The night before memorial day we received an urgent message to be ready for a VIP visit the next day. We had to call on the TACSAT (tactical satellite radio) back to BDE (Brigade) and find out what this was about. They told us that THE General of the Afghanistan Army was coming to visit our Afghan Kandak (that is what they call a Battalion) after their move to OE.

He flew in just a few minutes late the morning of Memorial Day, which a CH-47 full of folks. He had several Afghan Generals and Colonels with him, his personal security detail, several Afghan media reps and a handful of US Colonels, Captains, etc. After they offloaded, we piled them into the back of our LTVs (Light Tactical Vehicles, i.e. Japan made Ford Rangers that we drive) and headed to the ANA side of the FOB. They had about one hour on the ground, and it was a typical VIP visit. He first went into their TOC, met with the leadership, and then the soldiers were put into formation for him to visit with them. He talked to his troops for about 30 minutes with this staff and the Kandak commander standing behind him. When he was done, he asked for questions, and just like in America, everyone was shy. It usually only takes one to ask, and in this group the “one” was a guy we call moustache. He has some serious chops from his stache up the side of his face. I will have to get a picture of him soon. Anyway, Moustache is known to have big kahunas and is not afraid of anything. He asked about several sensitive subjects that the soldiers are upset about, pay, ammo, etc. Once he asked many hands went up and a lot of soldiers brought things forward right in front of their officers and commanders. Needless to say when that was over and the commanders went back into the Kandak commander’s office, there was some serious one way conversations going on.

While he was talking, I was chatting with some of the US Colonels that accompanied him. One of them and I started talking and we found out that we know some of the same people. He knew my commander and 1SG from Korea, so we chatted about that. The one Afghan I was impressed with was the Afghan G3 officer. I think he was a 2 star general. Anyway I saw on his left shoulder that he had a Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, and Airborne Tab. I asked his Marine COL what was up with that, and he told me that this guy went through Airborne and SF School in the 70s and completed it. He then went through Ranger school a few years later. He was captured by the Soviets during the war here and because of his affiliation with the US, they tortured him in prison for 18 months. They broke both of his feet and knocked out all of his teeth. He is one Hardcore MOFO. He walks with a noticeable limp, but at least I know why. I made sure and shook this warrior’s hand.

After they were done with the last meeting, we escorted them back to the helipad and they boarded the CH-47 as their escort Apache circled overhead. They climbed aboard, seated in, and took off for the next leg of the trip. So that was our visit, which lasted only about 90 minutes, but I think it went a long with the ANA to see their top General come to see them. This guy is like their Joint Chiefs of Staff, so those visits do not happen often.

Troy

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Today was a busy day in A-stan, as our ANA battalion was getting settled in. I had my first full day with them, spending most of my time with the ANA CSM. They are like dealing with 3rd graders, and not so much because of their education level but because of their maturity level. I can see many more frustrating days with these guys. I had my first Chi tea today along with nuts, raisins, and peas. I had this with the CSM as met and talked today. Even though I got to really get ingrained with the ANA and had to deal with a variety of issues, my thoughts really were not here today.

Today my thoughts were on many friends and soldiers that have given their lives for this country. My thoughts were of faces, faces of friends, faces of patriots, faces of sons, brothers, uncles, and fathers. Faces of men like SGT David Roustum, whom I lost in Iraq in November 2004. Faces of men like PFC Ben Schuster whom I lost in Iraq in February 2006. Faces of men like SGT Mike Randazzo who was a friend and fellow soldier who left this world in March 1990 just a few kilometers from where I was battling the Iraq army. Faces of SGT Ed Kutz who died at the battle of 73 easting in March of 1990. Men like SFC (Retired) Lou Legier, who was one of my closest and best friends that I lost due to a motorcycle accident in Atlanta Georgia just a few years ago. See this is what memorial day is all about, but of course unless you have the pains of these faces in your memory it all gets lost in extra days off from work, BBQs and sprucing up the landscaping in the front yard.

These men and others that I was acquainted with or had served with whom are no longer here is what has been on my mind all day. I think not only of them, but also their families, friends, loved ones. I think of what they would be doing today if they were still here. I so badly wanted to take a moment today and spend some time remembering them in solace, but I was having to do my job all day with the ANA, a job that I hope will be successful so there are no more names added to any walls.

Tonight I sit here in my TOC (tactical operations center) typing this entry in quiet, using this private time to remember them. Using this medium to talk about these great men and these thoughts. I sit here listening to the tacsat radio about weapon cache finds and about riots in Kabul because of a stupid accident and dumb people. That is a distracter, but so is a war in a country like this place. We did have a very important visitor today, the top General of the Afghanistan Army. But I will write more about that later.

I urge that anyone who reads this to take a moment and think about what this day is about. Think about the blood, bones, sweat and tears that our young and old alike shed in order to protect your way of life, in order for you to have a job much less an extra day off. Just take a moment, not long, and think of all they do for you and your family. God Bless them all.

Troy

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

I was asked to provide some definitions of some of the acronyms that I use. Here is a short list:

ANA-Afghanistan National Army
ETT- Embedded Training Team
OE- Orgun-E
Hummers- HUMMVE
FOB- Forward Operating Base
MG- Machine Gun
IED- Improvised Explosive Device
VBIED – Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device
HA- Humanitarian Assistance

COL- Colonel
LTC- Lieutenant Colonel
MAJ- Major
CPT- Captain
LT- Lieutenant
CSM- Command Sergeant Major
1SG- First Sergeant
SFC- Sergeant First Class
SSG- Staff Sergeant
SGT- Sergeant

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Well we have moved to a new FOB after a long, hot, tiring ride. The other day we moved from Gardez to Orgun-E (OE). The convoy was actually made up of multiple serials with ANA, Jingle Trucks, US Up-armored HUMMERS, and ANA Cargo trucks. The ride took us through some of the worse roads you would have ever seen, but by Afghanistan some of the best roads.

The dust is called moon powder because it is as fine and light as the powder found on the moon. Before we left, the guys on the team started garbage bagging and zip-lock bagging every electronic item they had. They explained that the moon powder would find its way into any bag or case or anything else unless it is wrapped in plastic. So, I along with my two other NY NCOs started wrapping our computers, DVD players, PSPs, etc. in plastic. These guys were not kidding because it surely did look like powder, and when you are talking about 10 hours on roads of this stuff with cars and jingle trucks going past and a convoy as long as ours with the wind blowing all different directions, the stuff got everywhere. As you can imagine, we were pretty dusty ourselves, as we were covered in it.

Luckily I made it to the local bazaar (open market) a few days before and got me one of them Schmegma rags. Of course that is not what they are called, but it is closely spelled to that and schmegma is easier to say. These are the head wraps and face wraps that many muslims wear. Mine is the same pattern as Yassar Arafat’s except that mine is black and white instead of red and white. Before we started the convoy, one of the terps gave me one as a gift that he just picked up in Kabul. So now I have two, which is a good thing. Cause after one convoy like that, one is unusable until it is washed.

For the first 6 hours of the convoy I was up in the hatch on the .50 cal MG. After 6 hours of that, I switched with SFC D from Florida and drove while he was in the hatch. Being in the hatch is not bad as you are always on adrenaline overload. You are constantly scanning the horizon, looking for IEDs, looking down into every car you pass, eyeing every person you drive by, etc. etc. etc. The bottom line is the guy up top will be the first one that alerts the rest of the crew to danger, or at least he should be. When you are the lead truck in a very long convoy, then you are the early warning for everyone. The last 4 hours driving would have been more fun if we did not have to go so slow waiting on the trucks. I am sure when we go out with nothing by ANA soldiers and our Hummers that we can move a lot faster. After being up top in the sun all day, I started getting sleepy driving so slow in the Hummer, especially with the 25K BTU air conditioners we have in them. But, that is where the famous Red Bull comes in. They have red bull in the mess hall, so we stocked up that morning for the drive. I am glad we did, because when the Z monster started to get me, one red bull perked me up and kept me alert.

After we made it into the FOB, we directed the ANA where their camp is, got our trucks parked, and went to chow. I met the guy that I am replacing and got a de-brief on how things happen in this FOB since it is owned by 10th MTN Division and is not a normal ETT FOB. Everyone unpacked, SHOWERED and settled in for the night. This is going to be home for the next year, so we might as well rest, as there is plenty of time to learn our way around.

If you are interested where OE is, you can check out the map at this site, www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/images/map-orgun-e.jpg
In this map, it is listed simply as Orgun. The curvy black line to the right of it going northeast to southwest is the Pakistan border.

Troy

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

A lot of people have asked me what to send, what I need, etc. I really don’t have any specific needs here as of now. We just hit the ground and right now are still settling in. There are some things I could see on the horizon and would be benifical at any time during the deployment. These items would not only benefit me, but anyone on the team. The soldier relief packs from Brigade Quartermaster are a good collection of things we could use. They are built for deployed soldiers. They have different sizes and prices depending. You can find them HERE.
The ones for soldiers are the first 3 in the list.

Also a Giftcard from www.actiongear.com, www.rangerjoes.com, www.tacticaltailor.com or www.uscavalry.com any soldier would like. These are places that carry much of the gear we use or like to use.

Other things that are popular here are pringles, beef jerky, slim jims, flavored sunflower seeds, AA and AAA batteries, hard candy, caffiene gum, lens cleaner (for ballistic glasses and goggles) and of course movies/books/CDs of a person’s liking.

I don’t intend this entry to be a wish list of what to send, it is only in response to many friends, family, co-workers, etc. that have asked what is it I or anyone else here needs. I figured if I put this info here as a start, then most who ask me this would be able to get the answer from the blog.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

I have several pieces of info in this post that some of you have been asking me. First, my address is:

William Troy Steward
ANA ETT
TF 2/87th CATAMOUNT
ORGUN-E
APO AE 09354

Next are items that I need. These are not things that I need but that we need. We do lot of Humanitarian Aid Missions, and we could use stuff for the kids. Kids shoes, small toys, candy, stuffed animals (beanie baby size), pencils, paper, crayons, and stuff like that would be great. We are going on missions over next two days giving out this kind of stuff. We will need more over time. I know some churches and groups like to sponsor these types of projects, so if you think you know one that would let me know. They can be sent to me, and if you give me a heads up I will keep an eye out for them.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

We have been here at our FOB in Gardez for a few days. Most of the team has been broken up and have went all different directions to fill different manning needs. I have SFC C and SFC S with me and we are here for a few more days. The last two days we went out to do some local HA (Humanitarian Assistance) missions. Yesterday we visited a school with 4 classrooms (two in tents and two in a mud hut). We conducted this mission with several US soldiers and a company of ANA (Afghan National Army). We had a ton of stuff to get rid of and we gave it all away. We gave them clothes, books, toys, school supplies and of course candy. Trust me the candy is not going to do any more damage to their teeth than is already there. It caught us a little by surprise that 3 of the classrooms had girls mixed in with them. I guess these people allow that until the girls get to their teen years, and then they separate them to a different school.

We had to go through downtown Gardez to get there and what a crap-hole of a place that is (trying to keep this G rated). Goat and cow meat hanging up with flies and maggots on it, bread hanging out in the sun and dirt, and just filthy conditions all over. One of our guys had deployed to Haiti before and said this place is even worse than that. Haiti has always been known for squalor conditions. Saw lots of Burqua covered women and even a few not covered. Some with just scarves up over their lower face.

Anyway, the kids were great, the smiles were awesome and it felt good to do the first mission like this versus capping someone. Hopefully doing things like this will start to turn this place around. The way I figure is that the adults are a lost cause, so is we can get the kids to like us and understand what it means to give to others and do what is morally correct then that is a start.

Today we visited a hospital in downtown Gardez with only US soldiers and our Terps (Interrupters). It went ok except there were more people there than we thought, the armed guards were not there and the courtyard was pretty small for both hummers. We gave out all remaining toys and candy we had. The Koochie women started to mob us so we had to push them back. The kids look terrible. Very sick, malnourished and pretty pitiful. We try to give more to the girls as we know they will have a much harder life growing up than the boys. We were planning to spend two hours there, but the situation started to deteriorate with too many people, too many men on cell phones, etc. So we dumped the last of it and scooted back to the FOB. Still a good mission, or at least it makes us feel good. Hopefully the adults do not take the toys back from the kids and sell them in the bazaar. That sounds terrible, but they do it all the time. We intentionally hand the kids a toy and not the adult as it is harder for them to get it from the child once they have it. Of course they can always threaten them, and beat them which they do (saw it today).

This is my first real entry into the blog since being on the ground per se. I hope all my entries sound this uplifting and positive. However after meeting and talking to the guys that are about to leave here, I cannot guarantee that. I will try not to fall into the rut some of them have, but who knows what the next year will bring.

If you want to keep up on Afghan news, check out www.afghanistansun.com. That site collects up a lot of the news in and about Afghanistan.

Troy

Be Sociable, Share!

•