FOB for a few days. As the Infectious Disease Officer, I have been tasked with designing an infectious
disease power point and to be available to present the training to new Military Police (MP) troops that
will be working at detention sites.
The first leg of my journey began at a 0300 wake-up to get dressed, don my battle armor and ruck
sack packed with 7 days worth of gear and hike down the road to meet my ride to Bagram Air Field.
My awesome Battle Buddy (BB) awoke to walk with me and see me off!
I had to be dropped off a few blocks away from the terminal (only departing soldiers are allowed near the terminal for security issues), so another hike with just me and my gear! The terminal was jammed pack with a hundred or so other travelers, all going to various destinations and I was busy trying to read all the signs to find out where I needed to report for my flight, when I saw a a friend from the British Army who travels all the time.
Fortunately, she was able to take a few minutes and direct me to the right line! And, after an hour or
so of sitting around waiting, my fellow travelers and I hiked out onto the airstrip to load up on a C-130.
We all found seats on canvas-netted seats, shoulder to shoulder, our gear groaning for room, and soon
the plane blasted down the strip in a quick combat take-off……..as straight up as a C-130 can go! A short
hop later, the C-130 headed nose down for a rapid landing in Kabul.
Second leg of the journey was a quick layover in Kabul where I met up with the rest of the inspection
team (a SFC MP, as CPT from JAG and our leader, a Major of the MP Brigade). Shortly, we were back
on the C-130, another squeeze in, another quick take off and after 90 minutes, a sudden drop and we
unloaded in Kandahar.
Kandahar is an interesting Base, with soldiers from many countries walking and talking about, adding
a surreal UN flare to the place. The weather was plain hot…..102 degrees! And, we had to pack our
gear a long hike in the hot son to our temporary lodgings, awaiting our flight to our final destination
the next morning. We settled into a large, military tent, full of desert dust and without an air cooling
system. However, just dropping our ruck sacks to the floor and stripping off our armor, we dropped 20
degrees and felt a bit more human. Three events will mark Kandahar in my mind, the first being the
Boardwalk (san ocean, of course!) The Boardwalk surrounds a football sized field of sand and the outer
edge is surrounded by small shops selling rugs, wood or metal crafts, uniforms and even a Green Beans
coffee shop. The center area is divided into 4 smaller areas, one with a soccer field, a flag football field,
two volley ball and the fourth-quarter held a hockey rink! It seems there is a large Canadian presence
in Kandahar so a hockey rink makes perfect sense………except no ice! So, a greatly involved game of
street hockey was going on and was very interesting to watch. I hear in the winter they do have ice and
the games get very competitive. Another clear memory of Kandahar is a special item called the “Poop
Pond.” When the base was first laid out, an area was set aside for all the human waste, however, over
the past couple years, the base has grown and now the Pond is right up against the living areas. So,
a rather odiferous waft permeates the Kandahar breeze, causing an occasional gag reflex. After a bit,
one can get use to the smell, but a strong breeze will come up, increasing the air particulate count and
the “fresh scent” springs to new life! To show how the Army has an ever present sense of humor, there
is a sign at the edge of the Pond that warns, “No Diving.”
The third memory I have of Kandahar is the amount of Incoming Direct Fire (IDF) they take. As the Major
and I sat on the Boardwalk, enjoying the cool evening breeze (all be it scented), sipping an ice tea from
Kandahar (sounds like a rather nice vacation!) the air raid siren went off and everyone dove for the
ground. The hockey players slid to the cement floor, the soccer, football and volleyball players dove
into the sand, covering their heads with their arms as ball bounced about, untended and forgotten. The
Major and I dove onto the wooden Boardwalk deck, ice tea splashing between the boards to the sounds
of tables and chairs being overturned as other patrons hit the deck as well. The siren went off a few
times as multiple IDFs tried to find a direct hit (they all hit in unmanned areas so no injuries). The All
Clear siren was sounded and everyone beat it back to their tents to access their body armor, knowing
that one IDF meant more as the night approached.
Finally, the 0400 showed and my team loaded up our gear and hiked to the rotary terminal to catch a
ride to our final destination, Fire Base Pasab, where we were scheduled to conduct a two-day training
and inspection session. Once again, we sat inside a hot tent, with all our gear on and ruck sacks at the
ready for any helo that would have 4 seats to get us to Pasab. So, we sat for 2 hours, sweating and
drinking bottle after bottle of water, until finally the Air Terminal Sgt signaled us we had four seat but
only 5 minutes to load up! So, we rucked up and madly sprinted out the terminal and across the airfield
to a Black Hawk helicopter crew member frantically waiving us in…..we thorugh our gear in, jumped
in and barely made our seats before the pilot headed straight up and out……..which is exactly what is
needed to be done when one is a sitting duck in an airfield that gets hit by IDF on a daily basis!
A quick 20 minutes later and we were at the firebase and our dismount was as high speed as our mount
and we were soon running away from our ride and starting yet another hike to yet another temporary
lodging tent. The firebase is basically a base that offers cover fire for the fighting troops just a bit form
the base. Airborne holds the ground with the help of some transportation and artillery units. When
enemy troops are captured, they are brought here to be processed and then moved back to main
detentions centers. Theses soldiers work long, hot, dangerous hours, and each one is proud of their
mission and gives 100%.
By 1800 that night we started our training to the night crew and by 2400 we finally made it to our racks
for some much deserved sleep. The night weather was much improved over the 100 degree daytime
temps, but just as I drifted off the incoming and outgoing fire exchange started up. With each howitzer
firing outbound, my rack would shake and dust would tumble down from the roof of the tent. I finally
placed a t-shirt over my face and fell asleep with my body armor and helmet in place. One would thing
the “boom, boom, boom” would keep one awake, but I knew our guys were taking care of business and
keeping us safe…….so I snored away! About 0300 in the am, the Captain (Air Force) began shaking my
arm forcefully, whispering, “Knight, Knight, get up we got to get to the bunkers…….there’s been a close
hit.” I woke up and thought to myself that I hadn’t heard anything that was close but I slipped my bare
feet into my boots and exited the tent. Where upon, the Captain pointed to a plume of white smoke just
on the outside edge of the camp and said, “See…..that’s close!” I looked at the plume, then back at her
and shook my head and started laughing. “Captain, that’s the burn pit…..where the burn the waste!”
She looked for a minute, then realized her mistake and we both started laughing and trying to catch our
breaths from under the weight of our body armor. After we settled down, we made our way back into
the tent and found a couple more hours of sleep before we were up again, training the day troops and
completing our inspection of the facility, completed by 2230 that night. We found a couple more hours
of sleep and spent the next two days traveling our way back through Kandahar, Kabul and back to BAF.
I was glad to see home, looking forward to a hot shower and my own bed when I realized my unit forgot
to send someone to give me a ride back to my little FOB. So, I donned my armor, plopped my helmet on
and touted my ruck back on my back and hiked my way to a bus stop, not looking forward to 3 hours of
bus changing and walking between bus stops. Upon reaching the first bus stop, I just plopped down to
sit and wait. And like manna from heaven, a civilian contractor friend was driving by in a truck, saw me
and gave me a ride home…….and air-conditioned ride home!
Upon reaching my base, I had to walk from the main gate to my room and when I finally reached my
upstairs home, I had to let out a giant smile: my BB had placed a “Welcome Home, BB” sign on the door!
It greatly lifted my hot and tired spirits, energizing me enough to drop off my heavy gear and hike over
to work to check in. I was also quite cheered up by the welcomed pats on the back and hearty greetings
of my unit as I walked the halls to check in. I had a great trip, and got to see a lot of the country that
some people will never see, but I was very glad to be home, safe and sound!
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