Firefight at Precinct 2

We rode out about mid-morning to Khowst Provincial Headquarters, joined elements from Bravo Company, 151st Infantry, Indiana Army National Guard, and visited several sites, including Precinct 2, where, just two weeks earlier, Soldiers from the unit were in a TIC (troops in contact) that left two Taliban dead and several Americans wounded.

To view it at the most charitable, Precinct 2 is a work in progress. More severe critics might describe it as a pile of rubble. Somewhere between probably lies the truth. (Pictured: Afghans working to repair the remains of Precinct 2.)

Complicating matters, Captain Chris Crawford points out, are bureaucratic snarls over which Afghan government agency actually owns the land. If, for example, Ministry of Defense owns the space and another agency such as police (under Ministry of the Interior) improves the land, then fear is that MOD will simply demand that the improvements transfer over to their agency, leaving police to find a new site.

Dealing with such apparent trivialities in the middle of an active insurgency causes teeth-grinding frustration among Coalition and Afghani officials alike.

Precinct 2 is an example. Work is progressing - we were surprised to see almost 50 laborers and several machines pouring concrete footers, removing rubble, and constructing walls when we arrived unannounced. A tall stone wall now exists on one boundary of the property that was not yet built just a few weeks ago.

Existing buildings on the property are marked for demolition. One, puzzlingly, is an agency that deals with nomad issues, including the oxymoronic proposition of issuing national ID cards and other documentation to the Kochi people, who from ancient times have roamed unimpeded across these mountains and plains herding sheep, goats, and camels, and trading goods often across unrecognized national boundaries.

Somehow these issues will be resolved. Meanwhile, work proceeds to construct living barracks, operational space, and parking areas for Afghan Uniformed Police and their vehicles.

Soldiers pointed out a heavily-damaged, two-story small brick building at the edge of the property (see photo above). This was where at least two Taliban set up to ambush Soldiers when they arrived on a visit to Precinct 2. "They opened up on us when we dismounted from our MRAPs," explained 1SG Larry Sparks, pointing toward the building. "As we moved up to engage them we began to pick up small arms fire from back over there." He gestured in the direction of some residences a block or so distant.

It was not known whether these were additional enemy fighters, or ANA who may have been shooting at the small building also. Typical of urban fighting in this country, much of the time you never know who is shooting at whom.

Twice Sparks' people assaulted the building only to be driven back by a swarm of hand grenades that wounded two to three Soldiers. "At one point," Sparks said, ANA and AUP were firing RPGs at the building. "They were flying all over the place. Only a couple hit and didn't do much damage. Then we pulled out our AT-4s (a portable anti-tank weapon) and put two into the building. At that point we launched our final assault."

Two "stacks" of Soldiers entered the building. One from B/151, a second from a Cav unit that had been passing nearby and opportunistically joined the fight. According to the Soldiers, they had cleared the top floor and one Taliban was dead, another severely wounded. A Soldier who was involved recalled, "We were just inside the room when someone fired into the chest of one of the Taliban. He saw him move. Well, this guy had a suicide vest on and the shots detonated part of the vest. Blew us down the stairs and caused a couple of more people to get wounded. Fortunately only part of the vest exploded and nobody was killed."

The TIC at Precinct 2 is typical of what fighting in Afghanistan has become. Small groups of Taliban infiltrating urban areas and making a stand in a local strong point. TICs last for hours primarily because of restraints placed upon commanders regarding use of weapons. They are prohibited from employing the heavy weapons that would rapidly degrade an enemy strong point because of the possibility - regardless of how remote - of property damage or civilian casualties.

America is now in the position that official policy has come to accept friendly losses rather than risk harming an Afghani civilian. It is a philosophy that brings into question the validity of the entire counter-insurgency strategy.

Also dominating Coalition actions is the notion that in every instance Afghani forces must be given leadership – at least a chance to exercise the opportunity to take the lead - even if it means risking lives. We saw instances of this in Paktia and Khowst Provinces and have heard reports from other areas affirming the strategy.

Is the game worth the candle? While the strategy may be sensible from the viewpoint in distant Kabul, Washington, or Brussels, it weighs heavily on the Soldiers who are called upon ultimately to do the door-kicking and risk their lives for a theory.

Combat Awards In Khowst Province

From the ramparts of the police station in Matun city, a few minutes drive outside of Forward Operating Base Salerno, in Khowst Provice, you can see the beginning of the famous Khowst-Gardez Pass. Looking westward in early evening with a setting sun and storm clouds gathering over the 14,000 foot peaks, it is an impressive sight indeed.

Since we had come eastward part-way through the K-G Pass a week or so ago viewing it from this angle was especially interesting. It was easy to let imagination take hold and wonder about the narrow, winding roads, steep dropoffs, wandering bands of nomads, and waiting hostile Taliban fighters who inhabited the Pass.

Avery and I flew out of FOB Lightning - for the final time on this embed - at about 0630 on a contract air chopper. These helicopters are the workhorses of Afghanistan. Large, forest green Russian birds with foreign crews who make daily runs between FOBs and isolated combat outposts, moving people and light cargo to and fro. We were loaded with rucksacks - we needed to fly bag-and-baggage for this one - along with standard IOTV body armor and ACH helmets.

Lightning to Salerno took about 20 minutes, liftoff to landing. I mused about the ease of flight compared to the bone-jarring ride of almost four hours in MRAPs that took us previously to the police station at Waza Zadran, only a third of the way through the pass. By now most of the snow has melted even in the highest peaks, with only isolated patches left in deep, shady crevasses remaining to remind of how bitterly cold these mountain tops can be.

The COP outside Salerno is located adjacent to an Afghan Uniformed Police headquarters and an Afghan National Army outpost. The ANA are headquartered inside an old British-made fort (see photo above) - probably late 19th century construction although it's difficult to know for certain. We're told by Captain Chris Crawford, commander of Bravo Company, 151st Infantry out of the Indiana Army National Guard, that two more forts exist down in the city itself, and that we will visit them tomorrow.

The COP, also known as KPHQ (Khowst Province Headquarters) is home to a joint tactical operations center - manned by a combination of Coalition forces, ANA, and AUP staff. There they share intelligence, plan combined operations, and monitor activities in the province. It is a busy station. Khowst Province borders the Pakistan border and just across those mountains to the east lay Waziristan and the Free Tribal Districts of Pakistan, long a sanctuary and breeding ground for al Qaeda and the Taliban.

"We have identified more than 300 access points - from major roads to goat trails - crossing the border," we are told by one of B/151's TOC non-commissioned officers. "It is possible to interdict some with traffic check points, and we're doing that fairly well, but there's no way we can monitor them all." So despite combined attention to the problem, some - perhaps many - leakers are going to get through.

American Border Patrol agents would understand of the problem all too well.

Bravo Company is unusual in several ways. Coming from the Indiana Guard, many of these Soldiers have been together in the unit for several years. Unlike the Regular Army, rotation is minimal. In more than a few instances families are part of the unit. One sergeant has three of his step-sons in the unit with him. A set of brothers profiled for a photo opportunity by the public affairs photographer who has accompanied this visit from 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Salerno, commanded by Colonel Viet Luong.

Colonel Luong is also the "landowner" or battle-space owner, in military parlance, and so CPT Crawford reports to him, as he does to LTC Duane Miller, commander of the 95th MP Battalion, who is also visiting. One thing we quickly discovered in theater is that everyone seems to have multiple bosses, adding an element of confusion even to those who purport to understand the complex chains of command.

COL Miller along with Command Sergeant Major Henry Stearns are here for several reasons. The surface motivation for the visit is an awards ceremony. Many of B/151's Soldiers have been recommended for decorations including Combat Infantryman's Badges, as well as Combat Action Badges (for non-Infantrymen) and a Combat Medic's Badge. Some of these awards were pending for quite some time and both 95th Battalion leaders are a bit irritated that the "system" somehow delayed presentation.

"We're gonna take care of that today!" CSM Stearns emphasized, adding some choice expletives about unnecessary delays in paperwork.

Also making B/151 somewhat unique is that they are running essentially a police advisory, training, and mentoring mission, hence the reporting chain up through the 95th MP Battalion. Why is an Infantry unit tagged for this? Simply because the US Army is short of MPs, so others have to pick up the slack.

With General Stanley McCrystal's emphasis on counter-insurgency and building a law-and-order environment, emphasis has slowly shifted from building the ANA - a process now four years in the undertaking - to building the AUP, something only a few months old. Remarkably, B/151 has accepted the mission with alacrity and done well with it.

"One reason we are able to pull this off," Bravo Company First Sergeant Sparks told us, "is that we bring a lot of civilian skill sets to the table, being National Guard. One of our platoon sergeants, for example, is an Indiana State Trooper." Others have experience in civilian law enforcement, and that adds to the capability. (Pictured: Captain Crawford, left and First Sergeant Sparks, right with me in the middle.)

Morale in B/151 is high. The unit has been involved in several combat actions, and while suffing some wounded, has not lost a Soldier despite some fairly intense fighting. They are nearing the end of their tour and are proud of their accomplishments.

"When we took this site over," Crawford explained on a tour, "only the stone building and one B-hut were here." Since that time, his Soldiers have constructed several comfortable plywood and lumber housing units, brought in shower and latrine facilities, and build a mess hall. The unit has organic cooks assigned and prepares all food on site.

Assembled for the award ceremony (see photo above), the Soldiers stood tall and received their combat badges - and the traditional pounding on the chest - with grins. Afterwards the mess sergeant had prepared a special celebratory meal that included prime rib and some of the largest baked potatoes anyone had seen.

Stearns gave a coin for excellence to the cook following the meal. It was a nice touch, recognizing someone who works hard and rarely gets formally thanked.

Tomorrow the Soldiers of B/151 will strap on body armor and pick up weapons for yet another patrol. But this evening they are able to relax and enjoy the ambience of the moment.

HIIDE & Seek

Ever wonder what the world would be like without having a birth certificate, social security number, a drivers license or some other form of identification -- a world without any identification databases at all? 

That's Afghanistan today, with very few exceptions. Unless you work for the government, or have been recently arrested (yikes!), chances are that there's no formal record of your existence at all. Think about it: without databases, there is no way to prove that you are who you say you are, no proof of where you live, no standardized records of what you own or who your family is.

This can be a real problem for individuals who are living in a country where terrorists purposely conceal themselves within the larger population. Meanwhile, there's an active ongoing search going on to locate those who plant improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the roads, would-be suicide bombers, arms traffickers, home made explosive (HME) cooks, and other bad characters who are hell-bent on killing in the name of beliefs, affiliations, or for some quick cash. (Photo at the left: a picture that I took while tagging along when Afghan police and US Army MPs were preparing to enter and search a typical qalat -- or private compound -- one morning not too long ago.)

It can be pretty scary to have a bunch of cops and foreign military forces knock on your door when you realize that they really don't know who you are, and what you may know or don't know. On the one side you're happy that they're there providing security and actively looking for the bad guys who are in fact known to work out of your very own neighborhood On the other hand, you also know that some security personnel are also threatened on a regular basis and they have very real reasons to be worried for themselves and their own families too. Some of them even cover their faces since they often have no idea who's a terrorist and who's not, or exactly who's looking at them with bad intentions, when they patrol and search through neighborhoods. For these reasons you understand and don't want to make them nervous, and just want to go on record as a good person who belongs while everything is A-OK.  (Pictured: a masked Afghan security officer walking past a handmade mud-constructed animal shelter inside a residential qalat, as a chicken looks on. For additional insight take a look at Gordon's short article "Who is that Masked Man?" here).

Next thing you know, one of the US Army Military Police (MP) soldiers accompanying your local cops whips out this weird little box and invites you to open your eyes wide for a teenie little camera inside. Pass your fingers over the touch-pad on top and viola, your prints will be entered into a database that can record and prove who you are and where you belong at long last -- a real benefit from the perspective of many Afghans villagers.


The little box that some MPs carry is called a HIIDE system, short for a "Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment" system. It scans your fingerprints and the retinas of your eyes to create an identity record for you, and is used in conjunction with interviews to help you describe yourself, where you belong, and what you're really about. In effect, instead of going to the DMV (which doesn't exist), the DMV comes to you. 


Most Afghan villagers who I've seen "getting HIIDE'd" were anything but intimidated by the process. This is undoubtedly because they knew that being entered into the system doesn't mean you're suspected of wrongdoing at all -- that the goal (reachable or not) is to eventually add all Afghans into a database that will help to identify the innocent as well as those guilty of horrible crimes. No discrimination, just sheer necessity in a land plagued by violence. 


Sadly, one soldier privately told me that one villager had once asked if having such a record made could help verify his remains someday if something bad were ever to happen to him... as what happened to a neighbor of his (unsaid but presumably referring to some kind of mass casualty situation). It makes you think hard, about a world without any identification databases and the various pros and cons to that thought.

Pictured above: a few of the many interesting people who were included during a HIIDE session. The goal (acheivable or not) is to eventually add everyone into an identifying database to help sort out who's who in a country that's still plagued by terrorism.