Baba Ken Kraushaar passed away in the Washington, D.C. Veterans Administration Hospital this past weekend. He was one of the founders of the Free Range International Blog and a good friend who stayed in touch after our return home. He and his partner Ginny frequently hosted me at their waterfront home in Nanjemoy Creek, Maryland. I’m going to miss him.
The first night I met Ken Kraushaar, I thought he was a spook. He was waiting for me at the Tiki Bar at the Taj Guesthouse in Jalalabad with Dr. Dave Warner, and they introduced themselves as the advance party of the Synergy Strike Force (SSF). They explained that the SSF had rules, like Fight Club, one of which was mandatory attendance at the annual Burning Man festival. Then they said, “We’re from the government, and we’re here to help,” which they could barely say they were laughing so hard.
Baba Ken was partnered with Synergy Strike Force but not always funded by SSF on his many multi-month-long visits to Jalalabad. Baba Ken had won a testing contract for the GATR Satellite Internet System, which required frequent fine-tuning due to the high winds swirling around the Hindu Kush. Ken started and mentored the Jalalabad Geek Squad, a collection of Nangarhar University students who learned to install and repair networks, routers, and laptops. And it was Baba Ken who donated a water well to Little Barabad Village after learning the district government refused to install one.
Ken’s most important contribution to the overall success of the many projects spun out of the Taj was his commitment to being there. You had to live at the Taj year-round to witness the difference in the effectiveness of ex-pats who invested serious time in Afghanistan. Shem and I were the only people who lived in Afghanistan full-time; thus, we were uniquely positioned to judge Baba Ken’s enhanced effectiveness as he worked patiently to develop the Afghan human capital.
With a heavy heart, we here at Free Range International wish Ken fair winds and following seas. He will be dearly missed.
