Sitting here wondering

Hello again Dear Readers, I certainly hope life is treating you well. I myself have tried to get down range to Afghanistan for a couple days now to no avail. I still have a mission to accomplish and Im not in a huge rush to leave, but it would be nice to either go and get it over with or call it wash and do something else.

I read the latest blog from my buddy Buzz (http://thesergeantsbuzz.blogspot.com/). He was commenting on the fact that we have to both wear three hats, both literally and figuratively. I thought that was interesting not only because I agree with him, but how important are each of the hats to us. More and more, as my career has more time behind me and less ahead of me, I find my "Airman" hat to be less and less important. It may not be the right thing to say, but in the end it is. The longest time I could possibly spend in the military is 30 years. That's it. Since I came in at 20, I would have to retire when I was 50. Well sports fans, I intend to be "husband" and "Daddy" for much longer then that. So, why do a lot of people seem to put so much of themselves into that "Airman" hat that they forget about the others.

Im not talking about devotion to duty when it comes to combat or anything, Im just talking about losing one's identity to the machine. I see it all the time. The people who have drunk so much of the AF Kool-aid that they have become like the Borg, unable to think for themselves and only existing for the collective. Before you laugh, I am not a Trekkie, but the concept is still the same. And for those not in the know, "Drinking the Kool-Aid" in the AF is a reference to the Jonestown massacre where everyone simply stepped up and drank the drink without asking what is in it. (Cant figure that one since the guy who was last in line had to see something was amiss.) In the military, it simply means that you accept whatever is told to you, the AF message, without asking if it is right or proper or acceptable. Basically a company man.

I used to accept what was told to me untill I got into the job where I was the one stating the message. And it has been harder and harder for me to swallow. I consider myself a propagandist now, telling the the masses the approved message. Its almost like a fantasy. We tell everyone that all is well, we are happy, we are content...we are kidding ourselves.

It is so blantant that most people I talk to hardly read our work, because they see it for what it is. "Happy Happy Joy Joy" stories. Stories designed to make people feel good, except that it doesnt work. People know reality and the reality is that leadership has failed us countless times without recourse, the grind is chewing us up and spitting us out and that the AF would rather spend its money on fancy expensive fighters it cannot deploy rather than provide up to date gear for its troops. We would rather "save money" by issuing hand-me-down Vietnam era crap that the Army got rid of. Its sad.

So, I am looking to fully wear the Husband and Daddy hat, because in the end, those will be the most important. Months after I retire, I will be forgotten. Its just the way it is. If you die doing something heroic, you might be remembered longer, but no matter how hard you work, no matter how many clubs your joined, or how many meetings you attended, you will be forgotten soon after you leave. And all you will have left is hopefully your wife and children. I say hopefully, becuase I pray that in your vigor to be the "Super Airman" you didnt alienate your family. It is possible, I have seen it time and time again.

I dont want a ceremony when I retire. I wont stand for the hypocracy of it all. Simply give me my certificates, shake my hand and let me walk out the door to the people who have truly stood by me. The husband and daddy hats fit really well. I dont think the Airman hat works for me anymore. I will be glad the day I put that one away forever.

My two cents and worth even less.

The war in Afghanistan

Hello again Dear Readers,
My apologies for not posting sooner, but there was really nothing to write about prior to our first mission and I am now just recently over a cold from that mission. Nothing like breathing through wet cotton to bring your spirits down. Now try to follow my stream of consciousness here. Hopefully I wont lose you too much.

Well, our team completed its first mission to Afghanistan. The mission went well for us as a team, though there were a couple times things were more tense. Thankfully, we came back together as professionals and worked the differences out. We have a good dynamic going, something we want to keep alive. We have been described as a "fun" team, with the makings of a good buddy cop movie. I think thats good.

We worked alot with the mentors for the Afghan Air Corps. I have to tell you, these people are saints, doing thankless work tirelessly. First off, they are at the worst major base in the the theater. Imagine a small city. It has the resources and infrastructure to handle, let's say, 10,000 people. Now imagine that same city with 18,000 people and you have Kandahar Air Field. Oh and by the way, they are looking to increase that number by 20 percent. But without much increase to the base. Its like an anthill with no more room for ants. Couple that with choking dust that looks like talcum powder, threats from rocket attacks, about 10 different cultures and you have the makings of a completely miserable experience for these people.

They also have to work with the Afghan pilots and crews, who do things their own way, not by the book, literally. This was the first time I ever saw maintainers working on an aircraft and there wasnt a regulation or reference book to be found, just the people working on it. They do it by memory, as they have been trained by the Soviets. And they wont pass on the info, because if a younger guy can do it, they might lose their job. Plus, these "Greybeards" have been doing it that way for twenty plus years, so why learn how to do it better? These are the guys who make the cliche about tricks and old dogs true.

But it was cool to go flying with them in those helicopters. It was exciting to be in Russian helos flying across Afghanistan. We always had an American pilot, so we felt safe that way. I just tried not to think about the helos themselves, instead relying on my knowledge of how the Soviets built their equipment, simple and reliable, but not pretty.

It was spending my time with these professional Airmen, working with unprofessionals, that I came to realize the war here is unwinnable. There I said it. And with as much time as I have spent here, I feel I can say it. Public Affairs be damned.

I spent most of my time post-911 flying in and out of Afghanistan. I was there at the beginning and seem to always find my way back there. Didnt really go much to Iraq, which is probably a good thing. But I laugh now at how "my war" in Afghanistan was pretty much forgotten, ignored. Well, we are paying the price now.

You can argue all day about how we lost the war there trying to win one in Iraq. Well, we pretty much lost both. No, thats not true. You can sorta say we tied in Iraq, despite the fact we shouldnt have been there in the first place. Thats my opinion at least. Back to Afghanistan. The difference between the two is that Iraq is pretty well established. It has cities like most places in the middle east. It is fairly urban in a lot of places and has pretty decent infrastructure.

Afghanistan is still living in the dark ages. Literally.

They still plow with stone plows. They live in dirt/mud huts, or caves, or out in the middle of the damn desert. Im serious, you will see nothing for miles except sand and rocks and there will be some cloth tents with some camels and sheep around it with a handful of people. I dont even know where they get their water. Its as if time just slowed down for them. Also, if you ranked all of the countries from top to bottom, the top being highly developed countries like the UK or the US, the Afghanistan is ranked second to last. The last is Somalia, which I have also spent a good amount of time in and is a place even the devil refueses to go to. So that might tell you how bad the Stan is.

Well, talking with the pilots, you get to understand how things work here. It all revolves around money. Afghans are very pragmatic. They know what works and what doesnt. Money works, and therefore, they will work for whomever supplies the money. So why do I think its unwinnable? The answer is simple. The Afghans will never take over their country. Why should they? If they do, then we will leave. If we leave we take away our money and 80 percent of the national income comes from foreign aid. Essentially, its like paying for everything for your son or daughter and wondering why they dont try to go out and find a job. You can try to reason with them to go out, have some pride and do it on their own, but why should they? You are paying for everything now. Thats much easier.

Also, most of these guys play for both sides. A general who pretty much runs Kandahar, who could also be called a warlord because that is what he is, has shown that many times. He has his hands in just about everything. He is a general in the Army, but also does construction and contracting on the base. Explain that one to me. We have to use him because there is no one else. They call him the Al Capone of southern Afghanistan. Im sure you can figure out why there are no competitors. Anyway, one day the Taliban were shooting some of their rockets and they impacted close to a town market this general was interested in taking over. He made a phone call and the shooting stopped. Thats right, a phone call. Not to call in a strike, to send over soldiers. He simply asked, or warned them to stop. Unbelievable.

So we work with people who are loyal as long as we pay them. Talk to Afghan National Policemen day, who become Taliban by night and try not make any mistakes and get the wrong people killed. It is Vietnam all over. We even try the same BS with the winning of hearts and minds. That worked really well for us then too.

I will close on this note. We are training the Afghans to fly. A pilot remarked to us one day that we are just like the Soviets, who trained them as well. Only we are nicer.

Just like the Soviets huh? Thats good to know.