I am officially back on friendly soil and have never been happier. The woman I love and adore has said yes to my proposal and I have to admit the deed itself could have not gone any less gracious. At the end of the day I guess it didn't matter how it got popped, however I think Chandra thought I was ready to start VPSing (vulnerable point search) the QE2. hahaha......
Anyway, transitioned well through Canadas "secrety military" base somewhere in the sand, spent a day and a half relaxing and doing a little engagement ring shopping. I found what I was looking for and much, much more. I ended up buying a little more than anticipated but did not for a second experience buyers remorse. If you're reading this Mom, I got you something! but you're gonna have to wait til your little road trip to see me. Okay, so i bought all of these things and then the paranoia set in. I will not get into details on my customs endeavours, however nothing got seized and at the end of the day I did the right Canadian thing, which is *** &* #$@ *&&.
I find myself reciprocating thoughts I had of Chandra and home to the guys still out in the shit. I reckon I found myself last night at about 0330 wide awake and eating some delicious meat pie thinking about the boys coming back from patrol. I know ole Hawk is now back with the guys. I ran into him in KAF and discussed how things were going. He was very eager to get back out. I can't say I don't blame him. Dorner and Maddin are still on vacation, but I reckon Maddin will be returning shortly.
Prior to leaving the guys had their hands full of IEDs. Rediger, the day I left, found himself dealing with a daisy chain of DFCs just north of our position. It's assumed that they were dug in months ago, while the french were still patrolling that section of terrain. Then, minutes before my ride came, they had found yet another one right in front of our platoon house. Again, placed months ago and just missed. I can't imagine what they've found since I've been gone..... Stink... if you're reading htis tell the guys hey and be safe........ Vando...out
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
grave diggin.......
Well, as it turns out, today was not in fact my last patrol. I assumed I had ended on a high note today, however when I returned to camp the guys had told me I'm not leaving for another 3-4 days. Which means I'll have one more walk before leave.
Today we were escorting our OC, Maj. Nevin to an objective we have been occupying for about a week now. Elements of D Coy Recce platoon, a rifle platoon and Forristalls section have been staked on on a high feature in the middle of N******** holding ground in the south west. We patrolled through the town and made our way to the objective. Good to see ole Forristall and his small det of engineers. They had built a par 3 hole with tee box, flag stick, and yard sign just in the front of their mud hut. It's pretty checked. I think Yan is bound for HLTA now so he wasn't around. We hung out for a small while and then it was time to step off.
We made our way to a graveyard just to the north west of their position and began searching the area. We had been in the cemetary on a previous occasion and had found nothing. Today would prove different. About halfway through our search I noticed a large area of fresher dirt around 10 or so graves. This struck me as odd, as the whole area ( about the size of a football field) was all hard packed undisturbed earth. I began sweeping the area, and then moved on to the graves. The second one I searched was the size of a small child ( the graves in Afghanistan are mounds of dirt with small rocks and flags as decor). This one yielded a large metal hit about the size of the grave. I called Browny and the Warrant over explaining that this could be either a small tin coffin or a significant weapons cache. They gave the go ahead to start digging. I was unsure as to what we were uncovering, however such things as metal coffins or metal of any type to Afghans is valuable, therefore I found it unlikely that they would have buried a small child in one. I got Riley to stick his bayonet in the side of the site first and it went to the hilt. I then moved to the shovel, explaining to him to be careful and begin digging a trench into the side of the mound. Well, Riley digs right in about 2 feet down and uncovers the edge of a tarp. He puts his entrenching tool in the grave again and strikes what he thought was to be bone. I got the detector in the hole and the thing lit up in its familiar chime. It was at this point when I realized that we were uncovering something metal. It was no holds barred at that point and we began digging the whole thing up. Eventually we unearthed the top of a 45 gal. drum with det cord protruding from the top. It was sealed shut and the detonation cord was running down the side of the drum into the earth below. I reckon it was rigged for anti-handling (booby trapped), however we went ahead with a pull anyway. 3 of us on the line and the thing did not budge. At this point we called EOD assets and waited for tehm to get on site. They arrived about 2 hours later and the little guy was all in a huff. I explained the situation and it was as though he couldn't be bothered with what I was telling him. This particular EOD operator hasn't made too many friends since they began working with us. At any rate, Riley and I moved further north to let them do what we could have done and began prepping a wall breach required for our exfiltration. The EOD guys were working for ahwhile trying to get it out of the ground to no avail. They ended up blowing the thing up in the graveyard. Riley and I were perched on a rooftop approximately 200 meters away and when this thing went off it sent a plume of smoke 200 ft in the air which quickly dispersed due to the wind. The crack was deafening and it began to rain chunks of shrapnel all over the area. Riley got a bolt in the leg and bits were flying everywhere. By far, the best BIP on tour. I went back to check out the hole. It was a massive crater and I asked the guys how many blocks they used.. "only 4" was what they replied. This would not create a hole of this magnitude. I assume the drum was filled with HME, presumably Aluminum Nitrate, and the thing was rigged for anti tampering. Pieces of rebar were stuck in the ground everywhere and I'm sure a few bodies died again, launched as dust into the atmosphere. There was really nothing we could do about the collateral damage to the other graves and we certainly do not take pride in a situation where this action was the only option. Digging in the graveyard was bad enough and I'm sure we'll hear about it from the locals in the next meeting. We certainly took another HUGE cache from the insurgents and yet another small victory was celebrated.
Shortly after the BIP we blew our hole in the wall and exfilled out of the area. Made our way north to a prominent route and back into camp. An excellent day and one hell of a way to end my patrolling for 3 weeks...... or so I thought. I got back and Red informed me that my ride out of here was delayed for another few days. No big deal, one more patrol..... one more time..... I reckon I'll have yet one more tale from the next one..... standby..... out
Today we were escorting our OC, Maj. Nevin to an objective we have been occupying for about a week now. Elements of D Coy Recce platoon, a rifle platoon and Forristalls section have been staked on on a high feature in the middle of N******** holding ground in the south west. We patrolled through the town and made our way to the objective. Good to see ole Forristall and his small det of engineers. They had built a par 3 hole with tee box, flag stick, and yard sign just in the front of their mud hut. It's pretty checked. I think Yan is bound for HLTA now so he wasn't around. We hung out for a small while and then it was time to step off.
We made our way to a graveyard just to the north west of their position and began searching the area. We had been in the cemetary on a previous occasion and had found nothing. Today would prove different. About halfway through our search I noticed a large area of fresher dirt around 10 or so graves. This struck me as odd, as the whole area ( about the size of a football field) was all hard packed undisturbed earth. I began sweeping the area, and then moved on to the graves. The second one I searched was the size of a small child ( the graves in Afghanistan are mounds of dirt with small rocks and flags as decor). This one yielded a large metal hit about the size of the grave. I called Browny and the Warrant over explaining that this could be either a small tin coffin or a significant weapons cache. They gave the go ahead to start digging. I was unsure as to what we were uncovering, however such things as metal coffins or metal of any type to Afghans is valuable, therefore I found it unlikely that they would have buried a small child in one. I got Riley to stick his bayonet in the side of the site first and it went to the hilt. I then moved to the shovel, explaining to him to be careful and begin digging a trench into the side of the mound. Well, Riley digs right in about 2 feet down and uncovers the edge of a tarp. He puts his entrenching tool in the grave again and strikes what he thought was to be bone. I got the detector in the hole and the thing lit up in its familiar chime. It was at this point when I realized that we were uncovering something metal. It was no holds barred at that point and we began digging the whole thing up. Eventually we unearthed the top of a 45 gal. drum with det cord protruding from the top. It was sealed shut and the detonation cord was running down the side of the drum into the earth below. I reckon it was rigged for anti-handling (booby trapped), however we went ahead with a pull anyway. 3 of us on the line and the thing did not budge. At this point we called EOD assets and waited for tehm to get on site. They arrived about 2 hours later and the little guy was all in a huff. I explained the situation and it was as though he couldn't be bothered with what I was telling him. This particular EOD operator hasn't made too many friends since they began working with us. At any rate, Riley and I moved further north to let them do what we could have done and began prepping a wall breach required for our exfiltration. The EOD guys were working for ahwhile trying to get it out of the ground to no avail. They ended up blowing the thing up in the graveyard. Riley and I were perched on a rooftop approximately 200 meters away and when this thing went off it sent a plume of smoke 200 ft in the air which quickly dispersed due to the wind. The crack was deafening and it began to rain chunks of shrapnel all over the area. Riley got a bolt in the leg and bits were flying everywhere. By far, the best BIP on tour. I went back to check out the hole. It was a massive crater and I asked the guys how many blocks they used.. "only 4" was what they replied. This would not create a hole of this magnitude. I assume the drum was filled with HME, presumably Aluminum Nitrate, and the thing was rigged for anti tampering. Pieces of rebar were stuck in the ground everywhere and I'm sure a few bodies died again, launched as dust into the atmosphere. There was really nothing we could do about the collateral damage to the other graves and we certainly do not take pride in a situation where this action was the only option. Digging in the graveyard was bad enough and I'm sure we'll hear about it from the locals in the next meeting. We certainly took another HUGE cache from the insurgents and yet another small victory was celebrated.
Shortly after the BIP we blew our hole in the wall and exfilled out of the area. Made our way north to a prominent route and back into camp. An excellent day and one hell of a way to end my patrolling for 3 weeks...... or so I thought. I got back and Red informed me that my ride out of here was delayed for another few days. No big deal, one more patrol..... one more time..... I reckon I'll have yet one more tale from the next one..... standby..... out
Saturday, February 13, 2010
one more patrol.......
One patrol left before I can get outta here. Needless to say I am very excited at going home for a few days and then off to Cuba with my beautiful girlfriend. Things around here have definitely changed for the better. The locals are interacting with us more and more and our efforts seem to be paying off. A fine example of this is a couple of days ago our patrol stepped off for a routine trip down a familiar route. We knew something was suspicious about this particular route, as we had been informed a couple of times of the threat that awaited us. We had looked and searched this route previously and had found nothing. However this day would prove different. We approached from the north and made our way down a long and winding foot path, flanked by two walls, with a wadi running down the middle. On the westren side of the trail, there lies a goat path that skirts the foot path. We made our way down cautiously, stopping to investigate combat indicators and moving on when nothing was found. Myself and Rediger had the pleasure of this little patrol. We were a small team of 6 as our primary objective was to locate and exploit this potential IED threat. The platoon commander, Capt O'neil, Laforce, Johnson, *******, and the 2 chimos made our way to a turn in the path. Laforce, being point stopped and advised us he observed a small flag sticking out of the ground. Red and I pushed up. We began our search of the area to find nothing on =this side of the wadi. I jumped across and got into the prone position with metal detector in fornt, leopard crawling while sweeping up to the flag. At this point the small crew of us adopted an all aorund defence in the outlying fields. This is when the locals began to pipe up, letting us know to stay clear of the area we were exploiting. Sure enouogh, when the head of my detector hit the ground beneath the flag a large chime went off. I let Red know "I got it" and began uncovering a large cylinder. Inch by inch of dirt I began to realize how big this thing was. I had the thing totally exposed, well, I guess the top part of it, and it measured 3 ' long and almost a foot in diameter. I wanted to confirm it a little more, all the while thinking I am not gonna die before going on vacation. I exposed the end of it, and then exposed the other end. There was det cord coming off the back side of it, and the tube was oriented in a way that would have forced the blast and shrapnel right into the point man of any patrol passing by. I had enough and informed the platoon commander we had an "Directional focused IED" on our hands. EOD was called and moved in dismounted a short while after. They made their way down and had sufficient security so we got to go back to our PH.
Meanwhile in T********, the interpreters were carving up a sheep they had purchased for our dinner that evening. Hamilton seemed to have a great interest in the things head, and could be seen posing for pictures as he walked it around by the hair. No, I don't think he's going crazy. We sat around and waited for the EOD team to get back to our location. Turned out it was what I had first assessed. A DFC IED hooked up and ready to go. It was activated by pull and what seperated me from going up was a clothes pin with a small piece of plastic acting as an insulator. Good thing I didn't look any further for wires coming off it. They ended up detonating the device and found evidence of fragmentation enhancers in the post blast ie., spark plug pieces, bolts, nails, etc. One thing we learned is that the locals do in fact want to help and this was made apparent by their warnings. Like I said, one more patrol and then vacation............ I need it.
Ole Hawk should be getting back in a few days, while Maddin is probably singing Japanese Karaoke as I write. Dorner is in Mexico eating Enchiladas and drowning in Corona.
As a side note, we've been playing poker every night and I now have won 4 games in a row. I let the guys know I would buy a box of cigars with the earnings, so they haven't taken it that bad. At one time I was down to 10 bux, now I have 250$$ Chaching biatch......
I gave away a golf club today to my favorite Afghan kid. He calls himself John Goose mainly because he had learned it from the guys out patrolling. He was pretty stoked when I gave him a 5 iron. A future Malik I reckon. I also smoked a van that was driving along the route that runs across our frontage. It bounced first so no damage. I reckon it would have been a hole in one on a 150yd par three. Played my slice decisively........ Anyway, off to bed, gotta go walkin sometime soon....... out
Meanwhile in T********, the interpreters were carving up a sheep they had purchased for our dinner that evening. Hamilton seemed to have a great interest in the things head, and could be seen posing for pictures as he walked it around by the hair. No, I don't think he's going crazy. We sat around and waited for the EOD team to get back to our location. Turned out it was what I had first assessed. A DFC IED hooked up and ready to go. It was activated by pull and what seperated me from going up was a clothes pin with a small piece of plastic acting as an insulator. Good thing I didn't look any further for wires coming off it. They ended up detonating the device and found evidence of fragmentation enhancers in the post blast ie., spark plug pieces, bolts, nails, etc. One thing we learned is that the locals do in fact want to help and this was made apparent by their warnings. Like I said, one more patrol and then vacation............ I need it.
Ole Hawk should be getting back in a few days, while Maddin is probably singing Japanese Karaoke as I write. Dorner is in Mexico eating Enchiladas and drowning in Corona.
As a side note, we've been playing poker every night and I now have won 4 games in a row. I let the guys know I would buy a box of cigars with the earnings, so they haven't taken it that bad. At one time I was down to 10 bux, now I have 250$$ Chaching biatch......
I gave away a golf club today to my favorite Afghan kid. He calls himself John Goose mainly because he had learned it from the guys out patrolling. He was pretty stoked when I gave him a 5 iron. A future Malik I reckon. I also smoked a van that was driving along the route that runs across our frontage. It bounced first so no damage. I reckon it would have been a hole in one on a 150yd par three. Played my slice decisively........ Anyway, off to bed, gotta go walkin sometime soon....... out
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Stinks back
Okay, when I say it rained in the last few days, it came down hard. I'm surprised we still have a compound left, being that they are all made of mud. Today it finally cleared up and the wadis have started to recede. But 2 nights ago the lightning show and torrential downpour made for a wet night on OP. The locals constantly repair their dwellings with the changing of the seasons and this is something we didn't really train for. We're making due with creating our own mud and straw mix and some of the guys have started doing their own patch work. Hopefully we won't have another rain storm like that or i reckon there won't be much left.
Dorner has officially gone on leave and we drove him down to a pickup point earlier this evening. With that, ole Stink has returned from leave and I'll be damned if he still has his moustache from before he left. I don't know how in the hell he convinced his girlfriend to let him keep it but leave it to ole Stink, he's still got it. With that, Capt Hachey has shaved his off too. They stuck the legendary facial piece to a strip of duct tape and I'm not sure who the keeper is. It is extremely haggard.
The patrolling is endless but thats nothing new. The other day we were searching a culvert as we moved down a prominent route in our AO. I could not get good eyes into the culvert so I went about it from the road. I leaned over the side and there went a magazine. 30 rounds into the wadi. I started to haul my ass back up and there went the second magazine. They were falling out of my Tac vest and I couldn't do a thing about it. Horvath said he'd try to get them out and rolled up his sleeves and dug down. The water was too deep. I said forget it and opted to fill out a lost report. We moved down the road and set up our vehicle check point. Spent a good 4 hours in location searching vehicles and people as they passed. I was back to my old antics telling locals that certain items were contraband and pretending to pocket their items. I had a wrench from one guys car and had the interpreter tell him that the Taliban weren't allowed tools so why should the local nationals have tools. The guy insisted it was to repair his vehicle and I let him know i was just messing around. At the end of the day we went back to the wadi where I lost my mags. I put the metal detector in the water, which by this point had receded to a manageable level, and located my mags. Fished em out and got a little wet, but no lost report to fill out.
I know I've said it before but I am like an Afghan Elvis walking throught the village that neighbours our compound. Even the old guys have taking a liking to me and try to teach me Pashto everytime I walk by. The kids continue to call me moustache and retrieve my golf balls. I'm now committed to giving one 5lb bag of candy for one golf ball. I just don't want to negotiate with these little buggers anymore. So, they chuck me a ball, and I chuck them a huge bag of candy. Now when I walk through town, they hold up the balls and ask me for candy. We don't really understand eachother but I tell them to come by the tower later and I'll make the trade. They understand the gestures, so all is well.
Anyway, holidays are getting close and I'm trying very hard not to shut er down before i go. I will be very happy once I'm on that C-130 outta KAF. Until then, I'll keep putting the best foot forward and do the job..... until the next.... peace
Dorner has officially gone on leave and we drove him down to a pickup point earlier this evening. With that, ole Stink has returned from leave and I'll be damned if he still has his moustache from before he left. I don't know how in the hell he convinced his girlfriend to let him keep it but leave it to ole Stink, he's still got it. With that, Capt Hachey has shaved his off too. They stuck the legendary facial piece to a strip of duct tape and I'm not sure who the keeper is. It is extremely haggard.
The patrolling is endless but thats nothing new. The other day we were searching a culvert as we moved down a prominent route in our AO. I could not get good eyes into the culvert so I went about it from the road. I leaned over the side and there went a magazine. 30 rounds into the wadi. I started to haul my ass back up and there went the second magazine. They were falling out of my Tac vest and I couldn't do a thing about it. Horvath said he'd try to get them out and rolled up his sleeves and dug down. The water was too deep. I said forget it and opted to fill out a lost report. We moved down the road and set up our vehicle check point. Spent a good 4 hours in location searching vehicles and people as they passed. I was back to my old antics telling locals that certain items were contraband and pretending to pocket their items. I had a wrench from one guys car and had the interpreter tell him that the Taliban weren't allowed tools so why should the local nationals have tools. The guy insisted it was to repair his vehicle and I let him know i was just messing around. At the end of the day we went back to the wadi where I lost my mags. I put the metal detector in the water, which by this point had receded to a manageable level, and located my mags. Fished em out and got a little wet, but no lost report to fill out.
I know I've said it before but I am like an Afghan Elvis walking throught the village that neighbours our compound. Even the old guys have taking a liking to me and try to teach me Pashto everytime I walk by. The kids continue to call me moustache and retrieve my golf balls. I'm now committed to giving one 5lb bag of candy for one golf ball. I just don't want to negotiate with these little buggers anymore. So, they chuck me a ball, and I chuck them a huge bag of candy. Now when I walk through town, they hold up the balls and ask me for candy. We don't really understand eachother but I tell them to come by the tower later and I'll make the trade. They understand the gestures, so all is well.
Anyway, holidays are getting close and I'm trying very hard not to shut er down before i go. I will be very happy once I'm on that C-130 outta KAF. Until then, I'll keep putting the best foot forward and do the job..... until the next.... peace
Saturday, February 6, 2010
slippery trails.......
Its been raining for the last 2 days here, off and on throughout the day and night. It starts as abruptly as it stops, and it hasn't rained for more than 20 minutes solid. Yesterday was a "maintenance day" and a well needed one at that. A few days earlier an Operation S***! commenced which saw the complete clearance of the town just to our West. It was the first time we had cleared it, as the battle group prior hadn't searched an inch, and no other Coy had attempted the clearance.
We had kicked off bright and early on the 3rd and made our way down to the entrance of the town, deliberately clearing every compound along the way. We didn't find much in the outlying compounds, but when we entered the town proper I figured it would be a long couple of days. The guys had found a grenade in the first compound they searched, and this was followed by an RPG in the second. The day was only 1 hour in. We continued to push into the center of town, compound after compound which yielded no other finds. It was labour intensive for everyone, especially the chimos. We were broken into two 3 man dets and Red was in command of the other det. We would search everything, including the "yards" and all that came up was empty holes, freshly dug. It seemed as though someone may have let their brother know we were coming, and their brother had let their friend know, and his friend had let his brother know, and well, you get the picture. There was nothing to be found in any compounds after the first day. Everything had been moved and all that was left were traces of det cord, and other bomb making materials. At 1700 we ceased searching for the day and took up camp inside an old schoolhouse long since abandoned. The teacher of this particular schoolhouse had been executed by the Taliban a few months prior to our arrival and the insurgents had been using his house as a shelter. Well, on this day we took up shelter in it and the guys got a chance to catch up with their sister platoons and our guys got a chance to caqtch up with the engineers from Delta section. Everyone was asleep by 1830. We woke up at around 0700 and began our clearance OP for the second day. Again, we searched everything and more empty holes. Somebody had known that we were coming. We broke into two teams on day 2 to speed up the process. I think by this point the higher ups figured what we were all thinking. There would be nothing to find on this OP in this town. We pushed it until noon, when all the compounds had been cleared and deemed free from weapons/bomb caches. The job was done and we made our way back to the PH. The rest of the day was spent unwinding and cleaning our kit.
As previously stated, yesterday was spent milling around and getting our kit ready for another onslaught of patrols. Red nad I ensured we had all of our serialized kit and the rest of the crew took the gator out front and chainsawed a huge tree down. It had been blocking our view since we got here and the Platoon Commander gave us the nod on the chop. The locals scooped that wood up faster than they were cutting it down.
Today, we were back on patrol. Bergeron and I went out this afternoon with Capt. Oneil and the Alpha boys. Browny took us down a route where a suspected RCIED was emplaced and our job was to clear the route. IEDs are bad, but remote control IEDs are flat out shitty. Especially when you have no idea where the receiver is, or the bomb for that matter. We took it slow and checked every orifice on that route. We didn't find it, so either the enemy had moved it or it had never been there. Along the way the rain had picked up yet again. This made walking on the paths borderline impossible. We were all sliding everywhere and wiping out on every incline. At one point I couldn't stand up without sliding toward a wadi. Johnson came to my aid and hung on to a wall and extended his arm. A 4 hour patrol turned out feeling like an 8 hour one, simply due to the stress on our bodies trying to keep balance. If we would have came under contact, or for some reason had to run anywhere, it would have been bad. Anyway, we all made it back and the patrol was successful. Tomorrow is a new day, and if the rain doesn't stop it should be another slick one.....
As a side note.... I've found strength when I needed it and comfort when I asked for it....... Keep us surrounded by your prayers... Thank you.....
We had kicked off bright and early on the 3rd and made our way down to the entrance of the town, deliberately clearing every compound along the way. We didn't find much in the outlying compounds, but when we entered the town proper I figured it would be a long couple of days. The guys had found a grenade in the first compound they searched, and this was followed by an RPG in the second. The day was only 1 hour in. We continued to push into the center of town, compound after compound which yielded no other finds. It was labour intensive for everyone, especially the chimos. We were broken into two 3 man dets and Red was in command of the other det. We would search everything, including the "yards" and all that came up was empty holes, freshly dug. It seemed as though someone may have let their brother know we were coming, and their brother had let their friend know, and his friend had let his brother know, and well, you get the picture. There was nothing to be found in any compounds after the first day. Everything had been moved and all that was left were traces of det cord, and other bomb making materials. At 1700 we ceased searching for the day and took up camp inside an old schoolhouse long since abandoned. The teacher of this particular schoolhouse had been executed by the Taliban a few months prior to our arrival and the insurgents had been using his house as a shelter. Well, on this day we took up shelter in it and the guys got a chance to catch up with their sister platoons and our guys got a chance to caqtch up with the engineers from Delta section. Everyone was asleep by 1830. We woke up at around 0700 and began our clearance OP for the second day. Again, we searched everything and more empty holes. Somebody had known that we were coming. We broke into two teams on day 2 to speed up the process. I think by this point the higher ups figured what we were all thinking. There would be nothing to find on this OP in this town. We pushed it until noon, when all the compounds had been cleared and deemed free from weapons/bomb caches. The job was done and we made our way back to the PH. The rest of the day was spent unwinding and cleaning our kit.
As previously stated, yesterday was spent milling around and getting our kit ready for another onslaught of patrols. Red nad I ensured we had all of our serialized kit and the rest of the crew took the gator out front and chainsawed a huge tree down. It had been blocking our view since we got here and the Platoon Commander gave us the nod on the chop. The locals scooped that wood up faster than they were cutting it down.
Today, we were back on patrol. Bergeron and I went out this afternoon with Capt. Oneil and the Alpha boys. Browny took us down a route where a suspected RCIED was emplaced and our job was to clear the route. IEDs are bad, but remote control IEDs are flat out shitty. Especially when you have no idea where the receiver is, or the bomb for that matter. We took it slow and checked every orifice on that route. We didn't find it, so either the enemy had moved it or it had never been there. Along the way the rain had picked up yet again. This made walking on the paths borderline impossible. We were all sliding everywhere and wiping out on every incline. At one point I couldn't stand up without sliding toward a wadi. Johnson came to my aid and hung on to a wall and extended his arm. A 4 hour patrol turned out feeling like an 8 hour one, simply due to the stress on our bodies trying to keep balance. If we would have came under contact, or for some reason had to run anywhere, it would have been bad. Anyway, we all made it back and the patrol was successful. Tomorrow is a new day, and if the rain doesn't stop it should be another slick one.....
As a side note.... I've found strength when I needed it and comfort when I asked for it....... Keep us surrounded by your prayers... Thank you.....
Monday, February 1, 2010
need a holiday.........soon
The last few days have been memorable ones to say the least, and at the same time, days I'd like to forget. The patrols have been exceedingly longer, and the days have been getting hotter. It's hard to piece the last couple of days in order, let alone the last week, but I'll give it a shot.
I had known about 99ers visit and aspiration to patrol through Nakhonay for about 2 weeks now, and the pressure had been building for the full 14 days. It wasn't until 2 days prior to the patrol that I really started to feel the stress. The route we would take passed through one of the most dangerous canalizing areas in the area and it was up to me and Riley to ensure there were no IEDs in the ground. We would be the 2 front men in this patrol for the clearance. The catch was that the clearance would not be deliberate, but instead quite cursory and hasty. Needless to say, when the day came, I found myself digging into the road with my bayonet more frequent than usual. The last thing I needed was the General of the task force to step on an IED after we had passed right by it. Well, it didn't happen and the patrol continued on into the heart of darkness. We toured General Menard through the whole town and into the surrounding area. The pressure was felt until we had made it back into our PH. He took off as quickly as he came and the patrol was a success.
The next day was one of transition. Bravo section was taking off on leave and Charlie section was arriving back. The guys were pretty stoked on getting out of here for 3 weeks and you could hear them hootin and hollering as their LAV pulled away. Basically, the remaining soldiers on the ground cleaned their weapons and prepared for the upcoming tasks.
Yesterday, was a complete success, however not nearly as morale boosting as today, but I'll get to that. So, on 31Jan, we stepped off to perform an engineer recce on an important piece of ground in the south. I cannot divulge details because of OPSEC, but I had the four of us on this task. Dorner, Riley, Bergeron and myself stepped off with Alpha section and moved deliberately to our site. We spent a good hour gathering information on the features in the area and proceeded north to recce yet another objective. The day was very long and by the time we got back the night had set in. I then spent the next 3 hours compiling information and labelling photos for my report. At 2100 we drove to Capt Hacheys location and I presented the findings. They weren't expecting me that night but instead the next morning. They were eager to find out what I had to say, and were extremely satisfied with the product I had produced with the help of the guys. Looks like the whole plan will go ahead despite several concerns and our recce was the start point. A great job well done by E$%C.
So today was a whole new day and yet another task which required the 4 of us out on patrol. Our objective was to clear the route where Toast was killed by an IED. Our clearance was deliberate, safe and thorough. Half way down the route I got a hit in the ground outside the walls of the route. I investigated to find a sandbag filled with 2 4L jugs of 7.62 AK47 ammunition and 7 60mm mortars. Not a bad little ammo cache, so we prepped and got ready to BIP. Well, HQ gets on the horn and decides that we should salvage the ammo and give it to the Afghan security forces. Easy for them to say, they didn't have to carry it back. So, we destroyed the mortars and moved on. We didn't find anything else on the route so we pushed on to our next objective. A compound where it was thought a weapons cache was hidden. We moved intot the compound and began our search. Not long after we started, I cleared up to a piece of ground with some thatch over top of it. I moved the twigs outta the way and began sweeping the area. I thought at first it was simply reinforced concrete that was giving me a hit, but when I began my excavation I found it was soft dirt. I ended up uncovering a mortar filled with ball bearings and bolts and pulled it out of the ground. I continued to uncover the dirt and uncovered a 155mm round with detonation cord coming out the top of the fuze well. At this time I called HQ and asked if they would like me to continue. They decided to send EOD in and further exploit the site. We linked up with EOD shortly after at a crossroads and walked them into location. They continued the job I had started and ended up uncovering 15 155mm artillery shells, all packed with explosives and det cord coming from their fuze wells. They were prepped and ready to be dug into the roads where we frequently walk. This was a HUGE find and needless to say I am still pretty pumped about it. This means 15 less IEDs we have to worry about while we operate in the area. We got the okay to BIP it in the compound and waited for the ROZ to go hot. Myself, Bergeron, Costall, and Riley all perched on a rooftop about 50m away to watch the thing go up. Well, I'll be damned if that explosion did not register on the richter because the whole building we were standing on shook and quivered when it went up. After the dust settled a crack could be seen in the middle of the building we were on top of. The explosion rocked the area and sent debris flying everywhere. It was getting late and we had to get out of there. While exfiltrating the area a local approached and had a massive chunk of artillery shell in his hands. He was saying it landed in his compound and complaining. I'm sure he wasn't the only one who would find chunks of metal in their yard after this one. I mentioned that perhaps this guy was stalling us so his buddies could finish digging one in and we took off on that cue, leaving the old man wondering what we were doing. We made it back after a good 10 hour patrol and supper was served. What a day.
Rediger is back for a couple of days to help with the upcoming tasks, as well, we have now attached Spr Rider. So it'll be the 6 of us charging into Feb along with the good old Delta crew. Looks like the days ahead should be interesting.
The phone here lately has been acting funny and I haven't been able to call when I've had the time. Its frustrating but theres nothing I can do. I love you guys, and I love you sweetheart. You truly keep me going and I know you are here with me giving me strength from home. Til the next........out
I had known about 99ers visit and aspiration to patrol through Nakhonay for about 2 weeks now, and the pressure had been building for the full 14 days. It wasn't until 2 days prior to the patrol that I really started to feel the stress. The route we would take passed through one of the most dangerous canalizing areas in the area and it was up to me and Riley to ensure there were no IEDs in the ground. We would be the 2 front men in this patrol for the clearance. The catch was that the clearance would not be deliberate, but instead quite cursory and hasty. Needless to say, when the day came, I found myself digging into the road with my bayonet more frequent than usual. The last thing I needed was the General of the task force to step on an IED after we had passed right by it. Well, it didn't happen and the patrol continued on into the heart of darkness. We toured General Menard through the whole town and into the surrounding area. The pressure was felt until we had made it back into our PH. He took off as quickly as he came and the patrol was a success.
The next day was one of transition. Bravo section was taking off on leave and Charlie section was arriving back. The guys were pretty stoked on getting out of here for 3 weeks and you could hear them hootin and hollering as their LAV pulled away. Basically, the remaining soldiers on the ground cleaned their weapons and prepared for the upcoming tasks.
Yesterday, was a complete success, however not nearly as morale boosting as today, but I'll get to that. So, on 31Jan, we stepped off to perform an engineer recce on an important piece of ground in the south. I cannot divulge details because of OPSEC, but I had the four of us on this task. Dorner, Riley, Bergeron and myself stepped off with Alpha section and moved deliberately to our site. We spent a good hour gathering information on the features in the area and proceeded north to recce yet another objective. The day was very long and by the time we got back the night had set in. I then spent the next 3 hours compiling information and labelling photos for my report. At 2100 we drove to Capt Hacheys location and I presented the findings. They weren't expecting me that night but instead the next morning. They were eager to find out what I had to say, and were extremely satisfied with the product I had produced with the help of the guys. Looks like the whole plan will go ahead despite several concerns and our recce was the start point. A great job well done by E$%C.
So today was a whole new day and yet another task which required the 4 of us out on patrol. Our objective was to clear the route where Toast was killed by an IED. Our clearance was deliberate, safe and thorough. Half way down the route I got a hit in the ground outside the walls of the route. I investigated to find a sandbag filled with 2 4L jugs of 7.62 AK47 ammunition and 7 60mm mortars. Not a bad little ammo cache, so we prepped and got ready to BIP. Well, HQ gets on the horn and decides that we should salvage the ammo and give it to the Afghan security forces. Easy for them to say, they didn't have to carry it back. So, we destroyed the mortars and moved on. We didn't find anything else on the route so we pushed on to our next objective. A compound where it was thought a weapons cache was hidden. We moved intot the compound and began our search. Not long after we started, I cleared up to a piece of ground with some thatch over top of it. I moved the twigs outta the way and began sweeping the area. I thought at first it was simply reinforced concrete that was giving me a hit, but when I began my excavation I found it was soft dirt. I ended up uncovering a mortar filled with ball bearings and bolts and pulled it out of the ground. I continued to uncover the dirt and uncovered a 155mm round with detonation cord coming out the top of the fuze well. At this time I called HQ and asked if they would like me to continue. They decided to send EOD in and further exploit the site. We linked up with EOD shortly after at a crossroads and walked them into location. They continued the job I had started and ended up uncovering 15 155mm artillery shells, all packed with explosives and det cord coming from their fuze wells. They were prepped and ready to be dug into the roads where we frequently walk. This was a HUGE find and needless to say I am still pretty pumped about it. This means 15 less IEDs we have to worry about while we operate in the area. We got the okay to BIP it in the compound and waited for the ROZ to go hot. Myself, Bergeron, Costall, and Riley all perched on a rooftop about 50m away to watch the thing go up. Well, I'll be damned if that explosion did not register on the richter because the whole building we were standing on shook and quivered when it went up. After the dust settled a crack could be seen in the middle of the building we were on top of. The explosion rocked the area and sent debris flying everywhere. It was getting late and we had to get out of there. While exfiltrating the area a local approached and had a massive chunk of artillery shell in his hands. He was saying it landed in his compound and complaining. I'm sure he wasn't the only one who would find chunks of metal in their yard after this one. I mentioned that perhaps this guy was stalling us so his buddies could finish digging one in and we took off on that cue, leaving the old man wondering what we were doing. We made it back after a good 10 hour patrol and supper was served. What a day.
Rediger is back for a couple of days to help with the upcoming tasks, as well, we have now attached Spr Rider. So it'll be the 6 of us charging into Feb along with the good old Delta crew. Looks like the days ahead should be interesting.
The phone here lately has been acting funny and I haven't been able to call when I've had the time. Its frustrating but theres nothing I can do. I love you guys, and I love you sweetheart. You truly keep me going and I know you are here with me giving me strength from home. Til the next........out
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