How do I say "If I never see you again, it will be too soon" in Pasto?

I am now out of Afghanistan and back in the U.S.

I am Waiting

For the last few days we have officially had no responsibilities or duties here on Leatherneck. It's seriously just a flight out of here we are waiting on. Don't get excited yet though, it could still be days.

The Final Score

Officially, this post will be the last I write about a mission. I have learned that the last mission (referenced in my previous post) was literally my last adventure outside the wire. It was a fitting way to leave Afghanistan, being both successful, though not as eventful as the run before (both went to FOB Dwyer, widely considered one of the most dangerous runs in Helmand Province). Of course, the previous run was a bit bloody, but this one was not entirely without action either. It actually seemed like they had us for a second, but of course they didn't, and in the end they regretted their arrogance. All in all, it was a good mission to finish the deployment with. In a way I guess it reflects my time in Afghanistan well. Now I just need to start saying goodbye to this place I will never return to.

People are Strange When You're a Stranger

As we were pulling into our motor-pool after our mission yesterday I noticed some Marines I didn't recognize. After parking and dismounting our crew-served weapon I noticed some more strangers hanging around our weapons locker. At first I was concerned there was a security breach, but then I realized who all these people were. These strangers are our relief. We are seriously going home.

The Guamaniac

Although we do have an official interpreter assigned to us on most missions we have our own special type of linguist/cultural expert. Perez, or as he is known by the locals "Padawan" could run for office here in Helmand. Who would have thought that the boy from the island territory of Guam would fall in so easily with the desert people of Afghanistan? He is so close with them that most people watch in awe as they interact. Maybe the language they speak in Guam is similar to Pashto. Perhaps they have a common bond because they are both used to living in primitive conditions.* My humble suggestion would be that they are all insane. Submitted for your judgment I give you this short film of their interactions.

*I.E.: Making a spear by hand and then going fishing with it like Perez has told me stories about doing back home.

A Place in the History Books

This week the Taliban announced on their website for the first time in Helmand Province that a number of their fighters were killed in action against Coalition Forces with no civilian casualties. This goes well outside of their modus operandi of either denying that any fighters were killed or falsely claiming that some, if not all of those killed were civilians. The number they gave on the website was 11 killed, but I know this to be false. I know it to be false firstly because I have seen the satellite images of 28 dead Taliban fighters. I also know this because I was there. It all started with sniper fire, but when the sun went down and the fighting had yet to be resolved we knew we were in for more the next day. After dark both sides retired, but the following morning they attempted to launch a mortar attack on our convoy. Needless to say we didn’t let them get too many shots off.
Interestingly, this was not a combat logistics patrol. We were not out looking for any fights this time. We were just escorting cargo from one point to another. It’s really amazing that we managed to bring such a high cost to bear while handicapped by so many non-gun trucks. Still, it was a long convoy. A few IEDs, but no serious injuries. Also, a kid picked my pocket and stole my knife in Nalazad and I had to run and tackle him to get it back. Thankfully I retrieved it, because it’s a really good knife.

IED

To clarify my last post, no no one was hurt too bad. Many of you have contacted me with concerns for their well being. From the size of it I assume they had to be knocked around fairly bad, but at the same time they were not med-evaced. It their injuries had been in any way life threatening, or even close to life threatening it would not have even been a question, they would have been evacuated. I do not know those Marines. They are from a different unit. Their only task is to clear future routs of bombs, where as ours is to provide general security for any operation outside the wire. We really don't work with them that often, so I can't comment on how they are doing.

Really, with these new vehicles I think that IEDs are passe. The trucks can take a ton of abuse and have all the passengers walk away. Also, with the caliber of training Marines are getting when it comes to detecting IEDs, both using the naked eye and thermal cameras, we are spotting most of them before they go off. It really gets me excited when we find a bomb with multiple hundreds of pounds and destroy it before it has a chance to go off. How pissed that bomb maker must be that weeks of work did nothing but delay us by twenty minutes.