ABOUT C.J. GRISHAM
Name: J.P. Borda
Posting date: 12/10/09
Returned from: Kuwait/Iraq
Hometown: Burke, Virginia
Milblog: Milblogging.com
Email: milblogging@gmail.com

What can I say about C.J. Grisham, one of the first milbloggers? He’s been a friend to me since 2004/2005 when I blogged from Afghanistan. He has dedicated himself over the years to telling the story of the military from the soldier’s perspective, which says a lot in terms of him as a person. Many milbloggers who launch a site eventually stop writing, but C.J. has kept at it year after year after year.

He recently made the decision to shut down his popular site A Soldier’s Perspective, and all I can say is that it was disappointing to hear that news. Though I don’t know everything firsthand about the circumstances of his situation, I would vouch for my friend anytime.

If you’re not familiar with C.J.’s story, please read his recent post on YouServed. As he puts it, “I feel like I must humble myself and ask for help on my own behalf in this instance."

You can also read a recent story from Military Times here.

Posted at 07:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

BALANCE
Name: K
Posting date: 12/8/09
Returned from: Afghanistan
Milblog: Embedded in Afghanistan

It's a common thing to see articles in the news media about the negative aspects of war on the micro level. The dead, the wounded, the mentally and emotionally damaged all appear to get a fair amount of coverage and exposure, so I'm going to focus on a few of the good things some of us get out of serving in combat -- because many of us are getting a lot out of it.

Wearing a uniform that says 'US Marines' has always been a great honor for me, and more so when I've been able to wear the uniform overseas. Knowing you represent the ideals and power of the United States gives one quite a bit to live up to, and a lot of pride goes with that. Being out in the middle of nowhere, knowing you represent the end of the line of America's reach is quite a thing -- I can remember thinking how the power of all those billions of dollars and millions of people ended right there with us at a lonely outpost in an isolated valley. Maybe the thought of our 'power' ending there in isolated valley comes across as a bit imperialistic, but I make no apologies for what we're doing and love being a part of it.

People are good at different things. Some people happen to be good at conducting warfare. I spent months this past tour with a Marine who stated numerous times that he kept coming back over to war zones as an infantryman because it was what he was good at. He undoubtedly was very good at it, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. I believe everyone wants the chance to use his or her skills that he or she was born with or has developed and honed over time, even if those skills happen to belong to an unfortunate but necessary profession.

Undoubtedly, those that come back from combat have an increased appreciation for life generally. Anytime I'm away from friends and family for lengthy periods I miss them, but knowing that it can all be gone at any moment certainly helps heighten that sense of gratitude for the times together. Having survived some difficult moments, I know I personally have more confidence than I had before. Having taken some risks, lived through and overcome things that were legitimately difficult makes life's daily challenges at home that much easier to deal with: Hey, if I made it through those things how hard can this be?

The flip side of that coin is that sometimes daily life at home seems a bit trite. Before, I was on the ground directly doing things that were in the news regularly, which kind of makes me feel underutilized today, and the things I'm doing these days seem a little pointless. I'd argue that satisfaction is life's best feeling, and it can come to a person in many ways, but one of the best ways to find it is to overcome a period of difficulty.

Obviously, none of these positives are reasons to start a war, but given war's inevitability it's important to recognize the beneficial aspects of war on the personal level.

Posted at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

END OF LIFE
Name: RN Clara Hart
Posting date: 12/5/09
Stationed in: a military hospital in the U.S.
Email: clarahart2@yahoo.com

End of life, withdraw care, comfort measures -- whatever nice euphemism you want to use it all means the same. We are going to remove the breathing tube, disconnect the vent, turn off all the life sustaining medications and devices and allow you to die.

Twice in my last three shifts I have done that. With two separate patients and two different families. The strange thing is I don’t remember the faces of my patients. I remember the families, the encouraging words I said, and the arms I opened to hug the grieving. But I don’t recall the faces of those I cared for. Is there something wrong with that?

I asked my significant other that question. He’s far away fighting a war and I see his face and hear his voice on my computer screen thanks to webcam and video conferencing. I tried to explain it’s not really the patients we are taking care of at that point, but rather the families, who now require all of our attention. I spoke of the drain on our psyches caused by engaging with so much emotional energy. He understood. He even said the same words at the same time as I did.

After my most recent patient died, I quietly tapped on the door in which a husband sat in sorrow. As I slowly entered the room I saw him standing at the bedside of his deceased wife combing her hair. “I’m not very good at this, but she always liked her hair to look pretty,” he told me. Wordlessly I walked to the other side of the bed, and with tears streaming down my face helped him comb her hair.

Then I left him alone with her and walking silently from the room found my coworker standing in the hallway. He came over, wrapped me in his arms and held me while I cried. “I’m glad it was you taking care of her today," he told me. I simply stood there, numb. As my day ended and I changed out of my scrubs in the locker room another nurse stopped to ask if I was okay. I nodded my head. “That family was lucky to have you as their nurse," she said. "You are so good at that.”

“That” being end of life care. I don’t want to be good at “that."  It means I have done it far too often.

Posted at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

THE END OF HEARTACHE
Name: Edda2010
Posting date: 12/2/09
Returned from: Afghanistan

My unit came off orders to Iraq recently. This frees us up to go to Afghanistan. Below are a list of reasons, in no particular order, why it would be a good idea for me to spend 12 of the next 15 months of my life back in that blasted land.

1) We made a commitment to the people of Afghanistan when we invaded their country and toppled the Taliban regime. Unless we feel comfortable allowing adulterous women to be stoned to death, or women in general to receive no education, or whatever non-Muslim culture remaining in the country to be savaged and destroyed; unless we feel comfortable going back on a promise we made to a country filled with poverty, devoid of natural resources, mired in hopelessness and ignorance; unless we are comfortable with an idea of ourselves as individuals who are not capable of making promises as a nation -- we must stay for a little while longer and give these people the legitimate shot at development that we offered them when we first put boots on the ground in 2002.

2) If we abandon Afghanistan, it will fall to the Taliban, which will give the insurgency that is building in Pakistan a safehaven from which to stage attacks. A vulnerable Pakistan--a country that boasts nuclear capabilities--is not in our interest. By remaining in Afghanistan, we allow Pakistan some breathing room in its struggle against extremist Muslims in their country.

3) The Afghan people like us. We may be perceived as invaders or occupiers by some of the Afghans -- which should not come as a surprise, unless one has the political naivete of a six-year-old (many people in our own country felt as though the Bush administration was essentially a foreign occupation) -- but my experience was that the big gripe from the villages on the border was that we didn't have enough soldiers to offer them protection.

Everyone wanted roads, everyone wanted wells, everyone wanted their lives to improve, and recognized that the Taliban and the criminal networks operating from inside Pakistan were robbing them of vital economic opportunities. Americans were welcomed by children and village elders alike -- everywhere we went, we were handing out HA* and making friends.There was absolutely no confusion as to what our motivations were; we built schoolhouses and mosques, and gave out oil, food, fuel, and clothes, asking for nothing in return. Nobody I talked with confused us with the Russians.

Those people who seem concerned that we may be perceived as an imperial power must have some sort of personal issue that causes them to see the world in those terms; it was not the reality that I experienced during the time I lived there. The biggest impediments to progress, when I was in Afghanistan last, were institutional on our side, and corruption on the side of Afghans. Which brings me to my next rambling point.

4) Recognition on the part of Afghans that their government is corrupt, and that there should be a different result than the one they got in the recent election, is a mark of political progress. Corruption has been the norm in Afghanistan for as long as anyone can remember. Tribal chieftains, Taliban, Communists, Monarchists -- all this country knows is corrupt governmental models. Here, for the first time in recorded history, we see the people of Afghanistan legitimately outraged that their political will is being thwarted. This is not a moment for hand-wringing on our part, but rather celebration -- we have measurable proof that Afghanistan is beginning a true political, democratic / republican awakening. Good job, us! Let's stick with it a bit longer and see what else develops. Rather than throwing our hands up in disgust and walking away, leaving these people to the depredations of the savage, murderous Taliban.

5) The administration's tactical alternative -- "counter-terrorism" versus "counter-insurgency" -- was last experienced strategically during the Clinton Administration. Its failure led to an incident we remember every 11th of September. The bottom line is that firing missiles from Naval vessels and targeting specific terrorist cells with Delta operatives is the smallest, least effective type of band-aid, besides ignoring two crucial factors:

-- The Taliban and Al Queda are friends. They are separate entities, but should not be treated as such. If the Taliban (a grass-roots organization capable of being fought only by counterinsurgent tactics) retakes Afghanistan, Al Queda will have a safe haven there for as long as it takes for the Taliban to be toppled, or to topple Pakistan.

-- Our intelligence gathering assets are impressive to us, and our allies, and that's about it. Unless they are employed in direct support of tactical operations, they're pretty shitty. That's a fact. Many's the time when those unmanned drones totally suck. And we're supposed to believe that pulling eyes off the ground, and putting Delta / SOF* A teams on standby on airfields up to an hour away is going to be adequate for defeating a mountain-based enemy with robust and politically invulnerable safehavens?  Our administration is seriously considering this -- throwing missiles and bombs through UAVs and specifically targeting individuals / camps with squads of highly-trained soldiers. If you think this sounds like a good plan, please watch Blackhawk Down, then get back to me.

6) General McChrystal is a f***ing genius. If he feels that we can do the job with the resources he requested, let's get them to him, stat, and let him go. He's got the right idea, and is a just man. What more could you ask for. Our allies -- the British, no less! -- think this is worth fighting for. Sweet Jesus, let our great country and this noble purpose not be unmanned by the British of all nations.

Bottom line: we can do right by ourselves, by the Afghans. Let's do it. And be out five years from now.

*

HA: Humanitarian Assistance

SOF: Special Operations Forces

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THE CASE FOR AFGHANISTAN
Name: Anthony McCloskey (Tadpole)
Posting date: 11/30/09
Returned from: Afghanistan
Milblog: Army Sailor: War in the Sandbox 

I am an active duty sailor who served for nearly 13 months on the ground in Afghanistan. I worked as a member of a Civil Affairs Battalion embedded in the country with 10th Mountain Division, and U.S. Army Special Forces. My role as a Civil Affairs Operator afforded me a unique perspective not only on the war, but also on the Afghan people with whom I so closely worked. Before going to Afghanistan I was given a lot of cultural training, and training in Humanitarian Assistance, in addition to the combat training you'd expect. While I was in Afghanistan I became a real believer in the cause, I saw the genuine possibility not only for our success, but also for us to be able to positively influence that entire region and greatly improve the quality of life for all Afghans.

Most anyone who knows me knows that I have not been the biggest fan of the war in Iraq. However, I am a big supporter of the war in Afghanistan. I firmly believe that if the war there is conducted properly, and given the logistical support required, that the efforts there can result in a very positive outcome not only for the United States, but for Afghanistan and the world as a whole.

The October 17th-23rd issue of The Economist refers to the war in Afghanistan as "Obama's War." I find this to be a rather interesting misnomer. Afghanistan is not Obama's war, it is America's war, and we have done a disservice by not providing it the full attention and support required to conduct it properly. I understand that the President's handling of the war in Afghanistan will likely play a major role in the success of his presidency, but to call it "Obama's War" seems to belittle the whole thing in my opinion. This war is more than just a talking point, it is an international effort that is of vital importance to the whole of southwest Asia, and indeed, the world.

General Stanley McChrystal, a long time Special Forces veteran and current Commanding General in Afghanistan, has submitted a request to the President for an increase in troop levels in Afghanistan. Reports indicate that he has submitted multiple plans, with his least favorable option requiring only 10,000 more troops, and his most favorable option requiring between 40,000 and 60,000 more troops to serve on the ground in Afghanistan.

The case for supporting the General's request is strong. The West has a very real security interest in preventing the region from slipping into further conflict and utter chaos. Pakistan, Afghanistan's neighbor to the east, is particularly vulnerable to the Taliban's potent mixture of ethnic-Pashtun nationalism and radical Islam. Anarchy in Afghanistan, or a restoration of power to the Taliban, would leave Pakistan woefully vulnerable to cross-border instability. Let us not forget that Pakistan has nuclear weapons, which we certainly want to keep out of the wrong hands.

Just as importantly, defeat in Afghanistan (or the perception thereof) would only serve to embolden the West's opponents in Pakistan and around the world. It would be a major IO (Information Operations) win for our enemies, thus leaving us open to more attacks and garnering further support for Terrorist organizations globally. In short, it would only serve to show the tactic of Terrorism works.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, to leave Afghanistan or to falter there, would be a terrible betrayal of the Afghan people. Many of these people have risked their lives to help us, many more are suffering troubles that are a direct result of our intervention in the country, and many of Afghanistan's best and brightest are Afghans who repatriated to their homeland to help rebuild, trusting in American success and the promise of long-term stability and security.

The U.S. currently only has about 62,000 troops in Afghanistan out of a total of about 100,000 foreign troops serving there. That may sound like a lot, but it really is not when you consider the reality of the logistics imposed by the harsh Afghan terrain.

One must also consider the types of troops that are deployed. A war requires many types of service men and women to ensure success. You need infantry and Special Forces to ensure security and conduct kinetic operations on the ground, but just as important are the Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations troops who conduct Civil Assistance missions and ensure stability. The continuing effort in Afghanistan is not a simple one by anyone's standards. General McChrystal himself was quoted as saying "Every day I realize how little about Afghanistan I actually understand." The country has a bewildering tribal make-up that is alien to most westerners, and its communities are broken at best due to tribalism and 30-some-odd years of war. And the country is physically comprised of forbidding deserts and mountains. This is not an easy problem to solve, but it must be addressed and any signs of uncertainty on the part of the United States will dishearten our allies, while serving to embolden our foes.

I personally feel very strongly that we must send more troops to Afghanistan, and we must do so quickly. We cannot appear to be uncertain or undetermined, the costs of losing this war are too great, and too wasteful, and would be a slap in the face to those of us who have served and continue to serve there.

Editor's note: Tadpole made numerous contributions to The Sandbox during his 2006-2007 deployment, and four of his posts were included in the Sandbox book. Here are links to some of his earlier work:

The Dance

The Great Blog Scare

Odd Dreams

Coping With Homecoming

Posted at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

"WE DIDN'T DO IT"
Name: Old Blue
Posting date: 11/26/09
Returned to: Afghanistan
Milblog url: Afghan Quest

We were cordially invited to stay at FOB Kutschbach for a few extra days by the rotary wing folks, who bumped our return flight to a day earlier than scheduled. So, as we had some extra time on the ground, we did a foot patrol with the French, the PMT and the ANP through the Tagab bazaar a couple of days after it was attacked. Thirteen people were killed and 42 wounded. Being that there were two of us, and we each had an interpreter, we were able to talk with the people we ran into at the bazaar. That is, when we weren’t being hurried along.

While asking people what village they were from, if their village and/or family had suffered any casualties, and how they felt about the attack, the story the Taliban was telling came out. First, they insisted that only one rocket was fired -- so the other round must have come from either the Americans or the French on the FOB. Right there they shucked off half of the responsibility. Secondly, they insisted that their rocket was not fired by a Talib. They had, they insisted, “arrested” the man who had fired the “single” rocket, and they were investigating to discover who had paid him to fire the rocket into the crowded bazaar.

“Really?” I asked the man who conveyed this. “They are really saying this?”

“Yes. This is what they say,” he asserted.

“They really think that you are so stupid that you would believe something so ridiculous?”

Blank stare. The man searched for something. Something that wasn’t coming.

“I’ve been talking with you for several minutes. You are going to go to college in Jalalabad to be a lawyer. I know that you are too smart to believe such a ridiculous lie.” Clearly, he wasn’t; but it was beginning to work on his brain.

He stammered a bit. The corners of his mouth began to curl upwards a little. He was stuck.

“If a man kills someone and you ask him if he’s done it, he comes up with a stupid story about how it wasn’t him, right?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied, hesitantly.

“So that you won’t want to kill him,” I continued.

“Well…” he shifted uncomfortably.

“So then he thinks that if you believe him, then you are a fool. You would be foolish then, right?” I pressed.

“Yes, that would be foolish,” he agreed.

“But you are too smart to believe a foolish lie, aren’t you? You are smarter than that, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am smarter than that,” he agreed.

“The Taliban think you are very stupid people, but you are not so stupid, right?” I offered him a way out.

“Right. We are smarter than that.” The men gathered around began nodding their heads.

It’s not like I could undo the damage done after the Taliban IO (Information Operation) had time, unfettered, to respond to the catastrophe that they had caused among their neighbors. Their gaff was like a kid who throws rocks at a house and breaks a window and then runs away. If confronted by the homeowner later, he comes up with a creative story about someone else breaking the window. Except this rock-throwing nimrod was throwing rockets, and he had killed innocent people.

The French had found rocket fragments from two rockets. One was Chinese and the other of Russian manufacture. But they did not get the word out immediately. In fact, the reaction of the French leadership was to cancel a mission that they had planned and “wait it out.” They did not hit the streets immediately, telling the story and showing the rocket fragments to everyone they could find. This gave the Taliban time to concoct a ludicrous lie that, in the absence of any information to the contrary, some people were believing.

The fact is that on the morning of the attack, we had been informed that there was some intelligence to indicate that the Taliban were going to attack the District Center that day. The reason was that there was a French General who would be participating in a Shura with local elders and the Sub-governor of Tagab District. COL Z, the local ANP Chief who is much-hated by the Taliban, and the ANA commander would also be there. As with all intelligence, there are a lot of red herrings. The PMT joked about the odds of actually being attacked. But, at roughly 12:30, twin booms rang out from the nearby bazaar. The French quickly identified the site of the launch, a site that the Taliban frequently use to launch rockets at FOB Kutschbach -- often missing. This time they missed their mark by a scant 200 meters, just enough to land their rockets in the bazaar, crowded by shoppers stocking up for the Eid celebration on a market day.

The 107mm (4.2 inch) rocket is not a precision weapon system. When tube launched, it is an area
weapon. You can get it into a general area, but you cannot ensure a precision hit. When launched
Afghan-style -- propped up on rocks -- it is an order of magnitude less certain. To launch these weapons from four kilometers away at a site which is so close to the bazaar on a bazaar day was criminally negligent at best.These weapons were fired with a total disregard for civilian lives. It was akin to firing high explosives into a mall during the Christmas shopping season.

The 107mm warhead packs a wallop, but it is notorious for its horrible fragmentation pattern. The warhead casing fragments unevenly, often throwing out very large fragments in a haphazard manner. This undoubtedly spared some while mutilating others. Civilians were torn asunder, some left in bloody heaps while others lost limbs instantly. Still others were injured by flying chunks of rock. One rocket impacted near the place where people shopped for livestock for their Eid feast, not unlike our Thanksgiving Dinner. Livestock and citizens alike were shredded by razor-sharp, white-hot fragments. The carnage was horrendous.

As the shocked survivors gathered themselves and the bazaar emptied in a frenzy, severely wounded shoppers dragged themselves away from the center of the disaster. Colonel Z sprinted out the gate of the District Center, four ANP running to keep pace as their Chief ran into the dust and smoke left on the wake of the high explosive warheads. The Colonel lifted injured people into vehicles and dispatched them to either the FOB or the District Center. Within minutes, casualties began to arrive for French and American medics to triage and treat. The Colonel helped retrieve six dead from the litter of blood and body parts. The families took their dead directly home. More would die later from their wounds. Few villages were left unscathed by the toll. Everyone I spoke with a couple of days later knew someone who had perished or been wounded.

“You notice,” Colonel Z mentioned later, “that no one took their casualties to the Taliban for medical treatment. They brought them to the FOB, or to the District Center. They depended on the government or its allies for help when they needed it.”

This is true. That’s what the people did.

There is a “Radio-in-a-box” setup at FOB Kutschbach, broadcasting to the people of the Tagab Valley. The local commander offered the elders an opportunity to come and denounce the attack on the radio. Only one man, Colonel Z, came and denounced the Taliban for their cowardly act. All the other elders declined. So, as they sat watching, the enemy began their damage-control campaign.

“We didn’t do it. We caught the man who did, but he only fired one rocket. The Americans or the French fired the other one. We didn’t do it…”

Posted at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

PROJECT VALOUR - IT
Name: Tadpole
Posting date: 11/23/09
Returned from: Afghanistan
Milblog: Army Sailor: War in the Sandbox

The good people at SoldiersAngels.org are sponsoring a fund drive called “Valour – IT”. They are trying to raise $140,000 dollars to purchase voice activated laptops for wounded warriors.

Every cent raised for Project Valour-IT goes directly to the purchase and shipment of laptops and other technology for severely wounded service members. As of October, Valour-IT had distributed over 4100 laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines across the country, and is now expanding its mission to include other technology that supports physical and psychological recovery.

Valour-IT accepts donations in any amount to support our mission, but also offers a sponsorship option for laptops. An individual or organization may sponsor a wounded soldier by completely funding the cost of a laptop and continuing to provide that soldier with personal support and encouragement throughout recovery. This has proved to be an excellent project for churches, groups of coworkers or friends, and members of community organizations such Boy Scouts.

Originally Valour-IT provided the voice-controlled software that accompanies the laptops, but now works closely with the Department of Defense Computer/electronic Accommodations Program (CAP): CAP supplies the adaptive software and Valour-IT provides the laptop. In addition, DoD caseworkers serve as Valour-IT’s “eyes and ears” at several medical centers, identifying patients in need of laptops and other technological support for their recovery. Wounded military personnel can also directly request a laptop through the sign-up form or through the Valour-IT/Soldiers’ Angels representatives at the following medical centers, and other veterans health care facilities across the country:

* Balboa Naval Hospital

* Brooke Army Medical Center

* Madigan Regional Medical Center

* National Naval Medical Center (Bethesda Naval Hospital)

* Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton

* Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital (29 Palms)

* Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Project Valor - IT | Soldiers Angels (Navy Team)

Please CLICK HERE to support the cause!

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IN AFGHANISTAN
Name: SANDBOX DUTY OFFICER David Stanford
Posting date: 11/17/09 

We haven't had any images on the site recently, so I thought I'd link to a remarkable collection of photographs by David Guttenfelder, chief Asia photographer for The Associateed Press, which is posted on the Denver Post's website.

 
U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines sleep in their fighting holes inside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, Wednesday July 8, 2009. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Posted at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

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 (12) | 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 (5) | TrackBack (0)