need you to be scanning for anything unusual,” Vance instructed from above. He would be the turret gunner manning the .50 cal for our vehicle.
As we pulled our night vision goggles on I said, “I’ll take the east, what do I need to be watching for?”
“Look in the crevasses and along the horizon for any enemy activity. They often ambush from positions in this type of terrain,” he answered. I couldn’t believe I was really doing this. All of the scenario training I had participated in the previous years, that I never thought I would use, suddenly all came back to me.
Our convoy was quite impressive; it was comprised of six HMMWVs and ten additional trucks driven by the ANA, which carried the supplies for the MedCap. The fact that it was so large and our vehicle was somewhat in the middle was comforting. However this comfort was short-lived. Every vehicle drove blacked out; meaning we traveled in darkness without headlights. To avoid being seen by insurgents we relied on our night vision goggles to observe our surroundings. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the ANA truck that was behind our vehicle turned its headlights on, completely illuminating our vehicle for the world to see. Vance about lost his mind as he screamed into the radio, “What the hell are you doing? Turn off your fucking lights!” We were a sitting duck, a perfect target, had someone been searching for one. We braced ourselves for any and everything. Finally after seconds, which felt like hours, the truck lights turned off. I never knew why they turned them on, but I couldn’t avoid my suspicions that it was intentional. I had been told by others that sometimes the enemy would infiltrate the ranks of the ANA. I hoped that was not the case with any of the soldiers I encountered, but it kept me on guard.
We drove on and off the road, up and down hills and narrow passes and past the occasional compounds for about an hour before we came to the edge of the Green Zone. Up until that point we had been driving in desert, the Green Zone was marked by trees and vegetation which made the area dangerous due to more strategic fighting positions for the enemy.
By the time we got there, the sun had already begun to rise and I could see farmers and their children gathering in front of their homes to watch us. I wondered what they must have been thinking, seeing us pass by with our massive convoy, weapons and gear. Looking down into the Green Zone I could see the Helmand River, which runs through a good portion of southern Afghanistan. It is known for the violence associated with the Taliban due to all of the poppy fields growing around it that were used to fund their operations. To get to our final destination for Day One of our MedCap we had to ford across the river. As we got closer Vance yelled down, “Hey! You guys need to scan the rocks and riverbed! It’s early morning and this is a prime time for an ambush to occur.”
I could feel my heart pounding and my fingers tighten around my weapon as I looked at all the rocks and caves as potential hiding places. Just to my right was a huge mountain that had on its peak a castle that was built by Alexander the Great. In any other scenario, I would have loved to get a closer look at it, but as we passed through the dangerous area, I was consumed with my duty of looking for enemy activity.
As our vehicle got closer to the river, I watched the trucks ahead of us begin to cross the water; thank God the ANA already had the other side secured. Our vehicle made the journey with no problems and once we were all across, we stopped on the river bank for “chai,” which was a tea Afghans traditionally drank. At first I was skeptical, mainly because of the water it was made with, but the team guys put my mind at ease saying they had partaken in chai many times before and had not suffered any illness. I tried it and was quite surprised at how good it tasted. It was a nice break, and peaceful watching the sun rise over the
As we pulled our night vision goggles on I said, “I’ll take the east, what do I need to be watching for?”
“Look in the crevasses and along the horizon for any enemy activity. They often ambush from positions in this type of terrain,” he answered. I couldn’t believe I was really doing this. All of the scenario training I had participated in the previous years, that I never thought I would use, suddenly all came back to me.
Our convoy was quite impressive; it was comprised of six HMMWVs and ten additional trucks driven by the ANA, which carried the supplies for the MedCap. The fact that it was so large and our vehicle was somewhat in the middle was comforting. However this comfort was short-lived. Every vehicle drove blacked out; meaning we traveled in darkness without headlights. To avoid being seen by insurgents we relied on our night vision goggles to observe our surroundings. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the ANA truck that was behind our vehicle turned its headlights on, completely illuminating our vehicle for the world to see. Vance about lost his mind as he screamed into the radio, “What the hell are you doing? Turn off your fucking lights!” We were a sitting duck, a perfect target, had someone been searching for one. We braced ourselves for any and everything. Finally after seconds, which felt like hours, the truck lights turned off. I never knew why they turned them on, but I couldn’t avoid my suspicions that it was intentional. I had been told by others that sometimes the enemy would infiltrate the ranks of the ANA. I hoped that was not the case with any of the soldiers I encountered, but it kept me on guard.
We drove on and off the road, up and down hills and narrow passes and past the occasional compounds for about an hour before we came to the edge of the Green Zone. Up until that point we had been driving in desert, the Green Zone was marked by trees and vegetation which made the area dangerous due to more strategic fighting positions for the enemy.
By the time we got there, the sun had already begun to rise and I could see farmers and their children gathering in front of their homes to watch us. I wondered what they must have been thinking, seeing us pass by with our massive convoy, weapons and gear. Looking down into the Green Zone I could see the Helmand River, which runs through a good portion of southern Afghanistan. It is known for the violence associated with the Taliban due to all of the poppy fields growing around it that were used to fund their operations. To get to our final destination for Day One of our MedCap we had to ford across the river. As we got closer Vance yelled down, “Hey! You guys need to scan the rocks and riverbed! It’s early morning and this is a prime time for an ambush to occur.”
I could feel my heart pounding and my fingers tighten around my weapon as I looked at all the rocks and caves as potential hiding places. Just to my right was a huge mountain that had on its peak a castle that was built by Alexander the Great. In any other scenario, I would have loved to get a closer look at it, but as we passed through the dangerous area, I was consumed with my duty of looking for enemy activity.
As our vehicle got closer to the river, I watched the trucks ahead of us begin to cross the water; thank God the ANA already had the other side secured. Our vehicle made the journey with no problems and once we were all across, we stopped on the river bank for “chai,” which was a tea Afghans traditionally drank. At first I was skeptical, mainly because of the water it was made with, but the team guys put my mind at ease saying they had partaken in chai many times before and had not suffered any illness. I tried it and was quite surprised at how good it tasted. It was a nice break, and peaceful watching the sun rise over the
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