the airport that claimed so many lives during the height of the Iraq war.

But it still can be a deadly route.

Cpl. Hart has been involved in - or near - three separate suicide attacks during her airport runs. The last one was last week when she was not too far from the Italian convoy that got hit with a vehicle-born bomb that claimed the lives of six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghans.

Cpl. Hart is part of a remarkable international potpourri of soldiers who have converged on Kabul.

I know the Americans are, by far, the largest force here.

But here in Kabul, plenty of other nationalities are very visible. You find the Macedonians guarding the gates to ISAF, and head into a dfac (dining facility), and join soldiers from Iceland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Canada and a whole bunch of other nations. They all chow down without complaint on some pretty standard American fare - fried fish fillets, Swiss steak, carrots, broccoli, French fries, noodles and red sauce.

I am filing this brief post from the airport, with hopes that I will be able to grab a seat on a cargo plane scheduled to make a late night swing through Helmand and Kandahar provinces. But it's no sure thing, as plenty of passengers get booted off these flights to make room for more cargo. Or, flights may get canceled for maintenance issues or diverted to a higher priority mission.

Hopefully sooner, maybe later, I'm sure I'll find a seat.