Former Key West High School football player and Army 1st Lt. Aaron Barker never planned to be a journalist, especially not deep amid the mountains of eastern Afghanistan in the war-torn Pech River Valley.

In a country where the CIA estimates 62 percent of residents are illiterate, news normally reaches villages via word of mouth, but Barker and his comrades are working to give them a more direct line of news by helping local programmers on the radio station 101.1 FM, the "Voice of the Pech."

"I had no desire to use this as a way to get into journalism or radio at all," Barker wrote in an e-mail interview with The Citizen. "However, it is pretty interesting on a day-to-day basis learning new ways to grow the station. I don't interject in the programming too much, but if the guys have a question on how best to do something, I think about American radio and ways I've seen it done before. I lay out options for them and they select the way that jives best with Afghan culture."

The 2003 Key West graduate was deployed in May. Barker formerly was a rifle platoon leader while in the United States, but his battalion commander thought he was an ideal candidate as their information officer. Part of that job is helping the local residents keep their radio station running.

"It's incredibly popular," Barker wrote. "Afghan culture is big on poetry and religious teachings out of the Quran. That's what the people want to hear, so that's what they play. As far as news goes, they rely on the Voice of the Pech for basically all of their news. It keeps people interested and aware, and having informed citizens is good for Afghanistan. The most popular programming is call-in shows and interviews with mullahs [Islamic priests]."

The language barrier has been the toughest obstacle to overcome thus far.

"We have a translator on staff, but it has taken me a while to figure out what he's saying," Barker wrote.

There is a strong sense of pride among the local radio staff, and though Barker traded his rifle for press releases and microphones, he sees the radio job as a more direct line to the people.

"I gave one of my employees a certificate of appreciation for the hard work he had been putting in -- a PowerPoint slide show that said 'For Outstanding Achievement,' nothing too special -- and a week after that he came up to me and said he found a better job in Asadabad and it was all because of my certificate," Barker wrote. "I was sorry to see him go, but that's what this is all about, bettering Afghanistan as a whole. And that was my little part of that."

Back home in Key West, Barker's parents, Ron and Sheila, recalled when he worked at McDonald's and then Chili's when it was still around. When Barker joined the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) while at the University of South Florida -- he graduated in May 2008 with a bachelor's degree in arts and science in history and a minor in military science -- his parents figured he would be heading overseas.

"I'd worry about him if he was in Tampa; that's just a mother's role," Sheila Barker said. "I don't know any parent who wants their child in a war zone, but he's providing a wonderful service and we're very proud of him."

Barker chuckles when people back home write to ask how things are going in the "desert."

"There's no desert where I'm at, just more mountains, LOL (laughing out loud)," Barker wrote.

And there's no mystery about where Barker heads when he visits home.

"There is a lot about Key West I miss, but every time I'm back, I go to the Rusty Anchor with my parents," he said. "Nothing like fresh seafood."

alinhardt@keysnews.com