Following is excerpted from messages received from 1LT Marcus Lai in FOB Blessing on 7/27/10:
" There's a giant boulder blocking the alternate route from our supply convoy.... An IED is blocking the main route. Its been raining here the past two days and the roads are collapsing to our east and west... we probably won't be getting anything anytime soon!
We had to evac a local dude today and convinced a hospital to take him....turns out he had tuberculosis... I think we've just ruined the entire AO for taking local nationals. We saved his life, if not made life more difficult for us..."
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
COIN 101
Following is excerpted from a post by 1LT Alex Pruden in FOB Blessing on 7/23/10:
"Although my platoon is tasked with providing security in the Waygul Valley, combat and security operations actually make up a relatively small amount of what we do. A successful counterinsurgency campaign is like a tripod: it stands upon good security, governance, and development. So although the security is very important (and in many ways is prerequisite to the other two), governance and development are also deserving of our time and resources. Unfortunately, just as the insurgents we face are clever and resourceful enemies, so are there major obstacles which must be surmounted in the other areas of governance and development as well.
Ironically, one of the biggest obstacles in the development of the Afghan government and the development of the country has been us. Or rather, I should say that we were an important part of the reconstruction process in the beginning, our involvement is netting diminishing returns over time. The onus of responsibility for government and development (and security as well) really needs to fall on the Afghan government. Our assistance, financial and otherwise, in this valley has I think historically been a crutch that gets leaned on, rather than the kick in the ass that it needs to be. Fortunately, we are putting a lot of emphasis on GiROA led initiatives. Putting the onus on the Afghan government is the only long-term solution for all parties involved.
There's no easy way to go about it without breaking a few hearts, however. The village elders expect coalition forces to help them out with cement and other projects, the Afghan security forces expect us to take the lead on planning and executing missions while they tag along, and the government often tries to pin its problems on us. Changing perceptions and expectations is a difficult task, but I have no doubt that the work we are doing towards that goal will pay dividends for the U.S. long after we leave this valley."
"Although my platoon is tasked with providing security in the Waygul Valley, combat and security operations actually make up a relatively small amount of what we do. A successful counterinsurgency campaign is like a tripod: it stands upon good security, governance, and development. So although the security is very important (and in many ways is prerequisite to the other two), governance and development are also deserving of our time and resources. Unfortunately, just as the insurgents we face are clever and resourceful enemies, so are there major obstacles which must be surmounted in the other areas of governance and development as well.
Ironically, one of the biggest obstacles in the development of the Afghan government and the development of the country has been us. Or rather, I should say that we were an important part of the reconstruction process in the beginning, our involvement is netting diminishing returns over time. The onus of responsibility for government and development (and security as well) really needs to fall on the Afghan government. Our assistance, financial and otherwise, in this valley has I think historically been a crutch that gets leaned on, rather than the kick in the ass that it needs to be. Fortunately, we are putting a lot of emphasis on GiROA led initiatives. Putting the onus on the Afghan government is the only long-term solution for all parties involved.
There's no easy way to go about it without breaking a few hearts, however. The village elders expect coalition forces to help them out with cement and other projects, the Afghan security forces expect us to take the lead on planning and executing missions while they tag along, and the government often tries to pin its problems on us. Changing perceptions and expectations is a difficult task, but I have no doubt that the work we are doing towards that goal will pay dividends for the U.S. long after we leave this valley."
Monday, July 19, 2010
Three cups of tea
Following is excerpted from posting by Army veterinarian Tom Vermeersch on 7/7/2010 in FOB Blessing:
" A watershed and tree planting project in an erodable area. Afghanistans watershed have been devastated by years of over harvesting trees and over grazing, leading to increased run off and flooding. Afghanistan has ambitious plans to re - develop their watersheds and irrigation infrastructure, a labor intense and worthy plan.
Orchard training, planting and growth - carried out by the district agriculture staff."
" A watershed and tree planting project in an erodable area. Afghanistans watershed have been devastated by years of over harvesting trees and over grazing, leading to increased run off and flooding. Afghanistan has ambitious plans to re - develop their watersheds and irrigation infrastructure, a labor intense and worthy plan.
Orchard training, planting and growth - carried out by the district agriculture staff."
Friday, July 16, 2010
Battle of Wanat Anniversary
Following is excerpted from a post by 1LT Alex Pruden on 7/13/10 in FOB Blessing:
" For today, I wanted to mark the 2nd anniversary of the Battle of Wanat, fought only a few kilometers to the north of where I stand now. The outcome of the battle had tactical and strategic implications for both sides, which still reverberate today. In addition, the courage and tenacity of the American soldiers who fought and died there will never be forgotten, and continue to inspire those of us who serve in the Waygul Valley today.
RIP
1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii.
Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, Calif.
Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Ga.
Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Wash.
Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tenn.
Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Ga.
Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, N.C.
Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Mo.
Spc. Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Ky
Below is a short article from CNN which provides a synopsis of the battle.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/14/afghan.violence/index.html"
" For today, I wanted to mark the 2nd anniversary of the Battle of Wanat, fought only a few kilometers to the north of where I stand now. The outcome of the battle had tactical and strategic implications for both sides, which still reverberate today. In addition, the courage and tenacity of the American soldiers who fought and died there will never be forgotten, and continue to inspire those of us who serve in the Waygul Valley today.
RIP
1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii.
Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, Calif.
Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Ga.
Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Wash.
Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tenn.
Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Ga.
Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, N.C.
Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Mo.
Spc. Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Ky
Below is a short article from CNN which provides a synopsis of the battle.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/14/afghan.violence/index.html"
Monday, July 12, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
In Full Swing
Oh sure, so the "fighting season" is in full swing. You know you're dealing w/hardcore fighters when they dedicate a season to it...
the rounds impacted the FOB shortly after 10am... I think. Two locals were brought in immediately, one with a skull fracture with exposed brain matter and the other with a large flesh wound on his lower right leg and an evisceration to the lower left quadrant of his abdomen. The head injury guy was an elderly man, was mentating well and was conscious/not in a whole lot of pain. The other was one of the shop keepers - I believe I purchased my cell phone from him - a well liked guy by the locals who work on base and some of the soldiers. He came in extremely pale. the challenge from yesterday was evac'ing the two. Since they were locals and not injured by us forces, we'd have to convince a US hospital to take them. our doc spoke to the docs at Jbad and Bagram and both facilities agreed to take them. This was a time consuming process and that I believe jeopordized both casualties' survival rates. We finally evac'd both. The head injury guys survived and the other didin't. Its tremendously unfortunate. There was probably some internal bleeding we oculdn't get to w/o surgery. It sucks. I was however extremely proud of the guys' performance. Things clicked and went quite smoothly.
Alex is right about the "twelve inches forward eleven inches back" sort of thing.
the rounds impacted the FOB shortly after 10am... I think. Two locals were brought in immediately, one with a skull fracture with exposed brain matter and the other with a large flesh wound on his lower right leg and an evisceration to the lower left quadrant of his abdomen. The head injury guy was an elderly man, was mentating well and was conscious/not in a whole lot of pain. The other was one of the shop keepers - I believe I purchased my cell phone from him - a well liked guy by the locals who work on base and some of the soldiers. He came in extremely pale. the challenge from yesterday was evac'ing the two. Since they were locals and not injured by us forces, we'd have to convince a US hospital to take them. our doc spoke to the docs at Jbad and Bagram and both facilities agreed to take them. This was a time consuming process and that I believe jeopordized both casualties' survival rates. We finally evac'd both. The head injury guys survived and the other didin't. Its tremendously unfortunate. There was probably some internal bleeding we oculdn't get to w/o surgery. It sucks. I was however extremely proud of the guys' performance. Things clicked and went quite smoothly.
Alex is right about the "twelve inches forward eleven inches back" sort of thing.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Fighting Season
Following is excerpted from today's posting by 1LT Alex Pruden in FOB Blessing:
" As we move into the summer fighting season, the AO has been pretty busy. Lots of activity on the part of the enemy...capped off today by yet another rocket / mortar attack on the FOB....That's what got me up and my body armor on. First priority is always accountability, and SFC K and I scrambled to all of our positions to see if anyone was hit (fortunately, everyone from my platoon was okay).
There were two KIA and two WIA among the Afghan civilians however. As usual, we rendered medical aid as best we could in our own Army aid station. It is so aggravating to all of us that most of the time the insurgent attacks do more damage to the civilian population than they do to us. And yet, we are often somehow blamed for these deaths by the population, who is by and large sympathetic to the cause of these same insurgents who kill them. We were having a shura (meeting) the other day to discuss the death of an Afghan civilian killed in a recent Taliban ambush. Although there were no local witnesses, the people automatically assumed that we were at fault (we were not, the man was killed in the first volley of fire in an ambush meant for us). One man even had the gall to claim that we were worse than the Russians (quick note on history here: when the Russians came to this valley, they made no attempt to talk to anyone or even to differentiate between the mujahideen and the civilian populace. In fact, they basically just carpet bombed everything and rolled tanks through, killing every living thing that was left). I'm not gonna lie, hearing these people insult me and my men like that really got my blood boiling.
However, as I calmed down I had to take a moment and remind myself that there are still many people in this valley who want to work with the government, and want a more prosperous future for this country. The district sub-governor made an outstanding speech extolling the people to cooperate with the government for the future of their children. Many elders also emphasized the importance of our presence here. They fully understand, as we do, that Americans certainly don't want to be here any longer than we have to be: which is why we place so much priority on trying to develop and empower our Afghan partners. They are the reason that we are fighting, to make this country stable in order to make our own country safer. Nonetheless, this particular area of Afghanistan is extremely insular: both culturally and socially; and it creates many challenges for us every day. The phrase "2 steps forward, 1 step back", may well me an understatement. Sometimes, I feel like we are moving more like 12 inches forward, 11 inches back. Through the dedication and hard work of all the soldiers here who are part of TF Bulldog, I'm confident that we can affect positive change in the valley regardless, even if it may be an inch at a time."
" As we move into the summer fighting season, the AO has been pretty busy. Lots of activity on the part of the enemy...capped off today by yet another rocket / mortar attack on the FOB....That's what got me up and my body armor on. First priority is always accountability, and SFC K and I scrambled to all of our positions to see if anyone was hit (fortunately, everyone from my platoon was okay).
There were two KIA and two WIA among the Afghan civilians however. As usual, we rendered medical aid as best we could in our own Army aid station. It is so aggravating to all of us that most of the time the insurgent attacks do more damage to the civilian population than they do to us. And yet, we are often somehow blamed for these deaths by the population, who is by and large sympathetic to the cause of these same insurgents who kill them. We were having a shura (meeting) the other day to discuss the death of an Afghan civilian killed in a recent Taliban ambush. Although there were no local witnesses, the people automatically assumed that we were at fault (we were not, the man was killed in the first volley of fire in an ambush meant for us). One man even had the gall to claim that we were worse than the Russians (quick note on history here: when the Russians came to this valley, they made no attempt to talk to anyone or even to differentiate between the mujahideen and the civilian populace. In fact, they basically just carpet bombed everything and rolled tanks through, killing every living thing that was left). I'm not gonna lie, hearing these people insult me and my men like that really got my blood boiling.
However, as I calmed down I had to take a moment and remind myself that there are still many people in this valley who want to work with the government, and want a more prosperous future for this country. The district sub-governor made an outstanding speech extolling the people to cooperate with the government for the future of their children. Many elders also emphasized the importance of our presence here. They fully understand, as we do, that Americans certainly don't want to be here any longer than we have to be: which is why we place so much priority on trying to develop and empower our Afghan partners. They are the reason that we are fighting, to make this country stable in order to make our own country safer. Nonetheless, this particular area of Afghanistan is extremely insular: both culturally and socially; and it creates many challenges for us every day. The phrase "2 steps forward, 1 step back", may well me an understatement. Sometimes, I feel like we are moving more like 12 inches forward, 11 inches back. Through the dedication and hard work of all the soldiers here who are part of TF Bulldog, I'm confident that we can affect positive change in the valley regardless, even if it may be an inch at a time."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)