Angels & Warriors - Letter from the Front: A Private's Story

They Call Us Angels

This is the account of a young soldier.

I am coming up on the half time mark of a four month deployment.  I have flown 53 missions in and out of the AOR or Area of Responsibility thus far.  I am a part of the 817^th EAS, which stands for Expeditionary Airlift Squadron.  I am limited on what I can disclose about our mission but it is primarily the supply and transfer of soldiers to and from the war. I have seen and experienced many things thus far that have made my heart beat as fast as it ever has but this is not my account.

A few days ago our mission was to bring the 3rd Battalion / 5th Marines (3/5) Unit, known as the “Dark Horse”, out of the Sangin District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan and back home.  The 3/5 is a battalion-level infantry unit composed of infantry Marines and support personnel. Infantry battalions are the basic tactical units that the regiment uses to accomplish its mission of locating, closing with and destroying the enemy by fire and close combat. The 3/5 is comprised of H&S Co, India Co, Kilo Co, Lima Co, and Weapons Co. The Sangin District is know as one of the most dangerous places in the warfight.  The 3/5 has suffered the most casualties of any unit thus far in the 10 years of Afghan war.

We had a full load of troops planned going out and then got word that there would be an additional two Marines being sent with us on emergency status.  This meant that all seats would be taken plus the two in the cockpit behind the pilots seats.  Often times, as pilots we like to bring troops up for the flights.  Their eyes light up and their gratitude is beyond measure.  Many of them say it is the coolest thing they have ever seen- often times to be in the cockpit is like being in what I imagine Heaven to be like- amongst the clouds and the sun rays, looking down upon snow covered mountains and green grassy valleys.  Sometimes it takes another’s eyes and awe for me to realize how amazing it really is to be flying.  That being said, it is upon us to pick and choose who gets to experience the grand event.  How do we do this?  We ask the entire group a question such as “who thinks they are handy with tools.”  Many hands shoot to the sky.  “Who is good at fixing things?”  A few hands may drop. “Who thinks they can fix a plumbing problem?”  More go down.  “Because we have a problem with our lavatory up here and need a brave soul to help us out or we will be unable to take off.”  Inevitably, the hands that are raised start transitioning from the vertical to the horizontal pointing to the lowest man on the totem pole, usually a private or corporal.  “You’re our man- you get to sit up front with us.”  Everyone laughs for they now realize that dimeing out the private secured their fate to sit down below in the cargo compartment with nothing more than two windows the size of a basketball.

The Private walks up the stairs heavied by his supplies, his backpack, survival vest, armor, and his rifle.  These are the only things that he has. Nothing less and nothing more, mandated by the Marine Corps.  His rifle is his pride and sometimes also his joy.  It’s original clean black shiny finish now long gone leaving what now looks as the soldier does; tired, worn out, beat up, and ready to rest from overuse. White tape- the exact same that I used to use to tape the handles of my hockey sticks and ankles before Friday night high school football games wrap the handle and stock for better grip while firing upon his enemy.  A Marine's gun is his lifeline.  They choose their modifications.  This private had added a M203 grenade launcher to the bottom of the stock, his “go-to round when things got rough”.  His uniform was worn and tattered, the digital camouflage had been completely worn out on the knees and elbows.  Each pocket of his survival vest was stuffed with essentials and 8 magazines of ammo lay across his chest. A strap over his shoulder held about 20 grenade cartridges.  He was a soldier.  He had seen battle.

We got the jet ready for takeoff, strapped them in and upon firewalling the throttles to Max Power heard the joyous roar of the 3/5 over the roaring engines as our wheels left the runway.  In our climb the Private leaned over and told me that “We call you Angels”.  Aircraft that take them away from the Hell that they were in are called Angels.  I was touched but as soon as I felt that good feeling deep inside my chest I felt it rush out as I was quick to realize that the same number of soldiers that we had on our jet and were taking from this Hell, the same number was just delivered by us an hour ago in.  

After leveling off at cruise altitude I took my headset off, turned my head towards the Private and asked what was it like.  I cannot tell you how long the flight is but I can say that it is longer than anyone I know can talk non-stop (well maybe except you pop).  The Private needed to talk.  He needed to release. He needed someone to hear about the horrors of war that was from the outside looking in and our crew was as close as it was going to get at that time.  He told us that their slogan is “Get Some” and get some they did.  They killed thousands of Taliban but it came at a cost—a big cost. As I said above, the 3/5 had suffered the most casualties of any unit thus far in the 10 years of Afghan war.  Along with sending home 27 red ,white and blue draped caskets, the 3/5 also sent home over 180 critically injured warriors, many of them losing arms and legs.  As the Private scrolled through the pictures on his digital camera, each picture was a flip of a coin whether it was going to be a friend that was coming home with us, a friend that had already been sent home maimed by war, or a friend sent home in an American flag blanketed aluminum box.  The pictures were also of their living conditions. A horseshoe of sandbags was their toilet. A cleared piece of ground was their bed. A sealed bag of food that would last until the end of the world if given the chance was their meal. A bottle of water was their shower. A wall made of mud was their protection- and also the place for pictures of home, of wives and little girls, of good things to look forward to if they could just live to see them.  The private said that he found a familiar place before bed to be on his knees thanking the Lord to be alive today and to pray for the same blessing tomorrow, for they lived day by day.

Each day was the same.  They would go out in search of Taliban and IEDs.  “The hardest thing about this war is that they look just the same as the local friendlies; but you can tell it in their eyes.  You can see the evil in their eyes.”  The Private went on to tell me about the IEDs.  “They are smart.  They can make them out of anything.  They are good at it too.  They are so sensitive sometimes all it takes is the weight of fear to set them off.  Many times they scavenge the lost limbs of unfortunate soldiers and use them as triggers.  And finding these things is nearly impossible.  You can probe all day long and still miss them.  We had to resort to what we call fingering.  We literally sift through the sand on our bellies with our fingers to find these things.”  Just the thought of sticking my fingers anywhere close to something that could blow them off made me cringe.  He said that there was just no other way in certain situations.  He had watched one of his buddies clearing for IEDs get blown up, another that had gone to save him get blown up and another that went to save both experience the same fate.  Hearing this made me think about how it would be to be fearful of each step that I take.  The Private told me that he could no longer sleep for the fear was so overwhelming.  The fear for his own life. The fear for his friends. The fear of each step and the fear of never making it home.

When they get home, those that do, must go and see the doctor for PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder.  “We call him the wizard.” He said. “I will tell him what I have seen.  I will tell him that I cannot sleep.  I will tell him that I have nightmares and that I will never be the same.”  I will tell him that one moment we are giving out skittles to the local children and the next we are in a fire fight for our lives calling in close air support to light up our enemies 50 yards from the local town.  I will tell him how screwed up I now am.”  He quickly jumped to a different subject.  What he was looking forward to.  “I haven’t had a shower in over 7 months and I am really going to enjoy a good hot meal.  He video taped the entire approach and landing, told me it was one of the coolest things he ever saw, that if I was ever in Fort Campbell he would let me shoot his 203, and to take care of ourselves and to keep bringing 'em home.

Guest post by:

Captain Joseph G. Dombrow

The Proper Way to Balance the United States Budget

The Republicans and Democrats are competing to see who can do the best job of improving the fiscal status of the United States. They are both going about it the wrong way (as is the Tea Party also). It takes a lot more work, but if you really want to get the country's economy in good shape, you don't reduce the budget. The proper technique is to wipe out the budget altogether. Take it to zero, and then, item by item, decide what should go back into it. If our government had the commitment and stamina to set up a group to completely rebuild the budget from scratch, we would end up operating the country at a much lower financial level. The problem is that our politicians would never approve the process. They would have to justify each and every item in the budget, which would be a colossal job, but more important, it would expose the flimsy justification for many of the components of the existing budget. There are many parts of the federal budget that are there just because they pay for doing things the way we have done them for a long time in the past. As Shakespeare said, "The past is prologue." The only way they will find most (but not all) of the unjustified spending is to throw everything out, and start over. The nature of politics is that some waste will find its way back into the new budget because of the need to compromise and horsetrade between opposing views, but a huge amount of what we now spend will not be justifiable to either side. Assign three of the best minds from each party plus a couple of economics professors to a special committee, and the job will become doable, even if extremely difficult.

Walking Tightropes

In the Middle East, the fictional country of Ibrimia is on the edge of a revolution. Thirty-seven friends have managed to get the populace of the second largest city upset at the ruling regime. They have convinced the people that they could achieve many of their dreams if their country was a democracy. In this action they are copying the pattern of successful government changes elsewhere. The existing regime considers itself to be generous to a fault in providing free college education and healthcare, and in distributing significant oil revenues to all citizens.
If the activists force out the regime, the stability of oil income might end. While the majority of the population is in favor of democracy and new leadership, there is no agreement as to what alternate group should rule and with what agenda.
While the existing regime does not want to use military might against its own population, it feels that it offers the safest and most secure future for everyone.
What is the best course for each side to take in walking the conflict tightrope toward an improved future?

• Should the regime announce increased benefits and salary structures?
• Should the activists hold meetings to elect a "government-in-waiting" that will formulate and announce the people's goals following the ouster of the current regime?
• Should the regime offer big increases in employment on government-funded public works projects?
• Should the activists meet openly with government representatives to discuss possible power sharing and reforms of constitutional provisions?
• Should the regime offer term limits for itself and future governments?
• Should the activists attempt to split the country and gain international recognition for the part they control?
• Should the regime risk international condemnation by cutting off financial support and utilities to the part of the country it no longer controls?
• Should the activists invite outsiders to support their cause?
• Should the regime cancel the citizenship of the activists and offer citizenship to loyal immigrant workers instead?
• Should the activists seek an alliance of their part of the country with the neighboring large and stable country?
• Should the regime threaten the neighboring country with attack if it interferes in Ibrimia's internal affairs?
• Should representatives of both sides meet secretly to negotiate a mutually acceptable outcome?
• Should the regime ignore the uprising but ship its wealth overseas just in case the outcome isn't favorable?

If you were leading one side or the other, what would you do or recommend?

Middle East Solidarity and Fragmentation

The winds of change that are sweeping middle eastern countries may be just the beginning of turbulence with unknown consequences. It is relatively easy to get a population fired up against the status quo and an unpopular, authoritarian leader. During the process of such an attempted or successful overthrow of a government, the populace is essentially united because everyone wants the current situation to change. As soon as such a movement becomes successful, however, it becomes dangerous to all concerned, because unity will disappear as different segments of society push for their own agendas. This is the point at which power grabs and civil wars develop. The initial jubilation at overthrowing an authoritarian regime may be replaced by a lengthy period of groups jockeying for position and attempting to manipulate each other. External governments would be wise to be nonspecific in their gestures and declarations of support because they will not know nor be able to influence the final configuration of power centers for a long time to come. Enthusiastically backing a losing group may be at least as unwise as taking no public stance on the political upheaval process.

Hurrah for the Little Guy!

Borders Bookstores have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is not something to celebrate, but it shows that the swinging pendulum of the business cycle is never stationary. When Borders began building their super-colossal stores, they forced a lot of small independent bookstores out of business. Many family-run operations with long histories found they could not compete with the giant. Now, the giant is learning that its business model has become obsolete, as book buyers have turned to online vendors and the remaining small independent bookstores. People seldom crowd bookstores anymore to browse through the shelves, and the lack of foot traffic has draped the albatross of outrageous overhead around the necks of megastore management. Small business flexibility in planning and ability to react to the marketplace are going to be the watchwords of the economy for the near and middle term future. Only a small business can redefine itself within a short period if necessary. The independent bookstores that are continuing to thrive do things like specializing in a few subject areas, offer products other than books that relate to key titles, sponsor community activities, and celebrate local author events. The huge bookstore chains have had to develop their online presence to survive. Borders didn't even do a good job of that, letting Amazon run the online business for them. Sooner or later, huge bookstores and other businesses with overhead structures that are not in proportion to their revenues will have to change or close. Just remember, in business there are two ways to generate profits: Bring in more sales; and reduce your costs for the same sales.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Super Bowl

News Items:
The Chicago Bears will play the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship football game.
President Obama begs for more civil discourse among politicians and others who disagree.

I have been a Chicago Bears fan ever since I moved to the Chicago area many years ago. I have accepted and enjoyed the traditional rivalry and buildups before battles between the Bears and the Packers, two teams that consider each other hereditary enemies. Nevertheless, I have to admit that I respect the Packers and their traditions. Over the years, a significant number of Bears players have moved on to the Packers, and the reverse is true also. On occasion, I even root for the Packers when they are playing someone other than the Bears.
In political, religious, and economic matters, why can't we respect the opposition even though we disagree with them? One of the differences and problems is that in football both sides play by the same rules. If one side tries to gain an advantage over the other, it has to work within the framework of those rules. In politics and economics there are too many opportunities for people to go outside the very minimal framework of rules to gain advantages by making false and misleading statements, inciting an emotional population, and branding someone as an enemy. Maybe we need more referees and fact-checkers in our national discourse and our media as well as in our sports. There are many reasons to stick to the facts when debating our future. Too many times we have trouble even sticking to the facts when we discuss our past.

Making Mistakes

In life as in writing mistakes are not necessarily bad things. In most decision situations, you should not be afraid of making a mistake. Mistakes generate experiences from which we learn. The same is true in writing, whether fiction or nonfiction. When you make a mistake in the way you try to communicate a lesson or a story, you have to use creativity to overcome and explain the situation in which you have found yourself. Most mistakes are reversible, and there are many paths to get from here to there. Midcourse corrections are not only acceptable but desirable, because they add precision to your final outcome or destination. In writing, the analog of midcourse corrections is the revision process. It is virtually impossible to author a significant book without going back and making revisions to the manuscript. In life we also have to compensate for our misstatements and misdeeds in order to achieve our goals (which may also require modification) or to get along with other people. Just remember to trust your inner moral compass and make your own mistakes rather than allow yourself to be misled by others. There are always people with little or no stake in your well-being who will try to move you off your intended course.