The Observation Post
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Memorial Service
We held a memorial service for Chris at Combat Outpost Dunlap on the morning of July 26th. There were probably 50-60 people at the service, including all of the ANGLICO Marines that are supporting the 3rd Brigade. I'm sure many of the other Marines and soldiers barely knew Chris, but they still showed up to pay tribute to him. As some of the senior officers stood up to pay tribute to Chris, the common theme was his constant enthusiasm and eagerness. It was obvious that Chris made a significant impact on many of the Marines and soldiers who worked with him, and he is sorely missed out here.
Because there are others who can say it much better than I can, here are two articles about Chris from his hometown of Beaverton, Oregon.
Article #1
Article #2 ¶ Saturday, July 29, 2006 1 comments
We held a memorial service for Chris at Combat Outpost Dunlap on the morning of July 26th. There were probably 50-60 people at the service, including all of the ANGLICO Marines that are supporting the 3rd Brigade. I'm sure many of the other Marines and soldiers barely knew Chris, but they still showed up to pay tribute to him. As some of the senior officers stood up to pay tribute to Chris, the common theme was his constant enthusiasm and eagerness. It was obvious that Chris made a significant impact on many of the Marines and soldiers who worked with him, and he is sorely missed out here.
Because there are others who can say it much better than I can, here are two articles about Chris from his hometown of Beaverton, Oregon.
Article #1
Article #2 ¶ Saturday, July 29, 2006 1 comments
Monday, July 24, 2006
Welcome home Spanky
I was searching the web earlier tonight trying to find an article about Gunnery Sergeant Bill "Spanky" Gibson, one of our ANGLICO Marines that was wounded by a sniper in May. I couldn't find the article I was looking for, but I found a thread on the Patriot Guards' forum about his return to Oklahoma. Spanky flew in to Tulsa on July 22nd and was greeted by numerous well-wishers, who convoyed with him all the way to his hometown of Pryor. It was heartwarming to see the support that the Patriot Guards mustered for his arrival, and I would like to thank all of them.
Gunny Gibson was hit in the knee by a sniper's bullet back in May, and after being medevac'd to the States, lost his left leg below the knee. I know, for me, that would be an incredibly demoralizing injury, but the last I heard, Spanky is in great spirits and is planning to continue his service in the Marine Corps. He is pictured above with SSgt Villette (on the left), another 5th ANGLICO Marine, somewhere in Iraq. ¶ Monday, July 24, 2006 4 comments
I was searching the web earlier tonight trying to find an article about Gunnery Sergeant Bill "Spanky" Gibson, one of our ANGLICO Marines that was wounded by a sniper in May. I couldn't find the article I was looking for, but I found a thread on the Patriot Guards' forum about his return to Oklahoma. Spanky flew in to Tulsa on July 22nd and was greeted by numerous well-wishers, who convoyed with him all the way to his hometown of Pryor. It was heartwarming to see the support that the Patriot Guards mustered for his arrival, and I would like to thank all of them.
Gunny Gibson was hit in the knee by a sniper's bullet back in May, and after being medevac'd to the States, lost his left leg below the knee. I know, for me, that would be an incredibly demoralizing injury, but the last I heard, Spanky is in great spirits and is planning to continue his service in the Marine Corps. He is pictured above with SSgt Villette (on the left), another 5th ANGLICO Marine, somewhere in Iraq. ¶ Monday, July 24, 2006 4 comments
Rest In Peace
On July 21st, Capt Christopher T. Pate, another ANGLICO JTAC, was killed by an IED just a few miles from here. Chris was a mobilized reservist that volunteered to serve a second Iraq tour with ANGLICO. In April, the Marine Corps demobilized him, against his will, and sent him back to the States. While most people probably would have simply moved on with their lives and pursued a civilian career, Chris fought to get remobilized and rejoin the unit. He was unusually patient with the typical Marine Corps administrative screw-ups, and after a month was finally granted his wish and sent back over here. I always enjoyed talking to Chris when I saw him, as he was consistently upbeat and enthusiastic. Rest in peace, Chris, you will be missed.
Chris is the second ANGLICO Marine killed in action during this deployment. Corporal Christopher Leon was killed by a sniper in Ramadi on June 20th. Because Cpl Leon was augmented to 2d ANGLICO from 5th ANGLICO, I regret to say that I never got know him, but LA Times has a good article about him here. ¶ Monday, July 24, 2006 0 comments
On July 21st, Capt Christopher T. Pate, another ANGLICO JTAC, was killed by an IED just a few miles from here. Chris was a mobilized reservist that volunteered to serve a second Iraq tour with ANGLICO. In April, the Marine Corps demobilized him, against his will, and sent him back to the States. While most people probably would have simply moved on with their lives and pursued a civilian career, Chris fought to get remobilized and rejoin the unit. He was unusually patient with the typical Marine Corps administrative screw-ups, and after a month was finally granted his wish and sent back over here. I always enjoyed talking to Chris when I saw him, as he was consistently upbeat and enthusiastic. Rest in peace, Chris, you will be missed.
Chris is the second ANGLICO Marine killed in action during this deployment. Corporal Christopher Leon was killed by a sniper in Ramadi on June 20th. Because Cpl Leon was augmented to 2d ANGLICO from 5th ANGLICO, I regret to say that I never got know him, but LA Times has a good article about him here. ¶ Monday, July 24, 2006 0 comments
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Style Changes
Bear with me, folks, I am trying some changes to the look of this thing. I will be making periodic tweaks over the next few days. The background image may not look right for everyone, if your screen resolution is over 1024x768 it will not fit your screen. Comments, both good and bad, on the new look are welcome. ¶ Thursday, July 20, 2006 2 comments
Bear with me, folks, I am trying some changes to the look of this thing. I will be making periodic tweaks over the next few days. The background image may not look right for everyone, if your screen resolution is over 1024x768 it will not fit your screen. Comments, both good and bad, on the new look are welcome. ¶ Thursday, July 20, 2006 2 comments
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
The Truth
This is a good letter written by one of the Marines from the MTT.
I felt the urge and need to say something. I want everyone to understand one thing about Iraq. What we are doing here is not only for our country or for you. Our government, as we all know, always has an agenda and we all have the right to speculate as to what that agenda might be. I live, work, eat, sleep, fight and bleed right alongside Iraqi soldiers every day. What everyone must understand is that this portion of the world has been in conflict for thousands of years and what we are doing here is nothing new to them. The fact remains that the majority of Iraqi and Arab people are God or Allah-fearing people and are basically good in their principles. True, they are a lot different than us socially, economically, politically, you name it; but they have the inherent right and desire to have a free and safe nation under a common government. Their government is going to be based on their religion and that is not unique to them but it seems that many people in our society think that this automatically makes them evil. This is simply not true. I have had the honor of meeting some of the most pure people on the face of God's green earth. I might not have a strong religious belief but I can see why the Arab and Iraqi people would have to believe in something larger than themselves in order to survive. The soldiers that I work with are married, single, have kids, have no kids, have big families - I even have a soldier that is with me (and saved my ass one day) who had US bombs kill 3 members of his family in 2003, and nearly kill him, yet he fights with us side by side because he believes Iraq will be a great place one day! I have never seen a society like this one be able to find the joy in life among so much sadness. The horrors that take place here are many and you all know of them, thanks to our not so wonderful media, but what you don't hear about is the victories that we achieve together, US and Iraqi forces side by side, along with the coalition. The families that we have helped, the areas that are free of violence, and insurgents from foreign countries who came here with only the desire to harm innocent civilians and line their pockets in the name of Allah, who are now in jail or dead. When I first arrived at my current location seven months ago we could not walk outside without getting shot at or taking incoming mortar rounds. Those days are long past. Times are changing and progress is being made, understand though, we will have a presence in this part of the world for many, many years to come. I guess what I am getting at is that I do not want to be thanked, congratulated or rewarded for my duties, I only hope that the citizens of our nation, as great as it might be, one day realize that the Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen that serve along side our coalition partners are here for the guy on the ground next to them. They sweat, bleed, cry, and smile together and this is their family. Many of you will not be able to understand this feeling or have the ability to know what it means but be sure these are the men that fight the good fight, that protect each other, and, maybe for what would seem like a short period of time to you, these men become brothers and trust in each other in a way that you could never ever be able to comprehend. We are not here because of our individual beliefs or those beliefs of our government or our family or friends - we are here for each other. The man in the arena, that is where my respect begins and ends! This is the truth and that is where the "rubber meets the road".
GySgt Richard A. Anderson,
U.S. Marine Corps
¶ Wednesday, July 19, 2006 0 comments
This is a good letter written by one of the Marines from the MTT.
I felt the urge and need to say something. I want everyone to understand one thing about Iraq. What we are doing here is not only for our country or for you. Our government, as we all know, always has an agenda and we all have the right to speculate as to what that agenda might be. I live, work, eat, sleep, fight and bleed right alongside Iraqi soldiers every day. What everyone must understand is that this portion of the world has been in conflict for thousands of years and what we are doing here is nothing new to them. The fact remains that the majority of Iraqi and Arab people are God or Allah-fearing people and are basically good in their principles. True, they are a lot different than us socially, economically, politically, you name it; but they have the inherent right and desire to have a free and safe nation under a common government. Their government is going to be based on their religion and that is not unique to them but it seems that many people in our society think that this automatically makes them evil. This is simply not true. I have had the honor of meeting some of the most pure people on the face of God's green earth. I might not have a strong religious belief but I can see why the Arab and Iraqi people would have to believe in something larger than themselves in order to survive. The soldiers that I work with are married, single, have kids, have no kids, have big families - I even have a soldier that is with me (and saved my ass one day) who had US bombs kill 3 members of his family in 2003, and nearly kill him, yet he fights with us side by side because he believes Iraq will be a great place one day! I have never seen a society like this one be able to find the joy in life among so much sadness. The horrors that take place here are many and you all know of them, thanks to our not so wonderful media, but what you don't hear about is the victories that we achieve together, US and Iraqi forces side by side, along with the coalition. The families that we have helped, the areas that are free of violence, and insurgents from foreign countries who came here with only the desire to harm innocent civilians and line their pockets in the name of Allah, who are now in jail or dead. When I first arrived at my current location seven months ago we could not walk outside without getting shot at or taking incoming mortar rounds. Those days are long past. Times are changing and progress is being made, understand though, we will have a presence in this part of the world for many, many years to come. I guess what I am getting at is that I do not want to be thanked, congratulated or rewarded for my duties, I only hope that the citizens of our nation, as great as it might be, one day realize that the Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen that serve along side our coalition partners are here for the guy on the ground next to them. They sweat, bleed, cry, and smile together and this is their family. Many of you will not be able to understand this feeling or have the ability to know what it means but be sure these are the men that fight the good fight, that protect each other, and, maybe for what would seem like a short period of time to you, these men become brothers and trust in each other in a way that you could never ever be able to comprehend. We are not here because of our individual beliefs or those beliefs of our government or our family or friends - we are here for each other. The man in the arena, that is where my respect begins and ends! This is the truth and that is where the "rubber meets the road".
GySgt Richard A. Anderson,
U.S. Marine Corps
¶ Wednesday, July 19, 2006 0 comments
Monday, July 17, 2006
Updates
I apologize for not posting recently, it’s been a tough couple of weeks. Early in July (Or was it late June? The days have started to blend together.) two of the MTT advisors were wounded by IEDs. Both were minor injuries, but it was enough to get them both sent back to the States. Couple that with several other small occurrences, and we ended up with a demanding schedule of patrols. My commitments as a JTAC also kept me up all hours of the night, so I spent a lot of my downtime in the rack instead of typing blog updates.
Just a few days ago we mounted a fairly major operation into an area over which we have no real control or presence. Our battalion’s piece was to move to the objective area by convoy and search several areas of interest. Because of the high threat of IEDs along the route, we had an EOD team come out and lead the convoy. I can’t say enough about those guys, they found and recovered more than half a dozen IEDs without a single one going off. Thanks to them, we covered the entire distance to the objective and back with no casualties or damaged equipment, which was certainly better than what I expected to happen. The only downside is that it was extremely slow going.
I spent over ten hours cooped up in the back of a Humvee during the operation, and because it was my job to coordinate the aircraft that were overhead covering our movement, I couldn’t really leave the Humvee and its radios. The Marines on my team are very experienced at doing the ANGLICO thing from a Humvee, so they moved two laptop computers and a radio into the back of the vehicle and turned my seat into a no-kidding workstation. I had several capabilities back there, not the least of which was being able to call up maps and satellite imagery of the area on one of the computers. As cool as that was, after ten hours we were starting roast inside the vehicle. I was definitely glad to return to the OK Corral so I could stretch my legs and cool off.
About a week before all of this happened, we inserted a large patrol in the same area using Army Blackhawk helicopters. I wasn’t sure how the Iraqis would handle the helicopters, but they took it in stride and were very quick to adapt to basic heliborne operations. The operation went very smoothly, and we surprised a car-full of bad guys while searching a couple of houses. The Iraqi jundi, with no prompting or assistance from the American advisors, stopped a passing car and detained the men inside the car once a cursory search turned up a car battery, copper wire, and several digging tools. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that these guys were geared up to plant an IED somewhere. The jundi pulled the car off the road and set it on fire, and after we had left the area, we heard two large secondary explosions come from the burning wreckage. The rest of the patrol was pretty uneventful as far as enemy activity. We inserted early in the morning, so by the time we were getting close to our pickup point the sun was starting to bear down. Of course, the toughest terrain was at the end of the patrol. We had numerous canals to cross, some of which required a running leap, and some of which we just gave up and slid in. All in all, it was six tough hours from the time the helicopters touched down in the landing zone until we were picked up by a convoy from the OK Corral.
More to come soon. ¶ Monday, July 17, 2006 0 comments
I apologize for not posting recently, it’s been a tough couple of weeks. Early in July (Or was it late June? The days have started to blend together.) two of the MTT advisors were wounded by IEDs. Both were minor injuries, but it was enough to get them both sent back to the States. Couple that with several other small occurrences, and we ended up with a demanding schedule of patrols. My commitments as a JTAC also kept me up all hours of the night, so I spent a lot of my downtime in the rack instead of typing blog updates.
Just a few days ago we mounted a fairly major operation into an area over which we have no real control or presence. Our battalion’s piece was to move to the objective area by convoy and search several areas of interest. Because of the high threat of IEDs along the route, we had an EOD team come out and lead the convoy. I can’t say enough about those guys, they found and recovered more than half a dozen IEDs without a single one going off. Thanks to them, we covered the entire distance to the objective and back with no casualties or damaged equipment, which was certainly better than what I expected to happen. The only downside is that it was extremely slow going.
I spent over ten hours cooped up in the back of a Humvee during the operation, and because it was my job to coordinate the aircraft that were overhead covering our movement, I couldn’t really leave the Humvee and its radios. The Marines on my team are very experienced at doing the ANGLICO thing from a Humvee, so they moved two laptop computers and a radio into the back of the vehicle and turned my seat into a no-kidding workstation. I had several capabilities back there, not the least of which was being able to call up maps and satellite imagery of the area on one of the computers. As cool as that was, after ten hours we were starting roast inside the vehicle. I was definitely glad to return to the OK Corral so I could stretch my legs and cool off.
About a week before all of this happened, we inserted a large patrol in the same area using Army Blackhawk helicopters. I wasn’t sure how the Iraqis would handle the helicopters, but they took it in stride and were very quick to adapt to basic heliborne operations. The operation went very smoothly, and we surprised a car-full of bad guys while searching a couple of houses. The Iraqi jundi, with no prompting or assistance from the American advisors, stopped a passing car and detained the men inside the car once a cursory search turned up a car battery, copper wire, and several digging tools. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that these guys were geared up to plant an IED somewhere. The jundi pulled the car off the road and set it on fire, and after we had left the area, we heard two large secondary explosions come from the burning wreckage. The rest of the patrol was pretty uneventful as far as enemy activity. We inserted early in the morning, so by the time we were getting close to our pickup point the sun was starting to bear down. Of course, the toughest terrain was at the end of the patrol. We had numerous canals to cross, some of which required a running leap, and some of which we just gave up and slid in. All in all, it was six tough hours from the time the helicopters touched down in the landing zone until we were picked up by a convoy from the OK Corral.
More to come soon. ¶ Monday, July 17, 2006 0 comments
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Life in Jazeerah
Now that I've gotten the rants out of my system, I figured I'd just post some pictures.
Iraqi soldiers manning a PKC machinegun
A patrol of Iraqi soldiers, almost looks like a scene out of another war
Covering a road with a 50 cal. Because of the MTT's size and
composition, it's not uncommon for officers and SNCOs to drive
or man the gun, which is unthinkable in most units
Scanning the area through my ACOG
The Felon watching some suspicious characters
Two of the puppies that live on the COP ¶ Sunday, July 02, 2006 3 comments
Now that I've gotten the rants out of my system, I figured I'd just post some pictures.
Iraqi soldiers manning a PKC machinegun
A patrol of Iraqi soldiers, almost looks like a scene out of another war
Covering a road with a 50 cal. Because of the MTT's size and
composition, it's not uncommon for officers and SNCOs to drive
or man the gun, which is unthinkable in most units
Scanning the area through my ACOG
The Felon watching some suspicious characters
Two of the puppies that live on the COP ¶ Sunday, July 02, 2006 3 comments
Saturday, July 01, 2006
I Went to War and a Garrison Broke Out
It's a quiet night so far, and I'm on a reverse cycle now (sleep during the day, work at night), so bear with me, I'm seeking to cure some of my boredom.
Here is the original article that I referred to in the previous post. This was written while I was in Afghanistan in 2003, and I had the opportunity to witness this phenomenon first-hand. This article is so true it's almost enough to make you cry.
The "firebase" I lived in when this article was written, Camp Blessing, was located in the heart of Indian Country. It came into existence only in October/November of the same year, when it was called Firebase Catamount. For the month or so before it was turned over to a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA), Catamount was home to a battalion of soldiers from the US Army's 10th Mountain Division. They were subjected to attacks almost daily, ranging from 107mm rockets to IEDs and RPGs and small arms fire. Once they left, it was up to the ODA, plus a reinforced platoon of Marines (66 Marines total) and 120 locally-recruited Afghan Security Forces to secure the area. So we're talking 75-80 Americans and 120 Afghans. Mind you, the Afghans had no formal military training and relatively little experience. The next closest American outpost, Asadabad, was 20-30km away by air. It was about a 4-6 hour drive by HMMWV, over a narrow, treacherous road that was strewn with IEDs. The first time I attempted to hitch a ride with the ODA to A-bad, an IED blew the front end of my Humvee off. That was the last time we attempted that drive during daylight.
Most outposts in Afghanistan and Iraq are ringed by a type of barrier called "Hesco". Hesco barriers are a wire basket with a cloth liner that can be filled with dirt to create a wall. You've probably seen Hescos on the news without knowing what they are. Next time, look for a wall that has wire mesh and a grey cloth lining. That is a Hesco barrier. During my time there, Camp Blessing had Hesco on only two sides, and one side was not high enough to provide adequate protection from enemy fire from that direction. One of the houses occupied by the Marine platoon was dangerously exposed because of this. The Special Forces team leader submitted numerous requests for more Hesco to complete the perimeter around the camp, but could never get enough to adequately protect the camp.
A row of Hesco barriers at Camp Blessing
Now imagine how we felt when we returned to Bagram Airfield and saw that each unit that lived on the airfield had a Hesco perimeter around their little section of the base. Some had even stacked them two high, meaning they had a double row of Hesco on the bottom and a single row on top of that. Some of these mini-camps were not much smaller than Camp Blessing itself.
The only engineering asset we had at Camp Blessing, AFG
After we left Asadabad and Blessing, our company became responsible for securing the Airfield perimeter. The Marines stood watch in guard towers that were positioned around the base. One tower was set back from the perimeter wire by a good distance, and was not able to see the concertina wire fence that ran through their sector. The end result was that the locals stole the concertina wire that was supposed to prevent them from entering the base. The tower was not able to see the gap in the wire, so kids would frequently slip through the gap and throw rocks at the guard tower. We were only allowed to respond with non-lethal weapons, so the Marines usually engaged the kids with 12 gauge beanbag rounds or high-velocity paintballs (you might laugh, but these things were pushing a lot more muzzle velocity than your standard commercial paintball gun, and the paintballs themselves were pretty nasty looking). It was usually pretty harmless, and I'm sure the kids considered it a game, but it wasn't lost on the company leadership that this situation presented the potential for very bad things to happen. We searched for ways to stop the kids from coming through, and were eventually successful, but the one thing we could never get was more concertina wire to plug the gap. So, during the two months we guarded the base, there was always a gap in the wire in this spot, and we had to find other ways to keep people out.
Afghan soldiers standing in formation at Camp Blessing
While all of this was going on, a new unit arrived on Bagram and set up their new camp, including a motor pool in an unoccupied gravel lot. What did they have surrounding their motor pool? A shiny, new triple-strand concertina wire fence. For those who don't know, triple-strand simply means that there are two rolls of concertina wire on the bottom, with another roll of wire on top. We couldn't even get a single strand to cover a gap that was obviously exploitable.
OK, I've been writing enough about this, I think my blood pressure is starting to spike. Mind you, those are two extremely small examples of some of the garrison-mindset stupidity that goes on in Iraq and Afghanistan. People wonder how I can enjoy life so much in a place like Camp Blessing or OK Corral, well now you can get a glimpse of why I hate places like Al Asad and Bagram.
Oh yeah, Bagram is a saluting base, meaning you have to salute superior officers on the base. I guess somebody needed a salute in the morning to feel good about himself. ¶ Saturday, July 01, 2006 3 comments
It's a quiet night so far, and I'm on a reverse cycle now (sleep during the day, work at night), so bear with me, I'm seeking to cure some of my boredom.
Here is the original article that I referred to in the previous post. This was written while I was in Afghanistan in 2003, and I had the opportunity to witness this phenomenon first-hand. This article is so true it's almost enough to make you cry.
The "firebase" I lived in when this article was written, Camp Blessing, was located in the heart of Indian Country. It came into existence only in October/November of the same year, when it was called Firebase Catamount. For the month or so before it was turned over to a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA), Catamount was home to a battalion of soldiers from the US Army's 10th Mountain Division. They were subjected to attacks almost daily, ranging from 107mm rockets to IEDs and RPGs and small arms fire. Once they left, it was up to the ODA, plus a reinforced platoon of Marines (66 Marines total) and 120 locally-recruited Afghan Security Forces to secure the area. So we're talking 75-80 Americans and 120 Afghans. Mind you, the Afghans had no formal military training and relatively little experience. The next closest American outpost, Asadabad, was 20-30km away by air. It was about a 4-6 hour drive by HMMWV, over a narrow, treacherous road that was strewn with IEDs. The first time I attempted to hitch a ride with the ODA to A-bad, an IED blew the front end of my Humvee off. That was the last time we attempted that drive during daylight.
Most outposts in Afghanistan and Iraq are ringed by a type of barrier called "Hesco". Hesco barriers are a wire basket with a cloth liner that can be filled with dirt to create a wall. You've probably seen Hescos on the news without knowing what they are. Next time, look for a wall that has wire mesh and a grey cloth lining. That is a Hesco barrier. During my time there, Camp Blessing had Hesco on only two sides, and one side was not high enough to provide adequate protection from enemy fire from that direction. One of the houses occupied by the Marine platoon was dangerously exposed because of this. The Special Forces team leader submitted numerous requests for more Hesco to complete the perimeter around the camp, but could never get enough to adequately protect the camp.
A row of Hesco barriers at Camp Blessing
Now imagine how we felt when we returned to Bagram Airfield and saw that each unit that lived on the airfield had a Hesco perimeter around their little section of the base. Some had even stacked them two high, meaning they had a double row of Hesco on the bottom and a single row on top of that. Some of these mini-camps were not much smaller than Camp Blessing itself.
The only engineering asset we had at Camp Blessing, AFG
After we left Asadabad and Blessing, our company became responsible for securing the Airfield perimeter. The Marines stood watch in guard towers that were positioned around the base. One tower was set back from the perimeter wire by a good distance, and was not able to see the concertina wire fence that ran through their sector. The end result was that the locals stole the concertina wire that was supposed to prevent them from entering the base. The tower was not able to see the gap in the wire, so kids would frequently slip through the gap and throw rocks at the guard tower. We were only allowed to respond with non-lethal weapons, so the Marines usually engaged the kids with 12 gauge beanbag rounds or high-velocity paintballs (you might laugh, but these things were pushing a lot more muzzle velocity than your standard commercial paintball gun, and the paintballs themselves were pretty nasty looking). It was usually pretty harmless, and I'm sure the kids considered it a game, but it wasn't lost on the company leadership that this situation presented the potential for very bad things to happen. We searched for ways to stop the kids from coming through, and were eventually successful, but the one thing we could never get was more concertina wire to plug the gap. So, during the two months we guarded the base, there was always a gap in the wire in this spot, and we had to find other ways to keep people out.
Afghan soldiers standing in formation at Camp Blessing
While all of this was going on, a new unit arrived on Bagram and set up their new camp, including a motor pool in an unoccupied gravel lot. What did they have surrounding their motor pool? A shiny, new triple-strand concertina wire fence. For those who don't know, triple-strand simply means that there are two rolls of concertina wire on the bottom, with another roll of wire on top. We couldn't even get a single strand to cover a gap that was obviously exploitable.
OK, I've been writing enough about this, I think my blood pressure is starting to spike. Mind you, those are two extremely small examples of some of the garrison-mindset stupidity that goes on in Iraq and Afghanistan. People wonder how I can enjoy life so much in a place like Camp Blessing or OK Corral, well now you can get a glimpse of why I hate places like Al Asad and Bagram.
Oh yeah, Bagram is a saluting base, meaning you have to salute superior officers on the base. I guess somebody needed a salute in the morning to feel good about himself. ¶ Saturday, July 01, 2006 3 comments
