Afghanistan Diary Part 11- Task Force Nomad (November 2, 2011)

Why am I so lonely today? Most days I feel so strong, yet once in a while I find myself unable to control my emotions. I have nothing notable to be sad about and yet, here I am, feeling my mood sink by the minute. I find myself tired of this day, tired of this mission, tired of this patrol base, and most of all, tired of this third world hellhole.

On the last mission, we watched a dozen or so children playing soccer, oblivious to the squalor they live in and clueless to the horrible life that awaits them. Then I saw it!!! As the ball came rolling within ten to twenty yards of our vehicle, three boys came to retrieve it and I could see the look on one of the boys' faces as he turned to look at us in our MATV. It was clear to me as I looked at him that unlike his friends, he understood his plight. He had a distinctive expression on his face that cried out, “please take me with you...I don't want to live this life.” What would cause him to have that knowledge or insight? It has convinced me that the fighting desire to be free is hard-wired in all regardless of what they have or haven't been introduced to in life. It can easily be brainwashed or beaten out of many, but some are just strong willed enough to resist this re-education and for them, living in a country such as this one will be a lifelong mission to get out. I pray that young boy is able to get wherever he wants to go one day. I wish I had the power to take him home with me. I have not been here for two complete months and yet I have already been changed in some ways forever.

Afghanistan Diary Part 10- Task Force Nomad (October 31-November 1, 2011)

31Oct

And now it's beginning to seem like we're wasting time. Day three of no missions and our next foreseeable one is not for another four. The latest news is that our next task, which is to build two HLZ's from scratch, will include convoying approximately three times back and forth to Alcatraz to load water for the hydroseeder. After this the word is we will go back to Alcatraz and sit around for another week, in case something pops up. I am no expert, but this is beginning to seem like a colossal waste of man-hours and resources, though I know my personal desire to get back to Leatherneck and have better communication with family back home could be skewing my opinion as well. I am objective enough to know that is a possibility.

1Nov

This next story will most certainly impress animal lovers, and possibly infuriate wives, girlfriends, and family members. The other night a few Marines and I relaxed with fine cigars and evening conversation. As we puffed away over an hour or so we conversed almost exclusively about our dogs. That's right...not our kids, wives, or girlfriends, but about man's best friend. I apologize to my family for this story, but if it makes them feel any better there has been plenty of talk about them in other conversations. No, this night was dedicated to our canine companions, and let me tell you that many an entertaining story can be told regarding dogs. Tales of humor, loyalty, and bravery. Dogs possess some of the most respected traits of the military. I was most satisfied to find that I am not the only one who has a special voice for his dog, used to narrate what I believe him to be thinking at various times throughout the day. No, I am not a loner in that category. I do it so much at home that he (Charlie) recognizes that the voice has something to do with him and wags his tail anytime he hears it.  

Afghanistan Diary Part 9- Task Force Nomad (October 2011)

DOG DAY AFTERNOON

     The saga began three days ago when the senior Non-Commisioned Officer, Cpl Mickley, awakened to find that one of his boots had vanished into thin air. Immediately suspicious of the rest of the team, and rightfully so, he began questioning each member regarding the possible shenanigans being played at his expense. After somewhat calming his initial suspicions he began contemplating the alternative possibility. Yes...the possibility that wild dogs had stolen his boot in the middle of the night. 

     We had seen these four-legged pests lurking at the top of our berm one morning as we were forming up for a debrief. There was no time to investigate at the time, as we had a convoy in an hour. Luckily, my Cpl had thought to bring an extra pair of boots along for this task force, and he annoyingly dug them out of his pack, still with a suspicious eye cast on the other members of our security team. As the day went on without anyone coming forward to claim responsibility for the missing footwear, the event became an increasingly humorous catalyst for canine/footwear jokes. There was just no end to the sarcasm and my Cpl became increasingly confident that his boot had “gone to the dogs.” See how easy it is??

     Yesterday evening, just before chow, during a round of boot jokes, we convinced Cpl Mickley to climb to the top of the berm and look out over the desert to see if it might be down there somewhere. As we cracked jokes about the Taliban training dogs to steal boots merely to get unintelligent Marines to climb the berm into the open, Mickley proclaimed from the other side, “I found it!” Just like that, the three day mystery had come to a dramatic conclusion. Further investigation revealed that the dog more than likely realized he was not going to be able to get the boot back through the concertina wire he had successfully traversed on his way into the compound, and had dropped it there. However, Mickley has yet to reunite his foot with the boot, as upon finding it, he threw it back over the berm and it landed in a stream of drainage water from the hygiene area.

Afghanistan Diary Part 8- Task Force Nomad (October 29 2011)

     Well we have now completed three missions. This last mission was somewhat of a repeat of mission two in that we were at the same location. That is where the similarities end as we did not have the same problem with the tram. No, we had an entirely different set of problems today which have me at my wits end. 

     Okay, how do I get into this next topic? How can I explain this in a somewhat tactful manner? I am the second in command on these missions. My boss is the Convoy Commander and he is a Captain. He and I have very differing opinions in regards to security. He is a very difficult man to work with, as he refuses to take advice from anyone, including his senior advisor, aka myself. I am the Assistant Convoy Commander, but more importantly I carry a second billet of Security Team leader. It is actually the entire reason myself and my personnel are up here with this convoy and work crew in the first place. We are the security experts assigned specifically to keep these personnel safe on their worksite, as well as during the movements from place to place. It is what we train almost every day to do. Yet, Captain...let's call him “Custer,” insists on running everything and taking advice from no one. 

     He made two decisions on this last mission that dismounted troops from the safety of their up-armored vehicles unnecessarily, placing all in greater danger during a time of darkness when our convoy was halted unexpectedly. These were not questionable calls whatsoever. They were decisions that were 100% wrong, 99% of the time. I knew before approaching him after the convoy that my advice would fall on deaf ears, nonetheless, I felt a moral obligation to approach him and get my concerns into the air. Yes, I knew he would immediately become defensive and would never admit that my security tactics were correct, much less admit that his decisions were incorrect. 

     That is precisely how it played out, with him again dismissing my concerns with his favorite defense line, “That was a risk I was willing to take.” This is becoming an extremely difficult position for me. I can continue pointing out the glaring errors, knowing full well that his pride and arrogance will never allow for him to accept that he is wrong about anything. Eventually this will lead to disaster when we become just fed up enough with each other to throw down one evening. I am 40 years old now and the prospect of “throwing down” with anyone just sounds like a bad idea from the start. 

     The second option is to let it go and let Custer rule with his iron fist. This option seems morally reprehensible to me as each time he makes such decisions he puts lives in danger. It may be a risk he's willing to take but it is most assuredly not a risk I am willing to take. I do have a third option. An option that is thoroughly frowned upon by the structure of the military. I could go around him to the next higher authority and let him know my concerns. This is called not utilizing the chain of command properly, and if not done with surgical precision, it could get me in a lot of hot water and turn me into the bad guy. I will not sleep well tonight contemplating my next move.

Afghanistan Diary Part 7- Task Force Nomad (October 24-26 2011)

LCpl Leos prepares for an early morning mission

24 Oct

It is our last day of waiting for this next mission and the mood is slowly shifting from relaxation to business. Our next mission will leave us the most exposed to enemy fire of any so far this deployment. Additionally, it will be a 3 a.m. rise and shine to complete communication checks and prepare to move out at 5am. The young Marines don't have the same mood shift that I go through. My driver, Lcpl Leos, is sitting next to me playing Grand Theft Auto on his PSP. Sadly, this Marine received a Red Cross message yesterday morning that his grandmother had passed away. His family had requested that he be sent home but he informed me that he wished to stay here, which I can completely understand. Sometimes the best coping mechanism a Marine has with such news is the band of brothers surrounding him and taking care of him. The way in which fellow Marines manage to be sensitive and yet, still screw with the Marine in need with an irreverent brand of sarcasm is a work of art, and it is normally just what the Marine needs to continue functioning proficiently out here.

26 Oct

Our 2^nd mission is complete, and what a long, painful mission it was. The 0300 rise and shine was originally supposed to transition to a 0500 exit of friendly lines, and a return to base no later than 1800. We knew it was going to be a long day going in, but we had no idea how long it would become. About two hours into our on-site work one of the heavy equipment operators dumped his tram on it's side. Luckily he was not injured, but it was a major setback which turned a 16 hour day into a 20 hour day. As with the first mission, the day was filled with interesting sights, normally provided by the local Afghans. The standing record of three on a motorbike was broken when I caught sight of 4 on a bike shortly after 1400. Other than that monumental achievement, the only noteworthy detail was once again the behavior, performance, and professionalism of my Marines. My two gunners remained in their turrets from the 0500 Oscar-Mike (on the move) to the return to camp at 2300. 18 hours refusing to leave their guns because they are that serious about their job. Marines like the ones I am currently honored to be supervising are what I will miss most when I retire. I doubt I will ever witness that type of drive and dedication again in any other career path.

I currently have the Navy Corpsman in my security vehicle. Naval Corpsmen, or “corpse-men” as our President likes to refer to them, are the medics of the Marine Corps. We have at least one on every mission and the current one is quite a character. He can not only recite entire scenes of most movies, but is quite proficient at applying these scenes to current conversations in the vehicle. You can get a pretty decent impression of a guy when you spend 18 hours with him in a vehicle, and I have to give our “doc” the “Gunny Seal of Approval” so far. He seems pretty good to go. He is from New York originally and was actually an EMT in Spanish Harlem before trading that occupation in to become a Corpsman. He has a pretty impressive tattoo on his forearm detailing the outline of his state of New York with an outline of the twin towers inside of the state. He is extremely patriotic and a staunch conservative. As I stated before, he is “good to go,” as most Corpsmen are.