A Battlefield Tourist

Town Hall Meeting

Feb 16 at 1:01am by David Tate

Capt. Mike Hoffman, India Co. CO and counterinsurgency expert, meets with tribal elders outside COP Barrow.

February 11, 2009 – Bakwa district, Farah Province

I awoke to the sounds of wind blasting through the tent, not really a good thing when you are dealing with a dusty desert.  That forces everyone to hide their electronic gear so it doesn’t get ruined even quicker.  It’s especially troublesome for me because of the camera equipment I work with.  After all, I just spent $12,000 updating my editing system and camera to Hi Def, so believe you me, I start tripping a little. Things were not helped by the fact that the Marines decided to play a sandlot football game in front of my tent; every single slight movement (and it was not slight) sent plumes of baby powder dust straight into our tent.

Like I often do, I made my way to a nearby guard tower to talk to the sentry.  Sentry duty is boring as hell and it seems as though my visits break up the monotony.  Once up there, I noticed a group of me, most in white turbans, making their way toward the COP with a small contingent of Marines going to meet them.

“They were standing on the far side of the field waving,” said the Marine.  ”Looks like they want something.”

At first I wasn’t going to go out.  I’d already taken plenty of pictures of meetings like this.  But then I thought it may be good, for information sake, to sit in on the meeting.  I climbed back down, put on my flak and headed out to the Afghan version of a town hall meeting.  I was pretty sure what this meeting was about.  After all, just two days before, the Marines detained an 80+ year old village elder and I expected such a visit.

Knee to Knee

By the time I got out there, the meeting was in full swing.  Captain Hoffman was already in place, sitting before the group of roughly 30 Afghans with flak and helmet off, weapon laid to the side and a squad of Marines holding a security perimeter.

The meeting consisted of a couple of issues:  First, the elders wanted the old man back.  They say the explosives found are used for construction due to the hard, cement nature of the ground here.  That was the first the Marines had heard of this and was not the story being told by the suspects, so it was an unconvincing argument.

“If you people have explosives and weapons, we need to know about it,” explained Hoffman.  ”These explosives are killing my Marines.”

The other major concern of the elders was that the helicopters scared the children.  This issue was recognized as understandable, but one that could only be dealt with by reassuring them the choppers are there for their protection.  The elders seem to think that the helicopters would strike at random farmers tilling the fields, something Hoffman denied.

“If you’re digging, we can see if you’re digging in your field or planting an IED,” said the Captain, referring to the Marines’ use of observation drones.

The other major point of contention was the well being of a local man, who a few days before, was caught planting an IED and attacked by a Cobra gunship.  The man was attempting to flee on a motorbike and was strafed.  He lost part of his foot when it got tangled in the bikes’ chain as it flipped.  He also suffered a nasty chest wound.  He is lucky to be alive.

The man’s father has been trying to find the young man ever since, even going all the way to Farah city where his son was originally taken for medical treatment.  ”He’s been moved to a hospital in Helmand,” explained Hoffman.  ”I’ll make some calls and if you come back tomorrow, I’ll will tell you how he is.”

The conversation moved back and forth around these subjects for at least an hour before the meeting adjourned on a simple note, that seemed to garner agreement from the elders.  

“The more information you give us, the more we can help you.”

Note:  This is my last dispatch from 3/8 India Co. and I’m moving on to 3/8’s Police Mentoring Team in Musa Qala, Helmand Province.  If you have found this series helpful, please consider a small donation through Paypal:  dtate38@cox.net.  I will also provide a snail mail address if requested.  Thanks to those who have contributed and the others that have provided blessings.  My work would be worthless without you.  Dave.