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"I wouldn't come here without a gun" - Afghanistan
Fri Jul 03 09:38AM
'Hurry up... and wait' remains the military way of doing things, despite all the sophistication of modern warfare.
On an embed with the US military in Afghanistan, we spent eleven hours in the back of an armoured truck bouncing across the desert. A day of waiting around in the heat and the dust. And then a surprise change of plan, and a return journey all the way back to where we came from.
Then there's a sudden chance of a ride in a helicopter, and a rush to get to the air field. Sure there's a flight... in 12 hours' time. And after eight hours, they cancel it.
For the US Marines deployed in Afghanistan, such delays and uncertainty are part of the job.
"We don't know what day it is, or think about what we are doing tomorrow," said Sergeant Heath Nall, a member of a Marine counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) unit. "We just keep working, and when it's time to go home, they'll tell us."
Being out in the desert, sleeping in hammocks hung between their parked vehicles, is where these small groups of 30 or so young fighting men like to be.
They refer to Camp Leatherneck, their headquarters in Helmand province, as the "funny farm" where too many people issue too many orders. Out in the field, they are closer to the action and free from the constraints of life on base.
When not clearing roads of bombs planted by Taliban insurgents, they spend their days tinkering with their MRAPs (Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected) trucks, sweating manically through the heat of the day.
Later, in the cool of the evening, they pump weights using full ammunition boxes hanging from either end of a heavy axe, clean their guns, or doze with their iPods.
They appear to survive on a balanced diet of PopTarts and Gatorade.
Embedded journalists, who are posted to live with the US Marines for a short time, are treated with curiosity and humour.
"Put it this way," said Lieutenant Mark Tucher as he surveyed the laptop bag slung over my shoulder. "I wouldn't come here without a gun."
In this blog, reporters and editors for global news wire AFP blog about the news they report and the challenges they face covering events from Baghdad to Beijing, the White House to Darfur. Ben Sheppard is an embedded reporter in Afghanistan.
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We live in a sad 'ole world.
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I wonder how many of you would comment to the soldiers out there. They are just doing a job and dont want to know the politics or religion that drives these fanatics. How many in the Taliban would stand face to face and fight for their fanatical ideas.
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They are just fighting for getting nothing. This is the afhgan people not USA to decide who will rule them. These USA & UK must give up the support of most corrupt politicians in Afghanistan.
jan khan from Nottingham
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"... ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die..." to part quote an infamous refrain.
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If Afghanistan didn't have all that Opium, we woonder whether ther would be so many Taliban?, but any repressive ideology can only find sanctuary in places which are 'backward'. To societies who enjoy Democratic and Secular Government, Welfare, and all the other benefits of an Industrialised 'wealthy' economies, extremism rarely gets more than a minority look in.
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Infantry, the 'Grunts' of the Military just get on and do it. Like any of us, they just make the best of whatever situation they find themselves in. However, unlike the rest of us, they have little or no control over their daily lives, and must be preapred to kill or be killed in our name.
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Their sense of humour is black. Their sense of comradeship goes deeper than most could possible imagine, and in combat, that reaches levels beyond 'civilian' comprehension. Not that civilians cannot relate, but not in our comfortable lives. Londoners in the Blitz, Palestinians in Gaza, anyone who lives daily life with the threat of injury, mutiliation and death, can possibly relate.
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What we must appreciate is that war is degrading. The brutality is de-humanising, and that goes for everyone involved, including those pulling the triggers. Why human beings still resort to lethal conflict to try and 'solve' anything is intellectually bemusing, but merely reflects a characteristic of the species.
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Whilst I am a pacifist, I would not choose to wander round Afghanistan, and if I did, I would certainly take protection seriously. At the moment, that would include a gun. Better still, a Company of battle hardened veterans...
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I found this very interesting and informative. My boyfriend is currently over there (working in the private sector) and it is good to get some real information about what it is like, how they live etc so I can gain some understanding for when he comes home.
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daar607 - you can. There are lots of ex-army over there working for the private sector - my boyfriend and his sone included.
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Comments on the lines of 'what's the point, we're not going to win' beg the question 'What would happen if we did nothing?'
There is an excellent song by Tom Lehrer called 'Send the Marines'
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whatever the out come of this farce, even the best scenario will never bring back the 100's of 1000's of innocents we've killed, im afraid the situation now is far worse than it was, they all have families and im afraid this will carry on for generations to come, thank you britain and america, you have brought terrorism to the world stage, not just local politics, and you wont defeat what you cant define, ie, what is terrorism? if you blow up my family and i blow up yours, am i a terrorist? and even if you did "win", what would you do with this big army, armed to the teeth? you'd have to pick on someone, it's a sorry affair.
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Having served in Egypt and Cyprus during the troubles in the 1950's
and experienced the atrocities commited by the so called freedom fighters
there, nothing changes. Personnel were not given the best equipment then
and having no idea who of the natives were friend or foe doesn't help
Politicians can spout all they want about the heroic British servicemen
but none of them seem to do anything to help them in their duties by giving
them better protection ie body armour and armoured vechicles capable of
withstanding explosions from beneath. As I said before nothing changes from
the higher echelon's so why do we bother.
Chullah
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inverkenny most of the 'innocents' I've seen were carrying RPGs or Ak 47s.
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