Afghanistan My Last Tour

Abandoned Soviet tank

Yesterday was Jumaa and some time off.  Internet connectivity has been horrible lately, so I used the down time to catch up on some reading, cleaning, and relaxing.  Towards the end of the day I was supposed to meet a group of guys and take a hike to ANA land.  I heard stories about a Soviet tank and artillery graveyard and have seen them at a distance, but I wanted a closer look.

My Army walking partner

Well the team didn’t show up except for Gary, a “Georgia boy”.  Since we are required to have a “battle buddy” at all times, this would still suffice. We loaded our weapons and proceeded to ANA land.  The ANA complex covers a pretty large territory and the path we would trek was around the outer perimeter.
As we strolled along, we walked past a fenced in area that appeared to be a junkyard.

Another abandoned Soviet tank

But inside the metal enclosure, there were old rusted Soviet tanks and destroyed armored personnel carriers.  I squeezed my camera through the wire mesh and snapped a few photographs.  On the top of the hill we could see the remains of a bombed out facility.  From a historical point it’s really hard to determine when these buildings were destroyed and by whom.

Abandoned Soviet weaponry

During the Soviet occupation, this encampment hosted the Soviets along with Afghans forced into the military.  Various provincial warlords and their guerilla armies would attack the Soviet bases.  The same thing was repeated during the Taliban era too.
As we walked around the perimeter fence we discovered half a dozen Soviet tanks in various states of disrepair surrounded by scrub trees and grass.  I’m still uncertain why these tanks are here.  I would have thought by now that the armor would have been melted down for scrap.  But perhaps these are symbols of victory over the horrific occupations the Afghans have endured.

Road up into the hills on ANA land

Gary and I continued our journey and hiked up a small hill toward another gate and followed the perimeter road toward some large hills.  The sun was slowly setting so we increased our pace to ensure we would still have sunlight by the time we climbed to the top.  Before leaving an exit gate, the ANA guards insisted on having their photograph taken.  So I was happy to oblige them and add it to my large collection.

ANA gate guards

The next hill we climbed was much steeper.  Normally I would sip water at this point, but due to Ramadan, we didn’t have any refreshments.
While climbing the hill we came upon a pack of dogs.  There were at least 12-15 of them along with some young puppies.  One of them growled and I kept my hand close to my weapon in case of an attack.

Pack of wild dogs

Gary said they were harmless, but I wasn’t taking any chances.  After rounding a bend in the road, he showed me another field of abandoned armored tanks, artillery, personnel carriers.  To think at one time, these weapons of deaths were used to inflict damage and casualties upon the local populace.  Now they sit abandoned in a barren field and the grass is slowly entombing them.

ANA camp dogs and puppies

We eventually made it to the top as the sun was in its final stages of disappearing from sight.  I took advantage of the remaining light and took a picture of the ANA camp below us.  It looked different from this view and it gave me an appreciation to the size of their military post.
After returning to camp, I visited the DFAC and saw a group of guys’ playing cards.  I missed out on the Texas Hold’em tournament.  In the picture is the Army guy who won the championship and my team leader who came into 2nd place.  I always knew he had a good poker face.

Texas Hold-em champion

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Deployment, ETT, photography, puppies, Soviet tank, U.S. Air Force, war, wild dogs