The phrase has become my mantra since arriving on this small Gulf Coast Army National Guard training base two weeks ago. It’s my standard response when families and friends welcome me home, or when I’m reminded of the life I left behind nearly a year ago to serve in Afghanistan with my Ohio Army National Guard unit.
I say it quietly when I realize how much I miss the simple things we often take for granted. It feels liberating to walk around without having to carry a rifle and not to go to bed at night with the occasional sound of gunshots or explosions in the distance.
I’m elated that I will no longer be confined to a base that’s constantly on alert for attacks by the Taliban. When I do go out, I don’t have to don more than 50 pounds of body armor and other protective gear or ride in an 8-ton armor vehicle. Most importantly, there isn’t anyone here whose sole purpose in life is to kill my fellow service members me.
My unit, Columbus-based Task Force 1-134 Field Artillery Regiment — nicknamed Task Force Roc for the mythical bird in Arabian folklore — mobilized to Camp Shelby on Sept. 11 and trained for nearly two months before deploying to Afghanistan in early November.
With the exception of two dozen of us who returned to Camp Shelby two weeks ago as part of the advanced party, the majority of the battalion is still in Afghanistan. They’ve been training our replacements from the Alabama Army National Guard, who officially took over the mission on Wednesday.
The bulk of Task Force Roc soldiers started arriving in Gulf Port late last week for a weeklong de-mobilization process at Camp Shelby.
The nearly 600 soldiers that make up the task force come from the Dayton region and nearly every corner of Ohio. A few are from other states.
We were one of the security battalions for NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan, the agency responsible for training Afghan security forces as the United States and its allies prepare to end the decade-old war at the end of 2014.Task Force Roc’s mission was to transport and protect NATO civilian and military officials as they visited Afghan security forces’ training sites, check on the progress of construction projects, attend meetings with Afghan officials and the like. The task force was also responsible for delivering weapons to Afghan military training sites and protecting coalition forces as they trained Afghan security forces.
Task Force Roc soldiers conducted missions nearly seven days a week, carefully navigating the dangerous roads to avoid snipers, roadside bombs and suicide car bombers. Missions could last a few hours to several days, depending on location and scope.
Although a couple of our units were fired upon during convoys, none of the task force’s soldiers sustained injuries as a result of enemy action. As of today, we have not lost any soldiers.
Overall, the battalion completed more than 5,300 missions while transporting nearly 23,000 passengers and driving about 140,000 miles.
“I have never been so proud to lead an organization as I have been of Task Force Roc,” said Lt. Col. Craig W. Baker, the task force commander. “We trained hard, deployed to a very dangerous place, dedicated ourselves to the mission and succeeded together. Though we were spread out all over the nation, we supported each other and worked as one team.”
Our soldiers were assigned to nearly half of the country’s 34 provinces. As the task force’s public affairs officer, I was assigned to the headquarters in the capital city of Kabul. I also served as our headquarter detachment’s executive officer (assistant commander) and traveled to nearly all of the sites where Task Force Roc soldiers were stationed.
Coalition forces and, in some cases, Afghan security forces, shared nearly all the bases our soldiers were assigned to.
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War is chaotic and can cause mental anguish. Perhaps that’s why steps were taken to ensure that most of the bases provide some comforts of home for service members.
Commercial WIFI offered by Afghan Internet service providers was available on most bases, and individuals could subscribe for about $100 per month. It allowed service members, the majority of whom seemed to own laptop computers, the convenience of keeping in touch with relatives via Facebook, Skype or Internet phone from their rooms or tents, for instance.
There were stores operated by local Afghans on the bases, and they sold items ranging from movies to electronics to clothing and jewelry. If we needed an item that they didn’t have in stock, they’d get it to us within a day or two.
The shopkeepers looked to make a sale and always seemed to have “a special price just for you, my friend.” Still, you could bargain with them and get deals.
A few shopkeepers I befriended said that when the Taliban was in control of the country, they’d earn the equivalent of a few dollars per day. Now, it isn’t uncommon for them to make several hundred dollars a day. That’s because they are free to sell whatever they want at higher prices to coalition forces.
Food at the bases’ dining facilities were pretty good, although they didn’t quite stand up to mom’s home cooking. Still, there were many healthy options, and there was no limit as to how much we could eat or drink. Nearly every dining facility across the country served steak and crab legs or lobster tail each Friday.
Service members could get a haircut for a few dollars or relax in an open area with a cup of Joe or a cold beverage in the recreation center. Near-beer was also available, as American service members are prohibited from drinking alcohol in the combat zone.
At Camp Phoenix, the base at which I spent the second half of the deployment, one of many ways service members relieved stress was to check out Teddy for a day. He was a 3-year-old playful Springer Spaniel trained to be a combat bomb-sniffing dog.
But when he arrived in Afghanistan, he was unable to do his job because loud noises such as explosions scared him. Teddy was kept on the base and soldiers could check him out for a few hours or overnight.
Most of the amenities on the major bases weren’t available to all soldiers, particularly those assigned to small, remote bases or those who stood watch on mountain tops and the like.
To be sure, the military isn’t trying to put a good face on the war or shield the soldiers from the realities of combat by making the bases relatively comfortable. Instead, the intent is to help the service members relax and recharge each day to continue carrying out their missions to the best of their abilities.
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Our duty days were a minimum 12 hours long. Unless there were early missions, the work day typically started at 8 a.m., except Sundays, when it started at 10.
Bases can never shut down in the combat zone. There was always work to do, and I preferred being busy. It made the days go by faster, although there’d be a lull once in a while.
Most service members spent their free time watching movies on their laptops or playing games at the recreation center on base. I spent the majority of my free time reading books and scouring online news sites in an effort to keep abreast with current events in the United States and around the world.
Facebook and Skype were my gateways to the home front. They allowed me to chat instantly with family and friends who frequently checked on me, particularly when they learned of the latest American troops killed. Social media allowed me to check on the well-being of my worrisome, war-weary elderly mother (my oldest brother, uncle, stepfather and other relatives were killed during civil wars in our native country of Liberia).
In turn, she’d become at ease when she saw my face on video — my deployment forced her to learn how to use Facebook and get an “email number.”
The virtual interactions with friends and loved ones were a godsend for me. Although they didn’t realize it, their emails and online chats helped me a great deal during rough patches.
Co-workers and friends who sent me care packages and neighbors who looked after my house and responded whenever I needed them, also helped me get through. I will forever be in their debt.
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As the deployment wound down, my task force prepared for our return home. The preparation included inventorying millions of dollars worth of equipment ranging from screws to weapons and vehicles, and readying them to be turned over to our replacements.
The advanced party — of which I’m a part, and which consists of all executive officers and other staff throughout the battalion — left Afghanistan for Camp Shelby on Aug. 17. Our mission is to work with our brigade, the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Camp Shelby officials to ensure that everything is in place and the de-mobilization (DEMOB) process runs smoothly for Task Force Roc when they arrive this week.
Time at the DEMOB station serves as a cool-down period for soldiers. But the process also consists of briefings about benefits that are available to them, the counseling the Army offers, including suicide and domestic violence prevention, alcohol abuse, help with PTSD and other illness associated with combat, and ways to re-transition into our lives and communities.
Each soldier is given a complete physical to ensure that he or she is as healthy, if not healthier, than they were before deploying. Those who need medical attention to include surgeries are treated at the local hospital.
The DEMOB process typically lasts about a week. However, those of us who are on the advanced party could be here for up to three weeks. We often joke that it’s the equivalent of purgatory because we are unable to go home to see our loved ones, even though we are on U.S. soil.
When I finally do leave here, I’ll indulge in the little things that I have not done in nearly a year: watch my beloved Chicago Bears play; sleep in my own bed, doze off in my recliner while watching television; and sit around a fire with my neighbors in our backyards, discussing ways to solve the problems of the world while drinking our favorite alcoholic beverages.
Indeed, it’s great to be home — even if I am not back in Ohio yet.
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