F-U-AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan is the most heavily mined country in the world. Most of the area around camp has been cleared, and I say "most" because riverbeds, like this one, are full of surprises. It's easy to get complacent until someone steps in the wrong place, and that's exactly what happened last week. (no shit)

It's amazing what you find laying around. Rocket propelled grenades will fuck shit up.

After nine weeks, this Kandak is getting ready to go down south.

It's amazing what spray paint will do to an otherwise boring countryside. My roommates a real clown.

Vermont National Guard Soldiers teaching some officers on the 9MM Beretta. The coalition training teams often deploy with each Kandak, down to Helmund or Kandahar providences. Theses guys got blown the fuck up right after they left. Some ANA sleeper Soldier strapped himself up and marched into their multinational dining facility, down the street from here.

I see a lot of training teams come and go, being that I'm permanently stationed here at CFC. It wasn't the first time some ANA killed their NATO mentors. I've seen ANA turn armor piercing RPGs on themselves. Its rare, but it happens even in our own army. Combat deployments between multinational countries yield an increased level of professionalism, considering ever Soldier on camp packs a few hundred rounds of 5.56MM and other unmentionables.

Leadership training for the Afghan NCOs and officers. Dari/English sketches are prepared for react-to-ambush drills.

Rolling around in the back of a Hummvee. CPL Moxley leads a team of mortar men, teaching indirect fire operations to the ANA.

Staff Sergeant Turk, earlier in the year.

A cup of real Afghan Chi. The Soldiers in the background are mostly officers, here at the Consolidated Field Center, camp Pol-e-Charki Afghanistan. CFC has become the central hub of training the ANA.

Somehow we got stuck with a support mission. There's tons of unexploded ordinance (UXO) laying around and we hear gunfire all day long, but is this really our job? Sure there's the occasional firefight to listen too, but we feel like fobbits. People who live on the forward operating base (FOB). I'm one of the few Soldiers that actually goes outside the gate every day, but we don't go far into town.

So the other day it poured for two days straight. The training area is a giant desert surrounded by mountains, and when it rains, all kinds of shit turns up. Buried trucks, dead things, and UXO. Some village kids we've know for a while came and found us, and explained they found some bombs. Well those bombs turned out to be about six live artillery rounds the Russians left behind. Artillery rounds make road side bombs, and road side bombs destroy Humvees. Hmmmmmmmmm glad we found them first.

Having my own truck means getting around on my own. We found this place hidden away and new exactly what to do.

Tanks left by the Russians. Now the ANA use them. I was in the motorpool the other day getting fuel and these guys beckoned me to come over. Anytime they learn something new and cool the grab us to show off their new skills. They're very proud of what they learn.

Can I try?

Taking a peek.

Whats this do?

Oh I see.

Tank rounds from the back side.

When the Russians quit 30 years ago they left shit all over the place. Judging by a gaping hole in the fold down ballistic glass, the driver took an RPG to the face. No wonder it stopped. Remember, we gave Stinger missiles to the Mujahideen just for this purpose. The Russians were pretty violent people back then and killed a lot of civilians on purpose.

We broke our water tanker for the ANA. Several hundred people drink from this tank every day and we have no replacement. The job around here is a matter of getting things done. I scrambled to find some welders one afternoon. It's pretty humbling to see what they have to work with. They weld way better than I can too. They insisted the work should be free. I slipped em each a $20.00 per order American tradition, for last minuet quality craftsmanship. They were gracious and so was I, believe me.

They welded this thing inside and out. Imagine the fumes and shock hazard squatting inside a wet tank like this one. The Afghans really have heart.

Father/Son duo. Which reminds me, a donkey stepped on an old Russian land mine a few hundred feet from here.





Shepards and their herds.

Sacrificial mine rollers.

Thanks to the "angry people" outside the gate, these Soldiers can't read for shit. No matter they're all multilingual and they drive 7 tons better than I do. This particular Kandak is deploying to Helmand province and THEY'RE NOT COMING HOME. They asked me to publish their picture.

Driver guys left to right:
PFC Finch, PFC Niedbala, MSG Mario, MSG Safira, PFC Little

Graduation field for the ANA. The weather is hot now.

My barracks room back at Fort Drum. Joe and I jammed a lot before he left the Army.

Talk about a closet drummer, my buddy Joe.

Chillin' in the readyroom waiting for the bird to take us in-country.

The first thing we did when we landed in Kabul was load our weapons.

Part of our 82 vehicle fleet we use. Our mission over here is to train the Afghan National Army (ANA). This includes drivers training. We push about 140+ Soldiers through the program each week. Many of them have never seen a vehicle before.

Another best friend of mine, Finch offers mentorship to an Afghan civilian, in the drivers training program.

My buddy Sanders shows the need for an oil change.

A single Afghan Soldier sits to play with his phone.

Eager Students

Afghan Soldiers sit in formation as they wait for our instruction.

Staff Sergeant Heath, and myself.

Mario and Heath. I trust them with my life. Mario is from Romania. The coalition forces are made up of 44 nations.

My intrepter. Also my best friend, who speaks 6 or 7 languages.

Overlooking an Afghan village. These folks are "mostlly" friendly, except when they fire rockets into our camp.

Looking down, just outside Kabul city. The air is very thin up here.

These rock houses are old Taliban fighting positions we came across on a stroll out in the mountains. No one was home.

.50 CAL Machine gun

The only weapon in our arsenal to go completelly unchanged since WWII.

MRAPs

Mine Resistant Ambush Protected

These 30,000 lb trucks are nearly bomb proof. The gunner sits 14 feet in the air, and we drive them a lot over here.