Jesse's Hunting & Outdoors Forum - Military, Survival & Home Defense

FYI: Paperwork for Afghanistan Media Embed

Michael Yon RSS Feed — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:10:14 GMT

17 November 2009

There has been much curiosity about the procedures involved during the embed process.###### The process is constantly changing, and is different for Iraq than for Afghanistan.###### A Philippines embed is different still, and requires embassy approval because, am told, the State department is worried about what one might say.###### In Afghanistan, the process with the British and Lithuanians also varies.###### The process can be dramatically different for powerful media outlets, who often come in on "junkets."###### In Iraq, in 2005, saw CNN have two helicopters dedicated to it for a day in Diyala Province.###### (I went with them.)

The process can be simple and easy, or very complicated.###### For instance, I was recently asked to go to Iraq and agreed.###### That got bogged somewhere so Iraq is out unless I go alone, which will probably do in 2010.###### There is no standard.

As of today, this is the first set of paperwork for Afghanistan.###### Minutes ago, I completed and emailed these forms to Afghanistan for an embed with the Stryker Brigade.###### Looking forward to getting back with the infantry:

######

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Hunt for Samurai Subs Airs Tonight 11/17 on NATGEO

spectr17 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:40:31 GMT

Hunt for Samurai Subs Airs Tonight

11/17/09

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissioner (FWC) Richard Corbett funded an expedition to find a group of Japanese super-submarines that were en route to attack a U.S. Navy base when World War II ended.

The National Geographic Channel will air the story Tuesday at 9 p.m. (EST) recounting discovery of the extremely advanced aircraft-carrying submarines off the coast or Hawaii in 3,000 feet of water.

At the end of the war, the U.S. Navy seized the submarines and secretly sank them off the Hawaiian island of Oahu when Russian scientists demanded access to the vessels.

Corbett sponsored the expedition with private funds when Mark Fowler, son of Jim Fowler of "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" fame approached him for support. No FWC money was involved.

The Japanese super-submarines were larger, faster and more difficult to detect than any U.S. submarines at the time. They could carry and launch up to three bombers and were designed to attack the U.S. mainland.

Contact:
(FWC) Henry Cabbage 850-488-8843
(National Geographic Channel) Chris Albert 202-912-6526
or Dara Klatt 202-912-6720
(NOAA) Fred Gorell 301-734-1021
(Richard Corbett's Office) Jennifer Kent 813-286-7644

Hostages

Michael Yon RSS Feed — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:50:24 GMT

Michael Yon
16 November 2009

When New York Times journalist David Rohde was kidnapped last year in Afghanistan, the company engaged in a painstaking effort to squash the story. They succeeded in persuading major media who learned of the kidnapping to keep quiet. The cover-up was so good that a New York Times reporter I spoke with in December 2008, while she and I joined Secretary Gates on a trip through Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq and back to the United States, had not heard about the David Rohde kidnapping.

The New York Times openly agrees that publishing such articles increases the peril to the lives of hostages, yet it published details about a British couple being held hostage in Somalia, and thus increased the value of the hostages to the kidnappers.

Some months after Mr. Rohde�s kidnapping started leaking, I published a generic blurb about the case, but made sure none of the information was new.

I knew more than was included in the vignette, but chose not to release it. I did not share what sources had told me: that Taliban members were being paid large sums of money (and that money was being wasted) and that some of the efforts flowed through Dubai. I have not published any other additional information from sources. Shortly after publication, March 13, 2009, I received an e-mail that included this request from a person close to Rohde:

�The NYT has asked for a news blackout while they do what they can for David Rohde's release. All the wires and the big papers are following it. Therefore, while I'm sure you don't mean any harm, I'm not sure your post about him is helpful.�

The person who e-mailed was not from the New York Times.###### I removed the blub I had posted to my site. Though no new information was released, I had offered the kidnappers more coverage.

Sources continued sending reports about attempts to repatriate Rohde. I had not sought out this information. It had fallen as it usually does, like rain.

After Rohde returned to the United States and details became public, the Washington Post and others contacted me about my decisions to publish and then remove the vignette. My thoughts were that if the words risked the life of Mr. Rohde, they should not be publicized.

While reading the New York Times� article about the British couple, I became upset, and wondered why they would implement a black-out for one hostage, but not another.

I shifted my Blackberry over to Twitter and punched out some blurbs, one of which said the following:

�Numerous very well placed sources have told me New York Times/associates paid millions to get Rohde release.�

And:

�NYT is endangering the hostages in Somalia.�

It is important to know that while tweeting those words, I was sitting on an airplane, on a research trip, for an article for the New York Times. An editor had asked for something about Afghanistan, and I chose the topic of biogas, which included trips to Cambodia, Laos, Nepal (twice), Vietnam (this week), and Afghanistan.

The New York Times is one of the best sources on Iraq and Afghanistan. Their war correspondents are the �A-Team� and that included David Rohde. I was happy to write a piece for the New York Times.

The flurry of follow-on stories that picked up on my tweets, such as those by the Huffington Post, focused on ransom for Mr. Rohde, rather than the point about the harm the New York Times� detailed coverage could cause the hostages.

On November 2, the New York Times posted a public response:

�Several Web sites repeated Monday erroneous allegations that The New York Times had paid a ransom in the case of its reporter David Rohde, held by the Taliban for seven months.�

The New York Times didn�t mention me by name, but the story continued spreading, with people reporting that I accused the New York Times of lying. Nowhere in the �tweets� was ransom mentioned, or anything about lying. I have no evidence that the New York Times misled the public, nor did I say or imply such. The tweet about money was based on what I had been told by reliable sources. Again, this is the tweet:

�Numerous very well placed sources have told me New York Times/associates paid millions to get Rohde release.�

The New York Times rebuttal statement goes on to quote David Rohde:

�American government officials worked to free us, but they maintained their longstanding policy of not negotiating with kidnappers. They paid no ransom and exchanged no prisoners. Pakistani and Afghan officials said they also freed no prisoners and provided no money.

�Security consultants who worked on our case said cash was paid to Taliban members who said they knew our whereabouts. But the consultants said they were never able to identify or establish contact with the guards who were living with us.�

Though it didn�t address the exact amount of money, the New York Times confirmed my tweet about money by acknowledging that �cash was paid to Taliban members.� My sources have said that large sums of money went through Dubai to Pakistan, not to mention the costs paid to consultants and other expenses.

Though my statements were in line with the New York Times� statements, other outlets continued to state that I was accusing the New York Times of �lying.�###### Not the case.

Chris Rovzar, who blogs at New York Magazine, was off mark when he ran this headline: Freelance War Reporter Accuses Times of Lying about Taliban Bribes.

My words said nothing about lying or bribes, and I am not a �freelance� or a �reporter,� though some of the work involves reporting. I contacted Mr. Rovzar and was pleasantly rewarded by his goodwill, candor and willingness to reexamine the words.

Moving on, the New York Times picked up on points about its coverage of the Somalia story when it published:

�Bloggers also accused The Times of hypocrisy in reporting on a British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates while keeping quiet Mr. Rohde�s kidnapping. . .

�The New York Times did not break the story of the kidnapping of Paul and Rachel Chandler, and during our reporting of it The Times consulted Christine Collett, Ms. Chandler�s sister-in-law, to ask her if the family objected to the publication of any information regarding the case. Ms. Collett, who was quoted in the story, said the family had no objection to The Times reporting on the case.�

Reporting with permission from a sister-in-law hardly makes it right. How many everyday people have experiences dealing with kidnappers? In fact, the Rohde case was the first time I realized how sensitive negotiators are to even passing acknowledgment.###### How many of us know that even acknowledgment of the kidnapping can lead to harm?###### Most people are unaware, but the New York Times knows. Did the New York Times share advice on its recent experiences when it asked Ms. Collett�s permission?

This incident aside, my respect for the New York Times� reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan is undiminished. It offers world-class coverage, and continues to be on the reading list.

The New York Times and I simply have a difference of opinion on the hostage topic.

I believe that they have been truthful, while understandably guarded on the abduction of David Rohde. It would be wrong to bash a paper that has fielded such an outstanding team in Iraq and Afghanistan. The hostage issue is just one important issue, and all points by all parties seem to have been made and noted.

Finally, it�s time to move on from this distraction to a much larger topic: Afghanistan. Bad signals are coming from the White House.

######

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Fake marine Steven Burton of Palm Springs CA busted by real commander

spectr17 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:42:49 GMT

What an azzhat. :mad-fumin-red:

Fake marine busted by real commander

BURTON

Japanese Aid to Afghanistan II

Michael Yon RSS Feed — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:00:14 GMT

12 November 2009

I asked General David Petraeus, General (ret.) Barry McCaffrey, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, about the Japanese decisions on Afghanistan.###### (The Japanese plan to recall their refueling capacity but to add $5 billion dollars in development aid over five years.)###### All three responded.###### This from Geoff Morrell, who is the spokesman for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

"We welcome Japan's additional contribution and its continued partnership in the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan."

Answers from Generals Petraeus and McCaffrey are here.

######

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Japanese Aid to Afghanistan

Michael Yon RSS Feed — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:00:04 GMT

Kathmandu, Nepal � The Japanese are pulling naval assets from the fight in Afghanistan, but they are adding assets in another category. I asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (who has not responded), Gen. David Petraeus, and Gen. (ret.) Barry McCaffrey to comment on this report:

Japan plans additional $5 billion for Afghanistan
By JAY ALABASTER (AP)

TOKYO � Japan on Tuesday announced $5 billion in fresh aid to Afghanistan even as it plans to bring home refueling ships supporting U.S.-led forces there. The pledge comes just days before President Barack Obama arrives in Tokyo for talks that are sure to focus on the countries' military alliance.

The announcement appears to be a way for Japan, which is barred from sending troops for combat by its pacifist constitution, to show support for Afghanistan's reconstruction while Obama reviews his options for a new strategy in the conflict.

General Petraeus responded: �It reflects a significant commitment, one that will provide important resources to Afghanistan during an important period.�

General McCaffrey responded:

Michael,

The Japanese commitment of $5 billion in aid to Afghanistan coming just prior to President Obama's visit to Tokyo is a welcome signal of financial support for Washington.

Our Allies in Afghanistan are headed for the door. The Canadians and Dutch have already said they will withdraw troops in the coming 24 months. The Germans are of dubious value with their constricting rules of engagement. Japan itself has announced it will end its Indian Ocean refueling mission. Only the courageous Brits are there in any strength with the will to fight.

The Japanese constitution and their political legacy from WWII make them literally worthless as a deployed ground combat military force. In Iraq they were incapable of even defending themselves with their modest troop commitment. Therefore, this significant financial support during a Japanese financial recession is a positive outreach for this critical ally.

I am very interested to hear the thoughts of Secretary Gates. The Japanese decision is significant and will affect the war. I suspect the Canadian decision is mostly (but not totally) �final.� Canadian soldiers earned a hard reputation the hard way. They get respect, but the Canadian government is not to be taken seriously. The Dutch need to stay in the fight. Their contribution is crucial. The Germans will get whipped to pieces, in my judgment, but the Dutch need to stay with the winning team � and they can. General McCaffrey wrote, �Only the courageous Brits are there in any strength with the will to fight.� Well, there are some others who will fight, but the Brits definitely get huge respect. The Aussies, in their tiny numbers, will fight. The Danes and the Dutch will fight, as will the Canadians if given the chance.

Japanese financial aid already has been very helpful to Afghanistan; I have seen its positive effects. The previous Japanese aid package that is nearly spent was worth $2 billion. (Japanese officials told me some months ago that they had spent $1.8 billion and had $200 million left in the fund.) The injection of another $5 billion in development money is a very good thing.

######

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Tim Kennedy and Jon Walsh teach Special Ops MMA

spectr17 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:02:22 GMT

:lol bashing sign:

Military and Vets get free meal for VEteran's Day. Applebee's & Golden Corral

spectr17 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:56:31 GMT

Check the dates, some free meals are not on Veteran's Day. With no ID check you just know some POS is going to claim to be a vet to pinch a free meal.

Applebee's, Golden Corral, M&S salute vets with free food - USATODAY.com

Applebee's. Applebee's is offering a free entree on Wednesday to veterans and all active-duty military from 11 a.m. to midnight at all 1,900 locations. Although Applebee's requests some kind of military ID, "We're not going to argue with folks who might forget to bring it," says Sam Rothschild, senior vice president of operations.

�McCormick & Schmick's. For the 11th year in a row, the 87 locations in 25 states are offering free entrees to veterans on Sunday. The chain also requests military ID and highly recommends reservations. The promotion is on Sunday instead of Veterans Day, "because it allows vets to bring their families who might not be available during the week," CEO Bill Freeman says.

�Golden Corral. The 485-unit chain is offering free buffet meals � including beverage and dessert � to current military and vets on Monday, Nov. 16, from 5 to 9 p.m. No military ID is required for its ninth annual Military Appreciation Monday, says Dolly Mercer, national events manager. The event is held on this date, she says, "so we don't interfere with Veterans Day activities."

Fishing, hunting help injured veterans heal

spectr17 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:54:39 GMT

Good deal to see our wounded warriors getting out to hunt and fish. :patiotic-wavin-flag

Jconline - Fishing, hunting help injured veterans heal

Ambush of the Common Sort

Michael Yon RSS Feed — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:50:18 GMT

08 November 2009

Got a ping today about an attack on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul.###### It's a dangerous road and I don't like to drive it.###### The source has always been reliable, so I pinged Tim Lynch (who often is on that road), and Tim just sent these pics and a quick narrative.###### (Unedited, and my post also coming via Blackberry.)###### Tim writes:

The ambush happened around 0845 or so on the west side of the Duranta Tunnel.###### Steve and I rolled out to look - the fuel convoy had security escorts from Compass security and they plus some ANP are who you see up in the ridges.###### Three tankers were burning and three more were shot up and leaking fuel all over the place.###### There was a section of OH-58's up and after about 20 minutes of figuring out who was who on the ground they started in on the bad guys with rockets and mini gun.

There was still some fighting going on when we arrived and few rounds came our way but were very high and not to close.###### The bad guys had one belt fed which opened up briefly - the Blue Compass/ANP guys clearly had the momentum and used damn good fire discipline - we only heard volleys when the Taliban exposed themselves and those volleys were not that long.The Army claims four KIA from the OH's which is not doubt true given how low they were scouting about for targets - there is no cover out there just fingers and draws and the security guys were putting pressure on the Ambush team to keep moving which exposed them to the birds.

######

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Shooting at Ft Hood TX -- 9 Dead

Sumpnneedskillin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:52:02 GMT

As many as 9 killed in Fort Hood shootings, officials say - CNN.com

Lot's of "unconfirmed" reports right now. Flipping back and forth between the channels. Will have to wait and see what the facts are before I start putting more stuff up here.

Smithsonian Air&Space on Kopp-Etchells Effect

Michael Yon RSS Feed — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:50:14 GMT

November 04, 2009

Helo Halo

Luminous halos twirled above a Boeing CH-47 Chinook on a recent night around 11:30 p.m. local time at Forward Operating Base Jackson in Sangin, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as helicopters ferried casualties and supplies in and out of the base. The photographer was independent journalist Michael Yon, a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier now traveling the world's war zones with a camera. Helicopter pilots don't have a name for the effect, but one explained to Yon, "Basically it is a result of static electricity created by friction as...dissimilar material strike against each other. In this case, titanium/nickel blades moving through the air and dust." Scientists call it a "triboelectric" or "piezoelectric" effect. Depending on the viewing angle, it creates dazzling little galaxies. An even longer exposure reveals stars and another aircraft marked by a string of lights at upper left of center; Yon suspects this aircraft was a Predator or Reaper UAV, which, unlike manned military aircraft, fly with their lights on in the Afghan night to avoid collisions. Yon, who made these shots with a Canon 5D Mark II with a 50 mm lens at an ISO of 800, claims that the night was far darker than his sensitive camera conveys, as evidenced by the green chemlights on the ground to guide the pilots. He was moved to create a name, the Kopp-Etchells Effect, for the rotor phenomenon to honor a pair of fallen soldiers, U.S. Army Corporal Benjamin Kopp and British Army Corporal Joseph Etchells, who died one day apart in July after fierce fighting in Helmand (Kopp had been evacuated to the U.S. before he died). "The tent in the foreground is a medical tent," says Yon, "so that casualties can be kept in a tent until the last minute. A substantial number of British casualties in Helmand have been lifted off of this exact spot...because this is probably either the most dangerous place in Afghanistan, or nearly the most dangerous."

######

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Helo Halo

Michael Yon RSS Feed — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:10:10 GMT

November 04, 2009

Luminous halos twirled above a Boeing CH-47 Chinook on a recent night around 11:30 p.m. local time at Forward Operating Base Jackson in Sangin, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as helicopters ferried casualties and supplies in and out of the base. The photographer was independent journalist Michael Yon, a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier now traveling the world's war zones with a camera. Helicopter pilots don't have a name for the effect, but one explained to Yon, "Basically it is a result of static electricity created by friction as...dissimilar material strike against each other. In this case, titanium/nickel blades moving through the air and dust." Scientists call it a "triboelectric" or "piezoelectric" effect. Depending on the viewing angle, it creates dazzling little galaxies. An even longer exposure reveals stars and another aircraft marked by a string of lights at upper left of center; Yon suspects this aircraft was a Predator or Reaper UAV, which, unlike manned military aircraft, fly with their lights on in the Afghan night to avoid collisions. Yon, who made these shots with a Canon 5D Mark II with a 50 mm lens at an ISO of 800, claims that the night was far darker than his sensitive camera conveys, as evidenced by the green chemlights on the ground to guide the pilots. He was moved to create a name, the Kopp-Etchells Effect, for the rotor phenomenon to honor a pair of fallen soldiers, U.S. Army Corporal Benjamin Kopp and British Army Corporal Joseph Etchells, who died one day apart in July after fierce fighting in Helmand (Kopp had been evacuated to the U.S. before he died). "The tent in the foreground is a medical tent," says Yon, "so that casualties can be kept in a tent until the last minute. A substantial number of British casualties in Helmand have been lifted off of this exact spot...because this is probably either the most dangerous place in Afghanistan, or nearly the most dangerous."

######

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Great Britain Loses one of its Finest

Michael Yon RSS Feed — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:10:11 GMT

03 November 2009

British soldiers at war are an incredible group.###### Courageous, competent, and committed in very difficult conditions.###### An email came today from London, from a BBC correspondent who has been to Afghanistan saying that Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid had been killed.

To see the article in the BBC was deeply saddening: Soldier Killed While Defusing 65th Bomb.

On a side note, the British soldiers are conservative.###### Though this is not very important, it�s difficult to imagine that Olaf had only destroyed 64 bombs before being killed.###### Just on this single mission, during which all these photos were taken, and during the surrounding few days, his crew must have destroyed several dozen bombs.###### You had to be there.###### By the time the mission in these photos happened, the crew was very experienced.

Courage is as common as boots among these soldiers, but Olaf stood out even in that company.###### You could tell that Olaf knew his business from mean experience, and that he was ready for battle.###### His mind was very quick.

His crew was competent and confident, and worked faster to clear bombs than any I had seen.###### If not, the soldiers could never have completed this mission, because there simply were too many bombs.###### They say all beekeepers get stung, but these are not bees.###### These soldiers were facing an extraordinary number of bombs and booby-traps that are designed to kill the team.

According to the Oxford Mail,

�During the course of his tour, he attended 41 tasks, rendered safe 64 IEDs and attended 11 finds of bomb-making equipment.�

The married father-of-one lived with his family in Winchester. His wife Christina said: �Oz was a phenomenal husband and loving father who was cruelly murdered on his last day of a relentless five-month tour."

Olaf was lost on his last mission.###### The enemy are blowing up civilians everywhere, and taking a toll on our folks.

According to the BBC:

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Thomson, commanding officer of 2 Rifles Battle Group, said: "Staff Sgt Oz Schmid was simply the bravest and most courageous man I have ever met."

"No matter how difficult or lethal the task which lay in front of us, he was the man who only saw solutions."

"He saved lives in 2 Rifles time after time and for that he will retain a very special place in every heart of every rifleman in our extraordinary battle group."

According to the Oxford Mail,

Lt Col Robert Thomson, the commanding officer of the 2 Rifles Battle Group, said: �Staff Sgt Oz Schmid was simply the bravest and most courageous man I have ever met."

�Under relentless IED and small arms attacks, he stood taller than the tallest. He opened the Pharmacy Road and 24 hours later, found 31 IEDs in one go on route Sparta. Every single company in 2 Rifles adored working with him."

They really did.###### Everybody liked to see not just Olaf, but his entire great team.###### The mission succeeded that day.###### For more about the lives, and missions of these excellent soldiers, please read Bad Medicine.

######

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Bad Medicine

Michael Yon RSS Feed — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:20:13 GMT

On Pharmacy Road

24 August 2009
Helmand Province, Afghanistan

The British soldiers of 2 Rifles had a mission:###### clear and hold Pharmacy Road.

FOB Jackson is currently home to Battlegroup headquarters for 2 Rifles.###### The area around the river is called the �Green Zone,� but just as appropriately could be called the Opium Zone.###### During season, the area is covered with colorful poppies, whose 2009 products are probably showing up by now on the streets in Europe.###### European money flows back here and buys fertilizer in the Sangin Market, which can be used to make bombs, produce more opium, get more money and make more bombs and grow more opium and make more money and bombs and grow more opium.###### Sangin is at once an ATM and weapons bazaar for the enemy.###### Nearly all fatalities in this unit have been caused by fertilizer bombs.###### The decision to mostly ignore the drug dealers has been a strategic blunder.

This mission was about tactical exigencies created by the strategic realities.###### Though FOB Jackson is small enough to walk from one end to another in a few minutes, it is the main base in Sangin, with smaller patrol bases spread around the Sangin area of operations.###### Two of those bases are Patrol Base (PB) Tangiers and PB Wishtan.###### Tangiers is an Afghan National Army (ANA) PB often used by 2 Rifles, while PB Wishtan is manned by C Coy of 2 Rifles.###### (�Coy� is British for �Company.�)

From Jackson, one can often see or hear fighting related to Tangiers or Wishtan while tracers arc into the night, and illumination rounds cast long, flickering shadows as they float to Earth under parachutes.

Though PB Tangiers seems randomly named, PB Wishtan is named after the local area which the locals call Wishtan.###### The main resupply route from Jackson to PB Wishtan goes through the Sangin Market, past Tangiers, and west along the approximate 1 kilometer of Pharmacy Road through Wishtan to PB Wishtan.

British soldiers from 2 Rifles said they had sustained approximately twenty fatalities and injuries in the area.###### (More were killed and wounded in Sangin since this mission.)###### The situation is reminiscent of so many roads in Iraq, such as Route Irish, previously dubbed the most dangerous road in the world.###### The short stretch of Route Irish is situated between main bases in Baghdad.###### Since we never had enough troops in Iraq, the route was difficult to secure despite that it was a short stretch with bustling military traffic nestled between huge bases.###### A lot of people were killed and maimed on that short stretch�I have little idea of the numbers of casualties on Irish�but the total must have reached at least the hundreds.###### Irish was eventually made far more secure by allocating substantial Iraqi and Coalition troops along with what must have been many millions of dollars� worth of physical defenses, all augmented with frequent coverage from the air.###### Despite that, car bombs, IEDs and small-arms attacks continued to occur on a less frequent basis.###### I�ve probably driven Irish a hundred times with no dramas, but it was never safe.###### Despite international infamy and the sharp political desire to secure at least one small stretch of road between main bases in Baghdad, Irish was never completely secured.###### Pharmacy Road in Wishtan is a small-town redux of Route Irish in Baghdad.

Pharmacy Road was effectively closed by enemy harrasment, including a blockage caused by two blown-up vehicles (a �jingo truck� and a British tractor).###### Resupply and troop movements were performed by helicopter, despite that a patrol could walk from Jackson to Wishtan in an hour, and straight driving would only take fifteen minutes.###### A bypass route was made with similar results.###### Captain Alexander Spry told me that Wishtan is like something from a Freddy Kreuger movie where bombs are planted in broad daylight and the enemy chisels small firing holes through the fifteen-foot walls and launches bullets down the tight spaces and alleyways.###### The Afghan mud walls are so robust that the 30mm cannons from the air will not penetrate.###### Dropping a 500lb bomb into the middle of a compound will leave the walls standing.###### In Wishtan, our snipers are of little use because they can�t see or shoot through the walls, and there is no commanding terrain other than the air.###### As with Route Irish and probably hundreds (thousands?) of other routes in Iraq and Afghanistan, routes cannot be secured without pinning substantial numbers of troops.###### Life is far easier for the guerrilla than for the counterguerrilla, just as arson is easier for arsonists than for firefighters.

With the shortage of helicopters in mind (and the fact that an RPG was recently fired at a helicopter as it lifted out of PB Wishtan), closure of Pharmacy Road increased enemy freedom of movement while decreasing our own.###### Though British forces continued to push into combat around Wishtan, battlegroup commander LtCol Rob Thomson wanted Pharmacy Road open.

Most of us tried to sleep the night before the mission, but there was much to do.###### At one point, perhaps half a dozen 81mm mortar illumination rounds from another base were shot straight over FOB Jackson.###### The empty casings, weighing perhaps 2lbs each, swooshed through the darkness, possibly at several hundred miles per hour, and thumped onto Jackson.###### (Terminal velocity varies from object to object.)###### One casing was heading toward a sergeant named Marty who runs Flight Ops.###### Marty hit the dirt and the casing landed just next to him.

The mission began under cover of darkness.###### Conditions were far too dark to focus and the soldiers were not using lights, so focus was done by trial and error.###### A sniper team quietly sat beside a dog and its handler.###### The dog seemed to take interest in the sounds of the camera.

The few who speak only whisper.###### A soldier checks his night-vision monocular.

Flipping up the night-vision monocular puts it on standby.

The mission will be very dangerous and the soldiers, who mostly could not see me taking photos unless they were using night-vision gear, seemed lost in thought.

The friendly attack dog.###### A dog handler recently told me he was urinating when an Afghan soldier tried to grab his willy.###### The handler said the dog bit the Afghan soldier who needed a few stitches.

We set off down the market road.###### Some folks believe such reports are �security violations,� as if the thousands of people living here do not know exactly where the bases are, or do not know exactly where we came from and went to.###### Operations take place here every day.###### Civilians are everywhere.

We made it to FOB Tangiers with no dramas.###### Some Afghan soldiers were on guard while others seemed comatose.

The commander of 2 Rifles is Lieutenant Colonel Rob Thomson (right), who this morning was constantly studying maps or soaking up information by talking with soldiers whose ears were glued to radios.###### Most soldiers did the smart thing and immediately began to fall asleep; experienced combat soldiers never miss a chance to fill canteens or sleep.###### Meanwhile, the Commander�s work has just begun (despite my having seen him work late the night before).###### LtCol Thomson has chided other officers and NCOs about sleep, saying it�s an advantage of growing older.###### You just don�t need as much sleep.###### Plus having children is good training for combat.

Corporal Mark �Axle� Foley (left) is the JTAC who controls air strikes.###### Axle is a good-spirited soldier and funny to talk with, always cracking jokes though sometimes I have difficulty understanding his accent.###### When Axle picks up that radio, a magical toggle-switch clicks in his head from �fun� mode to �all business.�###### While Axle talks business with the pilots, one can only wonder how well the American pilots understand Axle.###### Yet the pilots work with Axle all the time, and seem to understand him perfectly on the first go, and he understands them.###### One night, I heard a Southern accent come down from an aircraft, which set the Brits to laughing and trying to immitate the accent.###### Brits and Europeans often get a big kick out of thick Southern accents but all attempts to imitate the twang seem to fall flat. (Except by country bands in Germany who can perfectly imitate the patois as if they grew up next door to Willie Nelson.)

Axle, who often works with American pilots, says these A-10 and B-1B pilots are probably the best to work with because they come to Sangin so often that they know the terrain, the roads and bases, so they are easy to talk onto targets.

Sitting there in the darkness, Axle works the radio while watching the downlink screen.###### As the A-10s approach at about 0314, the aircraft are still about 40 miles out, and a pilot starts listing off all the various sorts of weapons they are carrying.###### They had more spells than Harry Potter.###### As the A-10s close in on our postion, Axle picks up a downlink and suddenly he can see through the A-10 crosshairs.###### Whatever the pilot is looking at comes on Axle�s screen.###### Axle gives the pilot some reference points and each time the crosshairs instantly go to that point, and within maybe thirty seconds, the crosshairs slewed precisely to the spot where we were sitting.###### Axle told him that�s us, which probably sounded to the A-10 pilot something like, �Ah roga, dat�s us,� and then Axle starts walking the pilot through to all the friendly locations so he can know where our guys are.

An A-10 was transmitting downlink but we were getting interference, maybe from the building or other radios.###### Axle moved outside where Corporal Henry Sanday from Fiji came in.###### Henry is a good man whom I got to know in Iraq, and sometimes we have lunch or dinner at FOB Jackson, where he constantly invites me on missions.###### Henry is battle-proven and very good under fire.###### When your life is at stake, Henry is a man you want to be with, as you will soon see.############ This morning, his men were falling asleep, but as a section leader Henry kept working.###### Major Karl Hickman (right) is the A Coy Commander, and while his men plopped down to sleep, Karl kept working.###### I�ve never been in combat with Major Hickman, but his men say he�s good and steady under fire.###### Axle as JTAC is a crucial link to this mission, which explains why when Henry and Major Hickman might be sleeping, they are checking in with Axle to keep their SA (Situation Awareness) updated.

We had the A-10s for only a few minutes when a radio call from a different net came to Axle to release the A-10s for a TIC (troops in contact) somewhere in South Helmand.###### Axle radioed the pilots to switch freqs, and I recall a pilot apologizing and saying he looked forward to getting back up here.###### Axle put down the radio and looked straight at me, saying, �That�s such a bummer,� as if his fishing buddy had to go home early, then Axle finished with, �However, the guys that get them will be well happy,� and started shutting down his gear as the sounds of the A-10s faded into the darkness.###### While Axle worked, I asked about times when he �smashed� the Taliban.###### British soldiers like to use the word �smashed� when talking about the Taliban.###### When Axle would finish talking about one fight, I would ask about another.###### Finally, Axle said, �You Yanks are great.###### You like to hear stories about us smashin� the Taliban but people at home want to know how much we miss our families.�###### We both chuckled, and I asked, �Really?###### They don�t ask you about smashing the Taliban?�###### �That�s right,� then Axle said something like, �They only want to hear how sad we are.� Axle and I got along great because I didn�t care if he missed his family and he didn�t care if I missed mine.###### This part is about smashing people who would help those who smashed the World Trade Centers and blew up people in London and Bali and Jakarta and Israel and Spain and the Philippines and anywhere else they can reach.###### There is a crucial development and governance aspect to this war, and still a crucial smashing side.###### Sometimes you�ve got to swap hats for helmets.###### Mullah Omar is still alive, apparently in Pakistan, and he needs to be killed.###### Just on 20 August I heard a Taliban singing over a walkie talkie that Mullah Omar �Is our leader,� and they were celebrating shooting down a British helicopter only twelve hours before just some miles from here.###### There will be time to hug families later.###### Now is a time for fighting.

We talked some more about smashin� the Taliban.###### When the A-10s turned toward some distant battle, nobody here complained.###### Yes, we need more helicopters, but since I have been in Sangin, we never have been short on attack aircraft.############ The JTACs are happy.###### Air cover, since I have been in Sangin, is better than we could honestly hope for.###### Axle talked about strike aircraft; �The F-15E Strike Eagles are brilliant,� he said.###### The JTACs, if given a choice of the other fourteen types of piloted aircraft that come on station, seem to vote for F-15E Strike Eagles.

The F-15E package (weapons, electronics, and strike pilots) is particularly lethal for this fight.###### When strike aircraft come onto station, the pilots declare their weapons load.###### A typical F-15E declartion sounds like this: An American voice crackles over the radio, �Good morning.###### I�ve got 4 GBU-12s, 6 GBU-38s, 2 GBU-31s, and 1,000 x 20mm cannon.�###### [GBU-12: 500lb Laser Guided Bomb is the JTAC favorite here; GBU-38 is a 500lb JDAM and also very good; GBU-31 is a 2,000lb JDAM and too big for use in Sangin but there are many other fights in Afghanistan; 20mm cannon can destroy armored vehicles but bounce off the compound walls here.]

In total, the two F-15Es arrive with a dozen accurate bombs, a thousand rounds of 20mm, incredibly good optics, and a great downlink package so the JTACs can peer through F-15E crosshairs and coordinate with the pilot.###### Most importantly, the Strike Eagle pilots are specifically trained for this mission.###### Nobody on the ground complains about this package.

Whereas Strike Eagles are favored in Sangin, there are close runner-ups.###### B-1Bs###### are called �Bones� because B-One spells bone.###### Bones were made for nuclear war with the Soviets and for carrying hydrogen bombs, and so they don�t carry a lot of different tricks for small battles.###### B-1Bs do come with 12 GBU-38s and 8 GBU-31s, very good optics and Axle says the pilots are easy to talk onto targets.###### When a B-1B runs low on gas, refuelers can fly to us.###### One day, Axle could see Bones refueling directly overhead while continuing to track a target.

In all, about fourteen types of aircraft fly topcover, including American, Belgian, British, Dutch and French.###### JTACs here say the least desirable aircraft of those fourteen are the French M2000D.###### A package of two jets carries no cannon, no downlink and a total of only 4 GBU 12s.###### The optics aboard the aircraft are not good, and the trail aircraft spots targets with binoculars like the Red Baron.###### Also, the French and British have problems understanding each other�s accents.###### The British who work with French forces refuse to say a bad word.###### They say the French are good and ready�which can be surprising because the Brits and the French like to slag each other�but the French aircraft simply are primitive in comparison to the American jets.###### An American unit in Zabul Province last year said that some French pilots probably saved them, or at least made a big difference, and so any words about primitive aircraft should be taken in light of respect for the pilots.

No mention is made of the Apache helicopters because Axle was talking about jets.###### The Apaches seem to do most of the heavy lifting�for every jet strike I must have seen 5-10 Apache strikes.###### Apaches are very effective.###### We are too far out for coverage from Kiowa Warriors.############ Predators are excellent but Reapers are especially welcome.

The A-10s were gone and so Axle headed to sleep but Corporal Henry Sanday keeps working while all his men are zonked out.

The following account does not pertain to Pharmacy Road, but pertains to Corporal Sanday, his men, Axle and others in these photos.###### These photos were made on 09 August.###### On 13 August, a bomb detonated at 0523, wounding Matthew Hatton and two others.###### Sanday arranged to evacuate the wounded by helicopter but there were IEDs along the routes to the HLS (Helicopter Landing Site).

As Daniel Wild and Mark Hale helped the wounded Matthew Hatton, they were hit by a second bomb, killing all three men. In total there were five casualties, and call-sign �Pedro,� helicopters from the United States Air Force had come in to evacuate the killed and wounded.###### Henry Sanday was acting Platoon Sergeant and wanted to land Pedro on a roof but the roof was too small.###### He finally got the casualties loaded out.###### After suffering three killed and two wounded, the men continued the mission though some of the men were very rattled.###### Later that evening, when the mission had been completed and the soldiers were moving back to FOB Jacskon, they were hit by a third bomb leaving two casualties.###### Sanday was setting up another helicopter extraction when a fourth bomb detonated and an interpreter turned into a �white mist� leaving only a leg.###### The interpreter went MIA.###### Sanday asked the Apaches to search for the body but they found nothing.###### I�d seen this happen in Iraq and it took us a long time to find two of the bodies.###### One missing body was maybe a hundred meters away.###### The other body was farther.###### It�s been a long time, but I think it might have taken an hour to find the last body, and we had dozens of people looking.###### Sanday was down to four unwounded soldiers in his section and in Sangin the IEDs often seem to come in big clusters.###### No matter which way you go, there is a high probability of more.###### Two interpreters were killed in the strike and three were wounded.

Some of the men were in shock and did not react to Sanday�s commands.###### They were seriously battle-affected and refusing orders, though others rose to the occasion and were the glue.###### I�ve seen this breakdown happen.###### Soldiers typically bounce back.###### Two officers described to me their thoughts on Corporal Sanday.###### �He is an absolute hero,� said one, and the other agreed.###### Sanday�s name was mentioned with respect all the way back in Iraq.###### Now in Afghanistan he continues to rise to the occasion, but now with more experience.###### The next day, Sanday went on a combat mission in Sangin.###### About 100 meters in front of him an IED detonated on another section.###### Three soldiers from the Royal Regiment Fussilliers were killed.###### During extraction to the HLS, a pressure-pad IED caused more casualties.###### Again, I am told Sanday and others rose to the occasion.

The interpreter who disappeared was found in the Helmand River, about 20 miles south at FOB Price.

But those attacks were still a few days away.###### Today, Sanday had more dangers to lead his men into, and through, and as they slept, he worked.

Body armor for a pillow.###### Many soldiers buy those bracelets because they say the profits go to support wounded warriors.###### Next time I�m in Camp Bastion, I�ll buy a couple.

�Axle� Foley, who was on that horrible mission with Sanday, went to sleep until more aircraft were scheduled to show up.###### This photo was made at about 0517 and I put down the camera then my head down at 0521, just in time for the first explosion seven minutes later at 0528.###### The explosion was close and powerful and literally raised some dust.###### AFTER it exploded, someone said it was EOD for the first controlled detonation.###### The Bang Boys were out there in the danger zone, cracking away.###### I said a little prayer for them and put my head back down and that�s when the rooster started crowing�from inside the building!###### Look at the halls in the photo.###### A rooster is very loud inside here, as if he were crowing straight into our ears.###### The ANA keep the rooster for fighting.###### He was incredibly loud.###### BOOM at 0540.###### EOD was back at it, and at 0548, then 0558, then 0610 and 0612 and 0621.###### The EOD soldiers were into a rhythm.###### Between the rooster crowing inside the building and EOD blasting away nearby, sleep was hard to come by, so I got up and walked to one of the guard towers.###### LtCol Rob Thomson seemed to be the last one working, and warned me not to get shot.###### (During the bad morning on the 13th, LtCol Thomson saw some gloom on a few faces and he jerked those faces back into the fight.)

The British call guard towers �sangers� (a word the Brits picked up during a previous Afghan war).###### At the bottom of the ladder, I announced my presence to the ANA soldier and he waved me up.

The EOD were blasting just a few hundred meters away, and after every explosion, the ANA soldier would imitate and laugh, �BOOM, BOOM, hahahahah BOOM, BOOM, hahahaha.�###### He was like a big kid.###### He begged to have his photo taken and then wanted to stare at his photo and begged for another photo and another.###### Finally, he got behind the machine gun and acted like he was shooting.###### He was saying �gugugugugugugugugugugugugugug� like he was firing the machine gun.###### I walked over to make sure the gun was not aimed at any British EOD soldiers, who were in a different direction off to the left.###### The ANA soldier kept making the gun rattle, �gugugugugugugugugugugugug,� while laughing like a six-year-old boy, �gugugugugugugugugug.� Where were the 3- to 5-round bursts?###### He was wasting imaginary ammo.###### I said �No!###### It should be###### gugug�..gugugugug�gugugug.###### Not gugugugugugugugugugugug.� He wrapped his finger on the trigger and started to pull, but before doing so, a red LED seemed to flash inside his brain.###### He stopped.###### And there was a long pause, like on one of those old-timey calculators where you press �2� �+� �2� �=�###### � and then wait five seconds for the answer �4.�###### He checked the safety which, predictably, was on FIRE despite that a long belt of ammo was draped from the loaded gun.###### He clicked the safety on and pulled the trigger and kept going, �gugugugugugugugugugug.�###### Some men should not touch guns.###### He made me nervous that he might accidentally shoot someone, especially a British soldier, and so I distracted him with the camera, and started taking notes.###### Every time the pen hit the paper, he would lean over and stare at the writing, as if he were going to accidentally poke out his eye with the pen.

�Gugugugugugugugugugugugug.�

That�s when his buddy showed up with the dog.###### In Afghanistan mostly only villagers keep dogs, but the ANA are copying the British and adopted their own guard dog.############ Sometimes I wish all the readers could just come out here for a single day.###### Readers would never forget it.###### Look at that dog.###### What�s he going to do against Taliban with RPGs?###### He�s hardly got energy to bark.###### The gugugugugugugug man insisted that I photograph his friend and the dog, and then Dog Boy sprinted to the base of the sanger, tied the breathless guard dog to the ladder, climbed up breathlessly and stared at his photo and laughed and smiled and started jabbering on and giving the thumbs up, crawled back down, untied the dog and ran away laughing while the dog tried to keep up and they both disappeared around that corner.

The British and American soldiers often like the Afghans they work with; most of the Iraq veterans (British and American) did not make friends in Iraq, but most soldiers who work closely with Afghans seem to like them.###### The Afghans do some crazy, goofy things, but something about Afghans can be very likeable.###### Practically none of us want to be here, but nobody seems to have malice for Afghans.###### It�s difficult to explain.

Mud walls meet cinderblocks.###### Locals fill the cinderblocks with mud.###### If the people spent as much time building roads as they do building walls, this place would have more roads than California.

Sangin from the Sanger.###### The town of Sangin is not exactly Jurassic Park like most of Afghanistan.###### Despite that the British have been here since 2006, some people just a few miles from town still think the British are Russians, and the more enlightened ones seem to think the British are Americans.###### Most people seem to know who Michael Jackson is, but few have heard of Canada.

A couple days before this photo, British soldiers on FOB Jackson were firing###### large .50-caliber machine guns over my head, intermittantly, for about an hour.###### I thought they must be shooting someone, but this dispatch was a work in progress and so eventually the .50 caliber noise started affecting my concentration while I sweated over the keyboard.###### Finally, I pulled out the earplugs, walked outside and asked why the heck they keep shooting right over base?!###### There was no return fire.###### Turns out they were test-firing the machine guns, but every time the Fire Support Group launched bullets, villagers would see tracers and run toward the beaten zone where dust poofed up and rocks splintered through the air.###### Each time the soldiers fired the machine guns, the British soldiers would have to wait for the villagers to clear out, then fire again and the villagers would run back to the impact zone.###### The soldiers and I laughed at the absurdity.###### Iraq was almost never funny.###### Afghanistan can be like a war version of Comedy Central.

That man is walking on Pharmacy Road.###### Most of the the walls are roughly fifteen feet tall, though the walls behind him are shorter.###### There is no commanding ground�this is about as good as it gets�and the snipers cannot get long shots or observe far.###### The enemy are aware and use the labyrinth of walls nearly as effectively as if they were tunnels.

Scrap in front of PB Tangiers.

The mercury rose with the sun.###### LtCol Rob Thomson gathered up some men and wanted to go see the EOD soldiers as they were clearing some of the most dangerous ground.###### Though they had just cleared this stretch, there have been many instances where soldiers got blown to pieces by ground that was just cleared.###### Cleared is more like �cleared.�

The EOD soldiers said this dog missed a big pressure-activated bomb and led his handler right over it.###### Luckily the team didn�t step on the device.###### The dog is better at finding shade than bombs, apparently.###### Probably should be a drug dog.###### I�m no expert on search dogs, but it is true that glaring sun can bake away scent.###### I had the feeling that the soldier felt like he let people down, but nobody said any such thing.###### Everybody knows it�s tough out here and sometimes you simply miss the bomb.

The �Wishtan 5� were killed on the Wishtan market road on the top left.###### Those five soldiers were killed in a similar attack wherein soldiers who survived the first attack were killed while rescuing their buddies.

We came into a compound that had been �cleared.�###### Without EOD, our losses would be far higher in Afghanistan.###### The EOD soldiers get special respect and earn every ounce of it.

LtCol Thomson checks progress.

The imagery from November 2004 does not show the power lines in the photo below.###### I made the photo below from nearly the same angle as the image above.###### So, the EOD soldiers on top of the truck are in the corner of the compound overlooking Pharmacy Road.###### The soldiers are a few meters from where the yellow thumbtack denotes �Blown Vehicles.�

The EOD team is rigging this wall to blow part of it down.###### On the other side of the wall are the two blown-up vehicles; one of the vehicles is British and the other is the trailer from a �jingo truck.�###### The area surrounding the trucks is booby-trapped with explosives, and the vehicles also are booby-trapped.###### So the goal is to blow down the wall and drag the vehicles off the road and into this compound.

These EOD soldiers wear a Rainbow patch and call themselves Team Rainbow, which of course seemed quite curious.

The wall is so thick and strong that Team Rainbow put about 200 pounds of plastic explosive in all the right places, then rolled out the wire.###### The reader might be surprised to see what 200 pounds of high explosives does to the wall.

Team Rainbow and LtCol Thomson stayed up close, but I got behind the farthest vehicle because I have no pride in my courage.###### Some people think this is crazy work, but I�m actually a safety fanatic.

When the enemy hears a detonation�which typically occurs many times per day�they wait for helicopters, knowing that if helicopters swoop in and land, they have achieved success.###### Many of the enemy bombs in Sangin are detonated by command wire, while many others are pressure-activated and are simply improvised land mines.###### The enemy often uses pressure cookers to make bombs, just as was done by the Maoists in Nepal.###### In Nepal, the government began confiscating pressure cookers (which angered many people), and the government often shut down cell service (angering many people) because the Maoists used cell phones.###### The Maoists won the war.###### We are operating far smarter in Afghanistan.###### Here it�s the enemy who actually shuts down cell towers�and this angers the people.###### Also, the enemy bombs around here are killing a lot of innocent people, and this also angers the people.###### Despite progress made by the Taliban, they alienate many people.

And so that�s all that 200lbs of high explosives, in perfect contact with the target, placed by experts, could do to this wall.###### When soldiers come back from Afghanistan and say that the compounds are like fortresses, this is what they mean.###### The electrical wires, which cannot be seen in the Google Earth imagery of 2004, got blown down.###### The EOD soldiers wanted to avoid the live electrical wires.###### EOD called the Royal Engineers to come up with a non-destructive solution to the wires.###### Within minutes they thought of a solution.###### The vehicle above cut a notch in the top of the far wall with his scooper.

He drove the scooper machine to the front and opened the wall to let a bigger truck inside.###### The Engineers hooked webbing around the electrical wires, and using the winch on the big truck, pulled the wires up and draped them over the notch the scooper had cut.###### EOD was back in business clearing Pharmacy Road.###### In fact, the soldier who is driving the scooper is the same driver who got blown up on Pharmacy Road, and his blown up vehicle is one that they were about to drag into the compound.

It can be very rattling out here.###### But they keep getting blown up and going, and the enemy is getting it worse.

Preparing plastic explosives in slivers of shade.###### Iraqis thought our body armor was air conditioners, and thought we have �cold pills� to chill us out.###### The soldiers carry far more weight than I do, and they work three times harder.###### This heat is bad even for me, but much worse for them.###### Often U.S. and British soldiers end up back at the hospital after they collapse, but in nearly all cases they come straight back to the fight.###### There was a U.S. battalion in the 1st Infantry Division in Baquba, Iraq, who were constantly pumping IVs so they could outlast the enemy.

SSgt Schmid of the Joint Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal (JFOD).###### Dealing with hidden bombs made by pernicious enemies requires special people.###### I asked Ssgt Schmid which wire he cuts when dealing with booby-traps�red wire, or the green?�SSgt Schmid just laughed and kept working.

The blown-up vehicles were dragged through the blown-up wall under the blown-down wires.

As the midday sun pounded down, the EOD soldiers continued to work in the heat.###### LtCol Rob Thomson stayed out in the boiling sun with the men.###### I retreated with some others to a cooler place that was halfway underground.###### Most of us soon fell asleep as the EOD soldiers kept blasting, blasting, blasting.###### They must have made dozens of explosions during the day and they never seemed to take a break.###### None of them, nor LtCol Thomson, ever took even a minute of shade break with us.

After an afternoon of blasting, LtCol Rob Thomson headed to PB Wishtan, but my gear was back at Tangiers, where some ANA were preparing for a mission.

During the clearance, this soldier fell off a ladder.###### He was all the way at the top, about fifteen feet high.###### Luckily he was wearing his helmet because he said he also cracked his head.###### His spirits were good but he seemed a little embarrassed for falling off, but accidents like this happen a lot.###### Even when nobody is shooting, there are plentiful ways to get hurt out here.###### In the background are two improvised cots where I slept the second night.###### Just on the other side of the barrier, the Hescoes got hit some months ago by an RPG, as seen below.

RPGs are simple but enormously effective.

As the shadows grew longer, the British and ANA began playing volleyball while EOD kept blowing up charges along Pharmacy Road.

When people complain about the British rations, I think of Laxle Kedian Harris, more commonly known as �H.�###### I offered some weightlifting tips but H laughed and changed the subject.###### But make no mistake�the rations are . . . to put it kindly, bland.

It�s dangerous to leave a camera unguarded around soldiers.###### It could have been much worse.

That night, we stayed in the field because the mission was not merely to clear Pharmacy Road, but to build a sanger (guard position) about halfway down�one which would be constantly manned.###### While we slept, soldiers from 2 Rifles and the engineers worked all night erecting the sanger.

After a long, hot day taking back Pharmacy Road.

Some work while others sleep.

And that was it.###### Pharmacy Road was cleared and the sanger was built and most of us headed back to FOB Jackson just as the sun was rising on the second day.

Later that afternoon, back on FOB Jackson during the Battle Update Briefing (as Americans would call it), a BOOM shook the room.###### Word came that a local person was pulling parts from one of the vehicles that were dragged off Pharmacy Road.###### He encountered a Taliban booby-trap and he was killed.###### EOD had not cleared the vehicles of booby-traps; the two vehicles had merely been pulled off the road.###### Next day another local was killed on a parallel road that he thought the British had cleared.###### It had not been cleared.###### The Taliban blows up a lot of local people in Sangin.

The mission was an obvious success.###### It was surprising that we endured no fatalities or serious injuries.###### The mission was well-executed and since many of the soldiers have substantial combat experience from Iraq and Afghanistan, major dramas were averted.###### Murphy had smiled upon us.###### The only injury to my knowledge was the soldier who fell off the ladder.###### Soldiers who had previously fought on Pharmacy Road said we had sustained about twenty fatalities and injuries in that general area.###### And though at least one IED has been placed on the road since last week, C Coy and the ANA are now regularly patrolling and the freedom of movement has resumed.

This is a brutal fight.###### Since that mission, eight more British soldiers and two interpreters have been killed in this area.###### That�s ten KIA plus the wounded.###### The soldiers keep going.

Coming up next: the fighting we saw on election day wherein the soldier beside me got his antenna shot off.

######

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