Commuting Through Suicide Bombers (or Rush Hour with a Boom)

Each region of Afghanistan has different types of dangers that soldiers have to learn to live with. From my view of the intelligence indicators available to us the Southeast of the Country bordering Pakistan is the most dangerous. I won't go into the details for fear of accidentally letting slip some classified information, but there's a wide variety of tactics and techniques for murder and mayhem that the Taliban and Al Queda employ there. Compared to the provinces in that area of the Country, we're in a safe zone. But in this country the term "safe" is a relative term.

Any US or NATO tactical vehicle on any road in Afghanistan is a target. In the military we term it a "target of opportunity" meaning it's easily recognizable coming down the road and if the insurgents are in the area and have the time to react they'll take a shot at us. That's one of the things we have to look out for and I know the closest American unit to us took some fire a few weeks ago - RPG's and small arms - but it hasn't yet happened to me personally. We nearly made a trip to Kabul a week ago but cancelled it for security reasons - had we done it I'm 90% sure we would have been engaged. Our main "challenge" (the Army loves to use that word instead of what it really is, which is a big, fat problem) in Kunduz is the continuous presence of suicide bombers. Our support is in Kunduz and we'll be living there permanently in a couple of weeks so we use the main road there constantly. I've been deployed almost 90 days now. There's never been a single day in that entire time when we didn't know that there were bombers in Kunduz, sometimes up to seven at a time. So what do you do? We still have to do our work and that means we still have to get out on the road to go where we need to and do it. We do what we can to minimize our risk, again I'm not providing any details due to security concerns, but the bottom line is you either get through the high risk areas quickly and unobtrusively, or make sure you've got the thickest armor protection you can get if you can't be unobtrusive. Then it becomes a matter of simple physics - is my armor thicker than the penetration power of his explosives? So far, for the military in our area, it has been. Here's hoping our luck holds.

The photo I've attached is of all that remains to mark the passing of one of the last suicide bombers on the Kunduz road. He was a one-legged Afghan man carrying a backpack. He stepped out into the road between two vehicles in a German military convoy and blew himself up. The Taliban/Al Queda promised him they would provide financial support for his family if he went through with the attack. In a country with no social security and no social safety net, sometimes that's all the incentive that's needed to recruit the next attacker.

Return to Feyzabad

The first week of November we headed back to Feyzabad and Badakshan Province with the intention of scouting some more sites to build the Afghan National Police compounds at. This time we skipped the drive down the donkey trail from hell and flew by military C-160. My intent was to visit 5 proposed building sites in the province but due to the German contingent hand-off activities (the Germans only do a 4 month tour of duty here - I'll see 3 complete rotations of them before I leave....lucky bastards...) and enemy activity in 2 of the areas, we had to scrap three visits and only ended up doing two. At the last minute Rick Rieger, the Project Manager, dropped off the trip so we replaced him with LTC Mike Hesston of the Vermont National Guard. Mike is the executive officer of the 1/209th brigade who are embedded with the Afghan National Police and are training and equipping them. While we were on the trip some of his men fought alongside the Afghan police in an operation in the West side of the country where they surrounded about 160 Taliban in a village there. Last I heard the Taliban were getting the worst of it.

Photo One: 30 minute break on the tarmac at Mazar E Sharif enroute to Feyzabad. L to R is myself, LTC Mike Hesston, LTC Wayne Dick(S-2, Intelligence Officer), and MSG Steve Cotton.

Photo Two: Feyzabad PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) camp. The camp is in a valley surrounded by high brown mountains. Plenty of places to hide up there so as a result the camp usually gets rocketed at least once a month. One of my tasks is to build an office there for the work we'll be doing in the Spring. We've usually had to stay in heated tents when we come up, but the Germans have promised us barracks rooms in hardened buildings once we're a permanent presence there. I really got to like the German Officers and soldiers we served with while we were there and I really felt a great sense of comraderie between us. They didn't quite know how to take us but fortunately had a good sense of humor and learned to treat us as part of their little family.....albeit it the strange American cowboy cousins they didn't quite know how to take. So Vielen Dank Oberst-Leutnant Heckert, Leutnant Ingmar Schulz und Leutnant Alex Schiffers! Sie waren guten Kameraden!

Photo Three: Waiting for LTC Wayne Dick on one of his forbidden foot excursions. He kept our German escorts in a continuous state of nervous agitation. They weren't supposed to wander around on foot patrols in the areas we took them to, but had to put up with it every time Wayne wanted to stop and talk to someone or to get a photo or buy a scarf at a local roadside stand. Wayne is a madman - perfect guy to bring along on an adventure like this. The guy lives for the next adrenaline rush and will find a way to create one if things are too calm in the area. He was great company and I think the Germans were ready to adopt him by the time we left.

Meeting the Locals in Badakshan Province

For the most part, the local people we came into contact with during our trip were very friendly and very curious about us. Their needs are huge - no roads, no hospitals, decaying buildings, no electrity, no work. Most of the area survives as an agrarian economy. I've seen more donkeys here in a week than I've seen in my entire life before I came here. Lots of livestock - mostly sheep and goats and donkeys wandering the roads and fields. The Afghans I met were grateful for our help and genuinely recognized we were there to assist them. The problem is, sprinkled amongst the population are die hard religious radicals who are determined to keep this Country in the middle ages, only with modern weapons - Ak-47's, IED's, and Rocket Propelled Grenades. And you never know when one of them is going to step around the corner and take a pot shot at you - so you always have to stay on your guard.

Our S-2 (Intelligence Officer), LTC Wayne Dick, with his back to the camera, is talking to some of the local population in one of the villages we went through. Jawanshir, our translator, is facing the camera. You can see the curiousity of the local people when we'd get out to talk with them reflected in the faces of the crowd that would inevitably gather around us. LTC Dick was soaking it in and would stop often to speak with people as American intelligence knew almost nothing about the area we were in so he wanted to learn as much as he could. He's already prompted me to plan another excursion in early November before the snows come.

In photo two we are in the courtyard of the local Afghan police station we'll be tearing down and rebuilding in Jurm. We're talking with the local police commander (in the brown cap facing the camera) to coordinate the work for the Spring. He had a very impressive air about him and I very quickly got a good gut feeling about the guy. He also expressed his gratitude to us - he said he knew we had left our homes and families 1000's of miles behind in order to come here and help his country. Shortly before the photo was taken I'd been outside the compound on the street chatting with some of the Afghan police when MSG dragged me back inside the courtyard - he'd glimpsed a man down the street carrying an automatic weapon on a tripod eyeing us and told me to get my ass back inside. "Yes Master Sergeant!!"

Photo three is of some of the local police force in Jurm. The building behind them is their barracks - no windows, no electricity, no plumbing, no heat, no A/C. The condition of the building on the outside is better than it is on the inside and I think you can see from the picture the outside ain't so great. In our country this would be a condemned building. Here's it's all that they have. Made me glad that I'm going to be instrumental in giving these men probably the nicest facilities they've ever seen in their lives.

Into the Unknown Continued

I took quite a few pictures on this trip, but can only send them 3 at a time (something about the way earthlink sets things up)- so here's the next three.

Sorry - one more hilltop photo - the guys in the middle are two of my key staff, Nandy Perillo, my project Engineer, is my technical go-to guy who understands how the Army Corps of Engineers does business, and the thinner fellow is Jawanshir, our Afghan interpreter. They are both critical to our success. Little did Nancy know he'd be driving thru the wilds of Afghanistan when he was sitting in his thermo-fluid dynamics class back in engineering school!

This is the point where the road began morphing into the donkey trail from hell. This river gorge to the side of the "road" contained the kokacha river. Stunningly beautiful most of the way with crystal clear water. But, sorry, I've had dysentery before and there's no way I'm drinking anything other than bottled water no matter how pretty it looks. That's MSG Cotton in the 2nd photo.

Into the Unknown - Chapter Two!

Here's a few more photos of the trip into Badakshan Province.

After driving through Keshem we needed to find a nice high point with good visibility to stop for lunch. That way no bad guys could sneak up on us while the French waiters we brought along served us Champagne. (Did you go for that one?) The route up the nearest hill didn't go quite as smoothly as we'd hoped....(Picture One).

It turned out that spot we picked for lunch had an awesome view. Here's a couple of photos of MSG Cotton and myself. MSG Cotton, by the way, is the most educated non-commissioned officer I've ever met. He's got an engineering degree! 

Into the Unknown - Badakshan Province

After a few days at the bridge site in early October, LTC Gallagher, the Chief of Construction, called me and informed me that I'd be going along on a five day reconnaisance mission into Badakshan Province. In the Spring we'll be building nearly 60 Aghan National Police posts in Northern Afghanistan. The majority of those fall into my area, and most of those will be spread throughout Badakshan Province. The area is almost completely unknown to Americans - it's isolated, mountainous, and there's only one "road" in. And "road" is a very generous term for what turned out to be mostly a narrow, boulder-strewn donkey trail that we could only negotiate at 5 to 10 miles an hour. We didn't know what to expect so we were loaded for bear - nine of us carrying a SAW, grenades, shotguns, M-4 or M-16 long guns, and 9 mm pistols with LOTS of ammunition. What we did know for sure was that they grew poppies up there for heroin production and the area was rife with drug smuggling activities. After the first two hours of driving the blacktop degenerated into a rough, one-lane wide track that took us into the mountains. We spent a lot of time negotiating hairpin switchbacks clinging to the sides of mountains with a sheer cliff on one side and a thousand foot drop inches from our wheels on the opposite side. It was at this moment in time that it dawned on me that the Afghan culture had not yet assilimated the terms "safety, safety regulations, or highway safety." I wish I had some photos to show of some of those trails, but I couldn't seem to pry my fingers out of the front dashboard and my seat cushion long enough to fumble with my camera.

Picture one is a typical view you'll see scattered every few miles along the route. The Russians apparently had their asses handed back to them here on silver platters by the Mujahadin in the 80's. After driving the route I thank god I wasn't born to grow up and be a Russian tank crewman - the trail was just one long bushwacking waiting to happen with no escape route.

In photo two we were just stopped for a security halt. The blacktop was still good....little did we know how good we had it at that moment.....

Any time we go out I make it a point to smile and wave at the Afghans we pass along the road side. Generally, after a moment's surprise or shy hesitation they return the greeting and smile back. When we drove thru the town of Kesham the smiles weren't returned. We were just stared at expressionlessly. We all felt something bad was about to happen and closed up the distance between our vehicles for better defense. Fortunately our fears weren't realized. We don't know if they just didn't know how to react to us having never seen Americans before, or if there was an undercurrent of menace there. Regardless, the children always are fascinated to see us and always gather around quickly - picture 3.

Travels to the Bridge, 3 October

I've been swamped since I arrived here, but thought I'd try and catch up a little on news here. I flew to Kunduz and then road convoyed to our bridge site on 3 October. It was quite a strange day. I was loaded with all my gear onto a small 9 passenger plane at the Kabul airport and then flown over these huge brown mountains into an old soviet airstrip in a deep valley with a small town in it called Feyzabad. That flight was like riding a roller coaster with wings. The pilot did a deep dive into the river valley that would have made a Stuka pilot over Warsaw proud. Then he flew up the valley doing 60 to 90 degree turns so that when I looked out the window I'd alternately see the river at the base of the wingtip, then the houses on the side of the cliffs at what looked like a distance of 10 feet from the tip of the wing. It was such an awesome view I didn't think to get scared, which I should have been. When we landed at this tiny little airstrip the plane was met by several men carrying AK-47's and various other types of automatic weapons. Fortunately, they were on our side as all I had with me was a 9MM and 3 clips of ammo. I was seriously outgunned.

They added some passengers to the flight and I turned around to see an older Muslim man who was dressed like he must have been the Grand Poobah or some such personage waiting to get on the plane. Wanting to ensure that I didn't offend this obviously important Mullah I turned to him, put my hand over my heart and said "Salam", which is the proper way of greeting someone over here. At that point he stuck out his hand to me and said with this huge grin on his face, "Hi,I'm George from California, nice to meet ya." That guy had me in stitches for the next five minutes. (See Photo #1) There were a couple of German Polizei loaded on the plane also. I told them I was sorry, that I thought I'd paid that speeding ticket on the Autobahn in 1986 and I was impressed that they really don't stop until they track down their man. They let me off with a warning.

Half an hour later I landed in Kunduz, another old abandoned Soviet airstrip which is surrounded by the rusting hulks of abandoned Russian armored vehicles and trucks in the surrounding fields, and 2 gutted soviet transport helicopters sitting off to the side of the tarmac. My Master Sergeant picked me up and we drove thru Kunduz to the Tajikistan border and my new job. The drive thru Kunduz was beyond strange. Aside from some motorized transport on the road, it was like stepping back in time 4 centuries. (See the next 2 photos) I'll send some more photos in my next e-mail. Right now it's time to hit the hay as I just got back from a 5 day reconnaisance operation into Indian territory and I'm beat. That's an adventure I'll cover at a later date.

Greetings from Kabul

Hello! Greetings from the Afghanistan Engineer District in Kabul, Afghanistan. I arrived here day before yesterday via "hardened vehicle" from Bagram AFB. My first experience with the "road" network in the 5th poorest nation on Earth. I'm now convinced that battle with the Taliban is a much safer endeavor than driving on the roads here. :-) I was squeezed into the back seat of an up-armored pick up truck in body armor and helmet. And I do mean "squeezed." I barely fit and the idea of even being able to reach my weapon, let alone unholster it and fire it if we took any fire wasn't even a consideration. When I mentioned to the driver that I didn't have any clips and ammunition on me and wouldn't that be a good thing to have at this time I was told not to worry about it as he and the front seat guy had enough hardware to deal with any unexpected events. Okay......

The SOP is to drive really fast, not stop for anything, and weave around and through the traffic while communicating with the vehicle behind you so it can stay close. The condition of the road ranged from barely passable to almost okay - lots of potholes, no center line, small children and various people on bikes and on foot walking along the shoulders of the road, us passing trucks and dodging oncoming traffic which didn't really notice that driving towards us in the middle of the road was not a real safe thing to do. I just held on and said my prayers thankful that I had my helmet on tight as I was repeatedly bounced off the ceiling of the cab. It took us about an hour to reach Kabul and 2 days for my concussion to subside...


The country in this area reminded me a great deal of the terrain around Ft. Bliss - sparse vegetation and low mountains and hills all around. I kept waiting for my old First Sergeant from Bliss, Ben Lebron, to pop and scream four letter words at the troops and I'd realize I really was back in Texas. Similar weather to Colorado -hot days and cold nights as we're at 6000 feet elevation here. Have had lots of sinus trouble the whole trip from the States due to constantly changing weather conditions and areas with lots of dust in the air. Took a Benadryl last night and that seems to have done the trick - some good sleep helped too.

The Engineer compound here used to be the Iraqi embassy. It's well protected - high walls, razor wire, cameras, etc. with Afghan guards armed with AK-47's providing security. When you get inside it feels like you've arrived in the courtyard of a mediteranean villa - really very cozy. Lot's of construction going on inside the compound - the Engineers love building things which is a good thing because they usually make themselves very comfortable wherever they put down roots. The food here is awesome - mixture of local specialties and U.S. style foods and the cooks are super. I understand how people can gain weight. Too bad my stay here is only temporary as I'm slated to head North to Kunduz after I'm fully inprocessed here. Lots of DA civilians here - they outnumber the military probably 2 to 1.

Word is I'll be staying at the German compound in Kunduz which seems to have a good reputation. For once the military actually studied my background and saw that I spoke some German, hence I was tapped for that assignment. (My son would disagree, however, as my grammar is pretty awful after years of not speaking the language much) My commander here looks like a really clever comic that had a TV show years ago - his name was John Byner I think. I keep waiting for him to break out in a monologue. Seems like a very low-key, competent commander with lots of common sense. Haven't had my initial sit down with him yet but that will happen before I head up North. Looks like my initial projects will be finishing the bridge into Tajikistan and working on an Afghan Military Barracks. 
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All the military here are armed 24/7 with loaded clips in the weapons - another reason no alcohol is allowed....(hey man - were you looking at my girlfriend's picture!, why you SOB....bang, bang, bang-bang) and we have to be in helmet and body armor anytime we leave the compound, even if it's just to cross the street to an adjoining compound. The North of the Country is supposed to be fairly quiet, so Mom can relax. However, the Germans were on a foot patrol a while back thru the local bazaar and a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up in the middle of the patrol causing some casualties. So don't expect me to go shopping for any Afghan rugs while I'm here....you can order them on line. Don't know if it made the papers back home but they also kidnapped 2 Italians who were rescued today by Special Forces troops - the Italians were wounded in the exchange but it sure beats having your head mailed home in a seperate box. I get the impression the majority of the population here likes us and are grateful for the rebuilding we're doing for them. Unfortunately, there are evil men everywhere and Afghanistan has its fair share too. The impression is they are targeting the European troops since they were able to drive the South Koreans out by kidnapping their citizens and think they can do it with some of the other foreign troops too.


I'd attach some more pictures but I'm alone in my room and without a real adult around to supervise me all I'll be able to accomplish by trying is to melt down the entire secure computer network for Operation Enduring Freedom. Maybe one of the IT guys will feel sorry for me and I can send them later. Picture mom home alone with 3 TV remotes......nothing good can come of it. ;-)

Week One of the Great Afghanistan Adventure

I'm in day three of the CRC (Conus Replacement Center) weeklong processing/training facility at Fort Benning, Georgia. I call it "fort lost in the woods" because it used to be the barracks for the Army Rangers going thru training, and I also have no idea where I am as we are literally in a small compound surrounded by woods. So far all days have lasted 14 plus hours and I need some sleep as a result. Lots of equipment issues (eventually 4 full dufflebags full of gear, body armor, clothing, etc.), and today was medical screening - I got 6 inoculations and 2 blood draws and I'm terrified to touch my Left arm because that one was inoculated for small pox and it's a live, spreadable virus. Touch it and itch your eye and you end up looking like Frankenstein. I'll have to take Malaria pills shortly every day for the next year - but I'm sure that's preferable to getting Malaria!

About 400 plus personnel processing thru this week - 208 of whom are private contractors! What's up with that? It's so easy to fall back into the rhythm of being a soldier again. It's funny - I'm with a group of men and women who have all volunteered to go across the globe - they deploy to up to 28 different countries from here, although most are headed to Iraq or Afghanistan - and it all seems perfectly natural to us. No one seems nervous or frightened, it's just an attitude of hey, this is what we do, let's do it. I have gotten a couple of "you're a wild man Bill" comments when they find out I'm not in a secure camp, but just out in the wilds of the country with one American Sergeant for company. But, who knows, I could be diverted when I get there to some nice cushy Forward Operating Base with great chow and movies at night once I arrive. 

Gotta go - computer time is limited and mine is up. I'll be in touch again soon.