YankeeFan's Blog

Well this week end, I embark upon my latest adventure to honor our Heroes in the Middle East.. all that they endure and, all that they stand for.  I will be doing my first triathlon .. and doing it in some of the field gear that our Marines wear in Iraq & Afhganistan.. This will include a 10 mile bike ride in full cammies, boots, 30 pound ruck as well as a run in about 22 pounds of gear ... People have often asked me "why" I would endure the training to do this , I tell them about our heroes and all that they endure.. day after day .. They don't train for a few hours and hit a hot shower, a hot meal and a cold air condined home _they schlep 30 - 60 pound of gear around for 12 - 18 hours a day, are happy to eat their sandy MRE's , take a "bottled water and baby wipe" shower and kick back at the end of the day knowing they have made a difference in someone's life.  

In preparing for an interview I was doing about the triathlon, I put together some information about one young hero in particular who has inspired me, through the puking , through the blisters and though the miles of running on the beach in 2o pounds of gear.

Here is a little story about a young Marine (who lost his foot in Afghanistan) and a small group of heroes  running around the mountains of Afgh ... as told to me by his LT . It's a little bit long but well worth the read. I know, for me personally, it renews my faith that our "new" generation isn't ALL a bunch of self absorbed, narsacistic twits ..And you might gain a little bit of insight as to what is ACTUALLY going on in Afgh , and dispel the myth of the "neandrathal Marine"

I was first introduced to Cpl Laman last October, 2007, when our team formed for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. In all, our team consisted of 24 Marines hand picked out of a pool of volunteers to assume the role as mentors to the ANA, or Afghan National Army.  I am the Team Leader for Team 1 and Cpl Laman was assigned to me as a Team Member, specializing in communications.  Total strength of my team at that time was three Marines:.  We are called ETT's, or Embedded Training Teams. 

The ETT’s mission is very intimidating, yet exciting at the same time: go to the far reaches of Afghanistan, embed with the local ANA army and train them to a competent level on all facets of military life, and assist the ANA in the promotion of security, governance, and development; and finally, expel all anti-afghan forces. 

Our team, one of four others with ETT 7-3, was slated to go to Nuristan Province, one of the most enemy infested and highly contested provinces in Northern Afghanistan.  Bordering with Pakistan, it has been a safe haven and training area for Taliban fighters for many years.  Nestled away deep in the mountains is COP the most northern coalition COP in Afghanistan.  This tiny COP is where my small team would call home for the next nine months.  Nervous and wide-eyed, the four of us boarded an Army Chinook and headed north towards Camp Keating with all our belongings to link up with our ANA counterparts—due to the harsh mountainous terrain and unpredictable enemy activity, the only viable way to get to Camp Keating is via helo.

Once on the ground at Camp Keating we immediately saw the daunting task that lie ahead.  We linked up with the ANA of 2d Co, 2d Kandak, 201st Corps. They were a fledgling organization, barely 6 months in existence.  Most all the soldiers were new and many having never seen combat--other than what they experienced when the Taliban regime tried to assume control of Afghanistan and the intense fighting that resulted as the Mujihadin tried to inhibit their expansion.  Most of them farm kids, no more that twenty-years-old...inexperienced as far as military life and no real discipline to speak of. 

Our task is to make them combat hardened troops fully capable of conducting planning, logistics, communications, medical aid, indirect fires, intelligence gathering, administration, etc.

This mission is going to take time, patience, and much effort on all our part if we are to be successful. 

 

Immediately we began developing a course of action for how we would train the ANA and develop them in the various aspects of conventional warfare.  The training was hard, but realistic.  Because of this, we faced much resistance from the ANA as they seem to prefer the trouble-free, less painful avenues in life...or Enshala as the say (meaning "God Willing"); basically just a casual way of informing you that whatever happens, happens, there is no amount of training that can be done to change it. 

Eventually, our highly motivated team broke through the cultural barriers of the ANA and began making headway.  Day-by-day we implemented something new or improved upon already existing protocol.  By the end of month one, they were hardly recognizable as the same ANA company we fell in on.  Most all the credit is due to the efforts of the NCO's.  Each played a significant role in the development of these ANA soldiers.  Cpl Laman is definitely the ANA's favorite due to his caring demeanor, comical personality, and extremely high IQ.  His IQ allowed him to quickly pick up on the local language, building much rapport, and before long he was operating without an interpreter, or Tajiman. His personality and compassion went hand-in-hand with the ANA’s hospitable nature.

 

 

 Cpl Laman, as did the other NCO's, spent countless hours working side-by-side the ANA soldiers, while I mentored the ANA Commanding Officer and First Sergeant. We all grew a mutual respect for each other and soon a brotherhood formed between the ANA soldiers and our team.  The months went on, and we continued to train hard alongside the ANA, always seeking improvement in even the most random places.  We made ANA team medics, competent in treating casualties on scene and qualified to the same degree in combat lifesaving as their US counterparts.

 

 

We made maneuver teams for patrol and quick reaction forces to remain on standby while patrols were out for immediate assistance in casualty retrieval, ammo re-supply, and even food and water.  The ANA were developing quickly and up to this point, never had to test their training in a combat setting.

 

 

Our main goal was not to engage the enemy, but rather to bring the local villages together in an effort to dispel those who promote Jihad or partake in criminal activity.  With the ANA, we worked with the local Shura, a trusted group of local elders, to help promote the Afghan National Security Forces.  They informed the people of the district that the ANA were here to provide humanitarian assistance, medical treatment, security, and that the ANA need the support of the local people to help bring about development and legitimize the local government.

 

 

All was quite for the first two months while on Camp Keating.  The Shura seemed to be working well.  Of course the occasional "pot-shot" was taken from time to time, but nothing serious and no casualties resulted from the harassing rounds as they snapped harmlessly past our base. These menacing attacks are mostly due to the fact that Camp Keating is centrally located at the bottom of an intersection between two valleys, with mountains towering the camp from every direction. 

In May enemy activity in our AO was on the rise as foreign fighters began making their way into Afghanistan from the Pakistan border. As the snow melted, the mountain passes reopened. By the hundreds the Taliban made their way into Afghanistan for this summer’s offensive.  Despite the Shura’s best efforts, these foreign fighters infiltrated local villages, found sanctuary through fear and intimidation, and began operations against coalition forces. 

 

We began taking more rounds on base and mortar attacks from the distant ridgelines.  A neighboring COP, only a mile to our east where Team 2 was located, was engaged daily for the first week in May by mortars, SAF (Small Arms Fire), and rockets.  In response, we increased the duration and distance of our patrols, bringing the fight closer to the enemy and away from coalition forces located on Camp Keating.  This same level of fighting went on through the month of May and into June.  Every week we took contact of some sort; be it on patrol or mortar attacks to the base.

 

 

During the month of June, Camp Keating took over 50 mortars from enemy forces. By this point, we had the ANA at a level, both technically and tactically, with which I felt comfortable.  Improvements still needed to be made, but I felt as though the Marines and I had equipped them with all the necessary tools to conduct combat operations and be successful.  We had been in multiple engagements with the enemy and so far the ANA had performed superbly in all areas: positive identification of targets, fire discipline, adjusting indirect fires, radio communication, QRF, combat re-supply, and so on. 

Around the middle of June, I increased the number of patrols two-fold.  We had good illume from the lunar cycle and three squads of well-trained ANA soldiers ready to take the fight to the enemy.  We received multiple intelligence reports of an imminent attack on our camp.  Hard, aggressive patrolling seemed to be the only answer; denying the enemy the ability to maneuver in our battle-space.  Always changing our routines and never setting patterns for the enemy to predict our movement was a must.  Our objective was to always, always keep him guessing as to our next course of action.

 

 

 On the night of June 21st, we pushed out in mid-afternoon to an overwatch position on the North Face.  As night set in, we slowly moved out of our position to avoid an ambush…if anyone saw us occupy that position we would have been compromised after dark as enemy forces could move in and launch an attack.  We went back to Camp Keating and before daylight, patrolled back out to another position towards the north under the cover of darkness.  Before departing friendly lines, we received a report that 2-3 personnel were seen on the West Face (mountain bordering the west of camp) through thermal imagery.  I had intended on setting up a patrol base on the north side of the west face that morning, but after receiving the report, decided to move to a position better suited to observe the suspicious activity.  As we moved north towards our alternate position, we heard loud explosions overhead. 

 

 

My first reaction was mortars being fired from Keating, but I quickly realized that was not the case.  We were taking RPG fire from the west face.  The first round impacted fifty meters from the tail end of my patrol, towards the base.  Then another rocket impacted in the same vicinity.  Sgt Rozsa and I were out at that time with the ANA.  I was with the Maneuver Element while Sgt Rozsa was escorting us outside the wire with his QRF Element.  We quickly took cover and assessed the situation.  I decided to move my element to the other side of the river running parallel to our current position.  From there we quickly pushed up the mountain, located the enemy positions from which we were taking fire, and unleashed hell on them. 

 

 

 Needless to say, the enemy threat from that location was neutralized.  We thought this was just another attempt to harass coalition forces aboard Camp Keating, we were wrong.  In fact, this fight lasted over eleven hours and came from every direction and was multi-coordinated.  All day we took rockets, machine gun fire, RPG’s, and mortars.  Around 1000 local, while I was on the mountain calling in adjustments for our mortars, we received the report that Sheepdog 18 (Cpl Laman) was down.  As we were engaged that morning, Cpl Laman and his ANA quickly moved to an OP  were they could observe the situation and suppress the enemy.  After shifting to another position to get better eyes on an area of interest, his unit came came ubder heavey SAF and RPG fire.  Not long after contact was initiated, his position was struck by an RPG.  The impact sent shards of shrapnel across his body and partially amputated his left foot.  From my position, all I could do was listen in despair.  Not Laman…

 

 

Later reports detailing the incident claim that even after Laman was hit by the RPG, he continued to suppress the enemy with his rifle and directed the ANA to fire on likely enemy fighting positions.  One ANA, Nek Mohammed, the platoon Sgt working under Cpl Laman, told me that he cried when Laman was hit.  Nek Moh told me he cried because when he went to help Laman, Laman pushed him away and repeatedly told him, “Don’t worry about me, take care of your soldiers!” Cpl Laman refused medical aid from his ANA counterparts, instead choosing their lives and their safety over his. 

 

Cpl Laman’s character is one-in-a-million.  We were all touched by Cpl Laman’s actions that day.  The ANA hold him in the highest regard, he is their hero.  They truly epitomize him as if he were a famous military leader or historical figure.  Everyday they ask how he is doing, and they have even made me call Cpl Laman at Bethesda Naval Medical Center so they could hear his voice over the phone.  One by one, the ANA paid their respects over the phone to Cpl Laman.  Tears welled up in all our eyes as the ANA embraced each other as they took turns talking over speaker phone.  They say the Afghan culture is an emotionless one, maybe for the most part.  But I personally witnessed how deeply saddened the ANA were to see their brother injured and taken away; needless to say, they were not without emotion.

 

 

Cpl Laman is still part of this team. His memory and selfless actions have motivated his ANA brethren to the greatest degree. The sacrifice Cpl Laman made has instilled in them the meaning of loyalty and dedication to the mission.  The ANA know now that we are here to give our lives for the future generation of their country and that we will stop at nothing to see that they successfully restore peace back into this war-torn nation.  Because of Cpl Laman, the ANA of 2d Co are at a new level.

 

 

They are ready to take on the challenges that face us in the coming months, and to do so with pride, honor, and enthusiasm. 

We all miss Cpl Laman here at Camp Keating, but are proud having served with him.  ANA and ETT’s, we are all brothers for life and will never forget the time we spent together fighting alongside each other in the mountains of Afghanistan.

 

 

I have three children.  If the children of Afghanistan had a tenth of what our children have this would be a completely different country.  I am not speaking about material possessions, or other meaningless freedoms that we take for granted, rather I’m talking about opportunity.  If there’s one thing you can’t say to an Afghan child, it’s “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

 What are the opportunities that exist for the future generation of Afghanistan?  Why should we give our lives, our soldiers’ lives, for theirs?  The answer is clear when you visit the poverty stricken villages that stretch across these lands…opportunity.  You must create opportunity for the next generation or you are catering to terrorism.  Terrorism thrives on the exploitation of the poor, ignorant, and disenfranchised.

 

 

So long as the people of Afghanistan are oppressed through the denial of education and the opportunity for a better life removed, by the masses they will flock to what is rapidly becoming status quo…where only those under jihadi rule enjoy security.  This is a situation that affects us all.  For this reason, and for all those citizens who live under the US canopy, warriors like Cpl Laman are making sacrifices alongside the Afghan Army to foster change. 

 

 

We are not in Afghanistan to kill bad guys; we are here to rebuild a nation…a nation that cries silently to be rescued.  We are here to restore legitimacy in their government and establish security, to create opportunity.  The future generation of this country should aspire to become doctors, teachers, even police. 

 

 

They should not be coerced into a life spent waging “holy war”.  Our presence here is welcomed.  I can personally attest to that.  I have met some amazing Afghans, though every one of them apprehensive of their future; their children’s future.  Just as us, they love their children and want nothing but the best for them.  By not rebuilding Afghanistan we are failing the people, and again, the effects will spill over onto US soil.  Simply stated, Afghanistan’s success as a nation and the safety of our society go hand-in-hand as both will prosper through the combined support and efforts of US and Afghan forces as we work together to reintroduce stability in this volatile country.

 

 

********** A couple of days after his injury which resulted in the loss of his foot, I had the opportunity to speak to Cpl Laman.

He had requested via his LT that I call him at Bethesda to thank ME for doing a little 5k run in some gear in his honor. The conversation was humbling and inspiring to say the least and I am forever changed by this young Marine. The first words out of his mouth were to thank me for all of my support while they were in country and to tell me that he was honored by my run for him. (are you kidding me?)  His second words were how bad that he felt letting down his team by getting injured and how guilty he felt for being safe and comfortable while his team was still there. The Third thing he said was that he couldn't wait to get his prosthetic so that he could go back over .. while he wouldn't be humping the mountains, he would be able to ride a desk to support his brothers who were ..

 

 

To this young Marine, I am eternally grateful for the lessons he has taught me about courage and commitment and I will forever be humbled and inspired.