Marines in Afghanistan

From the North County Times...

MILITARY: Marine from bloodied Camp Pendleton unit faces new fight

Lt. Cameron West says he was 'lucky 'cuz I still got one leg'
By MARK WALKER - mlwalker@nctimes.com | Posted: Saturday, February 26, 2011 9:00 pm
The war in Afghanistan ended in less than three weeks for Marine Lt. Cameron "Big Country" West.
The battle to rebuild his life ---- after a roadside bomb tore apart his body ---- will go on for years.
"I got lucky, to tell you the truth, 'cuz I still got one leg," the 25-year-old West said.
Many of the Marines he's surrounded by at his daily rehabilitation sessions are missing both legs ---- and arms.
Most of the young men once belonged to the highly decorated 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which is bearing the brunt of the vicious fighting.
Now they're assigned to another unit: the Wounded Warrior Battalion, created for troops whose injuries require months of care.
For West, and many other injured Marines, life changed with a footstep.
'I looked down and it was gone'
On Oct. 15 of last year, West was leading his Camp Pendleton platoon on a hunt for Taliban insurgents.
The platoon was returning to its outpost in the Helmand province's deadly Sangin District when it was ordered to check a compound where suspected Taliban fighters were congregating.
"We made contact with about 10 villagers and had questioned them," the Georgia native recalled. "We also had radios that scanned for Taliban conversation. Our interpreter said there was traffic about an ambush."
West led the platoon away from the suspected ambush site, crossing an irrigation canal adjacent to a cornfield. It was about 10 a.m. on a Friday.
"I was bent down on my right knee, telling the squad leaders we needed to cut into the cornfield to use it as cover, as a safe haven," West said.
That's when his radio operator, Lance Cpl. James Boelk, 24, of Oceanside, stepped on a pressure plate buried just beneath the surface.
The step triggered a massive explosion that threw Boelk into the canal and tore off his legs.
He was declared dead within minutes.
"Nobody knew what happened at first," West said. "It was a big-ass explosion. When all the dust and smoke cleared, some guys were just standing there, some guys had taken cover."
The blast lifted the 230-pound West and tossed him several feet.
The explosion also took his right leg.
"I looked down and it was gone," West said. "The foot was right next to me, hanging from my pants leg or something. I guess it wasn't ready to leave me quite yet."
It took a couple of minutes for his men to reach him. West had landed on a belt that appeared to contain more explosives.
"They were worried about coming to get me because they didn't want to set off another (improvised explosive device)," he said
His leg wasn't the only thing missing.
"It also took off the pinkie and my trigger finger," West said, gazing at his right hand while sitting in a lounge chair at his family's Oceanside home, just minutes from Camp Pendleton.
"A lot of guys get their trigger finger blown off because they have their finger in the trigger well when the bombs go off," he said.
For the now 175-pound West, the battleground has shifted ---- from the dusty plains and fertile valleys of Afghanistan to the treatment rooms of a San Diego military hospital.
Battalion ravaged
A purple scar snakes its way up West's remaining leg from ankle to thigh.
Another lines his right arm, stretching from his mangled hand to his shoulder.
He has a bald spot and raw-looking wound on the back of his head where a piece of shrapnel penetrated his skull.
The vision he lost in his right eye has a good chance of being recovered, doctors have told him.
His right leg is now a temporary metal prosthetic, one that allowed him to get out of the wheelchair he'd been using for the last three months.
Several other Marines were wounded in the explosion, including the platoon corpsman whose injuries left him unable to treat West.
The blast that ripped apart his platoon is all too familiar for the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, tasked with taming the agricultural region that was a center of drug trafficking and roadside bomb manufacturing.
West is among the more than 150 troops from the nearly 1,000-troop battalion who have been wounded since they arrived in Afghanistan in late September.
In addition to Boelk, 24 other troops have been killed, including one of West's best friends, Lt. Robert Kelly, the son of Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Kelly.
The battalion, officials say, has seen more casualties in the 10-year-old Afghan war than any other similar-size unit.
"It's tough to think about what a life is worth or what 25 lives are worth," West said. "But I know 3/5 is succeeding in helping free Afghanistan, and I'm pretty sure the 25 dead guys would say it's worth it and not in vain."
The losses are so severe that for the first time the Marine Corps is ordering mental health specialists to "embed" with the troops when they come home in mid-April.
The Marines and their Navy medical corpsmen also will undergo extensive mental health evaluations, and specialists will work with their children, spouses and parents.
"These guys have seen and been through things that most of us can never imagine," said Rear Adm. C. Forrest Faison III, who heads Naval Medical Center San Diego and designed the outreach program in concert with Camp Pendleton commanders. "We want to make sure we take care of them and their families."
'Gnarly infections'
West was on a medical evacuation helicopter less than a half-hour after being wounded. He remembers nothing of his 7,000-mile trip from the cornfield in Afghanistan to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where he arrived on Oct. 20.
"After being put on the helicopter and being shot up with knockout juice, I don't remember anything until they woke me up after a couple of days at Bethesda," he said.
Within a week, West, a 2007 social science graduate of North Georgia College and State University, was out of the intensive care unit, but still at Bethesda for treatment of wounds, such as the one on his left leg large enough to hold two golf balls.
"Everyone getting blown up over there gets these gnarly-ass infections," said the dark-haired, blue-eyed West, who grew up wanting to follow the path of his Korean War veteran grandfather and join the Marines.
After a couple of weeks at Bethesda, he was transferred to the San Diego Naval Medical Center's Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care unit, where he spent a few days before being released to begin a daily regimen of rehabilitation and medical visits.
There, he is rebuilding his body ---- and his life.
'Blown up already?'
West lives at his family's Oceanside home, where his father, Artis, coordinates the appointment schedule and serves as his driver.
"I'm lucky to have him," he said of his dad.
Father and son make four or five round trips a week to the Naval Medical Center near Balboa Park. The trips start about 8:30 a.m. and the two usually get home by 1 or 2 in the afternoon.
The center is filled with troops whose bodies have been mutilated by roadside bombs.
"The real gut-wrenching thing is watching him and those guys at Balboa that are double or triple amputees," said his dad, who wears T-shirts emblazoned with logos from his son's battalion. "It makes you proud of them, but it also just tears you up."
The elder West recently lost his job and was home when he got the call informing him his son was hurt.
"It's a parent's worst nightmare," he said. "It just floored me. The main thing I kept asking was, 'Is he alive?'"
Cameron West recalls hearing what his mother, a nurse, said when she got the word: "What, he got blown up already?"
The Marine Corps flew his parents to Washington, D.C., where Artis West stayed in the bed next to his son throughout the stay at Bethesda.
Artis West said that except for a couple of down days early on, his son has remained upbeat.
"But it's not as easy as you might think," he said.
Inside his room at home, his son has a picture of his platoon in full gear before they left for Afghanistan.
An observer looking at the picture sees West standing at the far right, nearly a head taller than the others.
He and his platoon spent nearly a year preparing for the deployment, during which his fellow lieutenants tagged him "Big Country" because of his Southern upbringing and love of the outdoors.
Next to that shot are pictures of military officials and celebrities who came to see him in Bethesda.
"It was nonstop," his dad said. "Besides the doctors and nurses, there were people streaming in constantly, including a lot of just regular Marines who just came by on their own time to cheer him up."
Those pictures remind West that he is not alone.
Fellow troops
A couple of weeks ago, West was at the San Diego medical center for therapy on his mangled hand and to reclaim his prosthetic leg, which had gone back to the manufacturer for fine-tuning.
It's there that West sees others from the battalion who were severely wounded, including Stephen Librando, his platoon corpsman injured in the same blast.
"It was a relief when I woke up in ICU at Bethesda and he was there next to me," said Librando, who's being treated for arm, hand, leg, eye and facial injuries.
Librando, a Guam native, also was on his first deployment.
"It sucked because I wasn't able to take care of him or the rest of my guys," he said after hugging West. "But it was good to know (West) made it back."
West, he said, was a good leader.
"He was chill," Librando said. "He did what we needed him to do, and he passed down to us the things we needed to know."
Seeing Librando is therapeutic for West, too.
"He got hit with me, and it's good to be able to see how he and all the rest are doing," West said.
Another member of the platoon, Lance Cpl. Brandon Weese, 19, of Kansas, said West continued to issue orders after he was wounded.
"He was directing the patrol even though he had his leg blown off," Weese said.
First week is the toughest
West's first appointment during a recent visit was with Adrianna Gaeta, who is helping him regain the use of his right hand.
The 30-minute treatment started with a heat pack to work on the scar tissue and coax out dozens of small pieces of shrapnel that remain in his arm.
A short time later, West was being refitted with an interim prosthetic, a column of metal with a mechanical joint for a knee that he wore for about a week before it needed readjustment.
The head prostheticist, Peter Harsch, helped him attach it and coached him through walking exercises.
"Make sure you stride completely," Harsch said as West took a few tentative steps. "The sooner you get rid of the wheelchair, the better."
The clinic visit also was a chance for West to chat with a battalion lance corporal, Justin McLoud, 23, of St. Louis, who lost both legs and his left arm to a roadside bomb a short time after West was injured.
"It's good to see people that you know," said the soft-spoken McLoud, who arrived at Balboa earlier this month.
With him were his wife, Amber, and their 5-month-old son, Desmond.
Amber McLoud said she's amazed at the spirit and courage of the men she sees at the clinic, especially her husband.
"He's made it so easy on me," she said. "He's always in a good mood, and he's accepted what happened to him. For us, there's no sense in dwelling on it and getting pissed off. We just have to deal with it and move on."
West is often one of the first visitors when the severely injured arrive at the Combat Care Unit.
"I just want to let them know that I was in the same situation they're in when I first got here," he said. "The first few weeks are the toughest."
A linebacker for his high school football team, West has a passion for the outdoors and is an avid fisherman and hiker. Thoughts of those pursuits were on his mind when psychologists first asked him how was doing.
"I saw one guy at Bethesda," he said. "He was kind of a joke. I remember he asked me how I was doing. 'Great, I'm doing great. I just got my leg blown off two weeks ago,'" West recalled telling him.
He said his recovery isn't just physical.
"I've got survivor's guilt ---- it's always there, especially because James (Boelk) didn't make it, and I'm pretty pissed about that," he said.
To help his spirit, he and several other injured battalion Marines get together every couple of weeks.
"We talk, and it's good because we can let go of some of the feelings we have," he said. "Guys need some closure, and if not now, maybe six months or a year from now."
'Just bad luck'
He's assigned to a Wounded Warrior Battalion and figures he has about a year's worth of therapy and prosthetic work and repair on his eye.
By that time, West said, he should be eligible for promotion to captain and on track to become an infantry instructor.
A few years ago, the Marine Corps adopted a policy allowing troops injured in combat to stay in the service if the right job was available.
Within a few weeks, he hopes to have the gas and brake pedals on his 1993 Chevrolet pickup with 185,000 miles refitted so he can drive again.
"I just want to get better and get back in the fight, whatever that may be for me," he said. "Injuries are often something that's just bad luck.
"That day, I had the bad luck."
Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529.

 

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution......

Bond with Cobb kids special to wounded Marine




By Christopher Quinn

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
11:39 a.m. Thursday, November 11, 2010
Cameron West, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Marines, and his boyhood pal Michael Gauker visited their former Cobb County elementary school Aug. 13 before West shipped out for Afghanistan.
They wanted to see Michael's mother, Susan Gauker, who works at Frey Elementary, and relive old times, and Michael said he wanted to "kind of show Cameron off and show off his service for the country."
The trip down memory lane turned into a lesson in the realities of war and kindness, giving and sacrifice for West and the staff and 658 students at Frey.
It began when Principal Joyce Piket spoke with West during the visit about his coming assignment. Fresh on her mind was a conversation with a teacher, who told Piket about asking students if the United States was at war, with many answering that it was not.
Piket explained their answers by noting the war is far away physically and psychologically and there are few consequences for students who have not had a family member called up for duty.
She thought it would be a good teaching exercise and good for the Marines if the school collected and shipped letters and boxes of goodies to West, who could divvy them up among the 38 men he commanded in the 3rd Platoon of Kilo Company.
"I said, ‘Do you mind if we adopted you and our students could write letters?' " Piket recalled.
The 25-year-old West gladly agreed. The school posted a photo of him and his men in the school entrance along with a letter he wrote to the students, and teachers explained the giving program to the kids and parents.
Susan Gauker remembers looking at the photo of West and his troops, rifles cradled in their arms. It brought back memories of the paint-ball gun shootouts Michael Gauker and West had played at as boys.
"I told my husband, all his guys were standing there with their guns. But I thought, this time, this is the real thing," she said.
Two months later, the consequences the adults knew were possible have become lessons in the reality of war for students, and it has given them new reasons to stay involved in supporting the 3rd Platoon.
The first eight boxes of new socks, beef jerky, granola bars and baby wipes that Frey's staff and students collected and sent to Afghanistan had not yet arrived Oct. 15, the day an attack seriously wounded West.
Susan Gauker got a call within hours from Cameron's mother, Sheryl West.
"I picked up the phone and heard her voice, and I knew something had happened," Gauker said. "She told me he had been injured, and she was devastated because she could not get any information about what was going on. She could only sit there and wait."
After anxious hours, good news arrived: West was being sent to Germany for medical care. A few days later, he was on his way to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.
The Wests, who had moved from Cobb County to San Diego about a year ago, flew to Maryland, where Sheryl West said she braced herself for the worst. West was on life support and unconscious when he arrived, she said. A couple of days later, the doctors woke him up.
"I was standing there when they [took him off the breathing machine] and the doctor said, ‘Cameron, do you know who you are?' And a guy pointed to me and said, ‘Who is that?' And Cameron said, ‘My mom.' And we knew then he was there," she said.
West had suffered the loss of a leg and other wounds when his radioman, who was next to him, stepped on a mine. The blast killed the radioman, and three others in his platoon were wounded in the attack.
West is recovering from the injuries and is already up, eating and waiting for the delivery of a wheelchair so he can visit with other wounded soldiers at Bethesda.
He vows to return to Frey as soon as possible to thank the students, who will continue to support his platoon with goodies until their tour ends next year.
"I am going to bust my butt to get there," he said.
First, there are a few hurdles, including surgeries and skin grafts and physical rehabilitation in San Diego.
Piket wrote a letter to parents about West's wounding and his return to the U.S. at Bethesda. She did not go into detail, leaving it up to parents to decide how to talk to their children about the gravity of war and West's losses.
"Remember, we have some children who are only 5 years old," Piket said.
Ten-year-old student Jonathan Buckles said his father served in the Air Force and has talked to him about how important it is to serve in the military and its duties.
"If I could see [West], I would tell him, ‘Thank you for helping us, and I'm sorry you are wounded right now,' " he said.
Ella Cain, 12, said, "I feel really bad for him right now."
But West's removal from Afghanistan does not mean his men, who come from across the country, have lost their supporters in Cobb County. The school will continue to ship goodies each month, and West already has relayed the message to his men to open the boxes and carry on.
He said you can't imagine how important it is to get letters and treats from home.
"It is awesome to hear from the American people and the American youth," he said. "It can take you from being down and out to having motivation and being able to continue driving on.
"So even after I got hit, I knew it was OK. My Marines would still receive them."
Sheryl West, heartened by her son's rapid recovery, has no doubts he will make good on his promise to return to talk to Frey's students. He has something he wants to tell them.
"Cameron is doing great and looks forward to the day he can walk into his old elementary school and thank the kids himself," she said.




1st Lt. West



Frey Elementary kindergartener Gracie Pines donates change as the Acworth school raises money to send snacks, toiletries, comfort items and other goods to Afghanistan to the platoon of Marine and former Frey Elementary student Cameron West.

 

Interesting comments about the war and OEF, but even for the most positive folks out there I offer a couple facts that may provide some perspective about long term prospects:
The Afghan National Army by itself costs more to fund than the value of the entire country's GDP is valued at. (You cant spell sustain without "US" I guess)
The ANA pays its Soldier's $180-240 a month while the Taliban pays about $300
The US/NATO has a planned withdrawl and the Taliban has pledged to kill one NATO Soldier per week for as long as it takes.

This quote is a nice contradiction, they speak of thinking outside the box and go ahead and use tactics from OIF. Iraq has an infrastructure, a semi-homogeneous people, an economy and a wealth of educated people to help it succeed. Afghanistan has none of these attributes and anyone 45 years old or younger has known anything but war their entire lives for the most part. What the Marines are doing will work in the short term, but the long term prospects are dim in light of the fact that we have no intention of staying there and they (the Afghans) know that. The Afghans in the countryside where the Taliban lives only know what they hear by word of mouth since over 90% are illiterate, so the Marines might win a few hearts and minds in their small area while they are there but in the end thats all they will be able to do. Afghanistan is not called the "Graveyard of Empires" for nothing.

 

Good points, you forgot to add that Iraq has the natural resource of oil that will help provide funding to get that country back on it's feet.

Only some of the same tactics. The Female Engagement Teams are a new tactic. The use of U.S. Muslim clergy to interact with the Mullahs is a new tactic. The need to provide security to the populace is the same tactic that turned the tide in Iraq but, if you look down through the modern history of counter-insurgency warfare that is a need that has remained constant. If your enemy is using murder and intimidation to force the populace to remain supportive of them or at least neutral, you'r enemy will eventually win. Due to lack of troops the British had adopted the Inkspot strategy that they had used in Malaysia. The problem was that they lacked the strength to expand out of their secure areas scattered all over the province. In many areas they didn't even control the area immediately outside their bases. When it was decided to surge U.S. troops most of the military heirarchy wanted to use the additional Marines to secure the major population center of Kandahar against Taliban attacks. This strategy would have allowed the Taliban free reign in Helmand. Helmand is the center for opium production and a main avenue for fighters and weapons coming from Pakistan and a staging area for attacks against Kandahar. The Marines major divergence from ISAF strategy was that even though Helmand was less populated, if they could control Helmand they could cripple the insurgency. If they allowed themselves to be split up they'd be used as a fire brigade to stamp out hot spots and would lack the strength in Helmand to do anything more than the British had done, maintain the status quo and surrender the initiative to the taliban. Controlling Helmand would curtail Opium production, a major source of financing for the insurgency. Foreign fighters come to Helmand, stage there, train up and then move on to other areas of the country. Helmand is a major pipeline for weapons and munitions coming in from Pakistan. Finally, Helmand is the Taliban's home turf, loss of control of this area is a psychological blow to the enemy.
Here's a map to help understand what occurred:



Initially, in early 2006, the Brits only had some 3,300 troops and about 150 Estonians. They held Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital and had patrol bases scattered all over the rest of the province but, the Taliban basically controlled everything outside these bases. ISAF forces launced a major operation in south and eastern Afghanistan during May to July 2006 called Operation Mountain Thrust. Large numbers of Taliban were killed but during the operation the Taliban captured two more districts in Helmand which had to be retaken. In the end the tactical situation in the province remained unchanged. In 2007 British troop levels were increased to 7,700, a number of offensives were launced but once an offensive was over the overall situation went back to where it had been before. They killed a bunch of taliban but lacking the strength to hold the areas they had cleared the taliban infiltrated back in. If you were an Afghani civilian would you have cast your lot with the government? In late 2007 there was also a notable increase in foreign fighters coming to Afghanistan, the situation was turning against them in Iraq so Afghanistan was the new destination for Jihadists. In December the situation in Helmand also began to change, the Brits and ANA launced a major offensive to retake Musa Qala. Musa Qala was a large town that had once been occupied by the British. In October 2006, the Taliban surrounded the small British force in the town and an operation had to be mounted to relieve them. A deal was struck with local tribal elders whereby both the British and Taliban would leave the town. The Taliban quickly reneged on the deal an took the town. It remained under their control until the 07 December 2007 offensive, 600 American paratroopers, 2000+ British troops and Danish, Estonian and ANA troops retook the town. By 10 December the town was secured and the Taliban had retreated north into the mountains. They were far from defeated however, they proceeded to launch a series of attacks that left ISAF forces hard pressed to repel. Heavy attacks were launced on British, Danish and Estonian troops in Sangin, Now Zad, the Kajaki Dam and Gereshk.
more.....

 

In the first 5 months of 2008, President Bush authorized a surge of 21,643 additional troops to Afghanistan as troops were being drawn down in Iraq. In September he authorized an additional 4,500 troops and Britain raised their forces to 8,030. These troops started arriving in early 2009 As Marines began arriving in Helmand they began a systematic retaking of control over the province.

-Now Zad-British and Estonian forces were in a stalemate in Now Zad, nicknamed by the British "Apocalypse Nowzad". In March 2008 Fox 2/7 arrived to reinforce the British. For six months they engaged in daily combat to secure the city center. In the fall of 2008 Lima 3/8 relieved F 2/7 and the British and Estonians were re-deployed to other areas in Helmand. Now Zad was the most dangerous place in Afghanistan. In April 2009 L 3/8 supported by additional elemnts of the battalion launched an offensive and expanded their zone of control and established a buffer zone. In the spring of 2009 Golf 2/3 replaced Golf 3/8 but by this time Marine strength in Helmand had grown from 2,000 to almost 10,000 and they took the offensive.
-April 2008 the 24th MEU (1/6) conducts the first major American operation in the province for years when it assaults Garmsir, seizes the town (located south of Lashkar Gah, secures the town and pushes the taliban south until they hole up in airstrike proof bunkers. The fortifications are taken, the taliban flees, then the Marines return to provide security in the town. In July 2/8 takes over and continues clearing operations in the surrounding countryside.
-In July the 4,000 strong 2nd MEB (2/8, 1/5 and 2nd LAR) supported by ANA forces (@650) launched Operation Khanjar, they aimed to secure the Helmand River valley below the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. Meanwhile, the redeployed British struck Nad Ali to expand the safe zone around the provincial capital. The Marines, simultaneously struck at Nawa-I-Barakzayi, 1/5, the area produces 6% of Afghanistans Opium/Heroin crop and was a Taliban stronghold, Garmsir and, the Taliban stronghold of Khan Neshin, 2nd LAR. All three areas were secured and 2nd LAR established itself in Khan Neshin (near the Pakistan Border) with support of the village elders. From Khan Neshin the LAR battalion could use it's LAV's to control the arid and desert areas south and west of the town and interdict movements north from Pakistan.
-August 2009, 400 Marines (Golf 2/3 reinforced) and 100 ANA soldiers assault Dahaneh a town southeast of Now Zad and controls Dahaneh Pass, the major route that connects southern helmand with northern Helmand. The town had been controlled by the Taliban for 4 years, in three days of fighting they are routed and their lines of communications south severed.
This is called shaping the battlefield, Khan Neshin and Dahaneh cut off and isolated the southern part of the province. Major clearing operations paved the way for civil affairs, govenmental and indigenous forces training programs to be stepped up. The talibans influence marginalized.
-December 2009 1000 Marines (3/4) and 150 ANA troops launch Operation Cobra's anger and clear and secure Now Zad, the taliban is only able to mount minor resistance. Civilians soon begin returning to the town that had been virtually abandoned for years. The coalition suffered no fatalities.
-Operation Moshtarak was the largest offensive launched during the Afghanistan War. Launched in February 2010, 4000 Marines, 1200 British, 2500 ANA/ANP, 70 French and 61 Canadians troops were involved and aimed to eliminate the last large Taliban safe areas in southern Helmand. Located from southwest of Lashkar Gah in a 200 mile long crescent stretching to the northwest. Marjah and Nad-Ali are basically a series of connected towns and has a very large population. The Marines (1/3,1/6,3/6,3/10, and detatchments from 2d LAR and 2d Armored Assault Amphibian battalion) targeted Marjah, while the British attacked west and northwest to finish clearing the areas around Nad-Ali.
2/9 took over for 3/6 in July 2010 in northern Marjah and proceeded to clear up towards Sangin. 3/5 took over from the British in early October 2010 so the Brits could redeploy around Lashkar Gah and Nad-Ali. Now we're come full circle, back to the story of 3/5.

Seems like a coherent strategy to me. Once the Marines clear Sangin the next move is to bring the Kajaki Dam's hydroelectric capacity fully online. As we speak the Marines are finishing up paving the maain road from Sangin to the Kajaki Dam and soon plan to install the last of it's turbines. In the spring the Taliban will find it much more difficult to use Helmand as a base to attack the rest of the country. They will also find less money, less freedom of movement and less support from the locals.

Black6 wrote:

I would dispute the homogeneous factor. Three-quarters of the Afghani people identify as being Afghani first and their different ethnicities are secondary to their identities. An advantage the Afghanis have is that both the Pastun and Tajik's share a common ethnic background. The Iraqis have the whole Arab/Kurd ethnic hatred going on. More importantly they are largely homogeneous from a religious aspect. I will agree with the economy and education level. One of the biggest hurdles to turning the country around is the Taliban's preventing education and economic efforts of the western countries. The only way to correct this is by providing security to the people. The restoration of the Tajaki Dam will provide energy and Afghanistan's neighbors are also trying to help. India just recently finished a major highway, it bisects the country from Delaram to Zaranj and connects with the Iranian border. India intends to spend quite a bit of effort on developing Afghanistan's economy and infrastructure. It's also funny that one of the things the Army complained about the Marines doing was building a base at Deleram, in the middle of nowhere they said. The Marines have handed Deleram over to the Georgians and the new, east-west route now remains secure, at least on the Marines end.
The Marine Corps does not make American foreign policy, we fight and win battles and implement our country's foreign policy. It would be preferable to fight in a country with all the advantages, we don't have that luxury, so we have to find a way to succeed despite all the negative factors.
I don't think you also appreciate the level of war weariness of the Afghani people. When the soviets left they rejoiced. It was when warlords and drug barons seized power in the vaccum left by the departing communists that the taliban saw it's rise to power. They took up for the innocent when they were preyed upon by those in power. The depredations committed by them drove the people into the Taliban camp. Once the Taliban took over the country, they too became corrupted and began abusing the people. They maintain their hold over the people through terror and violence. If this cycle is broken and the people can defend themselves when we leave, there is a good chance their country won't slide back to where it was. It is important that it not become a haven for islamic radicals because Pakistan is a nuclear power and if it is destabalized we've got a bigger problem.

 

I remember reading an article a while back in which a Canadian special forces officer was interviewed; he commented that the toughest opposition which they were facing were from Chechen rebels who had fled Russia and joined the cause in Afghanistan.

Wondering if this is still the case today? Can someone varify this?

 

Oh yes sir, Chechen rebels as well as Uzbek's are among the Taliban's foreign fighters. The numbers involved though are hotly debated. There are some fighting for the Taliban as mercenaries, others there for ideological reasons have been identified as personal security details for leaders. The German's have identified them as well as the Canadians, and Pakistani intellignce. They were also a big factor in Iraq all out of proportion to their numbers. During the second Battle of Fallujah the insurgents used Chechen's to train most of the jihadi's that were flocking to the city for the fight everyone knew was coming. They were the toughest fighters and even wore a distinctive tigerstripe uniform to distinguish themselves.

 

Thanks for the response USM.

Brings back memories of the 99' conflict where these extremists numbered somewhere in the 20k's. Within a couple of years after Russia entered Chechnya (under Putin's reign) these numbers dropped to only several hundred. Almost immediately Russia received condemnation from U.S. and Europe regarding their tactics which were described by some as genocide. Russia's response was "you guys have no idea who these guys are and what they are capable off, we are only playing by their rules". About a year later, Sept. 11th occurred, and after finding out that Osama Bin Laden's body guards were Chechen rebels, most of the criticisms regarding Russia's tactics in Chechnya ceased...

It is no surprise that in the U.S. embassy in Russia there is a warning to all U.S. citizens who tour the country against traveling to the caucus regions. If I remember correctly the plaque states something along the lines of we strongly advice against traveling to the caucus regions, it is extrememly dangerous and we may not be able to help

With the noose constantly tightening on the extremists in the region many have fled to join the fight against the Western powers in the Middle East and Afghanistan. These people have been doing nothing but fighting for generations, experts in ambushes, they are extememly ruthless and being taken captive by these guys is not recommended (Russian Special forces operating behind enemy lines in Chechnya would carry cyanide pills just in case).

Toughest SOB's in the current Jihad and make traditional Al Qaeda operatives look like Mickey Mouse.

 

FYI- I spent 2008 in Ghazni, Gardez and Khowst on an Embedded Training Team. I have a pretty good idea about the situation there and the people having spent hundreds of days talking, eating, training, etc. with the ANA and the people (interpretters and contractors).

In relation to a foreigner this may hold some water, but it is as certain as death that is not how they think in relation to each other. The country is VERY divided along tribal lines and democracy in Afghanistan will never work as a result. There is absolutely no sense of civic duty for the greater good and patriotism is far overshadowed by greed which happens to be the biggest motivator of Afghan men by a large margin. In my experience there integrity is a foriegn concept and I mean that seriously. If their culture is devoid of any sense of integrity they cannot build the type of society that "we" naively think they could or should. Our endevour there will likely not achieve what it sent out to do unless we are willing to stay indefinately and spend lives and money accordingly, which we aren't.

 

I started this thread with this:

My friends name is Chuck, I called him the other day to let him know that both my sons, Chris and Ryan would be home for Christmas and to see what was going on with his son (the one mentioned in the above post) Kyle. He told me Kyle had just gotten out of the crotch and was now getting ready to go back to school. We caught up on things and had a good talk. A couple days later I got a text from him asking if I'd heard anything about a LCpl Jacob Levy, 1/6, shot in the head in early December, he'd been with Kyle in 3/8 when the MEU was sent in early in 2011. When they came back he had volunteered to redeploy, to Afghanistan with 1/6. Last he'd heard was just that he'd been wounded. I texted him back with what I'd found out. LCpl Christopher P.J. Levy, 21, was a Lumbee Indian from North Carolina, he was shot in the head during combat operations in northern Sangin on 07 Dec. 2011. He died in the hospital in Germany on 10 December.


I haven't updated this thread in a while, to be honest and I am ashamed to admit this, once my son, Ryan, got back from Afghanistan in April 2011, I haven't followed the situation there quite as closely. When Ryan was in Afghanistan he'd been attached, for a time, to 3/5 when they were sent to Sangin. In fact on 13 October when 3/5 lost four Marines, he was in the first vehicle (M-ATV) behind the one the Marines were killed in. I didn't find this out until he came back but, apparently during their workup at Mojave Viper prior to deployment, they'd been told that the Marine Corps had not yet suffered any fatalities from mines in the M-ATV. He said, when the IED cut the truck completely in half and killed all four Marines, it really shook them up. Even more than taking casualties usually shakes you up but it shook their confidence in the vehicle.



M-ATV

I did know the general situation. That things around Sangin had calmed down remarkably since the Marines had forced a number of tribes to the peace table in January 2011. I was aware that early in the year, the situation around the town of Sangin proper had stabalized and that the Marines were fairly easily pushing up the Sangin Valley toward the Kajaki Dam. The dam itself had remained in coalition hands with different, usually artillery units, acting as infantry holding it. They were however, to a large degree isolated from the southern end of the Sangin valley. During the spring the MSR to the Kajaki Dam was cleared, improved and the Taliban appeared to have become largely impotent in obstructing progress.
Sangin had been the most deadly area in Afghanistan for British Forces and when the Marines took over from them, at the end of September 2010 and decided to go aggressive, most pundits/observers pedicted they would fail. Darkhorse 3/5 (3rd Battalion 5th Marines) paid a very high price (the highest casualty percentage, sustained by any unit in OEF) but when they left, they had achieved their goals. Taliban that had fled to Pakistan were even refusing to return to Sangin for the spring offensive season. They were relieved by a their sister battalion, 1/5 in the spring of 2011. 1/5 has just recently rotated home. The Taliban was not able to reverse 3/5's gains in the southern and central part of the valley, but they did return to the northern part and launched an offensive in the late spring and early summer. 1/5 decided rather than to sit tight and allow the Taliban to retain the initiative that they would extend north out of their battlespace and fight the Taliban head on. Apparently, they too have been successful. In October 2011, MajGen John Toolan, II MEF commader made this statement:


"Major General John Toolan, commander of RC-SW and the II MEF spoke from Afghanistan to reporters at the Pentagon and talked about the Sangin District. He had met with a Taliban commander earlier in the day. That Taliban commander had agreed to reintegrate 30 of his fighters within a few days, and 300 more within a few more days.

Toolan said this:

“Now he did this because he understands that at this stage in Helmand province, he sees the writing on the wall ... He understands that we’re making progress. He understands, for example, that in Sangin today, there is very, very little violence. And when you compare it with six months, five months, a year ago, he realizes that now is the time. And that actually has become sort of the motto, is that now’s the time, Taliban, to come back and join the government.”


3/7 has now taken over the battlespace from 1/5. The situation around Marjah has become so stable that the unit scheduled to rotate into that area, 1/6, has instead been moved to the northern Sanjin area as a free maneuver element. They aren't tied down with defensive, COIN or security duties, in addition to their combat missions like 3/7. Their one purpose is to hunt down and kill the bad guys, they are doing this well.


A video about 1/5's deployment: Very good and worth the watch.
Battle Rattle - A Marine Corps Times Blog

Well, that should bring anyone interested up to date on the Sangin situation. I hope everyone at Christmas remembers that there are Americans in heated combat right now trying finish this war and give Afghanistan a chance at becoming a viable country.

 

Its on the list for the Brits to take back shortly isnt' it USMC...? But not same mission...No Taliban hunting..more route protection...Saw it mentioned on a Brit site but don't know what dates.

 

Yes, Urgh, apparently the Marine Corps is doing a massive drawdown, in accordance with our Presidents Afghanistan strategy/policy. Ryan has spent the last 6 months training up for a spring redeployment to the 'Stan, he was told around Thanksgiving that due to the drawdown only a portion of those scheduled would be deploying and they were taking Marines without of a deployment first. The Georgians have also expanded into the battlespace west of Sangin freeing up other coalition troops. If I've done my figuring properly 3/7's rotation should end around April 2012, so I'd expect changes, if they occur, to go forward in March. I haven't read any specifics but that would be in keeping with past practice.

Anyone watching the video be sure to watch till the end where they pay tribute to their lost Marines. Everyone should see the cost and who paid the bill.

 

Why are we winning?

The quality and courage of the individual servicemembers!

Here's a couple:

The British held onto Sangin until we surged Afghanistan in 2009. Then they were replaced by US Marines in September 2010.



Corporal Ricky Furgusson

Corporal Ricky Fergusson receives the Military Cross from Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in December 2011 for his valor while on patrol in Sangin in October 2009. While on two different patrols with the 4th The Rifles, he and his colleagues were hit by an IED. Despite his own injuries, he rushed to help the others. A month later, he helped two more colleagues struck by an IED. Then his own patrol was hit by an IED, and he rushed to care for a severely injured soldier despite the threats around him. In January 2010, he was struck again by an IED and suffered extensive injuries. He lost both legs above the knee, five fingers, his left eye, and received serious damage to his lip and the side of his face. He has been selected to carry the Olympic flame while it tours the United Kingdom.




In this June 11, 2011 file photo, Lance Cpl Blas Trevino from 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, left, gestures towards his troops as he holds onto a gunshot wound in his belly while running towards a medevac helicopter from the US Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off", Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment after he got shot in the stomach, outside Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus.

LCpl Blas Trevino, USMC, is holding on to his stomach where he had been shot outside Sangin and at the same time signaling his men to hurry up to board a medieval helicopter. A C/1-214 Army Aviation medievac had been hit as well. The pilot quickly pulled up to see if he could fly, decided he could, and returned to the exact spot where he had been hit. The crew saw no one, one of them named Campbell jumped out to look around, then all of a sudden Trevino jumped out of the bushes and sprinted to the helicopter, and another Marine followed him. Campbell hugged him and shouted, “You made it! You made it.” The skipper took off and got him to the hospital. AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus.

I heard a metallic sound and realized the helicopter had been hit.

The pilot, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Dan Fink, quickly pulled the helicopter's nose toward the sky. All I could see in front of us were trees and power lines.

"If we are going to crash. I don't want to see it," I thought. My eyes shut, I held onto my seat belt.

I opened my eyes. We hadn't crashed. Slowly, the helicopter gained altitude and rose to safety.
...

After 15 minutes, I realized we would return to the same spot. As I looked at Campbell, I noticed his extraordinary level of concentration. He adjusted his gloves, reached for his assault rifle and then peered out of his open window.

I kept trying to find my lucky charms in my pockets.

The helicopter touched down right where we took fire only minutes earlier. The big side door slid open. I reached for my camera, feeling better because I could concentrate on something else.

Campbell jumped out first. He looked around. Neither of us could see the Marines. Suddenly, a Marine jumped up from a ditch nearby, one hand on his stomach and the other holding rosary beads.

The Marine sprinted toward us, turning around to wave to the others that he could make it to the helicopter. Another Marine tried to catch up to help him, but the injured Marine, Lance Cpl. Blas Trevino from 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, ran so fast he made it to the helicopter first.

Trevino latched onto Campbell in a desperate hug.

"You have made it! You have made it!" Campbell shouted over the whine of the idling helicopter.