This Captain is getting ready for his fourth tour in Afghanistan and knows the ground truth very well. If you care about what is happening in Afghanistan and a God-honest truth of what it is like on the ground there and what it will take to even remotely win, check out easterncampaign.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/behind-closed-doors-coin-chatter-on-afghanistan/
Monthly Archives: April 2009
0358 Hours
This is what my watch read as I laid in my bunk in Gardez, Afghanistan. I’d set my alarm for 0400 hours as later that morning I was going to be leading my first American and Afghan National Army (ANA) convoy on a 2 day trip from Gardez to FOB Tillman. I closed my eyes and tried to enjoy my remaining 2 minutes of sleep before I had to embark on a very long day.
Too soon the alarm went off and I tried to rub the sleep from my eyes in a sluggish attempt to wake up. At about the same time I heard a quick whoosh, followed by a tremendous explosion that shook our b-hut (living quarters) as it threw rocks and debris onto our roof. Shortly after that initial blast someone hollered “We’ve got incoming!” Next thing I know I’m running outside with my battle rattle (helmet, body armor, and weapon) on and trying to find a spot to sit down in the crowded bunker until we get the all clear that the attack is over. As I sat there and felt the adrenaline from a combat situation pump through my veins for the very first time, I realized that I didn’t put on my ACU top and I wasn’t wearing socks with my still un-tied boots. I didn’t feel so bad after I looked around and saw a few people with their body armor, no shirt, PT shorts. and unbuckled Kevlar helmet. I even heard a few people say “Oh man, I left my weapon on my bunk.”
Considering the company I was in, I looked “battle ready” as I at least had my weapon. After 45 minutes of sitting on the ground, listening to bodily functions going off, snoring, and just happen to have that guy who never stops talking about his own life (apparently he took the fact that I was ignoring him, for caring), we were given the all clear signal. Thinking that I had lost approximately 45 minutes of preparation time, I started to really move with a purpose. My NCO partner then asked me what my hurry was. After giving him the “are you kidding me look?” he responded with a reassuring “Sir, we’ve got hours. Remember we are working with the ANA.” As usual, the NCO was correct. We actually left 2 hours later then we had planned for. In sh’allah!
Later that morning we were  informed that 2 security forces soldiers from the Florida National Guard were wounded in the 107mm rocket attack. One had minor wounds but the other soldier had taken a good amount of shrapnel and was MEDEVAC’d out. Both soldiers had less then 2 weeks left in Afghanistan. Luckily they would both survive.
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Live free or die trying!
AAFES Blog review of AT WAR
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service Blog has written a review of At War. You can check it out by clicking the link below.
“The film is not a Hollywood production. Far from it, yet packs a punch more emotionally explosive than any Tom Hanks war drama. This is real life. There is no set. No makeup. The blood is real. The tone of film is intense from start to finish. I am still wrestling with emotions and questions after watching this film…though not to the extent our troops and their families.”
www.salutetoyourservice.com/archives/374
04/30/09 You Served Radio
Tonight we will be catching up with film-maker and embedded freelance journalist/blogger, Scott Kesterson, live from Afghanistan. Scott’s film, At War, was just shown at the Annual Milblog Conference last weekend and is showing at the Buffalo-Niagara Film Festival this weekend. He has been out on missions the last few days and will be giving us a fresh perspective of how things are going on the front lines of the Global War on Terror.
We are also talking with Mark Baker, creator of the popular Army Times cartoon “PVT Murphy’s Law” (www.pvtmurphy.com/). Mark and CJ are old friends so it should be a good time to find out any dirt on CJ from the past. We will be talking about his very famous comic strip, the feedback he gets about it and how Murphy has grown over the years from a Private to a Sergeant.
Last but not least, Wesley Gray, author of “EMBEDDED: A Marine Corps Advisor Inside the Iraqi Army” will join CJ and Troy to talk about his book and the story he is trying to tell the world through this book.
A.L.L. is live and operational
It started as a lengthy phone call between Old Blue and myself. Thanks to a private online chat group that a whole bunch of us milbloggers talk on, it grew to include Vampire 6 and WOTN. Four veterans of Afghanistan, Four milbloggers, Four guys who care about passing on the Afghanistan Lessons Learned (A.L.L.) to others that are deploying. 2009 is going to be challenging enough for this country in regards to Afghanistan and even more challenging for those that are heading over to risk their lives and spend a year away from home.
The last thing they need to do is worry about a lengthy ramp-up period to learn the unique challenges that the war in Afghanistan has to offer. They need to hit the ground running, which means having all the lessons learned already in their head.
This is where we come in. We call it A.L.L. and it is for all going to Afghanistan. We foresee this blog becoming the one-stop shop of knowledge needed in order to step into the country knowing all there is to know without having physically been there.
You can find it at afghanlessons.blogspot.com/
Go there to check it out, and if you know anyone heading to the “Popular, Forgotten War” tell them to check it out too.
They are still 3rd graders-Updated
I watched this video and I swear my heartbeat raced, the flashbacks came back and my PTS even kicked in. Two years after I left, and there is a lot that has not changed. This video shows you exactly what the American fighting men serving as embedded trainers have to deal with on a very common basis.
I have been saying repeatedly since 2006 in many blogs and interviews and screaming ever since that the TOP 3 problems in Afghanistan are:
1. Corruption
2. Lack of spirit (No care for the good of Afghanistan)
3. No accountability or code of military justice.
When Commanders in the ANA start addressing these issues, then you will see the ANA move forward and mature into an effective and cohesive fighting force.
Not only are those facts, they are still relevant today as you can from the video below. This video also highlights the reason why some ETTs/PMTs come back from a one year tour burned the f*** out. Imagine getting shot at and blown up by the enemy all the time, shafted by your higher headquarters all the time via no resources and stupid rules, and then dealing with (some of) these idiots all the time. Many (but not all) were and still are 3rd graders with guns and trucks. I have also stated many times in public forums that many in the ANA and ANP are in it for a paycheck only (ref #2 above), and have no real skills. These are the bums that hang out by the drug store with their skateboards all day because they have no motivation or skill to have a real job. If they could, they would. So they join the army to get 3 meals a day and a little money.There are some good soldiers there, but not enough and surely not the majority.
And just think there are those in our government whom want to double the number of force in country. Do we need double of these guys, or half of them but those half being professionals.
At War being shown at Buff-Niag FF
The docu-film, At War which was produced and directed by my friends David Leeson and Scott Kesterson will be shown this weekend at the Buffalo-Niagara Film Festival in North Tonawanda, NY on Sunday at 6PM. If you are in the area, be sure to stop by and check it out. You can learn more about the festival at www.buffaloniagarafilmfestival.com/index.html.
There is a good chance that I will be there to conduct a Q&A after the film. You can read more about the film on the festival website at www.buffaloniagarafilmfestival.com/at%20war.html