Back from Helmand

I made it safely through my embed with the Marines and Operation Kanjar; the US surge into southern Helmand Province. The drive from Camp Dwyer to the fishhook of the river was a drive I’ll… or my butt… will never forget. Since we blazed a trail where no vehicles had ever gone before, we ended up hitting potholes, dips, sand dunes… and more potholes. If it weren’t for the fact I was wearing my combat helmet on my head, I probably would have been knocked unconscious several times. Vehicles ended up getting stuck in the sand and moon dust a number of times so the drive took 10 hours. This was to go a distance of roughly 112 kilometers; about the same as driving from one side of Los Angeles to the other. We arrived around 0800 and that’s when I saw the Marine Corps do something amazing. Instead of taking an hour or two to sleep or plan the day’s events, as soon as we parked they began unloading the bulldozers, cranes and forklifts and started building COP Payne. They knew their mission and got right to it. No officers had to give motivation or direction. These 18, 19, 20 year old kids were given responsibility and they responded by getting the job done.

By the end of our first day, they had built giant dirt walls all the way around the outpost. By the end of the second day, they dug the burn pit, fuel depot and a number of other critically needed facilities for base operations. I should mention setting up tents for them to sleep in was not a priority. They thought of themselves last and the mission first. We slept on cots under the stars which in itself was an incredible experience. Way out in the middle of nowhere with no city lights for a hundred miles around, the stars shined down on us like they did for people a thousand years ago.

Within 96 hours, the COP was complete.

With that story shot and in the can, I caught a ride over to a place called the Khan Nechion Castle. The castle was allegedly built by Alexander the Great more than a thousand years ago but was more recently used as the compound for the Regional Governor. That is until the Taliban kicked him out years ago and used the castle as their base for terrorizing the local population.

The night that the operation began, the Marines with LAR or Light Armored Reconnaissance swarmed towards the castle, parked outside and in Dari announced over a loud speaker to give up, come out with their hands up and no one would be hurt. No one came out so the Marines stormed in but there was no battle to mark their arrival. The Taliban fled hearing the Marines were on the way.

The following morning a young Marine was driving a bulldozer, pushing mud from the front entrance the Taliban put there as a barricade when he hit an IED. Marines in the area were all knocked on their butts from the huge blast. Pieces of the vehicle were thrown more than 200 feet in the air. The explosion was heard several miles away. Unbelievably, the Marine driving the armor plated bulldozer was unhurt. “I was thrown around inside like a pinball in a pinball machine,” he told me. When I asked him what he was going to tell Mom and Dad, he said with a smile on his face, “some things are best unsaid.”

Shortly after my arrival at the castle, we began taking harassing fire from insurgents outside Alexander the Great’s giant adobe walls. While most people would be nervous at the sound of incoming fire, the Marine’s were thrilled. They were excited to fight; to get some trigger time. Pulling the trigger meant they could put in for their Combat Action Ribbon (CAR). You’re not a real Marine unless you have that pinned on your chest.

It was just one guy 500 yards out testing the Marines. He was probably under orders to see what how the Marines would react and how long it would take them to fire back. If there is anything I learned from this day, it’s never test the United States Marine Corps as you will pay dearly.

With three stories now on tape, it was time to say goodbye to the southern Helmand Province, the 135 degree weather and the Marines. I returned to ISAF, dirty, sweaty and proud of the time I spent with these incredible Americans. I love the Navy, but if my kids ended up joining the Corps, I’d be thrilled.