Afghanistan

[The Holy Roller]

A former student recently returned home from a six month tour in Afghanistan for two weeks of leave (before he redeploys to his unit). This is no ordinary young man. Jimmy G. graduated from high school with my youngest daughter in 2004 and was nominated to attend the Naval Academy at Annapolis. Obviously he was of the highest caliber academically and in pretty good physical shape. He was accepted in to the Academy and we kept in touch through my daughter whom he had dated several times (Mrs. HR thought he was "the one") and as he approached graduation from the Academy he was given the choice of serving the next six years in the Navy or the Marines. (The Marine slots are reserved for members of the top 10% of the graduating class Jimmy later told me). For some insane reason (though I am not suprised and am humbled by his decision) he chose the Marines. Not only that, he wanted to be a Marine Infantry Officer!

 

I wasn't sure if he understood what he was getting into but he assured me he did. (His degree, by the way, is in physics, he was always a brain). He graduated from the Academy in 2008 and was sent to Quantico, Virginia for Officer Candidate School and then Infantry Training School. He passed both in fine order and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 2009. He was then sent to Marine Base 29 Palms, California and assigned to the 7th Marine Regiment. (I think I remember Ursa saying his son was also in 7th Marines but I'm not sure).

 

Jimmy G was then sent to Kilo Company 3/7 and made a platoon commander and immediately went into training for deployment to Afghanistan with his new command. In May of this year he e-mailed me to let us know he was in country and beginning his deployment. I did not hear anything from him until yesterday.

 

This young, handsome, sunbaked first lieutenant walked into my last period class. The boy I once knew was clearly gone and now a combat veteran stood before me, a leader of fighting Marines, clear eyed and firm of grip. It took everything I had to not hug him in front of all my 7th graders, I was so full of pride and near speechless because of the lump in my throat.

 

We began to talk and he told me some things he had experienced, obviously downplaying some of the more graphic details. But some things just come up. Like his remark that the Marines are suffering casualties approaching Vietnam levels. His company had very few fatalities but a lot of IED casualties that required men to be sent home and then replaced. I asked, "Is there an end?" and his reply brought back a lot of memories. "We cannot win there in a hundred years. The Afghans are fighting with nothing because that is all they have. It's their land, their way of living. We(meaning his company) killed over 150 of them in three months time yet they keep fighting."

 

I asked, "Should we be there?", and his reply was that to leave now would be to dishonor all those men who have already given their lives. We discussed whether it's better to continue to throw away American lives simply for the sake of honoring those already fallen but I could see that in his frame of mind I was not making his struggles any easier. He then changed gears and started telling me some of the tales that combat infantry find humor in (it's usually dark or twisted but that's how the mind copes I guess) like the time one of the other platoon commanders had to call in an air strike danger close to his position and a 500 hundred pound bomb exploded so close the lieutenant lost consciousness and is just now (a couple weeks later) regaining full use of his voice without slurring his words. His fellow platoon commanders mimic his efforts to speak in a command voice and according to Jimmy the results are hysterical. He told me they even play fantasy football!! and are now entering their playoffs. The company executive officer is the league commissioner and uses his clearances to use some high powered communication gear to get stats and manage the league. Jimmy says more than once they've been on patrols when someone brings up some fantasy football topic like who to start that week or what a pile of Athenae some player turned out to be. We laughed at the juxtaposition of his situation, dealing with life and death in the most horrible of situations and yet worrying if some millionaire playing a game halfway around the world would lead his team to fantasy victory that week. Simply incredible.

 

He got two weeks of temporary duty in California before Christmas and then he's taking another two weeks to come home before he returns to Afghanistan. I made him promise to come see me when he gets home during Christmas so we could talk a little more. I'm telling you guys, our country still makes'em like it used to.

Edited December 3, 2010 by The Holy Roller

[Rovers]

Thanks for posting this. I had some travel via long flights to do, and bought a book, The Good Soldiers. It was the stroy of an army battalion that left Kansas for Iraq for a 15 month tour, 2007 thru part of 2008. I am very glad I read it.

 

I got to the point where causualty reports were just another part of the national news. Meh... OK, some more GI's died. How horrified I am after reading that book to have become so apathetic. We generally only hear about deaths, but so many more soldiers and Marines are coming back without limbs. The more time they spend in either country wears them down and most finish thier tours thinking that their service, putting their lives on the line on a daily basis is a complete waste, it isn't "winnable.'

 

In 2007 they started using COP's, a small command post with 75 to 150 men located in nearly every town to help the natives feel more protected if they happen to choose to support the efforts of our miltary. Some brave natives do so... and generally end up dead for it. Iraqi police and military have their families killed and their houses burnt. Just as often they are captured and tortured to death, then their bodies get disgraced and dismembered.

 

These radicals are simply convinced we are all that is evil. They destroy the sewers we try to build for them to reduce sickness and illness. We pour money and resources in, and they destroy it as soon as it might improve the lives of the people. They are madmen, and there is no cure. The soldiers see it, and know it's all a waste of time and lives. They are beset by the idea of giving up and thinking all of the lives and limbs lost could all be for nothing. The local leaders know this too, and all they do is ask for money, claiming it will help, but they keep the money. They probably even funnel half ot that that money to the insurgents just so their families won't be slaughtered. Some of them have been caught doing just this.

 

This is worse than Viet Nam excepting that at least now, US civilians don't spit on these young men in airports anymore. The mission is not one that can end with anything near what could be called victory. It's a matter of getting out while rationalizing that all the men wasted were not to have died or have been maimed without a reason to have made such sacrafices. This is the conundrum that the returning soldiers and Marines face as well. Then, some of them go back for a second or even third tour.

 

Biggest clusterPenny Lane this country has ever gotten into.

[Ursa Majoris]

He was then sent to Marine Base 29 Palms, California and assigned to the 7th Marine Regiment. (I think I remember Ursa saying his son was also in 7th Marines but I'm not sure).

 

<snip>

 

I'm telling you guys, our country still makes'em like it used to.

Mine was in 2/5 Fox Company (the same company that raised the flag at Iwo Jima).

 

And yes, our country really does turn out hundreds of thousands of fine young men and women that we flat out do not deserve. When we decide to go to war, there should be a draft for all. These wars are felt by only a few - if it's worth going to war over, it's worth us all going to war over.

 

Good luck to your former student.

[BeeR]

I asked, "Is there an end?" and his reply brought back a lot of memories. "We cannot win there in a hundred years."

Freaking duh. I'm amazed how many people still don't get this.

 

I asked, "Should we be there?", and his reply was that to leave now would be to dishonor all those men who have already given their lives. We discussed whether it's better to continue to throw away American lives simply for the sake of honoring those already fallen but I could see that in his frame of mind I was not making his struggles any easier.

Understandable, but your point is valid and w/all due respect, he's wrong (and I suspect he may even know it, esp given what he says above). Tossing away more lives does not "honor" or justify lives previously lost in an unwinnable war. The more this has gone on, the more parallels I see with Vietnam.

 

Here's to him coming home safe and sound along with all the rest over in that loony bin.

[nuke'em ttg]

 

keep us updated HR

[Savage Beatings]

Excellent post... I hope everyone hear reads this!

[MojoMan]

['canes2004]

Great post. Great story. Really trying to wrap my head around the whole thing that is going on over there and at the cost. Just can't justify it in my heart or mind. Glad your friend is ok and is home for Christmas. Wish they all were.

 

[nuke'em ttg]

Great post. Great story. Really trying to wrap my head around the whole thing that is going on over there and at the cost. Just can't justify it in my heart or mind. Glad your friend is ok and is home for Christmas. Wish they all were.

 

 

Yep, all those tribes have there panties in a wad and don't seem to appreciate us defeating the Taliban so bring the men & women home and leave the bomb dropping Drones to replace the door kickers.Secure our boarders and save some tacos,lower taxes.

[Square]

Freaking duh.

Stay classy BeeR.

[redrumjuice]

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2...an_appears.html

[nuke'em ttg]

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2...an_appears.html