I remember back in the late 60s, Minolta was in use by a fair amount of pros. I never used one myself. I went for the Yashica TL Super. Perfectly good camera, and the Yashinon (not Yashikor) lenses were much better than they generally got credit for.
When I upgraded, I had a commitment to M42 lenses so I got the Fujica ST901, since I wanted an auto exposure SLR that was aperture preferred. Hard to beat.
I was pretty good at taking photos of whatever I wanted to, and had a small reputation. When my command decided to buy camera kits for all offices, much to my chagrin, they didn't ask my advice. 😛 They got (Ugh!) Canon AE-1 cameras. I hated them. But doggoned if they weren't very agent proof, and didn't have a big learning curve either. We consistently got good photos where before we didn't even get photos as most agents didn't have cameras, or weren't very good at using them.
That's all I know about either of them. But I do tend to agree with the comment above that it might be better to take the Minolta to Afganistan since it is mechanical. But I don't recall now if one is more dust proof that another. Regardless of which you take, I would take a good supply of metal-tie and zip-lock plastic bags. I would also recommend some color film for sure. I have seen photos and documentaries, and there seem to sometimes be colorful scenes, or scenes with color that pops out in the otherwise drab areas.
Stay safe over there!
EDIT: I also meant to comment on light meters. First, many meters are both incident and reflected light meters; each has its advantages and disadvantages. No meter selling for more that $50 should change its characteristics for reading light for many years. I still use my Sekonic L28c2 I purchased about 1976. Although it does both incident and reflected, I don't prefer it for reflected.
I would be interested in what caused you to say what you did about meters, that they quickly degrade. Even the old Westons and GEs would last quite a while.