Day Twenty

Well, today was an interesting day. Now that it's over, I can talk a little bit about the fact that I went on a mission outside the wire today. Obviously, there was only so much I could say prior to today, as it's not a good thing to talk about times, dates, and specifics of missions that go on around here. You've heard all that from me already. So, if you're mad that I went outside the wire and didn't tell you before I did...I apologize.

I got up at 0500 to get ready to go. I layered up with thermals, as it was very cold out this morning and I didn't want to freeze the whole way to where we were going. I got my uniform on and headed to the office so I could finish getting my gear on and grab all the stuff I needed. At the office, I put my magazine pouches on my vest and put the loaded M4 magazines inside. I strapped my 9mm pistol to my leg like I do every day, and made sure that I had a loaded magazine in the pouch for that too. I did. I had left myself a note on a yellow sticky to not forget the camera batteries and tripod, so I grabbed those and put them by the door. I loaded my backpack with some food and water I had on my desk, and finally put the camera and batteries in there. "I think that's it," I thought as I prepared to put on my vest and helmet. I unvelocred the waistband on the vest and threw it over my head. Then I strapped it tight and put on my helmet. I buttoned the strap on the helmet, grabbed my M4 and backpack and was out the door. Chris showed up and got ready too, so we both left the office and headed to the RCC hut where we were meeting the team to go out on the mission.

The mission was a unique one. I'm not the only one here "mentoring" the Afghan National Army. The U.S. Army Route Clearance Company (RCC) Team is embedded with the 209th ANA Corps, and mentoring their Afghan counterparts. This was the ANA's first time ever performing the RC mission outside the wire, and the first time any Afghan RCC team has done it in country. So, this was a HUGE first and I was glad to be the one there to document it all. We rolled out of our camp around 0630 to head over to the ANA camp motor pool to form a convoy with the ANA humvees. Of course, my ANA PA guys never showed up, so there was no training today. What a missed opportunity for them. It was the perfect chance to show them how to do things in a real-world environment. Oh well. I was simply a videographer today. I wasn't a Section Chief with nine Airmen, and I wasn't a Superintendent of a Public Affairs Advisory Team. I was just a videographer much like the one I was fourteen years ago as a Senior Airman...and I was going to enjoy it.

Rolling outside the gate was interesting. It was early, so there weren't many people outside. The dirt roads made travel difficult, but it was still cool to be a part of it. The mountains were beautiful off in the distance, as the sun shined brightly off the snow-capped mountain tops. There were sheep herders out with their sheep, and a few people up early to tend to their crops and dig ditches for water to flow through. It was quiet for the most part, and a pretty easy drive to where we were starting the mission.

There were about fifteen humvees in the convoy and I was probably the third humvee from the back. The U.S. Army guys were trying to stay out of the operation as much as possible and let the ANA soldiers perform the mission. Of course, a few of them were there to talk to the ANA RC Commander along the way to point out different things, but for the most part, the ANA soldiers did all the work. We stopped for the first time and I noticed that people were dismounting. Of course, where I was, I couldn't see anything. At this point, I had no idea what I was going to be allowed to do, or where I was going to be allowed to go. I mentioned out loud that I was in the wrong vehicle, and the Navy EOD guy in our truck asked if I wanted to go up to the front. "He took my hint," I thought, as I responded "yes" to his questioned and opened the door to start walking. He took me up there and then disappeared, letting me go pretty much where I wanted to go.

In the front of the convoy I saw Afghan soldiers providing front security, followed by guys with metal-detector looking machines used to detect explosive devices. They scanned the road for explosives like old men search for buried treasure in the sand. It was interesting to see. I never thought I'd ever be as close to them as I was, but I ended up walking right along side them and sometimes in front of them; between them and the security detail. The Afghan RCC Commander and Platoon Commander were up there also, so I never felt like I was in any danger. As I always say, I didn't get complacent by any means...but I felt safe nonetheless.

There were many facets to this operation, from the metal-detector guys to the Afghan EOD guy poking an prodding every bit of turned up dirt he saw. The Platoon Commander poked through piles of grass and turned them over only to find the bare road. As vehicles approached, the security team stopped them and had everyone get out of the cars for personnel searches. Soldiers ran through culverts and looked under bridges...these guys were very thorough doing their job. The U.S. Army guys did a good job training them, as was proven by what I saw today. Through the dark eyes of many of these Afghan soldiers, I saw confidence. I saw determination. I saw pride. I even saw some smiles. I feel very confident that these guys could do the job without any help. Again, our Army soldiers did a great job teaching them, and that's what this "mentoring" thing is all about.

We didn't find anything out of the ordinary today, and for that, I'm thankful. Most of the civilians that passed by us were pretty much oblivious to the obvious threat of unexploded ordinances, improvised explosive devices, and land mines that were around that area. Sheep herders moved in and along the streets into the fields, people on bikes rode by, a man in a stick-filled cart being pulled by a mule drove by, and many motorcycles, cars, and cabs drove by. If anything, it felt good to know they feel safe. It's because of all the work the U.S. military has done here that they're able to move so easily around this particular village.

The Blue Force Tracker said that we walked a grand total of seven and a half miles, which blew my mind. I knew my body was hurting wearing a vest and helmet and walking the whole time while carrying all my gear, but I didn't know it was THAT far. I guess I have a reason to whine a little bit. My shoulders are sore and my back hurts a little. Nothing too unbearable though. Chris and I talked about stopping and waiting for our humvees to catch up, but both agreed that we didn't want to miss anything should something happen. So, we kept going. We went as far as everyone else, until given the order to remount the vehicles to leave. We were headed back and Chris got one of the Army guys to take a photo of us. It turned out beautifully, and surely showed two worn out Airmen. I turned it into a black and white photo and put it on here. It's pretty badass if I do say so myself. Combat Camera in action.

The ride back to camp was fun. I got to see much of the Afghan life, to include mud huts, mud buildings, markets, people on camels and mules, and children running around giving us the "thumbs up." It was cute to see all the kids running around and made me miss my own. "This is the next generation and the future of Afghanistan...I hope we can help make a better life for them," I thought as I passed by and returned a "thumbs up" of my own.

I took a ton of photos to go along with about fifty minutes worth of video. I'm putting together a story to go out that will include interviews I did and all the footage I shot. Once I have the authority to release it, I'll post it if I can.

We got back to camp around 1330 and just in time to eat lunch. I was pretty anxious to sit and work on my video, so I did that for a while. I was able to digitize all the video and get it into the computer, and break it up how I wanted to. I listened to all the interviews again and was able to write a complete script for my voiceover to go with the interviews. Everything is in place for me to start editing tomorrow, once I record my voiceover tonight. It sure feels good to be back in the driver's seat again doing my editing thing. I love my Airmen and love managing my video section and taking care of them...but I can't help but miss just how much fun it is to actually be doing the job again. There's no job out there better than this.

After a seven and a half mile hike with full gear, I was in no mood to run tonight. However, after my lunch had settled, I decided I was going to do it anyway. I'm sitting at eight and a half miles total since we started our little competition in the office on the 27th, so I wanted to run at least enough to get into double digits. "Two miles today," I told Sandy as I walked out the door. My body was aching. I didn't let that stop me though, as I ended up doing four and a half more miles today and felt good about doing it. I don't know how I'm going to feel tomorrow, but I'm glad I did it anyway. Mind over matter, right?

The rest of the night was easy, as I went into the game room and played pool for a while. I'm starting to meet some of these Army guys around here, so it's not so bad anymore. I'm not hanging out every night with them or anything, but it's nice to be able to say "hey" to a familiar face every now and then during the course of the day.

An exciting day comes to an end. While I didn't get to train my ANA's, I did enjoy myself and did get a chance to do and see some cool things. I have to take advantages of the opportunities I have here, as this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I'll never have again. Sure, the chances are good that I'll be back here in eighteen months...but let's just not think that far ahead yet. I'm living for today, and today was good. I'm looking forward to working on my video tomorrow and showing my ANA guys what I expect THEM to be able to do. They may think it's impossible, but nothing's impossible...at least, not while I'm here.