So it appears that I am published writer now, lol. Check out the link and read the comments on the side given by the troops. Top billing!!!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-12-02-afghanistan-hearing-senate_N.htm
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Adventures of Flat Stanley
This blog post is for Sarah, a little girl from San Diego, whose mom is a business associate of my stepmom Louisa. Sarah, I apologize that this is a little late. First, the mail getting to Afghanistan isn't very fast sometimes and second, we've been pretty busy lately but I was finally able to get some time and teach Stanley a few things. Here is the account of our adventures.
It was finally the day that I got to sit down with Flat Stanley and teach him a few things. The first that Stanley and I did was make improvised tourniquets for a first aid class that we would be teaching the Afghan National Police. Let me do a little back story first. My job in the Army is a called a forward observer. That means that I call for and adjust artillery and mortars (think big cannons) and I also work with attack helicopters, fighter jets, and bombers. I also make sure that my platoons radios are all working properly. When I am back in the states, I also jump out of airplanes and helicopters. Our mission in Afghanistan is to help train the Afghan National Police to make sure that they provide security to the Afghan people.
One of the most important things about first aid is to make sure that if someone is wounded, you have some way of controlling and stopping the bleeding. A tourniquet is a great tool for that. We wanted to make to teach the ANP how to make very simple tourniquets, so Stanley and I worked on some. We first took about two feet of engineer tape (its about an inch wide and made out of very strong cloth) and then we tied a knot with a loop on one end. On the other end we tied a small piece of wood to it. After that we took two Gatorade cap rings and put them on the tape. The purpose behind this is that when someone is wounded, you wrap the tape around either the arm or the leg (depending on where you are injured). You then take the piece of wood (or whatever long, sturdy object you can find) and put it into loop on the other end. You then twist until the bleeding stops. Once it stops, you put both ends of the object into the Gatorade rings to hold it in place. Its not high tech, but it definitely works
So the day came for us to teach the class and let me tell you that Stanley and the ANP both did a g
reat job. You’ll see in the picture that Stanley was able to help out when the ANP practiced putting the tourniquets on. We first taught the ANP about how to control bleeding put putting pressure on a wound. We then moved on to the tourniquet portion. After that we took them all outside and had them work on doing what we call “buddy carries”. That basically means we showed them three different ways of carrying a wounded person to safety. After that we finished up and Stanley and I took a break for lunch.After lunch, I should Stanley how to use some of the tools that I have. The
first thing I did was show him the M4 rifle that I have. This is my primary weapon and I take it everywhere I go. I made sure that he understood that you always treat a weapon like its loaded and that safety is the most important thing. After making those points, I taught Stanley how to fire the weapon and load a magazine. As you can see, it was a little big for him and unfortunately it was raining outside so we couldn’t go to the range. Once we finished up with that, I showed him how to disassemble it, clean it, and put it back together. Stanley did a great job. Once we finished with the rifle, we moved on to my favorite part: showing S
tanley how to use a radio! Like I said, my job involves using a radio a lot, so naturally I am pretty good at it. I showed Stanley the radio that I keep on my body armor every time we go out on patrol. I taught him how to talk on it, get a radio check, input frequencies, change batteries, fill it with communications security, and what to do if it wasn’t working. He did a great job and I was very proud of him for catching on so quickly. We did several radio checks with other radios and each time he came in loud and clear!
tanley how to use a radio! Like I said, my job involves using a radio a lot, so naturally I am pretty good at it. I showed Stanley the radio that I keep on my body armor every time we go out on patrol. I taught him how to talk on it, get a radio check, input frequencies, change batteries, fill it with communications security, and what to do if it wasn’t working. He did a great job and I was very proud of him for catching on so quickly. We did several radio checks with other radios and each time he came in loud and clear!As we finished up with the equipment training, we found out that a
helicopter had come in with all sorts of mail for us. It was especially exciting because we don’t normally have mail fly into our fire base; we have to drive about 35 miles to pick it up. I received several care packages full of letters, beef jerky, candy, and other stuff. Stanley helped me open all of them and then made sure that I wrote everyone a thank you e-mail to everyone who sent me something. I made sure to share some of the contents with Stanley. As you can see, he really enjoyed the tuna, Nerds Candy, and some beef jerky.At the end of the day, Stanley was pretty tired and so was I! All in all, it was a really good day and Stanley decided to stick around for a bit longer! He said he has really enjoyed his time here and that he didn’t want to leave anytime soon! He did a great job on everything and he makes a very good soldier! (Sarah, I will do my best to try and get him back to you. We don’t have a post office here and I don’t know when I will get to one. I hope you enjoyed this!)
94, out.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
My thoughts on the surge
Before I deployed, I saw something about being a military panelist on a variety of topics for usatoday.com. Being the enterprising writer that I am, I decided to sign up. Here is the e-mail and subsequent response I sent. Enjoy.
Dear USA TODAY Panelist*,
Thank you very much for your participation on the Panel. In anticipation of the president's speech on Afghanistan tonight, we'd like to get your thoughts for our coverage tomorrow. Have you or do you know someone who has spent time in Afghanistan? If so, can you tell us a little bit about your experiences? How would you advise the president on troop levels there? Will you be watching his speech tonight? We look forward to hearing from you.
Have a nice day,
Desair Brown
USA TODAY
Ms. Brown,
I am currently serving in Afghanistan on my second deployment. I didn't watch the speech, but since we have been here (three months now) we have been hearing quite a bit about the proposed troop "surge". In all honesty, I think it is an excellent idea. I have never been to Iraq, but I know that Afghanistan is a much larger country with a much more spread out population base. The key to winning in Afghanistan is getting to those population bases. The reason that we were able to draw down in Iraq is because of the influx of troops and materials and the ability for the troops to get into the population centers and root out the insurgents.
This is not to say that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the same; there is a vast difference. Iraq at least had some sort of infrastructure to work with prior to the invasion. No such infrastructure exists here. We essentially have had to build a country and a government from scratch. We have had our successes but we have also had our failures. Both are to be expected when working with a diverse group. I say diverse because you have to factor in not only the ethnic groups (Pashtun, Tajik, etc.) but the divisions that exist between them. On the day of President Karzai's second inauguration, the town we are based right outside of was hit by a suicide bomber, killing 11. I cannot go into the details, but the main purpose behind the attack was a score to settle in a tribal blood feud.
This is what a majority of the American public doesn't understand. We are trying to root out the Taliban while trying to pacify tribal conflicts all with currently a 1/3 of the manpower as Iraq when the surge was at its peak (over a much larger and tougher to access area). This is why the 30,000 additional troops are the beginning of whats needed. The more forces we have, the more access and ability we will have to get into the hard to reach areas and flush out the Taliban.
The key, however, is making sure that these forces are properly emplaced. Without a shadow a doubt, the number one priority is locking down the border with Pakistan. Its no secret that the Taliban receives a majority of their supplies and training from the uncontrolled regions in Pakistan's Western Frontiers. Once we are able to lock down the border, we can begin to squeeze the Taliban. They'll have no where to run to and their logistical ability will be severely hindered.
The second priority is ensuring that the troops are properly emplaced. Send them to the areas under Taliban control and force them out. By no means will it be easy but it is necessary. The lack of Taliban influence will allow the local forces to operate and facilitate the growth of an GIROA backed infrastructure. My platoon is currently are part of President Obama's strategy of training and mentoring local police forces. We are lucky to have a good police chief who is anxious to work with us and ensure that his area is secure. We now have the winter months to further train and patrol with our ANP comrades. Once the spring comes, we shall see if our training has paid divedends. This is a war that will be won by the contributions of platoons and companies and the NCO's and junior officers within them. We are ultimately the ones out there everyday interacting with the locals, training the Afghan forces, and hunting down the Taliban. Whatever strategies President Obama and General McChrystal come up, it is up to us to ensure that they are implemented and followed.
I will comment briefly on two mistakes I believe that the policy makers have made. I believe that this strategy of putting more forces in the country has come about 8 years too late. No one can ever take away the successes and accomplishments of the Special Forces community during the early stages of the war. The lethality and precision in which they dismembered and destroyed the Taliban and Al Qaida forces has been unmatched in history. That wasn't enough, however. Forces needed to be sent there to root out the remaining pockets of enemy forces. Unfortunately, the leadership in place at the time became misguided and distracted with the opportunity to strike at Iraq and we are now seeing the effects of the negligence of Afghanistan from 2003-2007. Had we focused on Afghanistan, we would not be facing the dilemmas we have now.
Second, I think it was mistake to issue a time table. It sets a precedent for all the naysayers to go by and if the job isn't completely finished in 18 months, then we have failed. As I stated earlier, we wil have our successes and failures. If we continue to commit to rebuilding and securing Afghanistan, we must know that it will take time. Allow us to be creative and find solutions that work, instead of rushing to get something in place by a certain time. On the lighter side, however, President Obama was right in saying that forces will be coming back to the U.S. in 2011. It will be the forces that will have started their 12 month deployment in 2010.
So those are my thoughts.
94, out.
Dear USA TODAY Panelist*,
Thank you very much for your participation on the Panel. In anticipation of the president's speech on Afghanistan tonight, we'd like to get your thoughts for our coverage tomorrow. Have you or do you know someone who has spent time in Afghanistan? If so, can you tell us a little bit about your experiences? How would you advise the president on troop levels there? Will you be watching his speech tonight? We look forward to hearing from you.
Have a nice day,
Desair Brown
USA TODAY
Ms. Brown,
I am currently serving in Afghanistan on my second deployment. I didn't watch the speech, but since we have been here (three months now) we have been hearing quite a bit about the proposed troop "surge". In all honesty, I think it is an excellent idea. I have never been to Iraq, but I know that Afghanistan is a much larger country with a much more spread out population base. The key to winning in Afghanistan is getting to those population bases. The reason that we were able to draw down in Iraq is because of the influx of troops and materials and the ability for the troops to get into the population centers and root out the insurgents.
This is not to say that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the same; there is a vast difference. Iraq at least had some sort of infrastructure to work with prior to the invasion. No such infrastructure exists here. We essentially have had to build a country and a government from scratch. We have had our successes but we have also had our failures. Both are to be expected when working with a diverse group. I say diverse because you have to factor in not only the ethnic groups (Pashtun, Tajik, etc.) but the divisions that exist between them. On the day of President Karzai's second inauguration, the town we are based right outside of was hit by a suicide bomber, killing 11. I cannot go into the details, but the main purpose behind the attack was a score to settle in a tribal blood feud.
This is what a majority of the American public doesn't understand. We are trying to root out the Taliban while trying to pacify tribal conflicts all with currently a 1/3 of the manpower as Iraq when the surge was at its peak (over a much larger and tougher to access area). This is why the 30,000 additional troops are the beginning of whats needed. The more forces we have, the more access and ability we will have to get into the hard to reach areas and flush out the Taliban.
The key, however, is making sure that these forces are properly emplaced. Without a shadow a doubt, the number one priority is locking down the border with Pakistan. Its no secret that the Taliban receives a majority of their supplies and training from the uncontrolled regions in Pakistan's Western Frontiers. Once we are able to lock down the border, we can begin to squeeze the Taliban. They'll have no where to run to and their logistical ability will be severely hindered.
The second priority is ensuring that the troops are properly emplaced. Send them to the areas under Taliban control and force them out. By no means will it be easy but it is necessary. The lack of Taliban influence will allow the local forces to operate and facilitate the growth of an GIROA backed infrastructure. My platoon is currently are part of President Obama's strategy of training and mentoring local police forces. We are lucky to have a good police chief who is anxious to work with us and ensure that his area is secure. We now have the winter months to further train and patrol with our ANP comrades. Once the spring comes, we shall see if our training has paid divedends. This is a war that will be won by the contributions of platoons and companies and the NCO's and junior officers within them. We are ultimately the ones out there everyday interacting with the locals, training the Afghan forces, and hunting down the Taliban. Whatever strategies President Obama and General McChrystal come up, it is up to us to ensure that they are implemented and followed.
I will comment briefly on two mistakes I believe that the policy makers have made. I believe that this strategy of putting more forces in the country has come about 8 years too late. No one can ever take away the successes and accomplishments of the Special Forces community during the early stages of the war. The lethality and precision in which they dismembered and destroyed the Taliban and Al Qaida forces has been unmatched in history. That wasn't enough, however. Forces needed to be sent there to root out the remaining pockets of enemy forces. Unfortunately, the leadership in place at the time became misguided and distracted with the opportunity to strike at Iraq and we are now seeing the effects of the negligence of Afghanistan from 2003-2007. Had we focused on Afghanistan, we would not be facing the dilemmas we have now.
Second, I think it was mistake to issue a time table. It sets a precedent for all the naysayers to go by and if the job isn't completely finished in 18 months, then we have failed. As I stated earlier, we wil have our successes and failures. If we continue to commit to rebuilding and securing Afghanistan, we must know that it will take time. Allow us to be creative and find solutions that work, instead of rushing to get something in place by a certain time. On the lighter side, however, President Obama was right in saying that forces will be coming back to the U.S. in 2011. It will be the forces that will have started their 12 month deployment in 2010.
So those are my thoughts.
94, out.
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