2009 Military Appreciation Days Summer Schedule
- Canobie Lake Park, Salem, NH - Saturday, May 23rd
- Polar Caves, Rumney, NH - Saturday, June 6th
- Apple Hill Farm, Concord, NH - Sunday, October 4th
Letter from the Afghanistan front by Captain Tyler Chamberlain
Hello all,
The weather here had been improving until last night. At around 2000 (8 pm for you civilians) last night I was just finishing up eating supper with my Afghan counterpart when I came outside to walk back to the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) tent. Since we are in the middle of a valley, we have low lying hills on either side of us. To the west of us it looked like there was a laser show going on, or some kind of concert with lots of pyrotechnics. It was actually a massive violent storm coming in. It was really cool because before it started hailing small grape size hail there was a really bright lightning show that was just on the other side of the hills. It was so bright it was lighting up the entire FOB so I didn't have to use my headlamp. I stood and watched the show for a few minutes until I realized I should find some cover in case things get worse. I made my way back to the TOC tent just in time for the rain to start gushing out of the sky. The rain brought with it some pretty strong winds that shook the TOC tent and had one of the interpreters hugging the upright beam that holds their tent up so he could try and stabilize the tent. The lightning continued and we got some flash flooding, more wind that lasted for about 15 minutes, and more lightning. Yes, I'm still in Afghanistan.
This morning a whole bunch of rooms had some leaking, the local villagers wanted our help to fix their crops (which we can't do anything about), and there were some civilian trucks outside of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) that couldn't move anywhere because of the water on the roads and all of the mud. Of course today, there's not a cloud in the sky, and the sun is shining brightly. I think that was winter's way of saying "I'm still here." I asked my interpreter and my Afghan counterpart if they had ever seen hail before, and neither of them had. I told them both that this was just small hail, and that the really large hail that we get in the US sometimes breaks car windshields and dents car roofs and hoods. Their eyes got large when I told them the hail was sometimes accompanied by tornados.
The hills are becoming greener though, and I believe the farmers are happy in general for the good mix of rain and sun that we've been receiving lately. We are starting to see more people as well. Bazaar day last Saturday had a great turn out. People were bringing in camels, cows, sheep, donkeys, motorcycles, and other worldly possessions to try to sell or trade. A large crowd on Bazaar day is hopefully a good sign that the security situation is improving. When people feel safe to come into the bazaar in large groups, then they are most likely not having to pass by illegal Taliban checkpoints on there way to the bazaar. We asked one of the farmers how much he was selling his donkey for and he told us he would sell it for 2,000 Af, which equals $40 USD. I was seriously contemplating buying a donkey for the FOB. It would be nice to have when our Bobcat breaks, or just to help around the FOB in general. But then we would have to feed it and take care of it, and the other donkeys in the valley would get jealous that this one donkey was not getting whipped in the eye with a stick because it turned the wrong way. Another guy walked by with a cow and my Afghan counterpart asked him how much he was selling the cow for. The cow was going for 20,000 Af ($400 USD), or maybe 15,000 Af. This guy, and everyone else that was going to the bazaar, was clearly willing to negotiate. We didn't get a chance to ask how much the camels were selling for, but I'm sure they were more expensive than the cows.
I'm not sure what the official traffic laws state for Afghanistan, but on this day in Bala Murghab, the camels had the right of way.
I hope everyone has fared well through the harsh winter. I'm almost half way done, which is a great feeling. I'll be home on leave soon enough, and when I'm done with leave I'll only have a few months remaining.
Take Care,
Tyler
Hey all, here's the latest from Afghanistan...
Even with pictures in front of you it will still be difficult to imagine what it's like in Afghanistan. The goal of this article is to take you there while you sit and enjoy your morning coffee. The overall terrain of Afghanistan can best be visualized by remembering the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Aladdin" for the younger readers. In Bala Morghab there is a sense of those movies, except here there is a river that separates Bala Morghab and the FOB. For those of you that have not seen those movies, this is what the terrain is like. The FOB is in the middle of a valley. There are hills on either side of us that are completely barren. The few trees that are here are dormant because of the season, so they seem to have no life to them. Through the middle of the valley runs an active river that is approximately 50 feet wide and originates somewhere in Turkmenistan. The color is of a grayish hue, and looks as though it would carry you away without a struggle if given the opportunity. The hills have small caves scattered throughout them. Some of the hills have flat plateaus where local shepherds bring their livestock to feed. Some of the plateaus also have small caves on them where shepherds keep their livestock in the bitter cold. The shepherds primarily tend to sheep, but they also keep donkeys as their work animals. In the flat areas of the valley are corn fields that the farmers and their sons have been working in preparation for the next growing season. Growing corn in Bala Morghab is a good sign because it helps with two challenges that plague Afghanistan: One, less hunger; two, less land to grow poppies. The corn here grows well, but demands a lot of attention from the farmers as Bala Morghab receives little precipitation. It has not rained much here, but when it does the farmers welcome it. The rain is good for the farmers, but when the rain is mixed with the "moon dust" it becomes slippery and develops a special property that excels at sticking to your boots. The climate here varies with the season. Afghanistan is right around the same latitude as Virginia, and yet the weather varies throughout the day, much like in New Hampshire. Typically the mornings will start cold, but as the sun crests the mountains it forces some of the layers of clothing to be removed. The locals will tell you that the real cold weather starts in late December and ends around the April/May timeframe. Last winter it got down to negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit, with highs reaching nearly 130 degrees in the summer. Since there is very little electricity in Bala Morghab, in fact in most of Afghanistan (they actually receive a lot of their power from other countries), there is no light pollution. On clear nights you can see the stars and moon, and you can regularly identify Orion's belt. On these clear nights you can walk around confidently with no headlamp and avoid bumping into anything, or anyone. On cloudy nights you can't see your hand in front of your face, let alone the mud puddle you are probably about to step in. It has been snowing here for the past couple of days, creating a winter wonderland experience that is familiar to home. The nearby hills are visibly covered with snow, creating a picturesque scene. The snow also creates horrible driving conditions for our heavy HMMWVs. Plows and salt are foreign to this area, and the rest of Afghanistan. The only snow removal system in place is the good old fashion shovel, and the pending soar back. The positive side to this is that everyone gets a chance to slow down and take a little of a break, which is more foreign to US soldiers than a plow to Bala Morghab. All the same, it is bitter sweet.
The Afghan people are hardy, so they are not deterred by the snow, or the cold weather. They continue to walk around in sandals, partly because of the poverty situation, and partly because they clean their body before prayer. The other day I witnessed a man washing his feet with a water basin in the brisk winter air, and then he proceeded to put his foot directly back into his sandals. Towels need not apply in Bala Morghab. This particular gentleman had a positive temperament towards the US forces in Afghanistan as he is a contractor that lives and works on the FOB. We are paying his salary and keeping him and his men employed with construction projects around the FOB.
Although the contractor is happy with us, other Afghans would rather see us perform a disappearing act and vanish from their lands for good. The older population still remembers when the Russians were here, and the Russians had left a sour taste in their mouth for foreigners. Much of Afghan history is not written, it is passed down verbally through the generations. Afghans are quite good at ensuring that their history is passed on, so the bitter taste will also be passed down to the next generation, and the next, and so on. It is also common for many Afghans to have ancestral knowledge of their family, where they lived, and what they did. America could learn something from Afghanistan in this way. Afghans are typically shorter than Americans, and certainly thinner, partly because of their diet. But please do not be mistaken. The diet here is not the type you read about in a magazine that is scientifically designed to give you six pack abs. The diet here is one that is dictated by the land and your economic status. People here do not get portions that are too large for them, or are served food they don't like. People here aren't picky about what they eat, and it would be an awkward moment if you heard someone say "I don't like that." Their options are limited, they eat what they are served and they are grateful for it no matter what it is, unless it came from a pig. A burp at the dinner table is a compliment to the chef. Sitting on the floor and eating with your hands from the same dish as the other seven or more men in the room is expected. Talking at the dinner table is only done after eating all your food. Come to Afghanistan with a healthy appetite for chai, with or without sugar is usually at the hosts discretion. Only males are to be seen while eating. While on patrol, again, only males are to be seen. A few days ago some local villagers came over to the FOB to receive some humanitarian aid supplies from the Italians and a female was manifested. She was maybe five or six years old and was accompanied by her father and brother. None of the mothers or teenage girls were present to receive supplies, and females are seemingly non-existent when we conduct patrols. There is not enough room in this letter to do justice to this part of Afghan culture, but can be better understood by conducting some independent research. The living conditions for the Afghans is pretty standard in this area. They live in mud huts that have been here for quite some time. The staircases are narrow and steep, and their roofs would make the bravest man nervous to stand on. There is very little, if any at all, glass in their homes, and heat comes from wood or gas space heaters. Most houses do not have electricity or running water. There may be three or four generators in the whole town of Bala Morghab that provide limited electricity. Any area that you might consider a front yard is farming land, and there is a reason for land that is not being used, and that is that it is simply unusable.
The roads are... well let's put it this way. Imagine one of the roads that had been washed away in last years floods in New Hampshire, and that's about the same condition as the roads here. The roads here are atrocious. Young kids and teens get around by walking; the sick, old and farmers by donkeys; and the well to do by dirt bike. Imagine their surprise when the Italians and Americans drove through in HMMWVs and the Afghan National Army drove through in Ford Rangers. Afghanistan has a long road ahead of it, as any country that seeks improvement does. It is our hope that while Afghanistan catches up with the times, it does not forget its long history and unique culture.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Tyler
Hello from Kabul, a soldier writes home...
Hello from Kabul, This morning has been like the past seven mornings. I woke up to the hum of truck and helicopter engines outside of my plywood house (B-Hut), and the sounds, and smells, of 14 men sharing a space that’s probably too small for 10 men. I had been left as weapons guard while most of the guys went to get some chow. Such is the routine that we had formed over the past seven days while we waited to see if our flight westward was going to change… again. My norm a few months ago consisted of waking up next to Melissa with a good morning kiss, then hopping in the shower, set to the perfect temperature of course, brushing my teeth, taking a drink from the tap if I was thirsty, then putting on my uniform and driving my Jetta to Concord (most likely to be a few minutes late). My biggest concern for the day was how many fires I would have to put out at work and what I’m going to do for lunch. On my way back from work I might have called Melissa to see if she wanted to go out for supper or go out for a drink. The norm for now is sort of the same, except no Melissa and family (and probably no Melissa and family for up to 10 months), the shower sets the temperature itself, brushing my teeth is fine, but taking a drink from the tap would put me in the care of a doctor for a week or so. My uniform is still the same, but now I wear suspenders to hold my belt up, mostly because the pistol, magazine of 9mm ammo, and pockets filled with warm gloves, hand sanitizer, GPS, headlamp, and camera add some extra weight. Getting edible food and drinkable water is an easy task. The dining facility here at Camp Phoenix in Kabul is operated by the contractor Kellog, Brown, and Route (KBR) and they are open 24 hours a day. They stockpile bottle water all over post so we typically just grab a couple of cases and leave them at our B-Hut. Driving around is a little more complex here as well. It’s preceded by convoy briefs, precombat checks and inspections, instructions on what to do if we encounter insurgents, and putting on an additional 70 to 80 pounds of body armor, protective gear, and ammo. The sun rises and sets instantly over the Hindu Kush Mountains, controlling the temperature during the day, and creating a prison from which the smog can not escape. They said that the temperatures here have been relatively warm for this time of year, but where I’m going they say it’s pretty cold. Last winter was the coldest winter they’ve had in the past 20 years in Afghanistan. Where I’m going they say it got so cold last winter that the diesel froze, but it also got up to 130 degrees in the summer. In addition to the cold, it’s very dry and dusty here. Scarves used as face masks and lotion for your hands are essential to survival here. Kabul sits at 6,000 feet, and if it weren’t for the city being here, it would be a desert like the rest of Afghanistan. We drove through the city the other day and I was able to get some video and pictures. Even though it’s the most modern city in Afghanistan, it’s still the poorest place I’ve ever seen. There is a wadi that runs through Kabul, but it is dry except for the occasional puddles. The water that fills the puddles is unusable, save for holding some fecal matter, but I’ve been told that you’ll still see people washing their clothes in it. In the near background you can see mud houses built on the side of the mountain that have probably been there for hundreds of years, or maybe even a thousand. Very few of the modern buildings, and even most of the mud huts, have dodged the wrath of the Russian war machine. The bullet holes and shrapnel in the buildings are older than me. Besides the country being completely war torn, the view of the snow capped mountains are absolutely breathe taking. No matter where you are in the country you can see the Hindu Kush. At its highest peak it’s about 24,000 feet. I think the White Mountains that we have in New Hampshire are about 6,000 feet high, and even experienced hikers get a challenge out of that. Just imagine trying to conduct patrols through these mountains with all of your body armor, ammo, water, food, and extra clothing, all enough for three or more days. Thankfully I’ll be in a valley where the elevation is only about 2,000 feet and our primary means of transportation are our HMMWVs. The war here in Afghanistan is very different to the wars America has previously fought. In previous wars the best way to claim victory was to secure the hilltop and other key terrain features, and capture/control the cities and industry. In previous wars we fought an enemy that wore a uniform and attacked in large masses with well organized supply chains internal to the country. The style of fighting we are using here is called counterinsurgency. In counterinsurgency the hilltops and key terrains that were prized in previous wars are replaced by the hearts and minds of the people. The enemy does not wear uniforms and their supply chains consist of raids on allied forces, sympathizing villages, and bordering countries. Our ability to help the government of Afghanistan show it’s people that it can take better care of them then the Taliban is what will ultimately determine when we come home. That’s where my team comes in. Our mission in Afghanistan is to train and mentor the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), which includes the Afghan National Police (ANP) and Afghan National Army (ANA). I’m sure you’re asking yourself “why is a Blackhawk pilot teaching Afghans how to conduct security operations”. Do not fool yourself by thinking that because the average education level here is fourth grade that the Afghans don’t know how to fight. They’ve been fighting for the past 30 years and they are the epitome of a warrior culture. The Afghans have defeated Alexander the Great and Ghangis Khan. They have also stood the test of the British Empire (three times) and the Russians. The last thing they need is me showing them how to take a hill or kick in a door. What they do need help doing is thinking more than one step ahead and planning logistical support. And so for the next ten or so months, that’s what I’ll be doing; working side by side with the Afghans, trying to improve the local villages around my small spot in the world. I’ve been told that days in Afghanistan pass slowly, weeks fly by, and the year will be over before I know it. I hope it passes as quickly for my loved ones as it does for me. |
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