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.