Thanksgiving?

It's been a while since my last post but life here is busy and finding time to keep up with some things can be difficult. One of the first things you need to learn in this country is that the Afghans have their holidays and we don't have any. For me, Thanksgiving was no change from any of the stuff that I do on a regular basis. I left my forward "home" at Jalalabad that morning with the absolute knowledge that the 10th Mountain troops were going to have a great 4 hour meal with real turkey and all of the normal fixins'. Unfortunately, I had been tapped to escort one of our new Marine officers and some of his staff on a tour of our positions along both the Konar and Pech rivers. It was a two-day event and covered a lot of miles. We drove all morning and arrived at a site with a mess hall. A couple of the Marines in the group found some food and hooked us up with cold ham and macaroni and cheese, which was also cold. We left there after a short tour and a status update and headed for another Forward Operating Base (FOB) where we were scheduled to spend the night. We were hoping that the residents there were celebrating the holiday so we could have something like a turkey dinner. Once there we found out that their holiday meal had been served at lunchtime to allow their American Soldiers time to return to their remote locations before dark. Our dinner turned out to be chicken fajitas that were not bad, considering... The attached photo was taken the following morning at Camp Joyce. It shows the mountains along the Konar River just outside of Asadabad.

The next morning we ran further up along the border and visited another FOB that put us about 6 hours away from Jalalabad. We were running late and the Lieutenant Colonel I was with decided we should try and make it all the way back that night. We left at 3 PM and cut the 6 hour drive down to 3 hours and 5 minutes. For those of you that would love to ride in a HMMWV (military for Hummer) I defy you to find any fun in running the roads we were on for that length of time. Actually, our speed was low, usually around 30 MPH, but the roads are nothing more than wide, rutted trails. We made it back to the Jalalabad Airfield (our FOB) in time for dinner, a muscle relaxer and a bed.

The following day, as I was hobbling around our command post with the worst bachache I've had since I got here in June, everyone was telling me about the great meal that was served and the visit we had from LTG Eikenberry the Commanding General of Combined Forces Command, Afghanistan. I even got calls from other Soldiers bragging about the meals they had and all the stuff from home that accompanied it.

The only saving factor was that I got to see some of the troops that I had not seen in a few weeks and got to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. No one was shooting at us on this trip so I had a lot to be thankful for. I'm also starting to get a bunch of stuff from supporters at home. Christmas trees and packages for the troops are rolling in on a daily basis. Our Afghan soldiers and their American counterparts are all looking forward to being back in the Kabul area soon. I will be trading in warm weather for the cold in the higher elevations but there will be a little less work and a trip home for two weeks after the first of the year so things are looking up.

Driver's Education - Afghanistan Style

Most people in the world think they are good drivers, at least they seldom admit to driving like an idiot. Here good driving, like we are encouraged to do at home, is a sign of weakness; it's like blood in a shark tank.
There are plenty of cars and someone in our group has commented that traffic is one sign of an improving economy. Unfortunately, the economy seems to be improving despite the lack of traffic laws, cops to maintain some semblance of order, good roads, traffic control devices and (a biggie in my book) trained drivers.
Now, most people will think I'm exaggerating when I say that there are absolutely no rules and people will drive anywhere and anyway in order to get to where they intend to go. They will drive on the right hand side of the road on an area that would pass as a shoulder in the US. They will pass on sharp curves and drive straight into oncoming traffic to get around slower moving vehicles. They will drive through the parking lots and travel portions of private property without even slowing down. I've never seen anyone drive on a sidewalk because there are no sidewalks. If you walk, you walk in the street.
There are pedestrians everywhere and they make great targets for the Afghans that happen to be driving. Bikes and donkey carts are very common everywhere as are motorized rickshaws if you happen to be in Jalalabad. Through the mountain passes you will see goat and sheep herders pushing their herds along oblivious to the traffic that comes from every angle. Camels are also common and they, like the Afghans, have no apparent fear of traffic coming from their rear.
The condition of most roads, especially just outside major cities like Kabul and Jalalabad, is terrible. Pot holes that could be considered terrain features are everywhere creating the dilemma of "weave or don't weave". If you weave, you are likely to hit something or be hit by something. If you don't weave you screw up your tires, wheels and undercarriage of the vehicle. This country has a good number of shade tree mechanics (without the trees) and most drivers can do one hell of a repair on their cars. An awful lot of driveways actually have a pit in the middle so the owner can get beneath the vehicle to make repairs.
My interpreter (or slang - Terp) says that he does not have a driver's license and he knows no one who does. There is a licensing requirement preceded by a class and a test. The class and the license cost money. There is no penalty for driving without a license. Need I go on...?
All of these factors would be an issue in peacetime. Toss in a hostile environment with about 20 different countries all having troops driving around in big, lumbering tactical vehicles and you don't need too much of an imagination to figure out there will be problems in accidents where a civilian vehicle is involved with a tactical vehicle.
Our High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV or HumVee) are one of the smallest vehicles in the coalition. The French have little things that would hardly classify as tactical vehicles but they are the only things that I've seen smaller than ours. Our HumVees are so big and noisy that they require an intercom system inside to allow the crew to talk, rather than yell, to each other. The passenger (or assistant driver, better known as the "A Driver") and gunner are an absolute requirement as additional eyes when you have to manuever through traffic. Even with that, a vehicle with original mirrors is considered a collector's item. In truth, you're going to hit something, you just try to minimize the damage and the frequency.
Now, toss in a convoy of between two and five HumVees and add the responsibility of keeping up with the vehicle to your front. This is an absolute necessity for our protection. Once a convoy is moving, nothing should be allowed to get between the vehicles. Bombers on foot, on bikes, on donkey carts and in vehicles of all sizes are now frequent in built up areas with coalition presence, especially in Kabul, the nation's capital. Speed and constant motion are our only defense against this type of attack. In the more remote areas, cars and trucks pull over upon the approach of a convoy. In cities, it's every man for himself. So we try to maintain convoy integrity in the traffic conditions I have just described.
Some new service members in this country have a hard time getting used to it. Others figure it out right away and are very good at tactical driving. I do pretty well as the lead and a follower. My only concern is that I will pick up habits here that I will use in front of my daughter who has just gotten her learner's permit.
My imagination is gone and I feel the need to stop writing. Hopefully this post has helped you understand about one of the fundamantal tasks that we all have to perform here. It is often funny to watch what happens but there are occasions where the lack of organization leads to tragic pedestrian accidents. Fortunately, our involvement in accidents is very limited.
If I don't get to a good connection in the near future, I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving. My guys will still be in their forward positions so please remember them in your prayers.

Sarmajor

Catching Up

Nothing about Afghanistan is easy. Least of all is the ability to communicate what is happening in such a way so that no one thinks you are bragging or releasing too much information regarding the operations we are involved in. Things like troop strengths, organization, locations and such are not to be discussed in other than general terms. My blog, like many others, is designed to let anyone that cares to know something about the experiences of a Soldier in this country. As a Command Sergeant Major most of my observations are of a strategic nature, meaning that I see what my people do and seldom am in a position where I am the "doer" or the first person. The troops that I look after are the fighters; the ones that should be telling the stories about where they have been and how they have dealt with the conflict in their positions with the Afghan National Army (or the ANA).
We are working out of a brigade headquarters in Jalalabad in support of the 10th Mountain Division. Our troops are National Guard Soldiers, one active duty Soldier from the 4th ID and active duty Marines that are working as embedded trainers with the ANA in forward positions along the eastern border in the Hindu Kush mountains. The ANA are the actual fighters that are working in concert with the 10th Mountain. We provide the mentorship and advice to the leaders of the ANA units to whom we are assigned. On most occasions that means that we fight right next to our ANA counterparts.
Our outposts range from sparcely wooded mountain tops to desert outposts that could well be the movie set for "Beau Geste" or "March or Die". Our brigade is supported by an excellent staff of Air Force and Navy personnel that are either administrative or logistics specialists. This mix of services makes for an interesting concoction of military customs and slang that has the most experienced of us a bit bewildered.
One of my most important jobs is to check on the welfare of all personnel and report to my commander any comments or concerns from which I feel he could benefit. This involves quite a bit of travel along roads that are rugged at best and miserable most of the time. My vehicle is an up-armored HMMWV (UAV) and requires a crew, crew served weapon and some companion vehicles with me before I go out. This is no small task with a small brigade headquarters so I frequently tag along with others who may need to make visits also.
In contrast to my men, I am rarely shot at. However, those rare occasions do occur and it helps me to better understand what the men go through during TICs (new name for firefights - it stands for Troops In Contact) that can sometimes last a long time and involve quite a bit of gunfire, artillery and air support.
I deployed as a member of the Training Advisory Group, a command that works at the training center in Kabul where all ANA soldiers start their military experience. Due to an over-abundance of Sergeants Major at that location I was able to obtain a transfer to the 201st Regional Corps Advisory Group (RCAG) at Camp Black Horse. From there I was assigned to the 1st BDE, one of three brigades in the Corps. I've been in Afghanistan since June and ultimately a part of the 41st Brigade Combat Team of the Oregon Army National Guard. They are the command element for Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix V. The mission of Phoenix V is to mentor and train the ANA. My current group picks up ANA units that are already trained and keeps them involved with the coalition forces and military techniques that they should be using.
I have tried keeping a journal but find that I have a hard time doing that. I've tried taking pictures but I also have a hard time remembering to put my camera in a convenient location to grab it quickly. I have been semi-successful in e-mailing a large group of friends and relatives on what I am doing here. It is therefore my hope that this blog can become an extension of that e-mail process that seems to be working. Stay tuned and see what happens.