COMBAT OUTPOST ZORMAT — Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Esser is a man looking for a good deal.
The 41-year-old from Riverton, Iowa, loves to barter in the Afghan shops here.
In particular, he's a big fan of a tiny blue-and-red shack along the main drag in Zormat that sells jewelry and beaded medallions, made by nomads known as the Kuchis.
On one recent dismounted mission in town, he bought enough jewelry to fill an overnight bag.
Esser was deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990, to Kuwait in 2001 and to Afghanistan in 2005. Along the way, he got into the habit of picking up unusual souvenirs.
Other soldiers have been known to come straight to him to buy their mementos rather than go to the bazaars.
“I try to get these guys to get something with some cultural significance, instead of just a big, dumb blanket and some pirated DVDs,” Esser said.
He plans to use some of the treasures he's found to make display cases for the American Legion and others back home who have sent care packages during his deployment.
Overall, he estimates that he's spent about $800 buying about 40 pounds worth of jewelry and craft pieces on this deployment alone.
“It's just kind of something to keep me occupied, keep me sharp for when I go back to the pawn shops of Council Bluffs,” he said.
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