I spent the first few weeks traveling with one of my team members (SPC Archuleta). She tries to write an e-mail once a week. She managed at least two that I know of. Below will be the two posts. Her audience is her Church group, so she broke it down in to as many non-Army terms as possible. I keep telling her they are perfect for what I am writing for the blog, since most of the audience is non-military anyway. I am really starting to enjoy this deployment because I get to be there when the "new guys" experience things for the first time. They are really getting the hang of things pretty quick, so it makes the missions/meetings a lot more productive. I hope you enjoy her accounts of the trip.
As for me, I have been a little slow to get back in the groove. I haven't gone in as the "primary", so that doesn't help. Not that I am objecting, it would just be nice to be able to get back to where I was when I was last deployed. It will come. I am conflicted since these are the prime opportunities to train future leaders…it is more important they get the chances I didn’t. I will stop here because I don’t want to steal too much from what she has to say, so without further adieu –
This is her first post in country (~July 10th):
“Hi All from Methar Lam, Afghanistan...So I sat in Bagram for a week then they finally let helicopters fly to Laghman and we made it to our final destination. I thought that was the good news until I got here... I am on a very small FOB and it is very primitive. We live in a coed building two to a room, unless you are higher ranking. Small rooms and not very up to date. We walk up the hill to the shower/latrine, and the DFAC/cafeteria is also up the hill. Food is interesting and not horrible, but the Afghan take on spaghetti was fun for example. Bottled water only and it is around 110- 120 degrees daily.
I did my first mission "outside the wire" as they say. We drove in big up-armored vehicles, strapped in for dear life, until the first sign of an IED (improvised explosive device). We sat for several hours until EOD cleared the culvert and the remnants of a prior IED and we tried to continue on to our destination until we were told another IED was up ahead and our radio communication went down. Needless to say after five hours of this we turned around and did not make it to our destination. The good news is we made it back safe and I was able to see a lot of the area, even though I never got to get out of the truck. There are so many children in the villages. The children are very dirty, beg for things and steal from you any thing they can grab off you. It broke my heart to watch them. Some villages the children spit at our trucks as we passed and it was clear that they do not want us there. The men were out in the village where we got stuck waiting to clear the IED and they tried to keep the children away from our vehicles. The few women I saw were covered from head to toe in blue burkas and had children with them or followed directly behind the men they were with.
My Civil Affairs team is being divided into different areas of our province. I was upset about this, but understand the need to stretch us out to areas that are in need. (SSG)Carlson is going to be in an area that is not safe so please keep him in your prayers. (SGT)Martin and (SPC)Peterson will be in another area together that is not female friendly and in a remote location, so please keep both of them in your prayers as well. As for me, the only female, I am going to shadow CPT Love for now and speak to women in the villages he goes into. When I am here at the FOB I will go on certain missions as the CA representative. We carry weapons on us at all times and are in constant danger of the FOB being hit, and of course once we leave the FOB we are less protected other than the security forces we have with us. Not to spread fear, but here is the reality of the situation and prayers are much appreciated.
I am looking forward to seeing the villages, talking to the people and helping them get their needs met. It is our PRT's (Provincial Reconstructive Teams) responsibility to start the process of handing over the work the military has been doing to the locals. We are trying to transition and leave Afghanistan. Boy do we have our work cut out for us. I am very glad to be here and have already had many experiences that lead me be thankful for all that we have in the US. I miss you all and will have email, not Facebook, access on occasion. For the first few months, I will be a nomad; going where I can to learn and be utilized for the greater good of the people in Laghman.”
This post is from July 18th, it is also one of my favorites:
“Hello!...I just returned from a week in Najil Afghanistan. CPT Love and I spent the week getting to know the Infantry group up there and see if they needed assistance from our Civil Affairs team. I was the only female and the soldiers treated me well. They took us on 2 to 3 missions a day and expected me to keep up and hang with the boys.
Our first night there I was invited to shoot mortar rounds into the side of a mountain. Each round weighs approx 30-35 pounds and you have to hold it half way into the tube until they yell "fire" then you drop it down the tube. You have to move your hands in a downward motion so that you do not blow them off and tilt your body and head away from the cannon for the very loud boom it makes. Then you wait for one round to light up the night sky (shot from another cannon) and then the mortar round to blow up the side of the mountain. It was awesome! After the first 3 out of 5 rounds I felt like my arms were going to fall off. I am a little short for the tube and had to hold the rounds high above my head. After a while they get heavier and heavier, but it was very exciting. The blast on the mountain has a blast radius of about 500 meters. The mortar guys thought I was pretty cool and invited me to hang out anytime.
One mission we went on was a very long and hard walk to a village across the river to speak to the Village Elder about security and their needs. We walked through a huge field of onions and other vegetables. The hard part is balancing yourself with a weapon and all your gear on the 6 inch wide dirt or rock walls that line the crops. We weaved our way to the river then walked across river rocks of all sizes in the dry bed. Then we crossed the river run off where you have a choice to hop across the rocks or just walk through the knee high water. (I slipped off a rock and got to walk through the water anyway) Then we came to a foot bridge that was about 12-15 inches wide and spanned the river approx 30 feet. The rapids below were moving pretty fast and three people at a time cross the bridge. The bridge kind of bounces as you go across and the sound of the water seemed very loud; I prayed all the way across! Finally we got to the other side to the small village built into the side of the mountain. We were told by some children that there were Taliban in the village so we had to pull security until the leaders decided it was safe to continue on into the village. I was personally glad for the break after walking/climbing just to get there.
Once all was clear we sat with the Elders of the village and discussed their village needs or concerns and wanting to form a friendship with them. Word spread fast that a female soldier was in the village and I became surrounded by 25 or so boys of all ages. They stared a lot then finally shook my hand and talked to me. I had my picture taken with some of them and they joked with CPT Love and the Sergeant about trading me for 5 goats and a car. :0) The village elder then gave me permission to speak to the eldest woman and I climbed up to where she lived and we sat and spoke through an interpreter about the women in the village. She said they make cheese and work in the fields. They have 5 to 10 children per family and all kids go to school. She said she was glad I was there and said I was welcome to come back. After I played with the kids some more we made our way back toward base. Along the way I got to stop and talk to two girls working in a field. They told me they were sisters, work in the field every day, and explained that the red brown paint on their hands had been painted on to look pretty and was henna. The younger girl told me she goes to school, but her older (maybe 10 yrs old) sister doesn't anymore because she doesn't have to. They were dressed in nice dresses and had their heads covered. For my first real mission I was very happy to interact with the people as much as I did, but my goodness... I was beat.
We later went on a mission to a construction site to see the progress of a road being dug through a canyon. I took pictures and walked around the site while the KLE (key leader engagement) took place with the workers. Another mission we did was a drive out to a village to do another KLE with the Village Elder. The village is much poorer and had so many children. Small groups of children were meeting under some trees and possibly holding classes.
The Afghan soldiers that work on the base are the ANA and the ASG. The ASG killed a goat for us and made CPT Love and me a great dinner of goat, soup, rice and bread called “non" (Pashto). It was very good and after dinner we ate watermelon and a melon that tastes like a mix of melon and cantaloupe. The ANA invited us to a dinner the next night and we had turkey, potatoes, “non”, and melon. They asked a lot of questions about what I was doing in Afghanistan and being a female in the Army. The ASG said I was brave for coming to help them in Afghanistan and the ANA said we were friends. It was nice to hear from them how they felt and both groups treated me very well the rest of the week we were there. The interpreters made us an amazing lunch of chicken cooked with tomatoes and onions and we talked about their upcoming holiday in August called Ramadan. I really have enjoyed the food here and the green tea chi isn't too bad either.
We did a night mission to a nearby tower that looks much closer to the base than it is. After the third hill I wanted to quit and my friends from the ANA made sure I did not stop and was safe all the way to the top. The moon was out and I could see fairly well, but It was a very hard climb up the mountain and back down. I have a lot of respect for the guys in this area who have to do this every day. I don't think I will have any problems staying in shape if I continue to work with them! The last two missions we did were to photograph a large bridge that washed away in a flood and a girl’s school that was built on top of a hill and not open yet. The bridge would be a very expensive project but a worthy one for the village in the valley. The girl’s school is built but there are requirements for bathrooms and security walls that have not been met so they can not open it yet. The climb to the school is unbelievably steep and slippery. (I slipped and fell!) The view from the hill is amazing. You can see the green fields and the town bazaar (market). It’s hard to believe it is so dangerous when you look out and just see a simple way of life with people who work hard.
Sunday we flew by helicopter back to Methar Lam. I am very sore, cut up, bruised and tired, but it was an amazing experience. I leave soon to visit another area for a few days then I will be going to Kandahar to attend a week long "Female Engagement Team" (FET) training. After I return from the training the Commander will be deciding where I will spend my time. I am praying to go back to Najil because they have the most need for me and I feel a kind of peace there I have not felt anywhere else here. The government politics get frustrating and I remain faithful that the Lord has a plan for me.”
I am still struggling with a way to post pictures. The blog supports it, but getting them to the blog is the issue. This took two computers to post….I’ll get it.
CPT Love
