Afghanistan My Last Tour

Eating breakfast at the chow hall.

As expected, it was a bitter cold and uncomfortable night.  I woke up around 3 am and all of my teammates were buried inside their sleeping bags with their heads covered.  You could see your breath as you exhaled.  It was freezing cold inside the tent.  When we awoke early the next morning, everyone complained how cold it was.  The ladies in the tent next to us accidentally turned off their heater while trying to adjust it and complained about the freezing temperature too.

The chow hall opened early for our visit and we took advantage of the small seating room.  The tables and benches were constructed of cheap Pakistan quality plywood, but it served its purpose.  The food was lukewarm and the eating area was illuminated by a 6 inch fluorescent tube light.  The sun was rising, but it was still frosty inside.  We didn’t want to whine because the soldiers who live here have to endure these conditions daily.  Although I was disappointed they didn’t have hot coffee brewing.  Anyhow, we ate our breakfast and went over to the school to prepare for our visitors.

Apache attack helicopter to the rescue.

We were informed the Taliban disseminated “night letters” threatening the villagers if they came to the school.  The first hour, it was a light trickle of people.  Then suddenly the gunshots rang out.  The insurgents were shooting at the exterior protective wall outside the school building.  We quickly donned our body armor and helmet.  This time I was prepared with my M-4 rifle and took cover behind the concrete walls in the school.  Within minutes an Apache helicopter flew overhead and fired its guns.  Then an F-15 Eagle came screaming by as a show of force.  This time my teammates looked at each other and echoed “Air Power!!!”  Once again it became quiet and the villagers started coming again.

ANA doctor treats 3 patients.

The next line of visitors was well dressed by Afghan standards and these were the village tribal elders.  First they visited the medical treatment room and were seen by ANA doctors.  A US Physician Assistant assigned to the COP was also treating patients with the aid of an interpreter.  After seeing the doctor, they would take their prescription to the

ANA doctor with patient.

pharmacy for their medicines.  Despite the large population here, they do not have a medical clinic and the nearest one is about an hour drive away.  This distance takes even longer if they have to travel by donkey, horse, or foot.

The last stop for the visitors was the HA room.  This is where I spent most of my time

ANA Mullah handing out HA.

watching the ANA Mullah hand out blankets, clothing, soccer balls, socks, radios and food stuff.  Me and another teammate sat in the back and took turns pumping up deflated soccer balls.  The children were ecstatic about receiving stuffed animals along with some miscellaneous donated toys.  The Mullah reminded me of our version of Santa

Little boys delighted with stuffed animals.

Claus with his demeanor in delivering the goodies to his Muslim countrymen.

We didn’t hand out many school supplies because they are being saved for a separate project.  They want to ensure the teachers and the students receive the supplies and can use them, instead of selling them at the bazaar.  But

Afghan boys receiving HA.

some children were given some boxes of crayons, pens, and tablets to quell their persistence in asking for pens.  One boy asked for my pen and when I wasn’t looking, he quietly removed it from my uniform.  I guess he needed it more than I did.

Burning toilet waste.

At the end of the day we returned to the COP.  The barrels of toilet waste were still burning and the wind caused dust storms as we walked up the dirt road leading to our tents.  I took a picture of my foot just to show the consistency of this dirt-sand mixture.  By now the chow hall was filled and no seats were available to sit down.  My ETT team members decided to eat their dinner outside the tent.

After the sun went down,

My foot in sand.

we were informed there was going to be a light show.  The camp was going to fire off some “Willy P” which is a nickname for white phosphorous rounds at the mountain side.  Around 7:45 PM, the guns sounded and launched a projectile high up on the mountain side.  We watched as it burst into flame and then into smaller sublet flames.

Night show resulting from Willy P.

The white phosphorous consumes everything around it.  So if the Taliban were planning on launching a rocket attack from this location, they were now fried crispy critters.  After the light show, we went back inside our chilly tent and prepared for another cold night.

Filed under: Missions Tagged: | Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Charkh District Center, Deployment, ETT, humanitarian mission, Logar Province, night letters, Taliban, U.S. Air Force, war, white phosphorous