Kitabı oxu: «YOU COULD DIE ANY DAY»
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all those who had to experience painfully what war in a foreign land means and those at home who did not know what the soldiers had to face in the field.
In particular, I dedicate the book to my son Marco, who had to make do without a lot as a little boy because of my absence. In his mind he was with me all the time.
In memory of all comrades who have fallen in action, in particular:
Sergeant Christian S., Panzer Grenadier Battalion 332, fallen in an attack at Rustak on 25. June 2005 and
Lieutenant Colonel Armin-Harry F., Reservist, who fell in a suicide attack in Kabul on 14.
November 2005.
Andreas Meyer
YOU COULD DIE
ANY DAY
BEING DEPLOYED TO AFGHANISTAN
AS A SOLDIER OF THE GERMAN ARMY.
All rights reserved @ 2020 Andreas Meyer
Cover, Illustrations: Miriam Hadji
Editing: Andreas Meyer
Translation: Maren Krüger, Kerry Staudt and Alexander Langer
Publisher: tredition GmbH, Halenreie 40-44
22359 Hamburg Germany
ISBN
Paperback ISBN: 978-3-347-09331-7
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-347-09332-4
eBook ISBN: 978-3-347-09333-1
This publication including its parts and content are copyrighted. Every use without the permission of the author, especially electronic copying, translation, every way of distribution and public presentation, is illegal.
Bibliographic information of the German National Library:
The German National Library records this publication in the German National Bibliographic; detailed bibliographic information is provided via the following link: http://dnb.ddb.de
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all those who had to experience painfully what war in a foreign country means and those at home who did not know what the soldiers had to face in the field.
In particular, I dedicate the book to my son Marco, who had to make do without a lot as a little boy because of my absence. In his mind he was with me all the time.
In memory of all comrades who have fallen in action, in particular:
Sergeant Christian S., Panzer Grenadier Battalion 332, fallen in an attack at Rustak on 25. June 2005 and
Lieutenant Colonel Armin-Harry F., Reservist, who fell in a suicide attack in Kabul on 14. November 2005.
Contents list
Prologue
1 January 2005
2. Preparations
3. March 2005
4. June 2005, Mission
5. Every day camp life
6. Support from Austria
7. A baker and his flatbread
8. At the medic`s
9. Earthquake in Pakistan
10. My time in between the missions
11. Second deployment
12. The next flight to Afganistan
13. Preparation for handover
14. Challenges at the IEB-Cell
15. Visit tot he police chief at the airport
16. First tasks fort he new unit
17. Charity for a orphanage
18. Meeting again after 13 years
19. The Blue Moque of Mazar-E-Sharif
20. Visit by the commander
21. Driving tot he Teacher Training Center
22. Religious dignitaries at Camp Marmal
23. The newbies are coming
24. Getting acquainted with medical personal during flight
25. A day in the camp with five students
26. Afghanistan-Projekt „no más fonteras“
27. US-American artist arrives
28. The great day oft he experiment has come
29. Trip tot he border and port city Hairatan
30. First visit tot he OCCR headqzarters
31. Viait oft he Gouvernor of Samangan
32. The first watch on the watch tower
33. Support in driving service for OCCR
34. Mr. Scholl-Latour visits Camp Marmal
35. My third mission
36. And back again in Mazar-e Sharif
37. After 16 days camp stay
38. The first days in office as troop supply officer
39. Support fort he engineer squad
40. Evening remembrance service for four fallen comrades
41. The blue heart of Feyzabad
42. Lunch with „Schoko“
43. A reunion with Nabil, Sultan, Soraya
44. Attack on German armed forces in Takhar province
45. Father`s Day run at Camp Feyzabad
46. Departure
47. Back home
48. Eqilogue
49. Attachment 1 Rank groups from army
50. Attachment 2 Mongolian ranks
51. Attachment 3 Breakdown of a guide
52. Attachment 4 Classification of NATO classes
53. Attachment 4 Translation from German to Dari
54. Attachment 5 in alphabetic order
55. Attachment 6 List of figures
Thanks to:
F
or the patient support in the implementation of this book, I thank my friend Jana Wochnik-Sachtleben, who has lectured the text, and recorded my audio book, as well as Ms. Miriam Hadji for the design of the impressive book cover, and the translators Maren Krüger, Kerry S and Alexander Langer.
I warmly thank my comrade and friend Nabil Azizi for the translation into Dari language.
I also especially thank my partner, "Thessi", for her constant support the whole time.
I would also like to thank the following former senior officers and civilians as well as all my former comrades who dealt with me directly and indirectly in the missions:
Brigadier A., Airborne Brigade 25,
Colonel B., former company commander paratrooper battalion 253, Nagold,
Brigadier General R., former commander of the Center for Operational Information in Mayen,
Peter Scholl-Latour, German-French journalist and publicist from Bad Honnef,
Batuz, an American artist, philosopher and cultural activist,
and my closest comrades in the time of the missions (2005, 2010, 2011), Rainer M., Thomas K., Tino M., Marcel G., Soraya A., Sultan A., Nabil A., Alexander B., Marc -Andre S., Tobias M., Stephan M., Christian W.
Pretext:
These words are mine, a report from a staff sergeant of the reserve, who retired from active service in the German Army in 1990, but after a six-year break decided to live a life in uniform again and volunteered as a reservist for three missions in Afghanistan.
Previously, I had been soldier for eight years, but what I had learned those days was nothing to put into practice at that time, because back then there was no mandate for foreign missions for the Bundeswehr.
Then, after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, USA, on September 11, 2001, the circumstances changed.
From this point on, the Bundeswehr also participated in the foreign missions of the NATO troops. In December 2014, the ISAF mission ended in Afghanistan and a new advisory and training mission began.
During the period from 2001 to the end of 2014, a total of 3,687 soldiers, including 54 German soldiers, lost their lives. All were comrades, some of them were my friends.
This is my - and their - story.
Prologue
S
eptember 11 2001 I sat at a desk of a logistics company I was employed at as fire warden and coordinator for medical assistance since I left the Bundeswehr from active duty. I was responsible for the preventive fire security and all related aspects within the company. I liked my job. Being the one responsible for the security of my colleagues and having the possibility to be proactive always gave me a good feeling. Since I am a challenge loving person I was really satisfied with my tasks.
This morning though, my whole well settled life was about change in a dramatic way. A change that effected many more people around the globe.
A colleague of mine shouted over to me, I should open the website of CNN. Something about a plane had hit a sky scraper. Moments later I was following the live broadcast from the accident site staring at the horrific inferno of what once used to be the World Trade Center. I could not beliving my own eyes when the second jet flew into the other tower of the WTC.
In the first moment everything looked so staged. Like it was just not real. Like a really really bad movie. But it was real. And the consequences of this new reality were about to affect not only the world in general but also my very own personal life. I was about to face the terror from eye to eye. Not in the states but in Afghanistan.
I rejoined the Bundeswehr and became a soldier once again.
Map of Afghanistan
1 January 2005
10
th of January 2005 I received a call from the company sergeant ("Spieß") of my former unit, the 294th Mechanized Infantry Brigade. He was looking for a logistics assistant for the upcoming overseas mission. The destination: KUNDUZ, Afghanistan. I was quite surprised. But being a member of the reserve with still valid certification for this kind of position I had no doubt that I was going to support and accompany any battalion they would assign me to. At that time, I had a good job. I had responsibilities. But nothing could stop me from going with them. It´s one of these things you become a soldier for. Yes, of course I had been in the Army for 8 long years already. But it was nothing compared to what was about to come. Those years we´ve only been to countless exercises. All with the same scenarios. All about the same enemy. The enemy those days: "The East". In that past, counterterrorism and asymmetric warfare, at least in Germany, were not even close to become a term the army would focus on. You had 2 nations or blocks in conflict. Blue and red. Blue = good. Red = evil. After 9/11 the whole role of the Bundeswehr and its enemies had changed rapidly.
After the phone conversation with my "Spieß" I went straight to my boss asking him for approval to join the Bundeswehr for active duty to go on mission. He was far away from being amazed by my idea, but after a long discussion about a man´s values and appealing to his idealism he finally agreed. After taking care of all administrative things with my employer and covering all needed aspects with my family I confirmed my participation in the upcoming mission. The preparations for my first mission began.
Those days I felt like I would finally do something meaningful for those people who had known only three things in the last year: war, suffering and oppression, caused by the same inhuman creatures who attacked the way of life of the western world. There are so many thoughts running through your head while preparing for a mission. You need some time to get their true meaning. To realize what is coming up to you. I was married at that time and my son had just turned 7. It was a hard battle to convince my wife. But like many times before my will won over her concerns.
During the time of my active duty in the past I learned the true meaning of comradeship. What it means to have true fellow soldiers. This understanding already began with my first day in basic training. 12 completely different characters put into a tiny room in a lousy barrack forced to come along with each other for months. Back then, a lot of the guys were away from home for the very first time in their life which led to the funny picture of a crazy long cue in front of the only phone cell on our military base every single evening. Fortunately, I was spared that kind of homesickness since I had left my home early to be trained as a cook prior to joining the military. But these new dogmas of order and obedience left a strange taste inside my mouth and stomach.
Coming back to camaraderie, I witnessed that we were capable of achieving anything as long we stood together. Within the group as well as with the platoon. You help each other no matter what. Being it the seemingly endless marches, the combat and survival exercises or our final military exam. You carry the backpack of someone who is close to collapse. You turn around and grab a guy whose legs refuse to keep on running. You do all this because you can be sure that they would do all this for you as well once you faced your limits. It was a uniquely good feeling to know this each time we managed an exercise or task. This feeling stayed throughout all my courses and later in the everyday military life. The things I learned and the role models I was led by created the credo I used through my military career as a Sergeant leading young people myself. "I, as a sqad leader won´t expect or force anyone to do anything that I am not capable of doing myself." Just like Alexandre Dumas wrote in "The three musketeers" One for all and all for one! Those years in the army really brought me forward as a human being in many aspects.
In Germany of the 1980s the relationship between the civilian population and its countries’ forces and the picture the people had of its soldiers was a much better one than nowadays. You could see it specially during the large exercises like 1984 "Flinker Igel" or 1987 "Kecker Spatz". Farmers would let you rest and sleep in their barn and when you had to make a tactical stop in front of a gymnasium of a school, kids would gather around and watch you curiously. Often, people would bring you fresh bread, eggs, bacon and refreshments. Sometimes civilians were even directly involved in the exercise by helping out or give a hand to set up our infrastructure. As the field cook, I always had more than enough work to do. Being responsible for the food supply kept me busy every single minute, especially when I had to care about groups being deployed on very short notice.
In these cases, I was happy to have my little helpers around. Meaning, whenever we had a bunch of guys having to deploy within minutes I just placed crates with the different goods on cued tables, positioned my helpers behind the crates and let them pack the food packages, then passing them on to the next helper in the chain like in a little factory.
These little helpers were kids from the nearby villages who were always happy to be a part in this.
Remembering this time as a young Sergeant and field cook, there is another episode coming to my mind which was positive as well and which should convince me one more time of how small the world is. I was preparing the dough for an apple pie that was planned as a special treat for the next morning´s breakfast for the company when a high-ranking officer suddenly opened the door and appeared right in front of me. Normally you would jump into attention immediately and do a military salute but I was kind of confused by this surprising visit. I guess that was obvious to him and with an expression in his eyes that I have never forgot since then he just said: "no report needed soldier.
What tasty treat is it you have there? " And with these words he came closer and put his finger right into the dough. I was just saying: "So what do you think?" He just laughed and said that it is a shame that he won´t be there to try it tomorrow morning because he loves apple pie so much. I almost .... in my pants. I had never met such a high-ranking officer before and this guy was a Colonel. This Colonel, this episode of camaraderie made a very strong impression on me although I had no clue who he was. Years later we met again. Not in Germany but in Afghanistan. That time I of course knew who he was. Brigade General and Commander of the 8th German mission contingent to ISAF, General A.
During the time of my first enlistment to the army I came to know another very impressive man, Colonel B. Back then he was a Major and became my company commander in NAGOLD in 1987. Later, after 41 years of service, he served as the commander of the airborne and air transportation school in ALTENSTADT. These 2 men had a very strong influence on me and my military career through all the years which I am very grateful for.
2. Preparations
T
he preparations for my very first deployment began with the standard medical checks and countless vaccinations. Tetanus, Hepatitis A and B, rabies and so on...I got it all. All was documented meticulously via a timeline checklist according to an individually specified vaccination scheme for the deployment region. There is a scheme for every different region.
Once I got the approval by the medics I was sent on the mission specified basics training (ESGA) in STETTEN AM KALTEN MARKT followed by the centralized combat troops training (ZENTRA) in HAMMELBURG at the Training Centre of Infantry. The training was very accurate. From mine and improvised explosives device (IED) detection to a very realistic scenario of being captured and held hostage, we trained every possible situation we could get into during the mission. Another important part of the training was the cultural education with insights into afghan population, habits and social structure as well as a basics language training of the most important phrases. We got a bunch of handbooks and vocabularies German - Paschtu and German - Dari, the two main languages that are officially used in Afghanistan.
There is a picture in one of the handbooks showing an Afghan building an IED made of fertilizer. That one remained in my mind till today. He was using a yellow canister. The officer who conducted the lesson told us to always pay attention to these canisters if we see them. A nice advise that some time later unfortunately showed to be absolutely useless, but we will return to this topic.
After the described preparation training followed the preparation for the individual tasks in the battalion (BN) in the ALBKASERNE in STETTEN. Lots of meetings and briefings with the Chief of logistics (J4 officer) and the BN commander were to be hold. Everything related to personnel and material was planned to the smallest detail. That time I also had to join all kind of individual mission task related trainings like Peace Support Operations PSO or workshops for logistics personnel and specialists of the Mission Contingent of the ISAF mission.
In advance of the actual deployment I additionally had to join a reconnaissance mission to AFG to the place of our responsibility at the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) at KUNDUZ. Our team consisted of 4 officers and 2 sergeants including me, who were given the task to evaluate the situation on ground in and around the operational base and to verify the information we had received till then. Although we were provided with quite a lot of data we wanted to be sure that they were still up to date and reliable. Next time I would arrive here as the BNs TVB responsible for the supply and provision of our soldiers, not only in the camp and nearby areas, but also for the ones on missions and at the forward operation bases (FOB) deep in enemy territory. This is completely different from doing this job back home. In mission country you cannot just drive over to the next garage to get spare parts for your combat vehicle. No, in combat areas the lines of supply are much more complicated and way longer.
sunset in the Camp
Structure wise, I was assigned to the Staff and Supply Company. Due to that I also was responsible for the support with personnel and material of the Staff with its 7 sections as well as the Base Security / Defense Company and the military police. One who has never been in the Bundeswehr may imagine the SSCOY as a huge company with its different departments. In our case for example , there was a canteen with its responsibilities, the “Nachschubzug”, which is a supply platoon taking care of pickup and transportation of the supplies arriving at the airport, the “Materialgruppe”, a supply group distributing all material and ordering or sending spare parts and damaged parts from and to Germany, the “Instandsetzungsgruppe”, mechanics responsible to keep all vehicles operational and the “Luftumschlagszug”, an air logistics platoon offloading air transportation and taking care of distributing the mail and material to the areas of operation. As you see there was a lot of personnel and effort needed to keep this machine PRT KUNDUZ running.
3. March 2005
O
n the 15th of March we started at 12:30 from the military section of the airport of Cologne/Bonn in an Airbus of the Luftwaffe (German Airforce) to our layover in Termez, Uzbekistan (/اوزبيكيستان ترمز).
At 21:30 we landed on its airport. Whoever thought he could finally get off the plane was immediately disappointed. The door opened and an Usbek official came in. Accompanied by one of the German Airforce ground crew guys he collected all our military IDs, saying this was a regular procedure to check if the incoming personnel matches with the reported list and that we would get our IDs back when we proceed to our flight on the following morning. One of the guys being deployed for the second time turned over to me, smiled and said that they going to copy them now and forward the data to the Russians. I laughed and said:
"You´re joking, right?"
He laughed back and said:
"No!"
Actually, that was a well-known fact.
Once they had all our IDs, we were allowed to leave the plane and walk over to the so called transit camp which was located only 200 meters away from the runway. It was dark and humid. We were led to the tent area where we could buy a Coke and a more or less warm sausage for dinner. Then we went to our declared tents. Thank god they had air-conditioning, so that we were able to get some rest for at least a few hours. According to local time it was 0100 when we laid down. So it was a short night, because at 0430 we had already boarded again, this time a C-160 Transall on a direct flight to KUNDUZ (کندوز). We had to start that early because later in the morning the temperatures would rise to an unbearable degree. Too hot for the Airforce to fly.
It is 0500 local afghan time at KUNDUZ airport or what those people call to be an airport. The main building was a ruin and the tower looked everything but stable. The first thing drawing my attention were the rays of sun right above the tower and the remains of two destroyed combat helicopters left by the Russians when they withdrew 1989.
We were picked up with some jeeps and Mungos (an ugly tiny military transportation vehicle which was actually concepted as a street cleaning vehicle) and brought to the main base. My first impressions of the country were overwhelming. I sat next to the driver of the Mungo and watched how the life in and around KUNDUZ began the day.
Then suddenly I was hit by a negative feeling. I saw all those children with their small barrows carrying those yellow canisters. Immediately the words of that officer came to my mind when he warned us about these canisters. Could these little children really be assassins? Those with their yellow canisters? But not only they had those canisters. There were yellow canisters everywhere! In each corner. In front of every store. Beside every single road.
The next thing I recognized where all those children working on the fields along the road. Considering that awful crazy heat it was hard to watch. Later I found out that almost all children have to get up very early in the morning to work on the fields together with their parents. Afterwards they go to school and return to the fields in the evening to work again. Like in Germany back then children had to help their parents with their work to assure the families survival, but nowadays this would be far from every imagination. Over here it is still everyday life.
The PRT at the northern afghan provincial capital KUNDUZ was founded by the US forces and was taken over by the Bundeswehr in October 2003. The official tasks of the german-run PRT were:
Support of the official structures of the central afghan government in the provinces of KUNDUZ and TAKHAR in all kinds of aspects.
Different from the time when the PRT was led by the US forces there were also civil officials from Germany present, such as the ministry of foreign
affairs, the ministry of interior as well as the ministry of economical cooperation and development who worked very close together with the German military. The camp was guarded and secured by afghan security forces.
Arriving at the camp we were met by our predecessors at the so-called market, which is the central place of the camp and then brought to our quarters where we would stay for the next eight days of our introduction.
The next morning we placed our luggage, which actually consisted only of our combat back pack, on the field beds and went for breakfast. In front of the canteen tent there was a hand washing installation. Hygiene was elementary in the camp. In a country with almost no sanitary infrastructure, the dust of feces is permanently present in the air. At noon it was the worst. No one who was not deployed there can even imagine the smell. A good protection those days was the Kufiya, the typical head scarf which I used to spray with orange perfume and wrapped it around my mouth and nose to avoid breathing in that sickening feces dust. Of course, you were not 100 percent save using this but it helped to make it through the day.
Afghan security forces at work
Entering the canteen, we were just amazed by the variety of all the tasty looking foods that were on offer. It was even more and so much better than in the facilities back home! Fresh fruits, fresh baked bread, cheese, ham, scrambled eggs and even freshly brewed coffee. After having breakfast, the COY commander showed us the most important stations in the camp such as the location of the sections J1 to J6 of which J6 for example was responsible for the whole IT infrastructure of the camp and its forces. After that we visited the security COY. Later that day I got to meet with a SGT 1st class of the COY. His name was Christian S. and his task was to show us around and teach us about the way of life in the camp. We got along with each other quite well from the very first day and spend a lot of time together during my stay.
The following days passed by fast, filled with talks and briefings with leading personnel and endless reports and evaluations. Especially the procedures of ordering and distributing of material, the supply chains and the detailed capacities of the air delivery had our main focus due to the intention to bring in much more material from Germany. Time just flew by and on the last evening before heading back home Christian and me went to the moral welfare (MW) tent to have a drink and some last words until we meet again on the 27th of June for the start of my actual mission deployment. The next morning we said goodbye at the airport where my team and I entered an CH-53 transport helicopter who brought us to TERMEZ and from where we flew back to Cologne.
flight to termez with the CH-53 helicopter
4. June 2005, Mission
I
n the company there was still quite some work to be done before my deployment. My additional duties were delegated to the chosen personnel that had to replace me. There was the upcoming inspection of all first aid kits as well as the checking of all defibrillators which had to be ensured while I was gone.
Normally a soldier gets about a week off before the deployment to spend time with his family and loved ones. A so called "cuddle week". In my case it was a little bit different. Even in that particular week I had to work in the company and didn´t have time off to take care of my family like all my fellow soldiers. Of course, we used the evenings after work to spend some time together. At the end my son helped me with packing my deployment box that had to be filled with all the military stuff as well as all the private things like pictures and books. As a guy from the reserve I was lucky to be allowed to fly with all my luggage, in contrast to the regular soldiers who had their additional belongings shipped weeks in advance. Their luggage was collected and flown in with mixed material and personnel air transportation mostly by Luftwaffe assets to the air logistics point in TERMEZ, Uzbekistan. From there the luggage was flown to the mission location by our C-160 Transall; the workhorse of the German Airforce. Heavier loads were flown in by chartered Ukrainian jets like the Ilyshin IL-76 or even with Antonov AN-124 which is the world`s largest cargo plane.
The time to deploy came closer incredibly fast with every day. This time we were departing not from Cologne but from Frankfurt because most of the soldiers of the 8th german mission contingent were from the south of Germany. My wife and my son accompanied me to the airport and stayed with me until I had to check in. Regardless of our farewell we all were in a good mood although we knew that we will not see each other for more than 4 months. Marco, being 7 years old that time, liked being around so many soldiers in their cool uniforms. Amazed by the moment he was more than happy to pose for photos with me and other soldiers. He played and ran around with my very close comrades Thomas K. and Rainer M. who would be my supporting staff in the J4 environment.
It was a strange feeling to leave my family all alone. The next months I´d be far away and wouldn´t be able to be there for them. But due to the new impressions and experiences the life back home shifted to the back row. The mission became our primary focus. Then in the nights the thoughts about my loved ones came back to my mind and left me sleepless for quite some time. Despite all the risks and danger, I chose the mission because I considered it to be my holy duty for my country to help a threatened land and especially its people. I don´t know if my comrades felt the same way or different those days.
Shortly before the check-in I said goodbye to my wife and son. Until that moment everything felt as if I was just about to go on a vacation with my pals which I actually never did before. Which is weird somehow...I didn´t have the impression that I was going on a mission and that there might be the possibility of never coming back.
I brought my duffel bag and my box to the counter to have it checked in. The friendly guy from the ground crew offered me a nice seat in the jet and gave me my ticket. From the windows of the waiting room you could see to the runway. It was pouring with rain outside but that didn´t bother us at all.
Then it was time. The boarding began. We all drove with a shuttle bus directly to the plane. In the Airbus I sat down and immediately stretched out my legs to check if would feel comfortable with my long legs. Being 1,95 meters tall can become quite a torture on a long flight. On that seat it felt just great. The ground crew guy kept his word. When I looked out of the window it was still raining. At the same moment, over there in KUNDUZ it must be 45 degree in the shade, I thought to myself. I couldn´t stop thinking of it: Tomorrow I´ll be back there. Tomorrow I will meet Thomas in the evening and we will talk about our day and we will play "Kicker" (table football).
Finally, after all these preparations, courses and trainings we were heading to Afghanistan. I get comfortable in my seat and watch the jet filling with people. The boarding is finished quickly and the doors are closed. The Airbus rolls slowly down the runway to its starting point. I feel how the noise inside calms down. All are in their seats. I put on my headphones to listen to music. Some take pictures with their mobile phones or cameras. Everybody is relaxed. We take off on time. Next stop is Nürnberg, where we will pick up the rest of our mixed unit. This doesn´t take longer than an hour and we´re on our way again directly to Termez.
What I didn´t know that moment is that my friend and comrade Oberfeldwebel Christian S. was going to die on this day in a tragic accident. It happened while I was sitting on my flight passing over Russia´s wide country highlighted by beautiful sunshine. No one thought that two comrades would die on such a lovely day. We were landing in Termez at 2230. To make it through the few hours we had to wait for our following flight to Kunduz we were given some tea, some warm sausages and a field bed.
The next morning, we entered the Transall which departed at 0400 to bring us to our final destination. It was still dark when we took off but already an hour later we dashed down almost vertical in a 90 degree angle towards the airport of Kunduz. You need to know that the German pilots in Afghanistan have to fly relaying only on vision, map and compass due to the lack of a more modern aircraft than the C-160. These kinds of maneuvers were absolutely common these days. So everybody was literally thrown out of sleep and seat.
After the landing the sun was shining and the heat was almost killing us. A feeling as if you got hit by a wooden plank right in your face.
I am back in Kunduz. Like six weeks ago we got picked up by Mungos and various jeeps of different brands. Later I asked myself how it is possible to fall in love with a country that you don´t even know. But this country enchants me in a way that I cannot resist. Its people, the surroundings, the exotic smell on its markets and even this awful heat is a mixture to which I got addicted to very fast. It´s like someone flips the switch and the light turns on. Also, the kindness of these people and their hospitality impresses me over and over again.
Arriving at the camp we were welcomed at the "Market" but different from how it was the last time.
The Spieß and the COY commander of our predecessors led us to our provisional accommodations. It´s common that you stay in tents until your predecessors have left. Only then you can move to a solid accommodation. Later that day we picked up our luggage from the air logistics platoon which is located at the other end of the camp.
The camp is located on a big former fruit plantation. On its grounds we have trees with different kinds of fruits like lemon, oranges and figs irrigated by moats running through the whole camp. If you could ignore the hostile environment in the area around us it might feel like holidays. Together with some comrades I brought my bags and the box to my tent where I would stay for the next 14 days. Then it was time for breakfast followed by the standard official welcome of the "new guys".
Due to the short night and the long flight the day before I didn´t think a lot about my arrival. The only thought I perceived for a moment were all those flags that are hoisted on half-mast. But I was too confused by then to recognize its meaning and become upset. In my mind I was already engrossed in my in processing, a procedure every new arrival has to go through. You get a bunch of papers that have to be handed over, signed, stamped or signed by every station to receive your bullet proof west or so called bristol, your pistol, assault rifle and cleaning kit, your bed linen and all the other stuff a soldier needs. This mind grinding and annoying procedure takes you a minimum of 2 to 3 days depending on where the location of each station is at and how quickly you can get there. Of course, you also have to go through the medical check to assure that every necessary medical treatment was done back in Germany.
Later that day I had some unscheduled time, so I went over to the security COY to check if Christian might be in. I entered the tent and asked the first guy I saw if he had an idea of where Christian might be. This front office soldier looked at me kind of confused and pointed to a framed picture with a black ribbon on its left corner that showed Christian. In that moment I was just thinking: " Is that guy f*cking kidding me?!" That must be the worst joke ever. But that private just nodded and explained to me how Christian was killed 2 days ago in an accident with an ammunition truck in the vicinity of Rustack.
I am dumbfounded - I can´t feel anything - emptiness. I can´t believe it. How can Christian be gone? No talks, no hanging around at the MWR tent after duty having drinks or just watch the afghan heaven with all its stars at night and listen to the cicadas? All this should be over now?
Everybody of the new ones were shocked when hearing this tragic news. To stay at good state of mental health everyone of us had to find away cope with such a loss. I have to keep focused on my mission. For that reason, I suppressed my feelings and thoughts at that moment. For now, I have to concentrate all my energy on my duties. I say Bye to that soldier and head the direct way to my accommodation. Arriving there I can´t hold it back any longer. For the first time in my life as a soldier I am overwhelmed by feelings of fear and helplessness. I can´t hold back the tears.
I am alone in the tent. After some time I dry my
tears and take care of my documents.
An hour later I meet my boss from the J4 section, Major K. in the MWR tent. We´re discussing some topics regarding the hand over with our predecessors. During the conversation I don´t mention any word of Christian’s death. I cannot because I can´t even believe it. It just can´t be true. He is the second person I lost while being absent. First my grandma whom I was very close to. I wasn´t able to be there either when it happened. And now Christian too was dragged out of my life without giving me the chance to say good bye. How many more will I lose?
Grief in the first hours
5. Every day camp life
I
n the following weeks we take over the duties from our predecessors. As mentioned before, my main duty in this first mission is a logistics administrator. A job that is mainly done in front of a desk and requires an awful lot of phone calls. But at least during my inspections of the individual subunits I was able to recognize and solve issues and take care of a lack of material in direct contact with the ones in need.
Regarding our predecessors’ organisation of procedures, the ones that proved to be effective we kept. Other things were adjusted or let´s say improved to our requirements. Best example we had to face for the need of improvement was the topic fuel. Once having a closer look to the books, we found out that there was quite a difference between the amounts given out stated in the reports and the real amounts missing.
That time I got to get in touch with a LTC of the Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC), Armin F. He was brought to Kabul just for a few weeks to replace an CIMIC Officer being on leave. It was his second deployment to Afghanistan. We got along quite well from the very first day. Like being on the same page. We even found out that both of us were stationed in the same BN back home but at different times. I got the same positive feeling with Armin like I had with Christian before.
Since Armin was doing his job mainly outside and I basically inside the camp we only had chance to catch up in the evening for a drink in the MWR tent and talk about the day. Armin had an interesting job at CIMIC and understood quickly what his major tasks were and in fact also why we were in this country and what our main goals were: To advise and help its people rebuild their land in every meaning of the word.
Armin told me about our Forward Operating Bases (FOB) and outposts which were also run with the fuel I was responsible for. We agreed on a trip to these outposts to give me the opportunity to get my own picture of the situation. Shortly after I reported this idea to my commander and received the order for a drive to KUNDUZ area. It will be my first mission outside the safe walls of the camp.
As soon as you want to leave the camp with a vehicle you need a driving order with a detailed description of the route. The reason for that is simple. The command staff need to be informed at all times which forces are moving or where they are located in order to be able to coordinate them or others if needed. Therefore, it is also mandatory to report your status every hour.
Due to Armin´s vehicle already being packed with him, two other soldiers and the interpreter (a local Afghan person who is able to translate the Afghan languages and whose background is checked by our military counter intelligence service), I had to join the convoy with my own vehicle. Before starting we had a detailed brief about the route, how to act in various threatening situations and our individual roles in case of enemy contact.
The first planned destination would be the ALIABAD outpost where the German Bundeswehr was operating together with Afghan national police. That is the first place where they use the mentioned fuel operated generators I wanted to take a look at. After that we planned to go to a printing house in POL-E-KHOMRI that was printing flyers for the upcoming elections of the afghan parliament. From there we would head back to our camp.
Next morning at 0900 we get ready to deploy. I put on my bullet proof vest, my helmet, lock and load my rifle, do a radio check and move to the vehicles waiting already with running engines. We start. The afghan guards are opening the gates and we turn on the main exit road. The holes on the way are as big as truck tires and I have to drive carefully to avoid them. The streets are full. Not filled with cars but with donkey carts. Children playing in the street holes filled with yesterdays’ rain. "Wow, what a cool pool!" comes to my mind in the first place. But shortly after I realize how sad this picture actually is. How sad it is that these children don´t have proper playgrounds.
The tour is done without any negative inncidents and we arrive back at camp late evening. The following days will be packed with lots of work. Due to the mentioned elections our contingent gets stocked up both in personnel and material. To house the planned amount of people we had to rearrange certain structures of the camp. I knew that in nearby future such short notice requirements won´t be a problem anymore since the new depot at the airport was almost done and was about to become operational at the beginning of 2006.
Since the beginning of the ISAF mission in 2001 not only did the manpower increased over and over again, but also the combat equipment and all the support related material, which of course, had to be stocked up multiple times.
Regarding all my tasks already described, you can imagine how fast the time went by. Days, weeks and months were just flying by. Sometimes strange things happened along the not so thrilling everyday tasks, like containers which were actually addressed to KABUL suddenly turning up at our camp while others addressed to us somehow popped up in FEYZABAD.
But sometimes and all of a sudden good things also happen. One day I could not believe my eyes when Bridadier General A. shows up for inspecting the unit and I recognize him to be that Officer from back then tasting cake fudge in my field kitchen years ago. Now and then I also got the chance to join the transportation platoon at the airport and help them to load and unload the arriving and departing airlifters. There are airlifters coming in every day and night. This work takes a whole day although the airport is only less than 8 km away. Since the inspection of the transportation platoon is also part of my main duties I started to use this opportunity to get out of the camp as often as possible for a little variation.
A few days later I got the chance to join the supply transportation flight to FEYZABAAD with a Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter that I was more than happy about in order to get some new impressions. FEYZABAD is about 1200 meters above zero.
waiting for material from Germany
Normally, supply transportation is made via local so-called jingle trucks on the land route. For the distance of 240 km these trucks need about eight to ten hours because of the poor road conditions, you just cannot compare them to the ones back home. But on these routes, it is not possible to transport sensitive or dangerous material. In these cases, airlift capacities are used. The flight proceeds without any incidents. I am placed next to the door gunner to secure the zone to the back and below the helicopter.
The CH-53 is flying as low as possible over fields and mountain tops and offers us an incredible view on the afghan nature. Once landed we stay only half an hour till everything is unloaded and loaded with stuff for us and head back
immediately to KUNDUZ. It´s already noon when we arrive at the airport and it´s awfully hot, feeling like 45 degrees Celsius or more. Once our material and field mail is unloaded I receive a cold bottle of water which I gratefully empty within seconds. At home I have to force down every sip, but in Afghanistan I drank 4 to 5 liters for sure.
flight with CH-53 to Feyzabad
Pulsuz fraqment bitdi.
