ANOTHER WRETCHED TRIP
Name: Old Blue
Posting date: 11/13/09
Returned to: Afghanistan
Milblog: Afghan Quest

Just returned from another wretched trip to Pogadishu, once again challenging my moral endurance. One of the more blatant signs of disconnection from reality; several Soldiers complaining vociferously about Pizza Hut running out of beef while nearby a Soldier who was passing through Bagram to go on leave had come from a FOB where running out of water for days at a time was relatively common, and where needed supplies were unable to be delivered due to a lack of airlift capacity. The ridiculousness of the concerns of the denizens of Pogadishu is highlighted in the presence of those who pass through their midst on the way to and from the real war.

The Soldiers who pass through are treated to visions of high-rise (three-story) conex condos while they themselves are subjected to the horrors of the “transient tents.” These hovels house nearly two hundred men who share four shower stalls, two urinals and three toilets. Overflow capacity is provided by several porta-johns nearby. I haven’t been to the east side of Bagram in two years, but I hear that conditions over there are even more horrific.How that can be escapes me, but there must be another level of depravity on that side of the runway.

In the north transient tents, one tent, which is not an Army tent but the type of enclosure that might hold diners at an outdoor wedding, holds double-deck bunk beds that house at least 175 men. It is nearly always filled to capacity, a scant foot or foot and a half between bunks. Dimly lit, it is like a holding pen for a level of Hell that is filled to capacity. Bare plywood floors are perpetually dusty, and there is an air of resignation.

The other tent, of the same construction, has standard Army cots separated by the same intervals. This tent easily houses a hundred men. It seems more pleasant because of the ability to see from one end to the other. Not all of the occupants are transients. Many Soldiers and contractors are “housed” there for weeks at a time before getting more “permanent” housing, likely in one of the many B-huts which have small living areas separated by cubicle-like “walls” with lockable “doors.” The “walls” cannot go all the way to the ceiling because there are only two Chigo (heating and air conditioning) units, one at each end of the hut. Often a dozen men will be housed in one B-hut. B-hut living is tolerable, but it is sheer luxury compared to the Spartan living in the transient tents.

In the transient tents, privacy is a matter of mind over matter. The iPod is a savior. If one puts in the iPod, one can almost forget the man snoring 18 inches from his left ear. As I lay there on my cot, the roar of two F-15’s taking off shattered the near-serenity of Pachelbel’s Canon. I restarted the tune, immersed in the quiet dignity of what is likely my favorite piece of classical music. A bit later, another pair of fighters took off, afterburners punctuating Steppenwolf’s invitation to a young woman to join them on a Magic Carpet Ride. Brilliant.

I think that the iPod saved my sanity.

But there is no saving one’s sanity from the utter fobbitry. NFL on Fox made the trip to Afghanistan, only to root themselves in the land of those who serve, forward deployed, but not in any way, shape or form actual participants in the hostilities. As we were conducting training for several days with one of the headquarters elements, we moved through what is to us something out of Alice in Wonderland. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if I were approached at Bagram by a huge, time-management-challenged rabbit. So, eating in one of the dining facilities during lunchtime, we saw Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long as they exited. They had been seated in the large, cramped DFAC and had signed many autographs. Asked by a friend back home if I had said anything to them, I replied, “Nah, this place is full of fobbit jock-sniffers. I don’t want to be one of them.”

I was informed that coffee being shot through the nose is very uncomfortable and stains shirts.

I am reminded that Toby Keith heads out to FOBs and COPs where he has played for very small groups of Soldiers on an acoustic guitar. It was a nice gesture for NFL on Fox to head to Afghanistan, it really was. When I first came to Afghanistan, half of the people I knew weren’t even tracking on this country. It was the forgotten front of the War on Terror. Iraq was where all the money, troops and attention went. So for Fox to come to this land was a great gesture. But the kids at Bagram have everything.

Except beef on their pizza. At least for a few days.

There are Soldiers and Marines all over this country who get squat -- even water -- while Bagram has “Karaoke Nite” and “Salsa Nite.” Then the spoiled wonders there even have the temerity to rant out loud about not getting beef with their pepperoni for their Pizza Hut pizza (delivered, no less). Now, I can’t fault them for making their lives as comfortable as possible, but there is silly and then there is ridiculous. Salsa Nite is silly.

Housing the warriors who normally live in Spartan conditions that the fobbits at Bagram would riot over in those pathetic “transient tents” is ridiculous. You do not see field grade officers spending the night in those wretched holes. If a full Colonel ever got stuck in there for a night, lots would be made of the event shortly thereafter. But it is perfectly fine to “house” a young Sergeant with two Purple Hearts, who has lived for days without clean water and who has no electricity on a regular basis, in the slums of Bagram while the full-time denizens of that massive disconnect from reality are housed in apartment complexes formed of stacked shipping containers, with cable TV and internet service in their rooms.

The word is disparity.

“I can’t believe that they have the nerve to even open their mouths about not having beef on their
pepperoni pizza,” the young Sergeant stated, “but it just reminds me that they are nothing.” He continued, “They come here and then they go home and talk about how they went to Afghanistan, but they aren’t even in this war. This is like an American town in the middle of Afghanistan. This isn’t Afghanistan, and these people ain’t shit. Hearing stuff like that pisses me off, but it reminds me that I’m an Infantryman, and I’m in it for real.”

Bagram really needs to do something about the shameful disease vectors that it calls “transient housing.” There should not be a soul living in pampered condos while the warfighters themselves pass through the scummy misery of those fetid tents. Tons of money is being spent there on construction, and yet a man who lives in crap out on a FOB has to share four shower stalls with over two hundred other men? Bagram is a hub for all who pass in and out of Afghanistan. The notoriously snarled air traffic leaves people hanging for days at a time -- to suffer the indignity of an ill-run “transient housing” situation. It is unconscionable.

They didn’t show the celebrities the “transient tents.” Why? Why not show them where the real warriors get stuck when they pass through on leave, or when rushing home in family emergencies? Because they are not idiots. If you chain your child in a closet, you know better than to show anyone. Certainly not anyone with a camera. Not only is Bagram disconnected from the war, but they treat anyone who actually is connected to the war like some kind of animal. For anyone going on leave, Bagram is just part of the hellish journey that only gains some semblance of normal when you reach Atlanta.

It’s a shame.

I’ve caught yet another upper respiratory infection in the transient hell of Bagram. If you ever really just have a burning desire to get sick, go to the transient housing office at Bagram and tell them you need a place to stay.

Posted at 09:03 AM in Afghanistan | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

11/11
Name: Alex Horton
Posting date: 11/11/09
Returned from: Iraq
Hometown: Frisco, Texas
Milblog: Army of Dude
Email: hortonhearsit@hotmail.com

Today my literature class continues our unit discussion of poetry. The instructor asked us to bring in our favorite poems and read them aloud. I try to sequester the words 'vet,' 'Iraq,' and 'war' from my vocabulary when I'm rubbing elbows with teenagers and twentysomethings, but I might need to break the habit so they can understand my eyes misting up when reading this:

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

    In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
    Between the crosses row on row,
    That mark our place; and in the sky
    The larks, still bravely singing, fly
    Scarce heard amid the guns below.

    We are the Dead. Short days ago
    We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
    Loved and were loved, and now we lie
    In Flanders fields.

    Take up our quarrel with the foe:
    To you from failing hands we throw
    The torch; be yours to hold it high.
    If ye break faith with us who die
    We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
    In Flanders fields.


Stop by the New York Times to read about the price of coming home a marked man. I find a bit of solace knowing that warriors have felt the same way going back a few thousand years.

I've been hosting an Army buddy of mine the past few days, and for the first time in a long time, I've been my true self, not the quiet student I've pretended to be. My true self only peeks out from behind the mask when another veteran is there to speak the language and listen to the stories with a knowing smile and a simple nod. They don't change the subject or shy away or languish under the pressure of uttering the I-word or the A-word. They don't secretly wonder when your next outburst or flashback is going to come out. They get it, but the problem is, there are too few around that get it. So each Veteran's Day, the mask stays on until I come across another wearing the same disguise.

In between tweets and twats, Facebook status updates and snores, I'm going to read "In Flanders Fields," not for me or the instructor or the other students, but for my father, grandfathers and uncle that served honorably so many years ago. I'll read it for my brothers still in the fight, and those who continue the battle long after the guns have fallen silent.

Posted at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

DEALING WITH THE ANA
Name: K
Posting date: 11/9/09
Returned from: Afghanistan
Milblog: Embedded in Afghanistan

Getting what you want out of the Afghan National Army (ANA) is a huge part of the job. If you can't get along with your ANA commander, and get him to do things your way, then you aren't going to get much done, because most ANA commanders can't be relied upon to show any initiative to improve and do their jobs well. We all certainly had our ups and downs in the relationships with the different ANA commanders we worked with. Sometimes some of us, myself included, didn't do things the best way. I definitely don't have any magic formulas for how to work with the ANA, but I did learn a few things.

During my last tour to Afghanistan as an embedded trainer, I conducted training sessions on the M-16 rifle as part of the ANA’s transition from the AK-47 to the M-16. The ANA soldiers had a habit of showing up late for my training sessions. I had tried encouragement, suggestion, and profuse compliments when they were on time as ways to try to get them to show up on time and be more professional, but I had not gotten the results I had hoped for.

Since my efforts to improve things by gently nudging them along were not working to my satisfaction, I decided to try a different approach -- to berate them for being lazy, discourteous, and unprofessional. An Afghan soldier is not unaccustomed to being treated in this manner by an ANA officer, and would expect such a reaction from an ANA officer in a similar situation.

However, the fact of the matter is, it was really not my place as an adviser to the ANA to handle my problems with the ANA soldiers in that manner. I should have known perfectly well that the appropriate and expedient thing to do was to talk to their officer about their behavior and let him deal with it. This approach would not only help develop leadership traits in the ANA officer involved, but would also likely engender much better results. However, on another day when the soldiers again were late for my training, I decided to direct my ire at their officer, Commander B, who happened to be standing right there. While the soldiers could not understand the things I was saying (no interpreter was necessary since Commander B speaks English well), they no doubt caught the gist -- that I was criticizing their commander.

After the training was completed that day, I thought about the incident. I knew I had overstepped and that my new “approach” to dealing with the ANA of being critical, negative, and worse, criticizing an officer in front of his own men, was counter-productive. Subsequent events proved this to be true, as the ANA became increasingly difficult to deal with, and I lost the trust and confidence of Commander B. I apologized to Commander B and made a special effort afterward to compliment him in front of his men, but I was not able to restore our previously amiable relationship in the limited time we had left together.

In retrospect, I should have remained consistent with the way I had been conducting things -- only with more patience and with my expectations in check. Our team had a lot of different personalities, and they all did things different ways; the guys (including myself) who were dictatorial toward their ANA commanders and lost patience with them eventually were unable to accomplish anything at all, to the point where they hardly even worked together. The ETTs who were patient and encouraging with their ANA were able to slowly but surely get more and more out of their ANA. We had one ETT in particular who was always very encouraging and positive with everyone, all the time. I've never heard him say a bad word about anyone, including the ANA. He, out of everyone I saw, was the best able to get the ANA to work more than they wanted to.

Posted at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

WE'RE EVERYWHERE!
Name: Air Force Wife
Posting date: 11/6/09
Spouse: deployed
Milblog: SpouseBUZZ

For thirty years (since I was about 5 years old) I have wanted to go to Disney World. How much have I wanted to go to Disney World? I would pick Disney over a cruise to Hawaii. I would pick Disney over a world tour (at least the first time).  I would pick Disney World over dinner with Abraham Lincoln if a time machine existed and I were somehow able to secure a special invitation to the White House in 1864.

Disney World has been a really big deal on the airforcewife list of things to do.

After waiting and planning and saving, we decided this year was the year to go. Everything just fell into place, which is particularly helpful. We expected a big expense, and as we started pricing things out on the Disney website, our expectations proved to be right on target.

But then I had a chance encounter with another military spouse, and everything changed.

First off, I should emphasize that in many things I'm quite Type A. With the exception of the time I traveled to SpouseBUZZ Live in Utah with Sarah and Sarah took care of all the travel arrangements and timing (she was the perfect cruise director for my son and myself) I check every option and plan everything down to maps. I even make travel folders for each person on the trip.

But Disney World was proving to be my undoing. The options, the excitement, the hotels -- trying to figure out where to eat, whether I needed reservations, which characters would be where -- it all had me nearly in tears, even after I read The Unofficial Guide to Disney World twice.

So, on the advice of a website I found through the guidebook, I contacted Small World Travel. In the contact form I stated that we were a military family and we would be attending Disney while on an R & R.

I'm sure you can imagine the hyperventilating that went on when Caylie from Small World returned my email with a quote -- the hotel we wanted, the days we wanted, and a savings that had three zeroes at the end.

Incredible. Not only do I get my dream vacation, but I got it at half the price I was expecting.

It turns out that Caylie, our assigned travel agent, is also a military spouse! So when I mentioned the R & R she got right on it and booked us under a special promotion that Disney is offering for military families. She answered all my questions, spoke my language and understood why I was asking things that might sound weird to people in different situations (like: if my husband has some weird thing come up and doesn't get home when he's supposed to, can someone else use his ticket or can we reschedule?).

Military spouses -- we're everywhere, aren't we?

(In case anyone is interested: Caylie works for Small World Vacations, and the Disney special for the military can be found here. )

Posted at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

WELCOME TO THE REAL WILD WEST
Name: Mike T.
Posting date: 11/4/09
Returned from: Afghanistan
Milblog: c/o Afghan Lessons Learned

For those of you who will be stationed out in Western Afghanistan for your tour, as I was, I have some advice:

1. Do not listen to the bullshit that people state about the West: It's dangerous like everywhere else.

2. The West is mainly desert near the Hari Rud to about Shindad, which starts to become mountainous. From there to the main city of Herat you will find various builds of infrastructure. Herat is the cultural center of Afghanistan. Read The Great Gamble. This is the only book that mentions so much about Western Afghanistan and how much it played a role in the Afghan-Russo War.

3. The war in the West is as isolated as anywhere else in-country, but we are mainly under ISAF ROE. There are many areas in the West that you can stumble into an ambush. We operated in higher terrain, but my Oakley boots did very well there. The West isn't as built up as back East so be very prepared to live on your own. ISAF dominates the West and they are a bit slow to help out. Marines are flooding the area but they have their own agenda (still good guys though).

4. Our friends to the West of us do not make our jobs easy in the ETT/PMT world, so be prepared for that as well. Bala Marghub to Golestan (Route 1) is a treacherous drive. It sometimes disappears on you out there, so make sure you have plenty of GPS batteries.

5. Back to your ISAF friends: The Spanish and Italians play by different rules so simply understand that they can't do much for you. There is a single main FOB out there and if you're ETT, get used to little support from our own as well. The logistics are strained. Understand CERP and "Afghan funding", which is actually the money you sign for, research about prices in the West compared to the rest of the country when negotiating contracts for work. Out West is less expensive, don't let them fool you.

6. There is a vendor on the main FOB who can get you anything. You will find out his name when you get there. Ten American bucks for 1000 Roshans (cell phone units). Don't let him tell you otherwise!

7. Back to the terrain: You will find it more interesting than most other Corp Areas. Shindad, Farah, and Herat have their own ethnic issues. If you're running into Tajiks out there -- be prepared to fight. They are not your friends. It is mainly Pashtu or Hazaras.

8. Herat Airfield is run by NATO. Even as Americans you have to play by their bullshit rules to get on there. Do it. Great food if you can get in past all the god damn NATO/ISAF forces who lounge on that bad boy.

9. Teeth hurt? Go to the airfield, there's no dentist yet where you are going. The Spanish have hot nurses and will take care of you, but make sure you can bring someone who speaks Spanish!  I didn't, and boy it was a rough go at first.

*ISAF ROE: International Security Assistance Force Rules of Engagement

ETT/PMT: Embedded Training Team / Police Mentoring Team

CERP: Commander's Emergency Response Program

Posted at 11:01 AM in Afghanistan | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

A FEW MEMORABLE WORDS
Name: K
Posting date: 11/2/09
Returned from: Afghanistan
Milblog: Embedded in Afghanistan

BRIBERY

Marine: “Since we just had an IED blow up outside the base, just down there in the town, I think we should search the town down there.”

ANA commander: “No, not a good idea.”

“Yes, it is a good idea. We can’t let them get that close to us. The villagers at least need to know that if they aren’t our eyes and ears out there, then we’ll put them through some inconvenience by searching their homes.”

“I don’t want to do it.”

“I know you don’t but we have to.”

“Couldn’t do it even if I wanted to because we already made the schedule and a search of that town is not on the schedule for this week.”

“Right, but this little operation is based on new information. Remember what we talked about changing operations based on new information and intelligence?”

“Can’t do it and won’t do it.”

“Ok, I’ll give you one phone card to call your family with if you do the op.”

“No.”

“Two phone cards.”

“No.”

“Two phone cards and I’ll buy a cow for the soldiers.”

“Can’t do it.”

“Ok, two phone cards, a cow, and we’ll find you a new wife. Plus I’ll throw in a summer house in Nuristan.”

(laughing) “Seriously, we’re not doing that operation.”

“Roger.”

THERMALS FROM THE SKY

Apache Pilot: “I got a guy on my scope moving all nimbly-bimbly through the trees!”

Air controller on the ground: “Yeah, that’s probably a monkey.”

SOVIET WAR HEROES

Marine: “How come every officer I meet claims he was a commander during the war against the
Soviets?”

ANA mullah: “Because some of us were.”

Marine: “Maybe, but not Commander Hanif here. He looks way too young to have been commanding anything during those times. Maybe he was the chai boy.”

Commander Hanif: “You may be right.”

WE'RE READY

ANA officer: “We’ve got intel that the base is going to be attacked tonight.”

Marine: “Sounds like a great opportunity to kill some people -- but how are we going to prepare for this?”

“We are at stand-to.”

"What does that mean?”

“It means we are ready.”

“Are there more soldiers on duty? Are they sleeping in their gear?”

“No. None of that. But we are ready.”

“Yes, but are we doing anything differently than before?”

“Yes, we are ready now.”

“Well, alright then.”

PRELUDE TO A FIREFIGHT

Unknown insurgent on handheld radio: “I am going to do something.”

WE MEET AGAIN

Marine: “Hello there Haji Z. Been awhile.”

Haji Z: “Here you are. Where have you been? I didn’t give you permission to leave my valley.”

Marine: “Ah, yes, but I have to take orders from someone and can’t always be where I want to be.”

Haji Z: “Let me talk to this person!”

KORENGAL TANK

ANA officer: "You know what would help us? A tank! We need a tank out here."

Marine (egging him on): "Oh yeah? A tank? Great idea! How would we employ a tank here exactly?"

"Easy. We'll just drive it around and the Taliban will shoot at it. Then we'll shoot them with the big gun."

"Hmm. You sure we can drive a tank around this valley? It's kind of narrow and the roads might not hold a tank."

"Oh, we don't really need to drive it anywhere. We can just park it out there somewhere."

"Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of a tank?"

"No. No. It would work great."

(laughing) "You guys need tanks in the Korengal about as badly as you need a navy."

(petulant) "If you Americans cared about us you'd get us tanks out here."

(placating) "Okay, okay. We'll see what we can do."

Posted at 11:46 PM in Afghanistan | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

HERO
Name: Old Blue
Posting date: 10/30/09
Returned to: Afghanistan
Milblog: Afghan Quest

Recently, an email came in from an officer who quoted an ANP* chief in a district in which I did some work as a mentor. The ANP chief said that he was looking forward to winter so that the leaves on the trees could no longer the Taliban and he could kill them all. Fair’s fair, after all. They’ve repeatedly tried to kill him.

He’s been wounded twice since I’ve known him.

We were getting ready to do a conference for trainers from all over the Army and some of our Coalition allies, and it was brought up how great it would be to have the ANP chief, a Colonel, come and speak to these officers and senior NCOs about his experiences. Since I knew him, I said that I could perhaps help. Through a series of communications, we were able to get through to the Colonel and schedule time for him to come and speak.

I met the Colonel just over two years ago. He had been handed a very challenging district and was struggling to turn it around. He was cheerful, soft-spoken and, I was to learn, fearless. Whenever word came of ANP troops involved in a fight, he gathered more ANP soldiers and ran towards the sound of the guns. He was wounded and nearly lost his hand in one fight. An American medic twice braved fire to run the length of the convoy to work on the wounded ANP officer. He was never recognized for his bravery, because the American officer in charge at that point put himself in for a Silver Star for the action. Recognizing the medic was not on the agenda.The ANP Colonel was medevac’ed to an American hospital and his hand was saved.

He was wounded again just over a year later, this time in the chest. Again he was flown to an American hospital and recovered. His driver was also wounded in the ambush which was set specifically for him. He hates the Taliban and they hate him back.

The Colonel has also made massive changes in his district. While certainly not entirely free of insurgency, the district is a far cry from the condition it was in during the spring and early summer of 2007. I’m going to go and revisit the district soon. The Colonel tells me that it is very different from when I last saw it. I hope so; it was viewed with considerable foreboding back then. The ANP have also improved.

In the early summer of 2007, the ANP would scarcely leave their district center for fear of attack by very strong insurgent forces. At least one officer was a Taliban spy, and two officers were running an arms trafficking ring along with a local baker. The district was a mess. The bazaar was an ugly smear running alongside the only major road. The Taliban and HIG* held sway. An NDS* officer was hanged in the village square and an order given not to cut him down. His body hung for three days as a warning to all not to aid or participate in the government. The town, and the district named for it, have changed.

Police checkpoints line the road and dot the valley. ANP move about at will, and there is a sense of hope. The road is paved now. Schools are functioning and the bazaar thrums with activity. The town has a new lease on life. Most of the ANP that were on the payroll in 2007 have been replaced. The Colonel has hired many from other areas, bypassing any tendency towards cronyism or local favoritism. He was not alone, and he thanks his American mentors and the Coalition soldiers who have assisted in the long, hard road to recovery for one district in Afghanistan.

The Colonel was delayed a full day in reaching us. He was ambushed at a spot I know well as he drove to be with us. All were okay, but he was delayed.

Although we had shared much conversation, time and a few missions, I wondered if the Colonel would recognize me. He did, and a hug was accompanied by greetings in Dari, which is much better than my atrophied Pashto. We exchanged typical Afghan greetings, inquiring into each other’s health, and the health of the family. He was curious what we wanted him to speak about. I told him, “Just share your experiences. Tell us how the district has changed. Tell us about the fight, and how it is going. Tell us about your experiences with mentors. Tell us about getting along with the ANA and the Coalition forces. Just be truthful.”

“I always tell the truth,” he said.

“Don’t spare our feelings,” I continued.

“I will tell them exactly how I feel,” he said. “We have nothing to fear from the truth.”

The Colonel is one of the most humble men I have ever met. Soft-spoken, I was concerned that he wouldn’t be an effective speaker. He spoke well, but didn’t overdo it. Always considerate, he left time at the end of the period he was allotted for questions, which he answered succinctly. Following a standing ovation, Major General Formica sought him out and presented him with his personal coin for excellence. Afterward, the Colonel stared at the coin in his hand, a distinctly U.S. Army bauble of military achievement, and discussed his experience of hearing speakers and speaking to all of the Coalition leadership he had addressed.

“This is very good, for everyone to learn from each others' experiences,” he said, “and all of this needs to get out into the provinces, or it will do nothing.”

“I know.”

“And these officers must all realize that what works in Kabul is not right for the provinces and districts, because each one is different. If they only listen to the people in Kabul, but not in a district, they will not understand the district that they are in. They need to listen to the local people, who know what they need,” he continued.

“That’s why we asked you to come here,” I said. “I hope you will come back and speak again.”

“Whenever you call, then I will be here,” he said.

I think that he is the bravest man I have ever met.

*ANP: Afghan National Police

HIG: Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin

NDS: National Directorate of Security

Posted at 11:36 PM in Afghanistan | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

GEAR FOR AFGHANISTAN
Name: Bouhammer, Old Blue, WOTN, Vampire 06
Posting date: 10/28/09
Milblog: Afghan Lessons Learned For Soldiers

This is one of a series of posts designed to help and inform the thousands of troops headed to Afghanistan, some of whom had expected to deploy to Iraq. Those who thought they were headed to Iraq now find themselves behind the power curve in coming up to speed on the peculiarities of Afghanistan.

The first version of the list below was published in January, 2007, and is the single most popular post ever put up on Bouhammer.com. It lists good equipment to have, based on our experiences and those of our friends.

Some of these things won’t be needed until you get in country, so you may want to set those off to the side and have them sent once you get settled.

1. Any extra Class VIII you can bring with you is good to have.

2. Wolf Hook Single Point Slings.

3. Desert Tan spray paint.

4. Space blanket(s).

5. 100 mph tape, 550 cord, TP, other expendables you think would come in handy.

6. Drop Leg Holster (BlackHawk or SERPA) and Uncle Mike’s Paddle-Holster for wearing around every day (drop leg will wear a hole in ACUs over time). I also have one for my IBA so I can have my 9mm handy when in the gun hatch going through towns.

7. Weapons lube that doesn't attract sand. (Miltech or Remington Dry Lube only).

8. Two copies of addresses, phone numbers, account numbers, etc.

9. 2 pairs of good boot insoles.

10. A good tactical flashlight (SureFire, even though you will get issued one with M4).

11. Red/white light L.E.D. headlamp.

12. Spare pair of running shoes.

13. MP3 player with estra pair of headphones.

14. Enough batteries to last you 30 days.

15. ChapStick.

16. Lotion.

17. 30 SPF or higher sunblock.

18. Bar soap -- for some reason it's almost always in short supply.

19. Small compact rolls of TP. A lot of places make travel size. Half the time you get to a Porta-Potti and the jackA$s before you yanked the TP.

20. Baby wipes -- 30 days' worth. Expect that the power and water will either go out, or the water will be contaminated, at least once a month.

21. Gold Bond Foot and Body Powder.

22. Small clip-on LED light. Clip it to your IBA. It will come in handy -- quite often.

23. Drink mix for 16- and 20-ounce bottles of water.

24. Weightlifting supplies.

25. Small photo album with pics from home.

26. Hand sanitizer (small bottles to put in ankle pockets).

27. More books/magazines than you think you will need.

28. DVDs, for you and to loan out for swapping purposes.

29. Tactical gloves -- military gloves are sort of clumsy. ( I love the $9.95 whitewater brand gloves from the clothing sales.) Also standard flight Nomex are good.

30. Lens anti-fog agent. Shaving cream works in a pinch, but you have to apply it every other day or so.

31. Good pair of shower shoes/sandals. I recommend the black Adidas -- lasted me all year.

32. Small pillow (air inflatable).

33. Cheap digital camera (at least 2.1 mp).

34. Boot knife.

35. Gerber multitool.

36. Fabreze -- sometimes the laundry opportunities are few and far between.

37. Armor Fresh.

38. Extra boot laces.

39. Stainless steel coffee cup with screw-on lid.

40. Soccer shorts/normal T-shirt to sleep in, hang out in your room in.

41. Sweatshirts for wintertime hanging around

42. A couple of poncho liners for privacy, cover for nasty mattress, etc.

43. A set of twin sheets with pillow case.

44. Good regular-size pillow.

45. One or two good civilian bath towels.

46. Buy a good set (more than $200) of winter desert boots. All they will give you is a regular summer set and a set of Gore-Tex-lined for waterproof needs. Desert is a cold place at these altitudes in the wintertime.

47. Bring a laptop. Also may want a PSP or some other handheld gaming device.

48. Get an external USB harddrive (greater than 120 GB). You will need this to back up data to, and to store movies and MP3s that you will fall in on from previous teams.

49. Get a Skype account and download the software from skype.com. This is how I talk to home 95% of the time. If you call computer-to-computer, it is totally free. You can also Skype out from your computer to a regular phone for 2.1 cents a minute. There is nothing cheaper than that.

50. Decent headset with mic for computer (Skype).

51. Webcam for video calls back home.

52. Bring a minimum of 18 each M4 magazines per person. Nine that are loaded and nine that rest. Plan to do M4 mag changeover once per month.

53. Bring 8 each 9-mm mags, for same reason above. Change these over every two weeks.

54. Order a LULA Magazine Loader & Unloader. It will be the best $14 piece of plastic you every bought. I have 12 mags loaded at all times, and when I do change over, it will do it in a fraction of the time and save your hands and save the ammo.

55. Try to get your state to get, or purchase yourself, one 12V DC to 110V AC inverter per man for your trucks. They are crucial on mission to charge personal items, cell phone, ICOMs, and especially ANA radios (they only have rechargeable batteries).

56. Dump the IBA tactical vest you get issued. Get a Tactical Tailor MAV chest rig. (Does not matter if you get  a one-piece or two-piece, as you want to keep the front open for lying in the prone. You don’t want mags pushing into your chest making it hard to breathe.)  I wish I had bought mine at the start. It makes a huge difference on the back and shoulders when carrying a loaded rig.

57. Get a comfortable pair of desert boots. I wear only the Converse eight-inch assault boots (non-zipper ones). Oakley, Bates, and several others are similar in style and comfort.

58. Bring some good snivel gear for the wintertime. Extra polypro winter hat, gloves, neck gators, etc.

59. Lock deicer for the wintertime.

60. Disposable hand and feet warmers.

61. Canned air, lots of it for electronics, weapons, etc.

62. Lens wipes for optics.

63. Screen wipes for computers.

New Updates from an ETT in 2009:

64. Firing Pin Retaining Pins. Brownells is a good source.

65. DVD ripping program for your laptop, so you can transfer all your DVDs to electrons and store on a hard drive.

66. A good assault pack. I have one from Tactical Assault Gear with aluminum stays in it for support. It's been a lifesaver several times. The one the Army issues is a P.O.S.

67. MBITR pouch from Tactical Tailor.

68. An aviator's kneeboard.

69. Personal GPS (Garmin, etc).

There are probably many other things that could go on this list, but a lot of that is personal preference. The purpose of this list is to provide some insight into things that could make anyone’s tour easier. Feel free to add your own tips via Comments.

Posted at 07:31 AM in Afghanistan | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

HEALTH ASSESSMENTS MAKE US ALL CRAZY
Name: America's 1st Sgt.
Posting date: 10/26/09
Stationed in: Iraq  
Milblog: Castra Praetoria
Email: castrapraetoria1@gmail.com

Before we deployed we all conducted a Pre-Deployment Health Assessment. This was to assess our state of health prior to deployment and to assist military healthcare providers in indentifying any present or future health care we might need. I suppose it makes sense when used as a benchmark to gauge any changes in our physical or mental health as well. After we fill out the questionnaire we also have to talk to one of our Independent Duty Corpsmen or doctors and answer a bunch of questions, especially in the event we answered something on the questionnaire that catches their attention like:

I sincerely desire to go on a five state killing spree and charge all expenses to my Government Travel Credit Card.

If you check Strongly Agree they may want to come back for a follow up.

Currently we are in the midst of the glorious Post Deployment Health Assessment. This is to assess our state of health after deployment in support of military operations and to assist military healthcare providers in identifying and providing present and future medical care we may need. The information we provide may result in a referral for additional healthcare that may include medical, dental or behavioral healthcare or diverse community support services (this is pretty much all plagiarized right off the questionnaire).

Some of the questions simply ask how you would rate your health, if you have been injured or sick during the deployment, and whether or not you have any emotional problems, etc.

As America’s 1stSgt filled out his assessment the building veritably shook with the deafening running commentary that accompanies nearly everything that goes on in the company office.

For any of the following symptoms, please indicate whether you went to see a healthcare provider, were given light/limited duty (Profile), and whether you are still bothered by the symptom now.

Fever: NO!

Cough lasting more than 3 weeks: NO! I guess that two week phlegm festival I had doesn’t rate!

Trouble breathing: NO!

Bad headaches: I’m having one right now!

Generally feeling weak: I’ve never been weak a day in my life!

Muscle aches: NO!

Swollen stiff or painful joints: Is this the geriatric test or what?

Back pain: NO!

Numbness in hands or feet: NO!

Trouble hearing: Can YOU hear me now!

Ringing in the ears: Why do you think I turn off the phone?

Watery, red eyes: Only after I watch Sands of Iwo Jima!

Dimming of vision: NO!

Dizzy, light headed: NO!

Diarrhea: Well I haven’t had a solid one in seven months!

Vomiting: I can taste it right now!

Frequent indigestion/heartburn: Have you eaten here?

Problems sleeping: Only when idiots knock on my door!

Trouble concentrating: What was the question?

Forgetful or trouble remembering things: If I didn’t write it down then it never happened!

Hard to make up your mind or make decisions: No, it’s hard to get anyone to listen!

Increased irritability: You’re kidding me!

After the entire battalion does this questionnaire on line they line up outside the Battalion Aid
Station where they shuffle past the Battalion Surgeon’s desk like POWs answering a battery of questions, the majority of which are answered with a sigh and resounding, "No Sir" or "What? Why would I want to kill myself? I’ve been eating ice cream three meals a day for the past seven months."

The only thing that could possibly be more banal is being the poor guy that has to ask these questions to over 1200 Marines and Sailors. My sit-down with the battalion surgeon went like this:

Swaggering into the office I found my doctor had begun to slump down the back of his chair in despondency and could barely be seen over his monitor.

“You ready to get this over with 1stSgt?”

“Is that one of the questions sir?”

Anything resembling humor had completely evaporated from his system 400 interviews ago. By now he had more or less degenerated into a bio-mechanical automaton whose fist had grown around the mouse on his desk, forever chaining him to the demon-possessed machine residing there.

“Do you have any medical or dental problems that have developed over the deployment?”

“I may have chipped a tooth while repeatedly head-butting the corner of my desk.” This comment completely missed his funny bone as the nerves surrounding it had turned necrotic and died.

“Over the past month have you been bothered by thoughts that you would be better off dead or hurting yourself?”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of. You do realize who you’re talking to, right?” At this point I was just another social security number, the idea of America’s 1stSgt having been completely burned from his memory.

“Over the past month have you been bothered by thoughts that you would hurt someone else?” The sound of my breath hissing through clenched teeth finally got his attention. His head lolled in my direction.

“Uncontrollably?”

“Oh! No.”

“During this deployment have you sought or do you intend to seek counseling or care for your mental health?” Having had Marines in the past with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury this issue isn’t one I normally joke about as my feelings concerning it are rather passionate.

Considering how much violence we endured this deployment though (that is to say NONE), it was the question that made me roll my eyes.

“Do you have concerns about possible exposures or events during this deployment which you feel may affect your health?”

This is the question that my medical professionals just love to ask as there are always a few Jarheads that are worried about the effects of being exposed to the Electronic Counter Measures devices on their vehicles or concerned about how many metric tons of dust they may have inhaled over the last seven months. These are usually the same ones who have no issue with having a cell phone surgically attached to their face or smoking five packs of cancer sticks a day.

The conclusion of the Post Deployment Health Assessment is by no means the end of the story. Much like sequels to bad horror films, health assessments rise again and again. Some months after we get back there will be the Post Deployment Health Re-Assessment where we will answer all the same questions again. This ends with one or two of the medical Corpsmen being staked in the heart to ensure they don’t become one of the living dead.

Then of course there is the Periodic Health Assessment which the military does with or without a deployment. At the rate we deploy nowadays I could be asked as many as five times in a year by a medical professional if I’m OK, without there ever being any sign that anything is wrong with me in the first place. A lot of times the deployment schedule is such that the Re-Assessment for the last deployment and Pre-Assessment for the next one are conducted at the same time. How’s that for mind-bending?

The next time I hear an “expert” on some news network talk about how we’re not doing enough to identify troops with medical, dental, or mental health issues I will openly wonder if he has ever had to interview an entire battalion five times in a year.

Even now there are units experiencing far more strenuous and combative deployments than we are this trip. With any luck the health assessments coupled with assertive leadership will be able to identify those who haven’t realized they need help or are too stubborn to seek it themselves. If it were a simple matter of paperwork we’d all be inoculated by now.

Semper Fidelis.

Posted at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

IN THE MEDIA
Name: K
Posting date: 10/22/09
Returned from: Afghanistan
Milblog: Embedded in Afghanistan

  Korengal Valley as seen from Firebase Vimoto.

You know it's been an interesting tour when during an hour-long layover in Alaska someone just happens to buy a Time magazine and thereby stumble across pictures of members of our team and one of our interpreters. Of course, our guys that had the pictures taken knew that eventually they might show up in the magazine, but none of the rest of us knew they'd be in there since we didn't pay attention to the fact that a reporter was with them.

It might have been a nice surprise if not for the fact that two of our guys pictured were bearded and well out of uniform. Unlike the Special Forces, we're not permitted to dress and groom ourselves how we'd like.

Of course, where we could get away with it, many of us did just what we liked regarding our uniforms and beards. But generally we had sense enough to not let pictures get taken of us in such a state. In fact, for the first half of our time we didn't let reporters embed with us at all, and pretty much just kept them away from us, primarily so something like this wouldn't happen.

At some point that changed though, and members of our team thereafter appeared or were mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time (twice), El Mundo, and some others. It wasn't until this last one though that some of us were published completely out of uniform. I'm not sure what if any repercussions our team will feel, but at any rate, I think the main pic of the story makes a helluva recruiting tool for the Marine Corps. Badass!

As for the why -- why we'd be out of uniform and unshaven at times -- well, there's more to it than simply being nasty and undisciplined. For one thing, the Afghan elders and people respect a man with a beard. In fact when we and our ANA would go to a village the ANA commander would always ask to talk to the "spin gheri" which translates as "white beard". Now I'm not sure if the literal translation in Pashtu for "village elder" is "white beard" but that's how my Afghan commanders got their point across, pretty much indicating that in the Pashtu language and culture a beard is synonymous with seniority and authority.

We certainly never once spoke to a man of any stature whatsoever that had no beard. The elders I habitually dealt with were dismayed (nearly as much as I) when I shaved a two-month beard I had going. I'm not sure being clean-shaven was any real detriment at the end of the day, but adopting a local custom is not always a bad thing, despite what our pre-deployment training told us about "not going native". I say go native sometimes where it serves you. And frankly, growing a beard makes the Marines feel like they're getting one over on the rulewriters on high and is good for morale. You just have to be sure that you've got a group that is professional enough to realize that breaking one rule doesn't mean they are not still Marines, with all the other attendant rules and regulations to follow.

As for the uniforms, most of that had to do with blending in with the ANA. Even from 600 meters away an insurgent is probably going to recognize an American by the gear he's carrying, but there's no use making it any easier for them to target the ETTs specifically by wearing a uniform that looks different.

Posted at 03:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

ARMING COUNTERINSURGENTS
Name: Old Blue
Posting date: 10/19/09
Stationed in: Afghanistan
Milblog: Afghan Quest

The Counterinsurgency Training Center – Afghanistan (CTC-A) is growing, and its role in propagating the doctrine of counterinsurgency, or COIN, across many organizations is growing. Students of counterinsurgency from every branch of the United States Military, all of our NATO and Coalition allies, and most importantly Afghans from government, the Afghan Military, Afghan National Police and even non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are being trained in counterinsurgency every week. Some of this training is conducted on site at the CTC-A, while other training is carried directly to the units and organizations in the field.

The curriculum is reviewed each month in a constant process of refining the presentation of materials to keep the training relevant to the current conditions in the theater. New tools are reviewed carefully for applicability. Pathways to better integration with civilian and military organizations and capabilities are sought, examined carefully, and advice is given on implementation. Partners are discovered, encouraged, educated and assisted. Relationships are cemented and expanded to include new organizations and capabilities. Lastly, through discussion and interface during training including diverse groups, personal contacts are forged that continue to drive productive partnership development.

Innovative doctrinally-based approaches to counterinsurgency training and implementation are being developed and fielded in conjunction with other organizations. Methods for operationalizing doctrinal frameworks and concepts are being sought, developed, tested and fielded. The CTC-A is a center for COIN thought that does not depend on solutions being pushed forward by offices in the United States, with solutions tuned to the specific environment of Afghanistan. The staff at the CTC-A are constantly learning, acquiring as much knowledge as possible to drive insights into such developments.

In that spirit of continuous education and professional development, an Honorary Library has been established at the CTC-A. Donations of books are sought which will be available to students and staff alike to spur further learning about counterinsurgency, history (especially Afghan and Central Asian history) and related topics. It is very easy to donate and become a part of this learning. Simply follow this link and the name of the wish list is “COIN Library – Kabul.” Donations of used books from the wish list can be mailed to:

COIN Library
c/o Scott Kesterson
CTC-A
Camp Phoenix
APO AE 09320

Your contributions will help to keep the minds of the counterinsurgent trainers and students bright as they work together to resolve a very complex insurgency. This is a way that you can support forwarding counterinsurgency doctrine, training and implementation in Afghanistan and have a direct impact on the success of the mission here. Please consider making a contribution to the fight and arming counterinsurgents with knowledge. Sometimes, a counterinsurgent’s best weapons do not shoot.

Posted at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

PREPARING TO DEPLOY
Name: Edda2010
Posting date: 10/16/09
Returned from: Afghanistan

My current Battalion is at a crossroads. We are part of one of two "light" Brigade Combat Teams that I'm aware of that are on the roster to deploy to Iraq. Light, as everyone is (I'm sure) aware, means not motorized or mechanized -- hypothetically, we get around on foot, which makes us (again hypothetically) well suited for just about any environment except the desert or the plains. Cities -- good. Mountains / hills -- good. Forest -- good. And so on.

In fact, the "light" unit of which I'm a part is technically a "Mountain" unit, so that leads one to believe that we would be tasked with a deployment to Afghanistan rather than Iraq. On the other hand, there's a lot more that goes into a deployment than what appear to be the facts as stated, and the bottom line is that there's really no way to tell where we'll be six months from now. So, we train, and prepare for any eventuality.

If we were to go to Iraq, it would be under very -- to me -- strange circumstances. We're supposed to be pulling out, if I understand correctly, so our combat role will be that of mentors -- and readers of my previous-deployment blog know how that experience plays out. Meanwhile our administrative role will be to account for and ship home (or to Afghanistan) as much gear as we can get our hands on. I fully anticipate arriving at a FOB in Iraq and looking out over a motor pool of hundreds of vehicles -- Bradleys, HMMWVs, M1A2 tanks, to name a few -- and have to sign for, inventory, and ship out the lot. This will be somebody's responsibility -- whoever's the last one on the ground. Like a complicated game of musical chairs.

I'm reminded of George MacDonald Fraser's experiences with the British Army in what was then Palestine -- bizarre, unaccountable police actions mixed with administrative and logistical snarls that serve to reinforce life's absurdities, rather than fill one with the fire of combat and battle. Which, of course, was one of the reasons I signed up in the first place, being essentially no more mature, emotionally, than a 12-year-old.

I'm doing a better job of seeing old friends and family than I did last time around, in part because I understand, having gone through it before, how things like that gnaw at you when you're away, and in part because being in the United States makes visiting much easier. I still have quite a few people to see, so if you're reading this, and you're on the list -- get ready! I'm going to try to see you in October / November (unless we're changed to Afghanistan, in which case there's a little more time). I'll never forget what it was like to hear that my grandfather had passed, two months before I was supposed to see him over leave...

Besides, this will be one of the last times I get to see friends on the terms we're comfortable with -- an upward trajectory, with life still in front of us. We've all had time to realize some of our dreams, but are not so far along the path that we're locked in, or can feel that life's passed us by.

Posted at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

A WICKED PROBLEM
Name: Old Blue
Posting date: 10/14/09
Stationed in: Afghanistan
Milblog: Afghan Quest

GEN McChrystal’s assessment has now been “leaked.” Now what? For some time now, it has seemed that the tide of public opinion has been turning against the “Good War.” Why do you think that is?

Because suddenly everyone has realized that Afghanistan is a complex, dynamic situation. It is what analysts call a “wicked problem.” Everyone thought that Iraq was complicated and that Afghanistan was more simple. Now that people have really taken a look at Afghanistan, they realize that it is not so simple. In many ways, it is more complex than Iraq. It makes people’s heads hurt.

Not being able to make sense of the problem, they figure that nobody can, and that’s when the
pessimism of the public takes hold.

A few words of caution: First, the American public has nothing of the real story of Afghanistan presented to them. The only brave reporters in the country are busying themselves with covering combat. The rest remain in Kabul, running stringers of dubious quality and unknown affiliations. For the first time, today, I was asked by a civilian, “Why is none of the good stuff that we are doing getting told back home? Why is the press ignoring the real stories here?”

I cannot answer that question in a way that sounds even vaguely like I feel that the mainstream media has a clue. Media people are allowed to attend the Counterinsurgency Training Center. Damned few take up the offer. How can a press corps even pretend to know what they are talking about when they don’t do their best to understand the reasoning, the doctrine, the strategy behind what they are seeing? Most of them, a select few exempted, have no idea what they are looking at when they watch the military do anything beyond brushing their teeth. Not only that, but they don’t try.

What does this have to do with GEN McChrystal’s assessment? Well, the General points out a few things that are being glossed over back home. First, the Afghans want us here. He quotes General Wardak in his report as saying just that. Wardak also notes that the time is ripe for success. The raw material for a comprehensive and integrated approach to the counterinsurgency is building in Afghanistan, and for the first time, we are hearing that the American public is now tilting against this theater. Amazing. What timing. Americans, like my beloved but hapless Bengals, have a particular talent ever since the early seventies for snatching defeat from the jaws of success. It is quite possible for us to succeed in Afghanistan. The situation is far from ideal. It is serious, and that is our fault. No doubt. But it is not hopeless.

I am still digesting the report; but having seen the followup briefings, where the story unfolds further, the assessment is no surprise. I cannot discuss the briefings on where, specifically, the General plans to take this, but I can tell you that he is not tolerating among our leadership here the kind of pessimism that runs rampant in our homeland. We cannot afford to let it make our heads hurt. It is our job to handle the wicked problem. There are some very determined people involved here. Now we are seeing determined, hopeful people who don’t wear uniforms bringing their talents to bear where they should have been years ago. It is not too late, and the General states this clearly. Now is the time; not to double down just to be doubling down, but to learn, adapt and take our performance of real counterinsurgency to the next level.

President Obama has, somehow or other, wound up with the “Dream Team” on the issue of Afghanistan. Just as Al Qaeda has shifted resources from Iraq to Afghanistan, so have we. Many of the people who sharpened their claws in Iraq have been shifted over to Afghanistan, and the good war has taken on a primacy of effort that was lacking when I first arrived in April of 2007. While still sparsely resourced, people who know how to do stability and counterinsurgency operations have begun to come into the country, and they are having an impact. GEN McChrystal has got some wicked smart people working for him on projects large and small that will make a positive impact on this country.

Now the President, swayed by the possibility of an unpopular decision, begins to waffle. This is not the right time to waffle. This is the time to be decisive.

I was recently thanked by a foreign officer for something I said to a group of American officers. I told the American officers that the rest of the world views us as the big fat rich kid on the world playground. We want everyone to like us, and are heartbroken to discover that a few don’t. We are easily aroused and like to throw our weight around. We think that what we think is going to be the most important thing on everyone’s agenda. We are not afraid to fight, and we have heavy hands. God help you if we catch you with a punch; few can withstand a beating from us. But, we are clumsy. We can be hurt, and we have no stamina; no real will. If we can be made to bleed a little, and if we can be run in circles for more than a little while, we tire easily. We have the propensity, when things get tough and we get a little winded, to take our ball and go home. We are prone to quitting. We have quit before, and we are more than likely to quit again.

The Taliban know that, and the Afghan people know that. It is part of the insurgent song to the people, a message designed to keep them on the fence, unsure of which way best suits their interests. If they commit to the government being helped by the fat kid, and the fat kid runs away to mope, they can die. Many dare not commit. Many who have committed in the last eight years have paid the price with their lives as we have moved into an area, cleared it out and announced that the bad times were over. As the good-intentioned patriots emerged to help heal their communities, we have left their damaged communities with nothing to guarantee security. Our focus was on developing the Army, after all. The Police? Nobody wanted to work with them, to improve them. Yet we left those communities in their untrained, ill-led hands and scampered off in search of more Taliban to chase. The Taliban returned to those communities and killed those who had stood up in their absence. It is a phenomenon we call “mowing the grass.”

We have mowed a lot of grass. Many would-be patriots have died as a result of our inability to grasp the importance of a comprehensive, integrated approach to assisting in the rebuilding of a society damaged to its core by over thirty years of warfare and upheaval, suffering from a chronic insurgency. We are world famous for abandoning those who we had told, “We will not abandon you.”

The foreign officer thanked me for saying what all of the Coalition and Afghan partners were thinking. They were afraid to raise the point, though; because we can be an ill-tempered lot when our assumptions about ourselves are challenged. To those men, it just isn’t worth it to hold up their mirror for us to look at. It’s like when someone who really doesn’t care about you lets you walk around with spinach in your teeth.

The fat kid is wheezing now. We are faltering, cocooning, withdrawing within ourselves and our head hurts from the complexity of it all. We want to quit. We want to take our ball and go home. We will cede this area to instability and leave, like we are leaving our debt, the mortal threat for our children to handle. It’s all just too much for us to bear.

Who would have thought, four years ago, that of the two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, that the one where we would tire out and be losers would be Afghanistan? When Obama made Afghanistan the “good war,” and when he called Afghanistan a “war of necessity,” you would have expected firm, decisive movement. Initially, that is what was shown. He went along with firing McKiernan and replacing him with McChrystal, whose vision and leadership has shaken the “same old, same old” sensibilities of the Afghanistan mission. GEN McChrystal promises, through his actions and initiatives, to do things that have never been done in Afghanistan. Now, the President is poised to force the resignation of this leader, which will be the political death of his administration. But he will leave the General no recourse if he fails to resource the mission properly.

In the meantime, back home, ill-informed people who knew nothing about Afghanistan at this time last year other than it wasn’t Iraq and it was where Osama was when the World Trade Center crashed to the ground, have had the chance to learn a little more about this ancient land. What they learned was that it wasn’t so simple. It wasn’t so easy. It made their heads hurt. It is a wicked, dynamic problem, and it makes heads hurt. They stare and stare at the picture, but they just can’t see the damned dolphin. So, their answer is to quit. They begin to waver. President Obama, the most politically sensitive president I’ve ever seen… a veritable political weather vane, senses the wind shift… and dissembles accordingly.

The news today is that the President is considering a plan brought forth in the spring by another great military leader and strategic genius. It is certainly cheaper, and is likely to prove enormously popular with the waffles back home. It actually involves fewer troops in Afghanistan, a great reliance on drone strikes and Special Operations raids in Pakistan (boy, I bet that makes the Pakistanis happy!) That sounds as effective as lobbing 63 cruise missiles at a few mud huts. Not like that’s ever been done before.

Meanwhile, cheerleaders all over Washington and parts of the press are laying it on thick in a bid to win their agendas. They are the part of the fat kid’s mind that tells him that he is afraid, that he is tired, that nothing is worth it. I’ve watched the voices become strident. “This is a long, steep hill,” the voice in his head tells the fat kid, “You can quit any time you want. Let’s go have some ice cream. You know it’s hard, and you’re sweaty, and you’re tired. Your head hurts. This wasn’t all easy like you thought. It’s too hard. Ice cream sounds good. Let’s go get some ice cream and watch American Idol.”

We are the big, rich, fat kid. We talk a big story, but our word isn’t worth a plugged nickel. That’s what Omar means when he says, “The Americans have the watches, but we have the time.” He knows us well enough to know that we are quitters.

For those of you who are tracking, remember that you are not even getting half of the story of what is actually happening over here. As for how to deal with the, “My Head Hurts” crowd, just tell your fellow citizens to take some Advil and stand by. The next move is Obama’s, and it will determine the immediate future of my mission in Afghanistan, my son’s future, and how long we will stay the fat, rich kid who talks big and runs away when the other kid hits back.

Posted at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)