A Battlefield Tourist

Setting the Embed

Jan 21 at 6:06pm by David Tate

So far, the planning for this trip has been relatively flawless. A couple of mistakes have ended up costing me some extra money, but other than that, it has been pretty simple.

The one major problem I’m having is actually setting the embeds. Getting some time with USMC 3/8 was pretty easy, unfortunately, I only get a week with them.  That leaves two open weeks with nowhere to go.  Only getting a week, however, makes me a little skeptical of a dog and pony show:

(David Tate) I hope I get there sooner than later so I can get a few extra days in, because I’ll need it!  To understand what I need, I would have to break it down by the different clients I work for; hence the need for the additional time.  However, working with the hand I’m dealt, my main mission is taking historical archive footage, so I’m after as many different things as I can get pictures of.  I could spend an afternoon in the hospital, with EOD, on a CERP mission, on a cordon and search, etc…

In priority, to satisfy the most clients evenly, I would put a cordon and search/air assault type mission at the top of the list.  So perhaps I could be attached to the helo company or QRF for at least some of the time.  After that I can take the rest as it comes. 

(Marine response) From my records, my unit has not been doing a lot of cordon and search operations. We have conducted a handful of search operations in coordination with the Afghan National Police, but kicking in doors is not what we do on a daily basis.  

Our operations are much more non-kinetic than you may think, focused mostly on enabling the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to provide the security, stability, services and aid: joint security patrols with ANP or Afghan National Army, engaging key Afghan leadership within our districts, helping to train the ANP, civil affairs missions, etc. In fact, we are in the process of wrapping up a route clearance mission in which we are building a presence along a key road in our area so that the Afghan people can travel safely between two major towns there. EOD has its share of missions as well, so this MAY be an option (but it may be a lot of waiting until they are needed).

I’m sure you’ll be interested in what we have going on our here. I just don’t want you to come down with the mindset that we are kicking down doors and fighting the enemy head-to-head every day. We’re Marines, so we get our share of the action, but this is counterinsurgency work here: slower, methodical and very much people-based.

Counter-insurgency in the Afghan desert can be very boring with enemy contact coming weeks apart.  I get it.  That’s why I wanted a month.  The only way to see the full picture is to spend decent time with one unit.  I still say, a dozen or so platoons scattered around Helmand and Farah Provinces, there should be room for a three week embed.

The Marines say there’s a reason for this:

All Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go

To fix that issue, I’m in touch with the the British Royal Marines at TF Helmand, Afghan National Army embedded trainers at TF Phoenix and 2/2 1st ID which is assigned to TF Kandahar (Canada).  All three of these possibilities have been in the works for more than three weeks.

The best chance I have is with TF Phoenix. They seem very receptive, I just haven’t heard anything concrete.

As for the Brits: I’ve been waiting on their return email for some time, which finally came yesterday: 

And then there’s 2/2.  It took a couple of weeks for someone to finally get in touch with me regarding this request.  Apparently, I’d been barking up the wrong tree.  The problem is, 2/2 is attached to the Canadians and ISAF while the rest of the 1st ID guys are operating under US command in the east of the country (edit – actually, just heard back from Bagram and they say it is up to RC-South. So, back to square one.).  One guy at Bagram told me to get with my Marine contact (in Kandahar), who never really got back to me regarding 2/2 after repeated inquiries… so after a bit, I sent a note to some other contacts begging for a reply.  That was answered by a captain in Bagram, who has promised to expedite the request, however I have yet to hear anything (she emailed me shortly after this post to give me the news about 2/2 being out of her area.) .   WHEW!

Communication is Key in the Communications Business

This issue is kind of indicative of a major issue that the coalition forces deal with regularly; the split command set up currently in use.  There is a lot of concern about the fact that the US and ISAF forces, operating under different orders and different Rules of Engagement, are actually hampered in the execution of the Afghan mission because of a variety of inconsistencies and bureaucracy between the two commands. 

In my case, the fact that I have to be credential with ISAF, then separately with the US, is costing me a lot of extra money and lost time.  Sound familiar?  Anyway, the US is pushing hard to consolidate the Afghan command into one by the end of the year.  Hopefully, for my sake (and others like me), that will extend to the embed process as well.  After all, I am coming to Afghanistan, on my own dime, to tell their story. I suggest that is something that should be in their interest and making it as easy as possible could be beneficial.