It’s been several days since my last blog about my experiences in Afghanistan. At first, I fell behind because of a combination of too many stories, too little time, and slow internet access. Later, I experiences things of such emotional magnitude that I found it impossible to process them and write about them in a timely fashion. Now that I’m on the verge of moving to another base with another group of Georgia troops, I’m under the all-too-familiar deadline pressure to get caught up!
On Tuesday, I rode in an armored convoy the short distance to Camp Blackhorse, a small American base encircled by the headquarters of the Afghan National Army’s Third Kandak (Battalion). Blackhorse is in the Pol-e-charki suburb of Kabul, in the same district as the infamous communist-era (and still-used) prison of the same name.
My primary mission at Camp Blackhorse was to spend time with the soldiers of Bravo Company, 2/121st Infantry Battalion (conversationally referred to as Bravo Company, “Second Foot”). First Lt. Jason Rich leads a platoon of the Newnan-based group, which I’ve been covering since early this year for CBS Atlanta News. One member of the unit, just-promoted Staff Sergeant Andrew Huffman, is a Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Officer whom I’ve covered for The Coastal Source, WJCL/FOX 28 in Savannah. The “Goodfellas,” as Rich’s contingent call themselves, live in a cinderblock barracks that they have personalized with camouflage blankets and Georgia flags given to them when they began their deployment. The soldiers spend hours here engaging each other in online combat with the video game “Call to Duty.” Said Specialist Cody Griffith, “It’s kind of messed up that we come to war and play war in our time off,” as the sounds of machine gun fire and explosions—intermixed with exclamations of victory or online death—escaped from nearby bunks.
Early the next morning, I joined the Georgia soldiers in the Afghan training area as we watched the ANA troops learn to disassemble and clean American M-16 rifles, which are replacing their Russian-made AK-47s. I also got the opportunity to observe Afghan Army drill (marching) first-hand. It’s very similar to Soviet-style goose-stepping, with swinging arms, shouted orders, and lots of loud stomping in rhythm. Later, Lt. Rich and I had several cups of traditional Chai (hot green tea) with one of the Afghan commanders. It’s a ritual the Afghans insist on before every meeting, and not a favorite among the Georgia troops—most of whom don’t like the taste of the tea without a lot of sugar mixed in.
While some of the soldiers expressed understandable frustration with their teaching mission in this foreign land, others pointed out the bright side and the importance of the mission. Said Lt. Rich, “It’s exciting because we get to do new things. We get to operate very closely with a different nation. We get to learn their cultures and how they operate. These people here have been fighting for eons. So they have a wealth of experience and a whole new take on how to operate as military units. So it’s interesting to be able to gain the knowledge that they have and see if you can’t incorporate it into some of the ways that you do things.” Added SSG Huffman, “I would say this is the most important mission in Afghanistan. This mission is the future of Afghanistan. It’s the future of America, because the sooner we get then trained up, the sooner we get out of here.”
My last experience with the “Goodfellas” came long before the crack of dawn on Friday, August 14th, as I accompanied them on their regular trip to climb the Gar—a rocky crag just a few miles from the base. We were up at 3:30am, and moving down the dusty road in our heavy MRAP armored vehicles a short time later. I attempted to climb with the soldiers, who have shunned the marked trail and charted their own, steeper course up the side of this ancient peak. After turning my loose, easily-strained ankle tendons twice on loose rocks at the base of the hill, however, I waved goodbye, turned around, and headed back to join the rear guard at the MRAPs. When I saw how worn out the soldiers were when the rejoined us two hours later, I knew I made the right decision!
My primary host during my time at Camp Phoenix was Air Force Captain Charles Johnson, a man with many hats whose tasks include helping convince the local population to work with American and Coalition troops. Johnson showed me stacks of posters and leaflets in his office—all in the local Dari or Pashtun dialects—aimed at persuading people to shun the Taliban. The flyers were pretty graphic. One featured a little girl pleading, “Brother, don’t become a suicide bomber.” On the flip side, a suicide bomber melted in the flames of hell, and the text explained what the Quran reportedly prescribes for people who kill the innocent. Another poster—the English version of which is pictured in this blog—depicts Taliban fighters hiding beneath the burkhas worn by many Afghan women. The poster was drawn in a colorful, “Scooby-Doo” style that really tickles my funny bone.
Captain Johnson took me and Georgia National Guard CH (CPT) Shelby Grant of Dacula, GA to meet with the ANA religious leader, Mullah Wazir-Khan Thursday afternoon. In this fascinating encounter, the two men of faith found they had more in common than perhaps either realized. Chaplain Grant said the thing that unites them most is their concern for the soldiers under their care. Mullah Wazir-Khan is a heavy-set, square-shouldered man with wise eyes and an easy smile. He’s known to engage Taliban militants in arguments about Islam, turning their twisted logic on its head and leading some to lay down their arms. We need men like him on our side. As CPT Johnson pointed out, we cannot hope to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people if we wage war against their faith.
While I was at Camp Blackhorse, I learned about two Savannah-area heroes. Captain Matthew Freeman was a bright young US Marine Corps Officer killed in a battle in the Kapisa Valley on August 7th. Freeman was an aviator who volunteered to come to Afghanistan and help train the Afghan army, so that his skills could be used to help call in airstrikes on Taliban positions when the inevitable attacks occurred. Captain Freeman was fatally wounded after successfully calling in an airstrike on militants who attacked his group of soldiers, Marines, and Afghan troops. During the battle, Army Specialist Chris “Kitt” Lowe—a Savannahian who serves in a unit based out of the armory in Calhoun, Georgia—saw that the medic working on Captain Freeman was in danger. Lowe jumped atop the structure where the medic was working, shoved himself to safety, and took a bullet in his leg in the process. Kitt Lowe survived his injury and his now recovering at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Maryland. I was able to interview his commander, Lieutenant Col. Russell Simmons, as well as several soldiers and Marines who served with Kitt and some who were in the battle alongside him. All say he is an amazing young man who did acted heroically in the midst of the battle. Several of Kitt’s comrades were awarded Combat Action Badges at a ceremony Thursday morning, and I’m sure Kitt will be recognized for his heroism as well.
The most moving thing I’ve witnessed since I arrived in Afghanistan unfolded yesterday (Friday) morning in front of the flagpoles at Camp Blackhorse. CPT Matt Freeman’s fellow Marines gathered for a memorial service to their fallen comrade. As a ‘final roll call’ was called out, three Marines silently placed a pair of combat boots, a rifle, dogtags, and a helmet at the head of the assembly. The symbolic items were flanked by a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, and the Marine Corps’ Eagle, Globe, and Anchor was joined by the 108th Cavalry’s (Georgia National Guard) emblem between the toes of the boots. Seven riflemen fired three volleys—a 21-gun salute—and the haunting sounds of taps echoed off the surrounding Afghan mountains. Then, over the course of more than twenty minutes, Marines soldiers, and even troops from other Coalition nations filed past one at a time, dropped to their knees, took hold of the dog tags, and said farewell to CPT Freeman. Some kissed the dog tags. Others crossed themselves and silently prayed. One tearful soldier took off his own rank badge and placed it beside the boots.
I returned to my home base at Camp Phoenix after the memorial ceremony, emotionally drained and humbled by the way the troops of different service branches and nations paid homage to their fallen comrade.
Most of today was spent working my way through all the video collected at Camp Blackhorse (a much bigger task than I anticipated—so 1LT Rich, Chaplain Grant, LTC Coursey, MGySgt Crumpton and all others who’ve requested DVDs, please be patient with me!), and repacking my gear and equipment for the next step in my journey: I’ll be headed to Bagram Airfield (BAF) to spend a few days with the Georgia Air National Guard’s 165th Airlift Wing, as well as a US Army Unit that is employing the new, Savannah-made JCB HMEE armored backhoe, a piece of mine-proof construction equipment vital in the effort to rebuild places like Afghanistan and Iraq. I’ll be filing my next post from there, sometime in the next few days.
Some of our Georgia soldiers were close by the scene of an international news story today, when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside the NATO compound where the Georgia troops go every day to instruct Afghan soldiers. This is the same compound I visited and wrote about in my third blog on August 5th. I’ve spoken with several of my friends here who felt the buildings shake during the blast—but as far as I know everyone on the Georgia Guard team returned safely to Camp Phoenix.
One last note from here at Camp Phoenix: today I purchased a U.S. flag at the PX and had the chief and deputy chief of the Camp Phoenix Fire Department—Senior Chief Webster and Petty Officer First Class Tipton—fly it over their fire hall. The flag, and an accompanying certificate of authentication signed by the sailors, will be auctioned at an upcoming raffle to support the Savannah Council, Navy League of the United States Sea Cadets.
Until next time- Michael
Blog photos
*For more from Camp Blackhorse, check out Senior Master Sergeant (USAF) Temple’s blog, www.afghanistanmylasttour.com
