Ill make one last post about this Bergdahl mess before I let it go, because I dont really like to live in the past, and what I or others say on the internet wont make any difference in the big picture, so its just a way to vent. I spent 10 years going to Afghanistan, thinking about Afghanistan, training for Afghanistan, from my first ground deployment with Special Forces in 2002 to my last, flying the OH-58D with the 101st in 2012. I feel like I have a pretty well rounded grasp on what was really going on in Afghanistan, having served in Regional Command - South (Kandahar), Regional Command - East (Jalalabad, Asadabad). Places like the Korengal, Ganjigal, Pesh, Sha-i-kot, Watapor, and similar valleys, all places they make movies about now. I wasnt the only one. Every day I walked a valley, or flew over a valley loaded with explosive-tipped .50 caliber ammunition and red phosporous rockets, there were other people with me. My co-pilot/gunner, my Pilots in Command, my fellow voice intercept sergeants and the ODA members with us. I didnt lay down 5.56 rounds or turn inbound into PKM and RPG fire because I agreed or didnt agree with the US policy in Afghanistan- I did it because I knew that the other soldiers with me were relying on me and mine to do so. Every time you push the cyclic in the direction of a valley you can see explosions in, you get that little push of adrenaline, the catch in your throat that is fear of imminent death. I push it down and adopt my lets play some cat and mouse fear hiding attitude. I didnt do it because I was looking for Air Medals or Distinguished Flying Crosses. I did it because if there is an explosion, someone in that valley is in imminent danger of their own death, and I have the power to delay or stop it under my thumb, if I play my cards right. Bowe Bergdahl didnt have this sense of propriety. He abandoned his friends, supporters, unit mates in a tiny FOB where every body matters, because he disagreed with how the US was executing policy in Afghanistan. This is akin to a shitty roommate who refuses to turn down his stereo at 2 AM when he knows you have to get up for work at 6. He didnt care about them, he cared about him. I didnt know the kid personally, and I no longer care to, but I will accept the word of his teammates, corroborated with the daily intelligence briefs I received before flights to go look for him. Anyone who doubts the veracity of this information seriously overestimates the abilities of the US political machine. His former Sergeants and Lieutenants no longer have any reason to lie, now that he is home. I will say that there were times in Afghanistan where I felt like we werent doing the right thing in the big picture, certainly there was a disparity between what the ground forces understood about the local politics and what we in the air knew, and even further what the 4 star at ISAF understood. But that didnt mean I was free to abandon my fellow soldiers on the battlefield. They have a responsibility to me, and I to them. Surely, PFC Burgdahl was a young kid, and overcome with the emotions his situation, and he made a poor choice. But as any tough love parent will tell you, bad choices without consequences beget more bad choices. I cannot begin to suppose the conditions of his captivity if it indeed was so, nor would I wish upon him maltreatment during the repatriation phase of his return to the USA. However, I do hope that the politicians see fit to allow a proper and complete 15-6 investigation, and that following this, PFC Bergdahl receives his UCMJ punishment commensurate with the findings.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 03:11:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015