Voices from the War

Seven Years Later, in Afghanistan

The following video was released by the New York National Guard's 27th BCT in honor of 9/11. The 27th BCT is currently in charge of Task Force Phoenix, which is overseeing the training of Afghanistan Army and Police on the front lines in Afghanistan.

COL Brian Balfe is the person talking with members of the Task Force behind him.

The Taliban can't run a town, how could they rule the world?

Life here has fallen into a regular grind.  We have a schedule that we follow with meetings, deadlines and daily/ weekly and monthly products that have to be produced.  Forms are filled out, convoys are executed and missions are planned and done like clock work.

I truly believe that any job is just that, a job.  The difference is that here a job can suddenly change into an adventure or a trauma.  Thank God we have not had any real trauma close to us yet.  With the poppy harvest coming to a close, we expect to see our little "friends" less interested in harvesting and more motivated to take over the world.

   I often visualize Pinky and the Brain in turbans sitting in a shura with other Taliban folks telling each other how they desire world domination.  They can't run a town of 2000 without abusing people and hurting the weak, but they desire world control.  I think they may want to start smaller and work their way up for a few hundred years, so that they could learn from their mistakes.  Oh well there goes my western education flaring up again.

  The routine has gotten repetitive, so there are days that drag along.  It has started the traditional homesickness that sets in when there is time to think.  I am so grateful for the two guys here from Buffalo.  Jerzy Galazka and Jake Benbenek help me through the times when I miss home. We sit around and reminisce about bars, women and food from home. 

   The guys here from Puerto Rico think that everybody from Buffalo speaks Polish and there are a few words not fit to print which may end up back in PR due to this deployment. We don't get vulgar at each other, just life. They believe that Kurva is an English word used up north, for instance.  Please don't post any vulgarity, I don't want people at St. Adalbert's thinking I am a dirty soldier.

    I guess that is all I have in me for today.  I only wish the job was 9 to 5 and not 5 to 9, these long hot days just knock me out sometimes. 

--  God Bless and stay safe, CPT Matthew Ryan

Precious Words to a Warrior’s Mother

Today as I sit here in my empty home the silence is deafening.  The other boys left for school earlier and this is the time of day when I sit down and type away in my journal and for our blog.  It is also the time of day when my oldest and I would touch base and chat.

Today like everyday since January 3, there is no one here to chat with.  No one to tell me about the grand plans for his life or to crack a joke that brings me to my knees with laughter and no one to tease me about my attire.  No one to ask me for a favor or complain about the dinner selection, but most of all there is no one to tell me “I love you Big Mama” as he walks out the door. Unless you have ever placed your baby in harm’s way, you can never begin to understand the pain that surrounds a mother’s heart when you send your baby off to war. 

War is ugly, painful and difficult for those directly affected by it.  No soldier wants war.  It was General Douglas MacArthur who said it best, "The Soldier above all others prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest scars of war."

No Mother or Father wants war especially, for our children.  We spend years protecting, guiding and loving our children with a desire for them to have a bright, loving and peaceful life.  We (military parents) serve in silence with our children, standing quietly in the shadows of their world.

War is something that the human race has been dealing with for many years.  I was a child during the Vietnam War, but I still have memories of it.  Memories of news footage roll through my mind.  I remember watching the TV as the soldiers were being filmed riding on the back of a truck waving to the camera while they headed off to some remote area.  I remember the words of a soldier waving and saying Hi Mom.  As a child, I though nothing of the importance of those simple words, but as a Mother I cherish them. 

Like any Mom, those childhood memories have stayed with me.  As a Military Mom, at times those memories haunt me.  Today, I find myself hanging onto my computer instead of the news channel.  My computer is the first thing I look at when I roll out of bed and the last thing I view before I go to sleep.  WHY???  I’m looking for the Hi Mom.  I just want two little words to know that my baby is ok.  Sure we would love to get a full detail of the day’s events from our babies, but in reality there are days when it would be more than we as mothers could bear to hear.  For now I am grateful for a “Hi Mom….I’m OK. I miss you and love you!!  Love, Your Boy”. 

Just precious words to any Military Mothers!

-- Christine Steward is the mother of Army National Guard Sgt. Jon Aisel, a medic in Afghanistan

60 days of training gets us ready

     We have completed sixty days of warrior task training at Fort Bragg, N.C.  This training was geared toward keeping us safe and defending ourselves if necessary.

    We also had specific task training in our MOS (our military specialty). Some soldiers are security, some are trainers for the ANA (Afghan National Army) and the AMP (Afghan Military Police), some are truck drivers, communications, administrative and medical. We are very mobile and very flexible.

    My unit is LTF-C, Logistical Task Force Charlie, from Buffalo, N.Y. We are the main medical assets of our 27th BCT (Brigade Combat Team).  We belong to the 427th BSB (Brigade Support Battalion), which is the main logistical support for the 27th BCT. The 427th BSB HQ is in Syracuse, N.Y.  LTF-C is composed of doctors, physician assistants, nurses, medics and various medical technicians. We provide medical care to those who are sick or wounded and give humanitarian aid   where needed.

    Soon, the unit we are replacing will get to come home to their loved ones. We will carry on the duties and honor of the soldiers that came before us. If there are specific questions I may be able to answer, please ask them as comments to this blog.  Please be patient for a response as the mission before me comes first and foremost and time does constrain each day.

-- Sincerely, CPT Judy Izard, your pharmacist in boots

For now, just a waiting game

  To date I am still in Kansastan waiting for transportation to Afghanistan.  I will be working in the south, and have a very fuzzy picture of what exactly I will be doing. 

    The Army has perfected operational security by telling all of us very little. I imagine that when we get there it will be much like a graft for bar softball teams. 

    The training we completed here was very extensive for personal soldier skills, as well as some specific training for career fields.  I only hope I end up in a career for which I am trained, or I'll have a lot of work ahead of me in Afghanistan. 

    We are all very anxious to get there to get things started, I firmly believe the waiting, and not knowing, is truly the most stressfull part of any operation.  I hope to be in more regular contact and hope to move out in a few days, but until then i'll sign off. 

--Matthew Ryan