From Afghanistan

It's Christmas Eve and we are told we have one hour to pack and move out to the airport to wait for a 5 a.m. flight out on Christmas to Herat - a western province in Afghanistan. We arrive under escort and once there find that there is no one to assist us. It is a little hectic because of the holiday, so we understand and resolve to sleep in the cold and snow until the flight the next morning on Christmas. A fellow soldier reminds the rest of us that we are in a war zone and soldiers in the past have endured far worse. Just as we settle down, an English teacher from Oklahoma passes us and offers a room with a T.V. for the night. We walk into a recreation room with a small Christmas tree and It’s a Wonderful Life. It is our own little bit of heaven and we couldn’t do better.

Shortly after, an Air Force Colonel stops by after hearing soldiers were left on Christmas Eve, and invites us to partake in the airfield’s holiday meal. We take shifts getting a ride to the festive meal where we are met by the sounds of holiday music playing and laughter. As I walk in I am met by a gala of events. Numerous countries have decided to get together and have a Christmas feast - so each country has set up a booth to display their heritage. There is Great Britain which features mashed potatoes and haggis. Italy presents their cheeses and wine, Germany serves white sausage and beer. Lithuania, Estonia, Turkey, Spain, Belgium and more, each show off their local foods and spirits. On the dance floor they play oldies bebop and everyone is dancing. Well, not many American soldiers join in, but only because this is a dry deployment (we can’t consume alcohol) and everyone knows not many men will dance without the courage of alcohol. As I walk past everyone, I notice that I am the only one with my weapon on and ready for a possible strike. I’m the new guy and they know, so they politely smile and welcome me to partake of their heritage. I get to Great Britain’s stand and say in my best Mike Myers accent from So I Married an Ax Murder, “So is all your food based on a dare?” It either was a bad accent or they have no sense of humor because no one laughed. “Okay,” I say to my escort, “on to the next stand, where if my jokes bomb they don’t speak English so I have an alibi for my unappreciated sense of humor.”

On our way back from the festivities we are offered tents to sleep in - the only problem is that the tents have no heat and we have already packed all of our gear (including our sleeping bags) to get out of Camp Phoenix. All I have is my Woobie, which is the Army’s liner for a poncho. Most soldiers never go anywhere without it. We take it for comfort and security - hence the name Woobie (from the movie Mr. Mom) It’s a thin quilt blanket and it is all I have, so we sleep in the tents freezing under our Woobies listening to Christmas music playing in the background. If my tear ducts weren’t frozen I would have shed a tear out of self pity. A flood of emotions overwhelm me that night, mostly missing my wife and children. I hate the fact that I will not be home for Christmas to see my four children’s faces when they see that Santa has arrived.

The next day (or hours since you really only sleep four hours on an average), we load yet another plane headed to Mazar-i-Sharif – another Forward Operation Base. This is just a layover because Maj. Gen. Robert W. Cone is using the plane to get out to his troops for Christmas. Much of the time I think the high ranking people in the military are so far separated from the troops that they lose focus on who their decisions affect the most. Gen. Cone is not one of those officials. I believe he is right on track. His speech to us is one that not only enlightens, but inspires. His picture of the Afghans’ future is one of realism and fairness. Ultimately he has the people fending for themselves and moving out of the poorest country in the world slot. I’ll settle for teaching them to fend for themselves and then bringing our troops home – we can support them with aid from home.

We finally land in Herat, still not my final destination but one step closer. It has been a relatively safe journey so far until I get into an up-armor vehicle and the escort soldiers begin locking and loading their weapons. Not sure what to do, I lock and load my weapon. Hey, I don’t want to be the only soldier in a fire fight pointing my finger saying bang-bang. The driver is happy to see new faces because it means he’s closer to going home. He then begins to tell me of the different incidences they have had in the past few weeks. I am all ears. The driver proceeds to tell me that since the people are malnourished, their night vision is not great (although he is not a doctor, but what do I know) so they wait until there is a full moon and rocket the camp. Did I mention that tonight there is a full moon? Just my luck. I feel a pressing need to immediately find out where the bunkers are on base. Then I start to think, “Hey, why don’t we just sleep in the bunkers tonight or better yet why don’t they make the buildings out of the bunker material?” Welcome to my new home.

I am finally told where I will be working for the next few weeks, since they rotate jobs here quarterly so no soldier gets complacent. I am lucky and will assist in the mentoring of the Afghan National Police (ANP) force. You have to think like the Taliban or any terrorist group here. They don’t want a stable government so they actually hate the Afghan National Police and Army more than the U.S. Soldiers. If the Afghan people see stability, then they will back that government system because just like Americans, they want a future for their children to grow up in that is safe and better than their current one. Unfortunately, since the police here are more corrupt than a longshoreman on the docks, it will be a long difficult road to turn them around. Hopefully the pay increase for the police will help. The reason so many have become corrupt is because the pay has been so low that they have had to subsidize it someway. Corruption is a hard concept for the U.S. forces but it is part of the Afghan’s culture and is expected.

On top of working with the ANP, I took my personal time to get a class in Commanders Emergency Response Program (CERP). These programs are about building schools and jobs. They focus on two main efforts – getting the Afghans to work for themselves (in turn decreasing the unemployment rate) and any project that will stimulate the economy. It’s not about me feeling good about myself but getting the job done. I believe if I can put an Afghan face to my projects then it legitimizes the government and the people will believe in a better future for their children.

One of the topics we discuss amongst ourselves is the training to legitimize the Afghan Army and Police. The U.S. has set up schools to regulate the training and standards. But we also start to wonder about the training the terrorists get. We see the video and propaganda that is captured but we wonder what motivates them. The legitimate Police and Army are fighting for a better future, the terrorist are fighting for a religious belief. Can you imagine if a Priest or Rabbi told you to kill yourself for your religious beliefs? I have this image playing over in my head of a terrorist saying to his disciples, “Okay we are suicide bombers so I can only show this to you once, pay attention.” After he is done 9 out of 10 must start to think, “You know, the new government might not be so bad.” Unfortunately one out of ten is not paying attention and says, “Yeah, yeah I got it. Pull the string….” This reason alone is why the U.S. is so sensitive to the Afghan’s religious belief and culture. We are not here to convert anyone, just to show them a way they can keep their religion and culture while moving into a new century (which for them is the 20th century not the 21st). A majority of the country doesn’t have running water let alone electricity. Plus we are eventually going to leave and if this mission is ever going to succeed then the Afghans need to depend upon themselves.

We have a First Sergeant on this team and this is his 8th tour. He is Special Forces and has more cool badges on his chest, that there are none left for him to obtain. He is the personification of all that is Army, even officers look up to him for guidance. If you listen to him talk about the state of affairs in Afghanistan, he sees a change for the better over time, so it gives me hope that we are doing the right thing. I have to believe I am making a change for the better. I have to believe this war is not in vain. I have to believe the people back at home support me as a soldier trying to do the right thing even if they don’t believe in the war itself. Because if I don’t believe in these things then I have lost on two fronts and me being here was never worth stepping forward and putting an investment in my country.

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