The Words of the Harding Family
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The Words of the Harding Family |
Dear friends, families, one and all:
Well as you may know currently am on my 7th tour in another lovely location -- Garmser District, Helmand Province in Afghanistan. I am very out of touch with Yuriko and the kids; yes we email and the kids do too, but I am not "knee deep in the weeds" as Jarheads say when we are really into something. On my previous deployments I did not miss Yuriko and the kids as much as I do on this tour; not sure why that is but, there it is. What can I share with you?
Our region is a very poor one -- simple farmers who live off the river valley of the district. The fields are crisscrossed with little canals and smaller rivers that make walking anywhere extremely challenging. Our vehicles are limited to a very rough dirt road the border the main canal which runs north-south almost 60 kms. There are two very barren deserts to the East and West of some amazing farmlands. The roads are not safe and we've had several vehicles roll into the canals. We have been lucky as no one has been seriously injured by these hazards.
The unit we replaced was not so lucky and 3 Marines drowned inside there huge mine resistant vehicle unable to get out as it filled with water. We have made a lot of inroads with the local elders here and three out of 5 smaller areas are relatively safe -- as safe as one can be as a Marine in a foreign country. There are numerous bazaars and cluster of shops spread out. Several days a week they swell in numbers up to 3,000 people who come in from the hinterland to sell their crops and merchandise brought as far away as Laskur Ghar the capital "city" of Helmand Province.
Our brother unit north of Laskur Ghar in a place called" Sanguin" is having a really hard go of it and will be coming home early as they have sustained so many casualties. And to our Northwest we have units who duke it out daily with in Marjeh. Here though it is pretty peaceful. There are regular governance Shuras, security Shuras, and economic Shuras -we have USAID, the State Department reps, and numerous British guys who are running NGO's with micro-grants, canal renovation projects, and developing the infrastructure.
Our main threat here is IED -- hidden bombs and that's where I am able to support the guys doing the daily patrols with my crew of 13 bomb sniffing dogs; we've been able to spare the legs of over 30 Marines if that makes sense. Sadly not everyone makes it and to date we've suffered one KIA and several other WIA which really if you want to get into statistics is not much. Many higher ups are interested in how we are so successful in finding the bombs. The U.S. government has spent millions of your tax payer dollars to protect us with electronic counter measure, armored vehicles, air medical flights, body armor and all sorts of gadgets. However, there is one thing that only costs a couple of bucks that the Marine grunt has developed to save himself and his buddy.
It is called a "Holly Stick" named after Gunnery Sergeant Holly who was killed in action last year. He was an EOD tech and literally saved 100s of Marines and civilians lives and even now after his passing continues to do so with his invention. It is basically a long 9 foot long bamboo like pole with a scythe. We duct tape or tie down with wire this metal scythe; sort of looks like a Grim Reaper. When the sweeper gets a hit on his mine detector we scratch the ground around the hit and attempt to pull up loose wires, uncover the bomb, or find the battery packs. Gunnery Sergeant Holly is a hero in my eyes for developing this simple technique.
The dogs are also used to run out in front of the patrols but, due to the environment the Holly stick is the most practical. The majority of my time is spent in headquarters behind a huge bank of computers, screens, and monitors that track air assist, convoys, and battles that are ongoing. We also support the units who need medical help with helicopters. We have actually assist more locals with this than I thought possible literally dozens come with their sick, injured or dying to our local positions and to our bigger ones and Uncle Sam flies them first class without any need to show ID, proof of insurance, or a way to pay for it.
The running joke is that this is Obamacare at its finest. Well live a little hesco bunker and have been freezing my arse off until Dad and Iona sent me a space heater! So I have the joy of waking up with the temperature just below 0 C or 32 F and having a bit of heat. I also scored a hot plate and boil water for a cupper each morning and shave with HOT WATER! This is an amazing experience and a good way to start the day. A very simple Spartan life.
Mathew wrote me a quote from Plato "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle" There are many young guys on the first deployment so I try to encourage them when I can and I will also lay the smack down as a Gunnery Sergeant of Marines only can. I am really living quite well and feel guilty sometimes thinking of the guys who are out in the smaller posts with just a handful of Marines and Afghan Soldiers at post that no one can drive to so they are flown in and dropped off by helo. Those guys are really going through tough times. So during this holiday season I ask you not to pray for me but, for them; the young Lance Corporal who wades through canals and then freezes at night, has limited hot chow, no electricity, no phone or email except maybe once a month when they rotate in for rest and refit. And for the people here; they are simple farmers caught between two ideologies; they could care less about Democracy or Sharia Law.
They just want to farm and live their lives; I have fallen in love with this country and its people. The Afghan soldiers are really good fellows in our parts. They have given me the name "Khan Babba Double Zhor" which means "King Daddy Twice as Old" after a firefight we were in and they learned of my advanced age. So you will have to speak with Yuriko about the children; hard for me to think about them so I won't.
They are doing their studies very well, playing soccer, doing Tae Kwon Do and Max his gymnastics and that's as far as I will go with that line of thought for obvious reasons that I am not there being able to listen to them share at the family table each night. They are very precious and email me and have been able to speak with the on the phone two or three times thus far.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, and Holiday season. In Shallah will be back in May sometime when it will be warm! God Bless you all in 2011 have a feeling it's going to be an awesome year.
Semper Fidelis