The Adventure Begins
25 March 2007 – We arrived at Manas Air base in Kyrgyzstan today after a 23 hour flight. We departed from Pope Air Force Base on Friday (23 Mar) evening and arrived at Manas early Sunday morning. My Commander was given a seat in First Class and he directed me to sit with him so we could complete some planning for our arrival, who was I to argue….first class for a 23 hour flight, you bet I was one happy Airman. After arriving at Manas we quickly set about to ensuring a prompt departure in order to get to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan as soon as possible. We lucked out and were booked on a flight the next day (26 Mar). We spent the day catching up on sleep, emails at the internet café, and last minute shopping at the BX. Manas seems like an very nice deployment location. For a small site they had every amenity possible, our friends in the Army were amazed how much MWR support there was.
26 Mar 2007 – We departed Manas Air Base today aboard a C-17. This was my first ride on a C-17, the aircraft was only 4 years old, something you don’t see very often considering the age of our aircraft fleets. Bagram Air Base sits in a valley at an elevation just over 5,000 feet, completely surrounded by some of the most spectacular mountains I have ever seen. The mountains are still covered with snow. Once we arrived and sorted out our billets we attended two hours of Air Force in processing. Shortly after that we crashed hard, exhausted from the traveling and time zone changes. Our billets are “b-Huts, small plywood huts with 8 partitioned off rooms that resemble cells. The rooms are small but after 6 years folks have made them homey with shelves and other small creature comforts. I was lucky enough to score a captain’s bed so at least I have some built in storage. I will post pics of the room and base on the website as soon as I can.
27 Mar 07 – Today was simply busy. We had 6 hours of inprocessing briefings and I attended office calls with my commander at our Task Force and Air Force leadership. Let me describe Bagram Airfield (BAF) and what life is like. First BAF is a former Soviet air base where nearly every major offensive operation against the Afghans was launched. An excellent history of the airfield can be found at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/bagram.htm. We have made improvements to the air field itself and the facilities since we invaded in 2001. I am living in wooden “B-Huts”. These are improved dorms that house anywhere from 2-8 residents depending on how they are configured inside. Small 9X9 rooms are divided off inside to allow for 8 residents, others allow for larger rooms for senior enlisted and officers. My room is 8X8, but has built in shelves and a desk left over from previous occupants. I am also lucky to have a captain’s bed with drawers that has freed up some of the floor space. We are lucky to have carpeting in the hut to help eliminate noise and dust. The carpet is probably several years old, but it is a HUGE luxury here. Our restrooms and showers are about 300 meters away. Nearly everything here is made from conex boxes, the bathrooms, the showers, offices, and even living spaces. Our offices are only about 1000 meters away and the dining facility (DFAC) is next to our office space. The number one feature of this place is the dust; it is baby powder fine and permeates everything. The dust is so heavy that when I blow my nose the Kleenex turns dark brown from it. Once wet, it becomes like concrete, indoors and outdoors.
28 Mar 07 – I was kept busy making sure our Commander was able to meet with all of the leadership on base as well as begin to transfer the tasks of the S-1 office from the current team to our team. I was also tasked to be a member of the next day’s mission along with my commander. After work I returned to my hooch and the sudden realization that I was leaving the base tomorrow and truly entering a combat zone hit me. I went through my gear about 5 times. I must have checked the plates in my body armor 10 times. I cleaned my weapons and performed function checks for another hour. It was hard to sleep. I know that the chances of being engaged are slim, the area is permissive but we have also had rocket attacks and suicide bombers lately in the local area. I went over our tactics for IED reaction and other drills in my head all night.
29 Mar 07 – MY FIRST MISSION: My Commander was tasked to attend weekly meetings with the governors of our two provinces as well as make visits to a local factory. I didn’t catch much sleep, I am nervous and excited to do this. Our convoy briefs and intel briefs lasted about an hour. After our gear was set up and trucks (HUMVEEs) inspected we rolled out. I was in the left seat behind the driver in the lead vehicle. As we left the base I was struck by the contrasts. The countryside is gorgeous; the mountains are still snow capped and strike high above us. The roads are horrible, 10 kilometers takes 20 minutes to travel here. We met with the governor and I attended the meeting with my commander to take notes and photograph everyone we met with. These meetings help our PRT and the governor ensures that the projects we manage are aligned with the Provincial and National goals. Once we arrived at the Governor’s compound our convoy assumed a security posture and positioning. There were about 10 of us who went inside to meet the Governor. Today these talks centered around introducing new personnel and saying goodbye to the outgoing staff. The Governor has a staffer that video tapes the meeting and takes our pictures. My responsibility was to also take pictures of the Afghans and notes of the meeting. Once we finished we departed and traveled to a local textile factory and university to meet with our second Provincial Governor. I was in the lead vehicle as a passenger and was inadvertently separated from my Commander once we arrived on scene. Our truck was assigned Traffic Control Point duties so I pulled security at an intersection ensuring no vehicles entered the area where the meeting was being held. Within minutes there was crowd of Afghans surrounding us, all young men and small boys, no women or girls to be seen anywhere. Several of them spoke English and they were excited to try out their new learned language skills on us. Their first question was “Are you married?” “Do you have children?” Do you have sons or daughters?” They asked about my “salary” and where I was from. The younger ones hugged me and kept saying “Thank You”. An older student, about 15, spoke excellent English (in comparison to my Dari), and asked me several pointed questions. He looked me straight in the eye and asked me why I would leave my family so I could be in Afghanistan. I smiled and told him that if Afghanistan is safe and secure for him then it makes my family safe also. He smiled at me and said that someday he wants to go to America and thank everyone there for making him safe and for killing Taliban. One young man offered to marry Amanda and move to America with me, I of course asked him how many goats he had to make the arrangements…..just kidding Mandy! After nearly an hour talking with the locals and directing traffic my Commander caught up with me and the entourage of Afghan Police, Governor’s staff and American staffers visited a local school and the textile factory. I was able to rejoin the gaggle and take pics. As we traveled back to base I was struck with realization that I am a part of something very special here. Our small unit is truly the key to our success. There are about 20 PRTs in Afghanistan, 12 of which are led by US forces. Our small teams make dramatic changes in the success of the country. As our team mentors and guides Provincial leadership we are helping the Afghans help themselves so we can leave a secure and stable government behind. We already see significant changes in their local governments, corruption is decreasing and crime is decreasing as well. I am excited that I was able to go on a mission so early on my deployment; it has really focused me and provided the motivation I need.
30 – 31 Mar 07: It started raining and hasn’t let up. My Commander was invited to a “shura” or meeting with the 13 local village elders around the base. The elders have reported flooding in their villages and requested our help. After the meeting we drove around the perimeter to view the flooding and quickly realized the magnitude of the problem. We began forming plans when later on on the evening on the 30th the Governor of Parwan called and said he is facing a “crisis”. Of course, there is a little bit of an overreaction because he wants the Coalition to help him but we respond with several helo flights the next day and assessments. Our engineers meet with their engineers, offering guidance and suggestions. Again, we’re helping Afghans help themselves and not creating a dependence on ISAF. On Sunday I went on my second mission to the Governor’s residence, a quick meeting to sync our efforts with the Afghans. As we arrived at the compound our vehicle caught fire, that was just a bit exciting….floods, fire, what could be next?