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This is what my watch read as I laid in my bunk in Gardez, Afghanistan. I’d set my alarm for 0400 hours as later that morning I was going to be leading my first American and Afghan National Army (ANA) convoy on a 2 day trip from Gardez to FOB Tillman. I closed my eyes and tried to enjoy my remaining 2 minutes of sleep before I had to embark on a very long day.
Too soon the alarm went off and I tried to rub the sleep from my eyes in a sluggish attempt to wake up. At about the same time I heard a quick whoosh, followed by a tremendous explosion that shook our b-hut (living quarters) as it threw rocks and debris onto our roof. Shortly after that initial blast someone hollered “We’ve got incoming!” Next thing I know I’m running outside with my battle rattle (helmet, body armor, and weapon) on and trying to find a spot to sit down in the crowded bunker until we get the all clear that the attack is over. As I sat there and felt the adrenaline from a combat situation pump through my veins for the very first time, I realized that I didn’t put on my ACU top and I wasn’t wearing socks with my still un-tied boots. I didn’t feel so bad after I looked around and saw a few people with their body armor, no shirt, PT shorts. and unbuckled Kevlar helmet. I even heard a few people say “Oh man, I left my weapon on my bunk.”
Considering the company I was in, I looked “battle ready” as I at least had my weapon. After 45 minutes of sitting on the ground, listening to bodily functions going off, snoring, and just happen to have that guy who never stops talking about his own life (apparently he took the fact that I was ignoring him, for caring), we were given the all clear signal. Thinking that I had lost approximately 45 minutes of preparation time, I started to really move with a purpose. My NCO partner then asked me what my hurry was. After giving him the “are you kidding me look?” he responded with a reassuring “Sir, we’ve got hours. Remember we are working with the ANA.” As usual, the NCO was correct. We actually left 2 hours later then we had planned for. In sh’allah!
Later that morning we were informed that 2 security forces soldiers from the Florida National Guard were wounded in the 107mm rocket attack. One had minor wounds but the other soldier had taken a good amount of shrapnel and was MEDEVAC’d out. Both soldiers had less then 2 weeks left in Afghanistan. Luckily they would both survive.
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service Blog has written a review of At War. You can check it out by clicking the link below.
“The film is not a Hollywood production. Far from it, yet packs a punch more emotionally explosive than any Tom Hanks war drama. This is real life. There is no set. No makeup. The blood is real. The tone of film is intense from start to finish. I am still wrestling with emotions and questions after watching this film…though not to the extent our troops and their families.”
Tonight we will be catching up with film-maker and embedded freelance journalist/blogger, Scott Kesterson, live from Afghanistan. Scott’s film, At War, was just shown at the Annual Milblog Conference last weekend and is showing at the Buffalo-Niagara Film Festival this weekend. He has been out on missions the last few days and will be giving us a fresh perspective of how things are going on the front lines of the Global War on Terror.
We are also talking with Mark Baker, creator of the popular Army Times cartoon “PVT Murphy’s Law” (http://www.pvtmurphy.com/). Mark and CJ are old friends so it should be a good time to find out any dirt on CJ from the past. We will be talking about his very famous comic strip, the feedback he gets about it and how Murphy has grown over the years from a Private to a Sergeant.
Last but not least, Wesley Gray, author of “EMBEDDED: A Marine Corps Advisor Inside the Iraqi Army” will join CJ and Troy to talk about his book and the story he is trying to tell the world through this book.
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It started as a lengthy phone call between Old Blue and myself. Thanks to a private online chat group that a whole bunch of us milbloggers talk on, it grew to include Vampire 6 and WOTN. Four veterans of Afghanistan, Four milbloggers, Four guys who care about passing on the Afghanistan Lessons Learned (A.L.L.) to others that are deploying. 2009 is going to be challenging enough for this country in regards to Afghanistan and even more challenging for those that are heading over to risk their lives and spend a year away from home.
The last thing they need to do is worry about a lengthy ramp-up period to learn the unique challenges that the war in Afghanistan has to offer. They need to hit the ground running, which means having all the lessons learned already in their head.
This is where we come in. We call it A.L.L. and it is for all going to Afghanistan. We foresee this blog becoming the one-stop shop of knowledge needed in order to step into the country knowing all there is to know without having physically been there.
I watched this video and I swear my heartbeat raced, the flashbacks came back and my PTS even kicked in. Two years after I left, nothing has changed. This video shows you exactly what the American fighting men serving as embedded trainers have to deal with.
I have been saying repeatedly since 2006 in many blogs and interviews and screaming ever since that the TOP 3 problems in Afghanistan are: 1. Corruption 2. Lack of spirit (No care for the good of Afghanistan) 3. No accountability or code of military justice.
Not only are those facts, they are still relevant today as you can from the video below. This video also highlights the reason why ETTs/PMTs come back from a one year tour burned the f*** out. Imagine getting shot at and blown up by the enemy all the time, shafted by your higher headquarters all the time via no resources and stupid rules, and then dealing with these idiots all the time. They were and still are 3rd graders with guns and trucks. I have also stated many times in public forums that many in the ANA and ANP are in it for a paycheck only (ref #2 above), and have no real skills. These are the bums that hang out by the drug store with their skateboards all day because they have no motivation or skill to have a real job. If they could, they would. So they join the army to get 3 meals a day and a little money.
And just think there are those in our government whom want to double the number of force in country. Do we need double of these guys, or half of them but those half being professionals.
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The docu-film, At War which was produced and directed by my friends David Leeson and Scott Kesterson will be shown this weekend at the Buffalo-Niagara Film Festival in North Tonawanda, NY on Sunday at 6PM. If you are in the area, be sure to stop by and check it out. You can learn more about the festival at http://www.buffaloniagarafilmfestival.com/index.html.
A Fort Polk Soldier jumps from a Lakota LUH 72A helicopter during high altitude, low open airborne operations April 8, while another Soldier prepares to jump. The event marked the first time a Lakota was used in airborne operations on Fort Polk and just the third time Army wide.
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Check out the video below to see an update from my man, Uncle Jimbo on the conference. He is one heck of a guy and we spent a lot of time, along with Matty B plotting to take over the internet and the world. We are racing Google.
One interesting tidbit that I was going to mention in my official update posting, but I will mention here since this video is from Jimbo. On Saturday night, while hanging at O’Sullivan’s, Jimbo and I realized that we met in a past life. He and I went through the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) competition together in Camp Howze, Korea in 1989. That was where I got my EIB and where he got his. Just another example of what I call the “Its a Army small world”. I remember his unit (from out of country) being there and going through with us. There wasn’t many of them there and even less finished. Who would have thought that 20 years after running the EIB Gauntlet together, we would be downing pints of Guinness in a Irish pub…together. Bravo Jimbo, Bravo
A.L.L. (Afghanistan Lessons Learned) Soldiers Should Know This When Deploying To Afghanistan Chapter 2: History Lesson This post is in response to a direct request from SGT Danger, who has experienced a change of mission.
First, read some basic history on Afghanistan. You don’t need to know a ton, but being familiar with the history there is a good idea, and Afghans are very impressed with someone who has taken the time, and had the respect, to learn about their history. Afghanistan has a long history and is a witness to many empires, most of which have run over Afghanistan like steamrollers. Afghanistan has been like the cartoon character who is run over by a car, struggles to his feet and has scarcely dusted himself off when he is run over again. And again. And again, ad nauseum. Afghans, particularly the Pashtuns, have been called xenophobic, and while they have some xenophobic tendencies, it is this role as the speed bump of history that has ingrained this.
In your research you will find that the Persians, Alexander the Great, Tamerlane, Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, and more recently the British Empire and the Russians have all swept through Afghanistan. For some, this paints a picture of the indomitable Afghan. I tend to disagree, as the Afghans have indeed been conquered on numerous occasions. However, Afghanistan has never been the prize, more like a necessary bridge from where the conqueror was to where he wished to be. What the Afghans are, however, is survivors. The ominous name “graveyard of empires” is a misnomer. None of the great ancient empires were undone in Afghanistan, but Afghanistan was instead a way to measure the waxing and waning of these empires. They all swept through on their way to expansion, and then had to retract through Afghanistan again on their way back whence they came, leaving their genetic mark on the land. The Afghans, however, have survived. Afghans are not indomitable; they are consummate survivors, amazing in their flexibility and often playing foreigners off of each other and their domestic competitors.
More recently, the British and Russians have found great difficulty in Afghanistan, mostly through their own idiotic mistakes. These experiences in particular are held up as some sort of omen as to the fortunes of the NATO mission in Afghanistan. I caution you not to give much credence to such examples, for there are significant differences. No one through history has gone to Afghanistan for the sake of Afghanistan. What we are doing in Afghanistan is for their sake, but do not become confused; it is not because we are so selfless. It is because by doing the right thing in Afghanistan, we make ourselves safer. Do not buy in to any thoughts of whether or not they deserve our assistance. The question is in itself diversionary. We chose this mission eight years ago because it is our best interests. The Afghans need a lot of help. Theirs is a society that has been developmentally disabled by thirty years of warfare. They have forgotten how to govern even as well as they were ever governed. Forty years ago, Afghanistan was on its way towards modernization. Events since the deposition of the king in 1973 (the king died in August, 2007) have taken Afghanistan back until they are now ten minutes out of the stone age.
If you think of Afghanistan as an individual, this would be a person who has suffered repeated blows to the head and suffers from TBI and PTSD.
A basic understanding of this will assist you in your observations of Afghan behavior. Observations of behavior are critical; your best way to prepare for danger is to be able to recognize what normal looks like. It is only through learning what normal looks like that you will have any hope of recognizing what abnormal looks like. Being able to recognize abnormal behavior or circumstances will help you to stay alive and keep your Soldiers safe. At first, when you arrive, your “Spidey sense” will be alerting you constantly, overloading your mind and your emotions. Relax. Learn. In a short time (2-3 weeks) you will have seen much of Afghan behavior enough to know (mostly) what normal looks like.
Expect to see crushing poverty. Expect to see children who appear to be about four years old herding goats or sheep off by themselves in the middle of the day. Expect to see more Toyota Corollas than you ever thought were built. The general feeling has often been described as Biblical times blended with the Wild West with a touch of Mad Max.
Do not confuse illiteracy with stupidity. Afghans very often learn quickly by observation. They have a strong tradition of oral history. Be aware of why they are consummate fence-sitters, the ferocity of their lack of commitment born of a strong survival instinct. Understand that, often, what we see as corruption they see as the price of doing business.
Be slow to judge them by American standards. While the easy answer, it will only breed discontent in your own soul. There are many Afghans who are very glad that you are there. If you have close contact with them, you will quite likely be thanked by some for being there. There will be more on culture in further chapters.
The link to the history of Afghanistan above is to Wikipedia’s good synopsis of Afghan history. It’s not terribly long, and it provides links to any particular area you’d care to explore.
An excellent introduction to the modern history of Afghanistan and the development of the Taliban is National Geographic’s “Inside the Taliban.” This can be found in ten parts here (follow stu106 thread of ten parts on YouTube.) It can also be downloaded in full here.
There are other websites with more anthropological examinations of Afghanistan, like Registan and Ghosts of Alexander. Both are written by academics and offer insight that can be helpful. Joshua Foust, author of Registan, recently returned from Afghanistan.
Finally, if you get a chance to catch a screening of “At War,” a documentary film by independent journalist Scott Kesterson, miss an entire night’s sleep to do so if necessary. This film will give you a sense of what it’s like on the ground. It has been known to make veterans of Afghanistan experience the same rush of combat they felt in country. It’s that good.
Once you have completed the above (”At War” film optional based on availability,) you will have a passing knowledge of the land for which you are bound.
Head over to GreatAmericans.com, who were one of the sponsors of the 2009 Milblog Conference. They have a series of videos up that are interviews of several of the milbloggers on the web today, to include me. Yes, you can watch ole’ Bouhammer himself jacked up on Starbucks talk about all sorts of things related to blogging, patriotism, and of course Afghanistan.
Old Blue and I are combining our knowledge and experience to jointly publish blog posts under a shared Category called A.L.L.
A.L.L. stands for Afghanistan Lessons Learned, and is intended to document our knowledge and experience in a fresh perspective for any and all service-members who may be part of the upcoming surge into Afghanistan this year. He and I and maybe others (who could one day also join this endeavor in the future) have walked the walk and walked the ground. We have learned the lessons the hard way, so there is no reason for others do to do the same. The wheel has been invented and there is no patent on it.
This is the first “chapter” in this new joint blogging adventure. This list was originally published on this blog back on Jan. 26th, 2007. This is a list of good equipment to have.
The following list is from my experiences and from friends in Iraq that pertain to here Afghanistan also. Some of these won't be needed until you get in country, so you may want to set them off to side for mama to pack up for you and send to you once you get settled. This listing has been the single most popular blog posting ever, here on Bouhammer’s Blog.
1. Any extra ClassVIII you can bring with you is good to have. 2. Wolfhook 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 W/ x-tra pair of spare 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 its in short supply….almost always 19. Small compact rolls of TP. A lot of places make travel size, half the time you get to a port-a-potty the jackA$s before you ganked 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 16/20 oz 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 multi tool 36. Fabreeze-sometimes the laundry is 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 winter times hanging around 42. A couple of poncho liners for privacy, nasty mattress cover, 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 (>$200) of winter desert boots. All they will give you is a regular summer set and a set of goretex lined for waterproof needs. Desert is a cold place at these altitudes in the winter time. 47. Bring a laptop!!! Also may want a PSP or some other handheld gaming device. 48. Get an external USB hard-drive (>120gb). 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 $0.021 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 min. of 18ea. M4 mags per person. 9 that are loaded and 9 that rest. Plan to do M4 mag changeover once per month. 53. Bring 8ea 9mm mags, for same reason above. Change these over every two weeks. 54. Order a LULA mag loader/unloader. It will be the best $12 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 or purchase yourself one 12v DC to 110 AC inverter per man for your trucks. There are crucial on mission to charge personal items, cell phone, ICOMs, and especially ANA radios (they only have re-chargeable batteries). 56. Dump the IBA tac vest you get issued. Get a Tactical Tailor MAV chest rig (does not matter if you get 1 or 2 piece one as you want to keep the front open for laying in the prone. You don't want mags pushing into your chest making it hard to breathe) . I wish I would have bought mine at the start. It makes a HUGE difference on the back and shoulders when carrying a loaded rig. 57. Get comfortable pair of desert boots. I wear only the Converse 8" assault boots (non-zipper ones). Oakley, Bates and several others are similar in style and comfort. 58. Bring some good snivel gear for the winter time. Extra poly-pro winter hat, gloves, neck gators, etc. 59. Lock de-icer for the winter time 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
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.
This morning I was fortunate enough to participate in another DOD sponsored blogger’s round-table discussion with COL Tom McGrath. You can see his bio and the minutes of the call (when they are posted) at http://www.defenselink.mil/blogger/index.aspx. The actual audio of the almost 30 min call is located by clicking here.
I encourage all to listen to it as I was one of only two bloggers/journalists on the call which allowed me to get in a lot of questions. Also, he mentions a very story during the interview when he talks about a local Afghan man that steps in front of a US ETT convoy to warn them of an IED but was then injured by the IED as it went off. This action no doubt saved some American lives. The man was evacuated and treated my US medical personnel and I think survived.
This afternoon I participated in another DOD sponsored Bloggers Roundtable sessions with COL McGrath, who is the Commander of ARSIC-South. ARSIC South has lost a lot of coalition (US and non US) soldiers/marines in the last nine days. In addition, they have had the now-famous Kandahar prison break happen and the temporary siege of the Arghandab district by Taliban militants. There were about eight journalists/bloggers on the session with COL McGrath which contributed to a wide variety of questions being asked. I personally asked him three questions, including a personally tough question that I asked at the end, which was even tougher for him to answer I am sure. This is one of the better roundtable sessions I have been on and I encourage all who are interested in Afghanistan or our servicemembers to take 30 minutes out of your day and listen to it.
I was able to participate in another blogger’s roundtable with LTC Hall (who is the Battalion Commander of 2/7 Marines in Afghanistan) today. There were only a few of us on the call, but the questions were very good and as always LTC Hall was very outspoken in his answers and had a lot of good updates on the happenings in his area of responsibility. More importantly he was able to express some of the great things his Marines have done and continue to do every day.
You can listen to the recorded session of the roundtable HERE.
This morning I was able to participate in a Blogger’s roundtable with COL John Cuddy (Commander of the Regional Police Advisory Command-South in Kandahar, Afghanistan). I checked out his bio prior, which you can read HERE, and I thought he looked familiar. He started the session with a really good and thorough opening statement. After the one other blogger asked her questions, I started to ask mine. After I introduced myself, he caught me off guard by calling me First Sergeant and then telling me that he sat in one of my briefings at Ft. Drum when I was up there teaching the Brigade my lessons learned from Afghanistan.
There were only two bloggers on this call, which was a shame, but I did take the opportunity to ask several questions and have what amounted to a one-on-one conversation with him at the end. Overall it was a good roundtable and I look forward to conducting roundtables with him again in the future.
Last Friday I participated in a very filled round-table with COL McGrath. COL McGrath is the ARSIC-S Commander who is coming to an end on his 15 month tour. It was a really good interview session as he had a lot to reflect on and a variety of topics to talk about. ARSIC-South is the hottest area of operation in Afghanistan and is where the biggest fight is taking place. Of course other areas to the east along the Pakistan border are catching up in the level of activity.
Some of the facts and highlights from the round-table were:
250 Up-armored Humvees are being fielded to each of the 3 Afghan Army Brigades in the 205th Corps AO.
The ANA is in the process of receiving heavier crew serve weapons
New NCO leadership courses are being run and graduating ANA at a record pace
200 ANA soldiers are now eligible for promotion
Team leader (Jr. NCO) courses being taught by ANA Sr. NCOs
ANA is now central in the training on the M16 conversion from AK-47s
ANA medevacs and supply runs are being executed on ANA helicopters
On Wednesday, myself and a few other bloggers participated in one of the latest blogger round-tables dealing with Afghanistan. This one was with COL John Cuddy again. COL Cuddy is in charge of the Afghan National Police training in the southern sector of Afghanistan. I think this was my third time talking to COL Cuddy and as always it was entertaining and enlightening to hear the latest developments.
He discussed the record number of Police they are putting through the academy, weapons marksmanship, pay reform and NCO training. As with all of these round-tables, rather than repeating everything in type, I would rather point you to the audio file so you could listen to it yourself.
The other day, DOD Live sponsored another Blogger’s Roundtable with LTC Hall from 2/7 Marines. I really wanted to be on this one, but my full time life (i.e. civilian work schedule) prevented me from taking part. However I strongly encourage you to listen as LTC Hall has some great updates on 2/7s progress. There were a few technical issues during the call, but you can still hear all of the content. I recently wrote about 2/7 adn the shift they have seem to have undertaken from purely ANP mentoring to more of a kinetic fight against the enemy. This is why I wanted to be on the call, as I wanted to ask about that first hand. I am sure I will get a chance again soon.
Click the link below to listen to the round-table.
Well the conference opened up this morning a little late, but that is expected after the party last night at the Penthouse Club. The room has slowly filled up now. I met many more people this morning that I have talked with either on the phone or through email. I was able to meet Jack Holt from DOD Live Bloggers roundtable and Wendy from the Army PAO office. I have CJ sitting next to me, Marcus in front of me, and Toby Nunn
Toby Nunn and I
behind me… I am truly in the company of great soldiers and phenomenal bloggers.
The session opened with a video from LTG Caldwell, who is the Commandant of the War College. LTG Caldwell is one of the biggest proponents of blogs, and in fact has made it a requirement for students to blog (Army Majors and higher) as part of the curriculum. LTG Caldwell could not make it in person so he sent the video and sent a couple of his staff to the conference.
After LTG Caldwell’s statement, JP gave a nice opening speech full of some ok humor and some really good laughs. Of course he has to have his own APPLAUSE sign, but hey you got to do what you got to do. JP had fun poking at me, CJ, and Matt Burden. Actually Matt has been the butt of jokes and ribbing all morning, but he takes it well because he knows it is with good intentions.
Andi from Spousebuzz and JP from milblogging.com
From there, we go into the first session titled, Areblogs still relevant? This panel is moderated by Ward Carrol from military.com and the panelists are Matt Burden, Phil Carter, CJ Grisham, and Greyhawk.
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A Bloggers Roundtable happened earlier this week that I was not able to attend and was very upset that I couldn’t attend. It was with Air Force MG Jay Lindell, who is the Commander of Combined Air Power Transition Force - Afghanistan. There were only a couple of bloggers on the call, which is unfortunate becuase he discussed many good points about the young, but growing Afghanistan Air Corps. Building a helicopter or fixed wing unit is a much larger task than building a ground army, but we are making progress with Afghanistan in this area.
MG Lindell discusses these progress facts on the call and personally gives me a lot of hope that maybe, just maybe they will truly be able to stand on their own as an Afghan military.
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Last week I participated on a Blogger’s Roundtable with Marine LTC Haynes who is the Commander for the 201st RCAC. I know the area well where LTC Haynes has responsibility and was very excited to talk to him. I have been pushing on the DOD and Army PAO offices to get us more roundtables with troops and mid-level commanders and not always the top command. Even though he is a LTC, he is still down in the fight and in his current role someone I would consider closer to the fight than some of the earlier interviews. We talked a lot about the increase in violence in the central region of Wardak province and in and around Kabul. He also discussed some of the great progress being made in the region between Kabul and the Pakistan border.
Yesterday I participated in a Bloggers Roundtable with 2/7 Marines Battalion Commander, LTC Rich Hall. I have had the chance to interview LTC Hall several times through this tour from the very beginning when he got there. There was only one other blogger on the call with me, but this was good becuase we had the chance to ask multiple questions and with LTC Hall’s thorough explanations the half hour was quickly filled up.
He talked about the actions of his Marines and defined the differences between in-district reform and focused-district development with the Afghan Police. I also asked him about the unity of command and the issues he had when he first got into country with no clear lines of command above his unit. Troop Morale, preparing for the hand-off to 3/8 Marines and many other topics were discussed. I encourage you to click the link below and spend a half-hour listening to a great interview.
The other day I participated in the latest Blogger’s roundtable from Afghanistan. It was with COl Bill Hix, who is the new ARSIC-South Commander. He replaced COL Tom McGrath, whom I have interviewed several times. The roundtable lasted a little longer than normal, but that was becuase there was a lot of good information shared with us. COL Hix has been in country for a while prior to taking over ARSIC -South Command. He was previously the Chief of Staff for CSTC-A, so he has a lot of insight into the total workings of Afghanistan operations.
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I was able to participate in the latest Blogger’s Roundtable with COL Paul Somersall from Afghanistan. I first met COL Somersall in October 2007 as I was at the 27th BCTs Annual Training as they were getting ready for their deployment. I only got to spend a short amount of time with him, mostly giving a class on real life lessons as an ETT, but he and I also were able to spend a few one on one moments together talking about what to be prepared for going into Afghanistan. I have been eagerly waiting on this Roundtable and was glad to finally see it happen.
Andrew, Chuck and I all posed great questions to COL Somersall and due to his thorough and articulate answers and his ability to stay on the line with us, this particular roundtable lasted about 45 minutes. The questions ranged from ANA logistics to CERP funded projects to the effectiveness of M16s in the hands of Afghan soldiers. This was truly one of the best roundtables I have participated in, mostly becuase of COL Somersall being prepared and more than ready to provide very detailed answers to our questions.
NOTE- If you connect to Bouhammer Blog for podcasts, the audio file will automatically download to your podcast directory in iTunes.
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Last week I sat on another Blogger’s Roundtable about Afghanistan. This one was unique because the person we were interviewing, Marine COL Haynes, was not in Afghanistan. He is back at his normal duty station in Japan, and I think this allowed us to have a much better roundtable than normal. COL Haynes was RCAC Commander for 201st Corps in Afghanistan and is someone I have had the pleasure of interviewing before.
After the interview was over, I definitely felt like he was much more open and more descriptive and honest than I normally hear on these. I am sure it was becuase he was not under the command of Afghanistan anymore and felt more at ease about telling the truth or at least as close to it as he could.My friend Andrew Lubin asked questions about a recent Operation called Golden Spike, while I focused on things like corruption in the Afghan Army, and enforcing a Uniformed Code of Military Justice.
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I spent the entire Conference mostly live blogging and conducting interviews for www.youserved.com, so my report is still coming. Look for the recap in the next couple of days. I am still trying to recover from a weekend of very, very little sleep.
Milblog Conference Attendees acting like, well Milblog Conference Attendees
Well I am here in Arlington, VA (D.C. Area) to attend the 2009 Milblog Conference. It is going to be a great time and I can’t wait to get it started. Of course I really can’t wait to start the debut showing of At War tonight for what will hopefully be a packed house. I have no guess as to how many will attend, but I hope we have to cram them in, and I am praying that everything goes off without a hitch. Of course after the showing of At War we will be having a awesome cocktail party and reception here at the hotel which should produce a lot of memorable moments and incriminating pictures for some. Starting tonight and through the weekend CJ and I will be live micro-blogging and even writing some regular blog posts over at the other site we both write for, www.youserved.com. We will be micro-blogging on the You Served twitter account at www.twitter.com/youserved.
So be sure to follow us, the by the moment happenings, and any other crazy stories that may come out of this year’s conference. I will try to throw up a blog or two here, plus I will also be micro-blogging on my personal account at www.twitter.com/bouhammer
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In this latest podcast, I am again talking with Embedded Blogger and Film-Maker Scott Kesterson. Scott and I cover a variety of topics, to include the feedback he has received of showing the film “At War” in Afghanistan, the surge of forces into Afghanistan this summer and the recent activities in Pakistan. This is not one you want to miss, especially if you are interested in hearing some opinions of people on the ground in the Global War on Terror.
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Kabul, Afghanistan - Members of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan conducted an unusual mission handover on Monday.
Rather than discussing troop disposition and battle status, the soldiers were passing along information about bottle feedings and sleeping schedules.
For the past few months, the CJSOTF-A troops have been caring for an Afghan baby boy named Ramazan, who is approximately nine months old. On this day, the troops said good-bye to Ramazan as they transferred his care over to a team of doctors at a medical facility in Kabul.
The wide-eyed baby was first put into the care of the Americans after his father brought him to a Special Operations Forces clinic in Shindand District, Herat Province, in late January.
Ramazan was approximately six months old at the time and barely hanging onto life. The infant was unable to eat normally due to a congenital defect that left an opening in the palate of his mouth, making him desperately underweight and malnourished.
The clinic staff at first fashioned a special bottle to help feed Ramazan, but the baby was still unable to gain the nourishment he needed for survival. Ramazan was flown with his father to a military hospital at Bagram Airfield for further evaluation.
At the hospital, Coalition doctors discovered Ramazan had Pierre Robin Sequence, a congenital condition leaving him with an abnormally small jaw, an oversized tongue and a cleft palate, or incomplete closure in the roof of his mouth. CJSOTF-A worked in conjunction with the hospital to arrange surgery for the baby.
"Ramazan had surgery to repair the cleft palate, but complications arose because he was already so fragile and malnourished," said Army Dr. (Maj.) Michael Tarpey, CJSOTF-A surgeon.
After an extended stay at the hospital, Ramazan's care was turned over to CJSOTF-A medical troops, who welcomed the baby with open arms. Ramazan's father, who has five other children under the age of seven, had to return to his home in Shindand to support the rest of his family.
The CJSOTF-A troops are prepared to fight wars, not provide long-term care for babies; however, in true SOF fashion the mission was accomplished regardless of the obstacles. Ramazan needs even more attention than the average baby, as he has a tracheotomy, as well as a feeding tube in his stomach, both of which require advanced levels of care.
"This is a highly unusual situation … we're not really set up for babies. We wouldn't have thought of turning him away though. Ramazan seemed beyond our capabilities, but we found a way to take care of him nonetheless," Tarpey said.
The CJSOTF-A community banded together to create a loving environment to nurture the baby. The medical section provided around-the-clock care for Ramazan, the engineers built a crib and many sections gathered toys and clothing. Still others simply stopped by to play with Ramazan and offer hugs and kisses.
"Everybody I talk to just loves Ramazan … he's the cutest thing ever and so receptive. Honestly, he's a nice distraction from the day-to-day kinetic operations we support. I'm sorry to see him leave us because I've grown attached to him, but the best thing we can do for Ramazan is restore his health and get him back to his family as soon as possible," said a CJSOTF-A soldier who frequently visited the baby.
Even as his troops cared for the baby, Tarpey was making arrangements for Ramazan to transfer to the hospital in Kabul.
"Over the last month we started coordinating with the hospital, and we determined that they have surgeons who can handle the further operations that he needs and a staff that can provide his daily extensive care," Tarpey said.
"Time will tell when he'll be able to have the surgeries; perhaps over the next few months. Ideally he'll stay at the hospital in Kabul to receive the surgeries and restore his health and, from there, go home to his family," he added.
At the hospital in Kabul, the CJSOTF-A soldiers conducted the Ramazan handover with a team of Afghan doctors. One of Ramazan's main caregivers, an Army medic, described the baby's daily habits and needs to the staff, starting off with a warning that he gets unhappy if not fed every two hours.
The medic just laughed when the director of nursing expressed her amazement at Ramazan's already-emerging personality. "Oh, he's got personality alright," he told her. "I probably know that baby better than anybody, and if there's one thing he's got, it's personality," he added.
Indeed Ramazan is as full of life as a baby can be, as if he fully understands how close he came to death and must now live every moment like it is his last. The baby is fascinated with everything and relishes attention.
The medic would not openly admit that he will miss Ramazan, but he gently stroked the baby's hair as he gave him a kiss good-bye. It had been quite the journey for both Ramazan and his caregivers. Ramzan is no longer tiny and malnourished. His months with CJSOTF-A have turned him into a healthy baby with a bright future. His time with CJSOTF-A had also warmed the hearts of many.
"I can say it's been extremely rewarding to see Ramazan's daily strides. He's gained weight and strength … he can also hold his head up now and hold his own bottle. He's completely alert and aware of his surroundings," Tarpey said.
"I know he has a solid future now … he wouldn't have before, but he'll be a normal baby soon because of his time with us and his time at the hospital in Kabul. That makes every minute worth it," the doctor added.
