Humvee convoy atop the guard site.
The past few days has been nonstop planning, coordinating, analyzing, and preparing for these missions. The first leg of the mission had the potential to be the greatest blunder of my deployment. For OPSEC reasons, I can’t provide any more detail or pictures until later on this week. I even penned a catchy headline entitled “Case of Mistaken Village.”
So let me move onto the 2nd leg of the mission. I teamed up with the garrison personnel and requested their support. This mission called for the use of up-armored Humvees and since we turned ours in, I had to locate someone who still had them. I didn’t have to look far because one of my b-hut mates happens to be a First Sergeant and is in charge of garrison support. He and his team are from the Massachusetts Army National Guard, G Company, 186th BSB out of Quincy, Massachusetts. Normally, they are responsible for repairing vehicles, camp security, mail runs, etc. This would be their first opportunity to travel off paved roads and on to some dirt roads. They jumped at the chance and offered their full support.
Exterior of refurbished guard shelter.
Before Christmas I started a special project at one of the remote guard towers outside the wire. The project was completed, but I never got to see the finished work. So today I would inspect the contractor’s work and this would give me closure on this project. My ANA Sergeant Major would accompany us to the site.
Initially we drove through
Interior of guard shelter.
a small village and then exited through an open gate. We followed a dirt road leading back towards some of the highest peaks surrounding Kabul. It has been awhile since I last road in a Humvee and felt every pothole we hit. Being scrunched into the front seat with little room to maneuver my body or legs didn’t help matters. The scenery had not changed and it was still the old boring barren area painted drab brown and sand color. We drove for a few minutes before climbing to the pinnacle of a hill housing the guard towers. I didn’t want to take the chance of driving this steep incline with a MRAP and there is little parking area at the top, so this is my reasoning for requesting Humvees.
My SGM insisted it was safe and asked me to remove my body armor, helmet, etc. Unless there was a sniper lying nearby, we were very safe and I took off my protective gear. I gave my team a brief history of this site and some of the significant events leading up to the creation of this place. This site is the revered resting place for
President Daoud and family member burial site.
Afghanistan’s first president. President Daoud and his family members were executed in the Royal Presidential Palace in 1978. Last year they had their remains transferred here and are constantly guarded round the clock. For more history on this incident, read my November 9th blog entry. The presidential burial site hadn’t changed much since my last visit and it still resembles an unfinished construction site.
Notice the uneven floor boards.
The first guard shelter I visited had new walls, raised wooden floor, and new windows. The door was conspicuously missing and Omid and I presume they used it for firewood. During the winter season when the ANA do not receive their firewood deliveries, they start burning any wood they can find to keep warm. This includes doors, tables, and just about anything constructed of wood. The carpentry quality was rather substandard but the ANA soldiers were delighted because previously they slept on the ground and the walls and windows had holes in them. The second shelter wasn’t much better. Omid pulled back the floor covering and you can see for yourself the quality of their work. I’m certain my father (a great contractor and carpenter) would not approve and the adage of measure twice and cut once is not existent here.
Former Soviet rocket silos.
While there, I noticed something I hadn’t observed before. Initially I thought it was a bridge with arched domes underneath it. I was informed these are the remains of the former Soviet silos where they stored rockets and munitions. Albeit they were empty, this country is still littered with constant reminders of the Soviet occupation.
Me and my SGM posing for a photo.
My SGM and I posed for a picture before returning to the Humvees. Through Omid he inquired what kind of a gift I wanted before departing the country. I was truly humbled. Here is a man who supports 12 children and still wants to present me a gift. I explained that a gift was not necessary and that our friendship and professional relationship working together was an intangible gift and more than enough for me. But this wasn’t good enough for the former Soviet-Afghan colonel and this is when he surprised me about visiting the Darulaman Palace (Kings Palace). He wasn’t sure if we could get inside or not, but we could drive up to the exterior of the palace. The closest I ever got was at a distance while traveling past it and taking pictures of it through several inches of ballistic glass.
Driving up to the Darulaman (Kings) Palace.
Our convoy drove up a paved road leading to the palace grounds and parked only a few yards from the exterior of this grand Afghan landmark that was destroyed during the Afghan civil war when the Soviets departed. The façade is still painfully blistered with bullet pockmarks and large holes were present probably caused by mortar and rocket fire. The metal roof had large gaping holes and the skeletal metal frame was exposed to the elements. King Amanullah would roll over in his grave if he saw how his countrymen destroyed this monument of peace. The name Darulaman translates to “abode of peace”.
Afghan soldier poses for picture.
The ANA soldiers guarding the palace were not the friendliest and refused us entry. Even though the SGM was with us, they were following orders given to them by their commander. Omid went inside to speak with their commander. Meanwhile, our armored vehicles were drawing attention and the neighborhood children were coming
G Company parked next to Darulaman Palace.
over to visit. This is so typical here. Shortly after 2001 and since, soldiers rode around in their protective armored vehicles and handed out candy, water, pens, pencils, etc. However, this gesture of kindness has caused some problems now. The children associate the armored vehicles with free handouts and have been known to run in front of our vehicles or really close along side of them. I have experienced this in every village I have visited.
I was really surprised at how young some of these children were. One little girl walked around in bare feet too. She approached me and spoke one word of English “dollar,
So the kid on the left is wearing shoes and holding another pair, while the little girl on the right has no shoes.
dollar, dollar”. My new teammates were also doing their best to converse with the local children. They were about to learn a valuable lesson. Had I known we were going to stop at the palace I might have placed some Beanie Babies or a supply of pens and pencils in the vehicle. But I also knew that once we started handing out free items, it would take 10 minutes before half the children in Kabul would be swarming around us. One Army soldier started to hand out bottled water and was quickly surrounded. At the same time, these children were getting close to us, all of our exposed pens sticking out of the uniform quietly disappeared …. lol.
Handing out bottled water.
Omid returned and the ANA commander inside was rather rude but agreed to accommodate us provided we came in groups of three and carried no weapons to include a pocket knife. I did not like the sound of us and perhaps this was his way of keeping us out. I think he knew there was no way we would relinquish our weapons. I tried to counter and asked to stand from the outside and peek inside one of the rooms. My request was denied. As much as it pained me to make the decision, I could not permit anyone to enter without their weapons. This would be the closest we would get to the Kings Palace. We mounted back into our vehicles and returned to camp. I was satisfied and crossed another item off “My Things to Do” list. With not much time left here, my list is dwindling and every day that passes, is one day closer to completing this deployment and returning home … for good.
Filed under: Mentoring ANA, Missions Tagged: | Afghan National Army, Afghanistan, ANA, Darulaman Palace, Deployment, ETT, Kings Palace, U.S. Air Force, war
It’s like there trying to hide something. and now with Karzai acting wired up.
It’s a shame you got so close and couldn’t enter; but, it is best to be safe than sorry.
I lived in Indonesia for awhile and the children quickly learned to say, “Money, money, mister!” even to me. It really became quite frustrating after awhile.