There Is A Reason We Don't Go Outside The Wire

As most people know, I didn’t quite make my scheduled flight. Mother Nature with her volcanic activities decided to change that. It really isn’t too bad. I have been delayed only a week, so it could have been a lot worst. Oh well.


I had the opportunity to meet a lot of different people here. One of them is a doctor from Czechoslovakia. His name is George. I can’t even come close to saying his last name much less spelling it, so we will just call him George. Anyway, George is a nice, young guy. He is a little ambitious but nice. He is doing a study with steroids in the Czech troops. This is legit and even has papers from his government authorizing it. No wonder all these Czech troops are so big. I think George is part of the study. He has big arms, but also a big belly to match. I think he needs to try running a little bit more. The Czechs have a driver for their doctors, so gets driven from their side of the compound anytime he wants. He frequently comes over for our lectures. Their government is nicer to their doctors than ours.



This is the Czechoslovakian doctor, George. He is a primary care doctor.













The Czechs are here mainly for humanitarian reasons. They don’t go out on patrols looking for the Taliban like our boys do, but they do know to defend themselves when they have to. One mission outside the wire last week really made George nervous. His team of a few doctors, nurses and medics, with their Army combat support soldiers went to this one village that never has had any Americans or foreigners in before. They brought medical supplies. The Chief of Police told them that they were safe until 3 PM. The team was dropped in by helicopter and the hellos left. For some reason they were still there and about 3:30 PM RPGs started to come in. It took them a while to figure where they were coming from. Once they did, their combat soldiers return fire with their grenade launchers. That took care of the attack. It was the first time George said that he had ever been fired upon. He had to hit the ground and things were flying and blowing up all around them. He said there are reasons why doctors don’t go outside the wire and he personally experienced one of them. Fortunately there were no major injuries, just one soldier we actually treated for some shrapnel to his leg. He will be fine. George said he won’t go out on any humanitarian missions any more. He was pretty shook up about it for a couple of days.



Some local villagers that George's team brought humanitarian care to distribute.




It also brings up a point on how difficult it is to accomplish anything here. You really have no idea on who you can trust or believe. Lying and cheating and stealing are almost second nature to the people out here. Who knows if that Chief of Police was a Taliban or just friends with them or what? Why did he know that they were safe until 3PM. Of course, with such massive poverty out here, I guess they just learn to lie and steal to stay alive. If you don’t get caught lying, then good. If you get caught, then no harm, you didn’t have anything to lose anyhow.


One of the nurses from Charlie Med had a visitor today, her mother. Her mother is an Army nurse and was with the 909th when they deployed in 2003 to FOB Salerno. She is on her way to another FOB, so she stopped in to visit with her daughter. She also said hello to the remainder of the group who were with her in 2003. Reminds me of when I visited my son in Iraq when I was leaving Mosul in 2008. She also brought us some patches that we can wear on our ACUs.




Part of the original 909th FST from 2003. CPT Timm's and her mom are obviously in the middle. The helicopter was arriving to pick up routine patients, not bringing in trauma ones.





Ok, it is time to brag. We, the doctors, had to take our PT test out here. That included doing push-ups, sit-ups and a timed 2 mile run. The air is a little thin here at 6800 ft. but I did ok. I got 299 out of possible 300, so that is not too bad for an old guy like me.




The other doctors and I decided to show off before our PT test. We were too tired to pose after the test.




The good news is that I saw the whites of the eyes of our replacements today. They arrived safe and sound. It will take them a few days to adjust to the altitude and get situated. Then, we will start our process for home. I hope to leave Kuwait about May 8th. I will spend a few days at Fort Benning, then hopefully home.
Tom

Pat Tillman Run April 17 2010

Last Saturday, the 173rd sponsorded a run in honor of Pat Tillman. Pat Tillman was killed on April 22, 2004 while stationed in Afghanistan out of FOB Salerno. Apparently, they have been having this annual run for a while, but this is the first time it was held at FOB Shank. It was 4.2 miles, including a monstrous hill run that we do twice, once just wasn’t good enough. We had over 600 runners, not bad for a base of 2-3000 troops. Because I am the only Orthopod here, I had to run carrying a radio the entire time. I think that explains why I didn’t win. I actually did ok for an old guy here. I finished 3rd in my age group ( 50-59), but then again, I admit there wasn’t a lot in my age group. One of my co-surgeons, LTC Sam Aldridge, just turned 50. He was one of the younger guys in our age group, so he had an advantage. He finished first in our age group. I frequently run with Sam. He is a very good runner and road biker in the summer. He usually finishes ahead of me, so it was no surprise that he finished first.

I have included a few photos from that run.



This is a photo of all the people from the 909th who ran. A few had to stay back and be available if something came in.




A fair amount of Jordanians were there supporting their runners. They were having quite a celebration and dancing in front of the start line. If fact, they continued their dance at the finish line also. They had more dancers than runners.




The local Afghanistan had their representatives as well. I am not so sure that they are used to long runs. The whole race they would sprint, then stop and walk, then full sprint, then stop and walk. I bet I passed some of them 5 or 6 times during their walks, then they would pass me when they sprinted.




The run was a lot of fun. Actually, it was more fun when the race was done. They had a lot snacks, all nutritional of course. They even had a couple of cakes with pictures of Pat Tillman on them. I didn't stay around to sample it (I know that is unusual for me). One of the medics from our sister medical group, Charlie Med, won the race. He is from Kenya, so that gave him an advantage. He is a nice young man, a medic. Some day he wants to go back to his country help out his people. I think that is very admirable. By the time I finished, he already had his feet up and was on his second cup of coffee.




Picture of the hill we ran up and down. We would run up on the far right, run across the ridge, which is the border of our FOB. Then run down coming from the left. We did that twice just for fun.




The main group I hang with the most. Far left, Major Joe Sucher (Gen Surg), LTC Randy Hoeppner (CRNA), LTC Mike Bruce (Gen Surg), yours truly, and LTC Sam Aldridge (Vascular/Gen Surg). Major Sucher is not in our age group. (By the way, there are a lot more people in my age group than pictured here.)



I am carrying my radio. I just made the turn off my second run on the hill. I was glad the hill part was done, at least for me.


Tom

I Have It Easy

It has been a while since I updated my blog. My publisher is on my case (just kidding). It is hard to keep coming up with ideas. Now I know what writer’s block is all about.

Now, for a little history of the 909th FST. This FST was first organized about 1989.Their first deployment was to FOB Salerno 2002-2003 in Afghanistan, just over the mountain range south of here. From that original group, there are 5 soldiers who were on that deployment who are still with us today. They are our command, First Sergeant, XO (Executive Officer) and a nurse and sergeant in the OR. The rest of us, about 16, all have replace and added to the original. They brought along some pictures of their deployment at FOB Salerno. We have it easy compared to what they went through. When they first arrived, they had to build everything. It was just a small FOB at that time, anywhere from 75 to 200 soldiers. They had to build their own out house, showers, put up their own tents and do their own laundry and cooking. One of the guys bought a pet monkey from some local kids. They built a cage and even took it to the vet to get all the shots. The best part was giving it a bath. They had to sedate it do it. They kept it for a while until a higher up found out about it and made them give it up. I have posted some pictures from their deployment.


Original sleeping quarters while putting up tents and wood structures



Laundry day







Building a base for a tent














Giving Mojo,the monkey, a bath



Piss tubes. No explanation needed
















Woman's facility











We had our patch ceremony which is after you are in theatre over 30 days. You receive a patch that you wear on your right shoulder. The Army ACU (Army Combat Uniform) is half Velcro. The right shoulder area under the flag is blank unless you have been deployed. Then you wear the patch of the unit that you deployed. So if you see an Army soldier and want to know if he/she was deployed, just look at their right shoulder to see if there is a patch under the flag or not. And by the way, we wear the flag with the stars always pointing to the front, so on our right sleeve, it looks backwards, but that is intentional.




My patch is of the 173rd Airborne Combat team. The 173rd Brigade has a long history starting with WW1. They were active in WWll and Korea. They were the first airborne brigade in Viet Nam. They had the most combat time in Viet Nam than any other brigade, 6 years. In fact, the country western song “8th of November” by Big & Rich is about a famous battle of theirs in 1965 in War Zone D. They had very high casualties from that battle. The unit does a memorial marathon every year on that day for the last 9 years. In 1971, the unit was deactivated to a reserve unit and lost their airborne status. In 2000, it was reactivated to airborne and stationed in Italy for airborne support of the entire European theatre. After 911, it made an airborne jump in 2003 for OIF (Operation Iraq Freedom) in northern Iraq. They have been in Afghanistan since 2007 for OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom).


Speaking of memorial runs, we at FOB Shank are doing a first annual Pat Tillman run. Pat Tillman was the professional football player who gave up his career to join the Army to fight in Afghanistan. He was killed April 2004 and was stationed out of FOB Salerno. It is a 4 and ½ mile run this Saturday. They have been doing this run for a number of years but this is the first time at Shank. Our entire unit is doing it by strong encouragement of our command, very strong encouragement. The best part is that the tee shirts are leftovers from a run in 2009 in San Jose. They are all women’s double XX shirts. I wonder why they had so many extra, extra large shirts left over. They are giving us woman’s clothing to wear and they worry about gay’s in the military. I haven’t figured that one out yet.
Hopefully, I will be home in about 2 ½ weeks.

Tom

I Met a Hero Today

I Met a Hero Today


Specialist Kelso



I met a real live hero today. Actually, I met him 2 months ago when I first arrived, but today I really found out about him. He is truly a hero, an American Soldier. He is a medic with Charlie Med, which is the medical unit with us in Afghanistan. Charlie Med is like our sister unit. They take care of the non surgical, day to day medical problem, kind of like an Acute Care office. Anyway, his name is Specialist Kelso. He is 24 y/o. Joined the military in 2006, he had his first deployment in May, 2007 as a medic. Medics, by the way, are often called “doc” by the soldiers whom they take care of out in the battlefield. He was one of 20 men from Second Platoon, part of the 173rd (More about the 173rd later). They were in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, often referred to “As the Valley of Death”. By the way, what brought this conversation on was the fact that his group found the Kevlar (helmet) and ammo pouch of a fallen comrade in that valley. There is a book about 4 Navy Seals on a mission in Afghanistan, called the “Lone Survivor”, by the one survivor, Marcus Luttrell. Their mission was in 2005. The Kevlar and ammo pouch belonged to one of those Seals that didn’t make it. His first deployment was in that valley were the battle had taken place 2 years earlier. The book is great and I highly recommend to anyone who wants to read about one man’s incredible survival ordeal during their battle with the Taliban. Anyway, back to Kelso.

At age 22, then PFC (Private First Class) Kelso spent his first deployment in this 6 mile valley where they built a FOB. His story is amazing. They had to build their own hesco walls with picks and shovel. They didn’t have any tractors or bulldozers there at that time. They often were in firefights with the hescoes only half filled. There were times in which he would have to duck behind the half built wall because a firefight broke out. In fact he told me that he was involved in over 450 firefights during his 13 months there.

One time PFC Kelso was manning the guard tower. He heard a swish go by and a RPG landed to his right about 20 meters away. He didn’t worry because he thought the guy shooting it was a pretty bad shot. The next swish landed about 15-20 meters to his left. The Taliban were just getting their barrings. The third landed in the sandbags just below him. This sent a piece of shrapnel making a gash through the side of his Kevlar. Luckily, he only had some minor scrapes.

One of his best accomplishments was one of his first casualties that he had taken care of. This soldier is a friend of his who was blown out of his humvee by an IED. He eventually became a bilateral amputee, but Kelso told him at the time that he was taking care of his friend that would he would be able to stand at his sister’s wedding. 9 weeks later his friend stood at his sister’s wedding.

Vanity Fair did an article on this unit I believe in 2008 called “Into the Valley of Death”. ABC’s Nightline did series of documentaries on them, not sure when exactly. There is a movie coming out this summer about their tour. Trailers can be found at www.restrepothemovie.com.

I saw part of the Nightline documentary. The Army had blown up some houses after they were fired upon the night before. There were some injured civilians that the Army took care of. The film shows a couple of elders of the village complaining to the soldiers about the damage and injured, and who is going to pay for it and what amends the Army will make. If you want to get mad, SPC Kelso told me that later on they found out that those 2 elders were actually Taliban and a few months later they actually ended up killing them both. Lying is almost second nature here. Sure is hard to fight a war when you don’t know who the enemy is and don’t know who to trust.

I am glad a I had the privilege to have met and be able to work along with one of our true heroes. Makes me glad to be here and help our country.




By the way, on a lighter note, my wife sent me an Easter basket. It was a complete surprise to me. I am sure it is a surprise to her that I would actually allow a picture of myself with the mask. Got to enjoy life each day that God blesses us with it.

Happy Easter

Tom