Human interaction and negotiation are relatively simple actions to describe, but consist of complex components. Throughout history, people have negotiated over human and civil rights, personal freedom, land, salaries, and other resources and commodities. Sometimes there is mutual understanding and an agreement is made quickly, but more often there are a series of interactions that require sacrifices and concessions in order to come up with a solution. In this paper I will discuss a situation that occurred seven years ago at Bagram Airfield (BAF), Afghanistan, involving United States Army Soldiers, local Afghans, and a loaded 9mm Soviet-made pistol. The participants were from different cultures and countries, spoke different languages, and interacted in a situation that almost resulted in a firefight. At the end, we were all supporting a common mission - destroy the enemy and make Afghanistan a safe and viable country.
