Wrapping up after a good Marine embed in Afghanistan
May 15th, 2012 | Afghanistan Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Sangin | Posted by Dan Lamothe
SPRINGFIELD, Va. — You just never know when all hell is going to break loose.
That’s the most amazingly unsettling thing about being in a war zone like Afghanistan. You can prepare for trouble — even expect it — but it will still eventually find you in the most unexpected ways, at times that simply don’t make sense.
A first-person account published Saturday by Wall Street Journal scribe Michael Phillips makes that perfectly clear.
Phillips watched in horror April 28 as a Taliban suicide bomber blew up a pickup truck carrying several U.S. troops in Zaranj, Afghanistan. The blast killed Master Sgt. Scott Pruitt, an accountant, and injured at least two other men in the vehicle.
Just a few days before, photographer James Lee and I crossed paths with Phillips at Camp Leatherneck, the Marine Corps’ main hub of operations in Afghanistan. Lee and I were headed to Sangin, the notorious district in northern Helmand province where more than 50 Marines have been killed since 2010. Phillips, a veteran war correspondent, was waiting for a ride to Zaranj, a relatively peaceful town in Nimroz province that was newsworthy because of its close proximity to Iran.
After wandering around Sangin for a week, that’s the kind of irony that sits heavy with me like a cast-iron stove. Lee and I returned from Afghanistan late last week, and were fortunate to spend several weeks on the ground in Sangin and Kajaki districts without anything truly jarring occurring. That’s just fine with us, especially after previous war-zone forays that were much violent. We’re grateful to the Marines who opened up and shared their worlds with us.
Today marks my first day in the office since March. I’ve got a couple more stories to complete coming out of the trip, but it’s also good to be home.
To everyone who followed along on this blog while we were overseas, thank you. We’ll be sharing more photos and anecdotes from our trip here in coming days, so please stay tuned.
Marines, Afghan police crash Taliban funeral
May 7th, 2012 | Afghanistan Battle Rattle Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Afghan Uniformed Police asked for Marine help recently to visit a Taliban funeral in Kajaki, Afghanistan, to talk to the mourning elders.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Photographer James Lee and I made the move yesterday from Camp Leatherneck to Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city. That means the end of our trip is nearing — but there’s still plenty left to discuss about it.
Take Taliban funerals, for example. In a long-form story Marine Corps Times posted online on Sunday, 1st Lt. Brandon Remington shared with me a surprising development between the Afghan Uniformed Police unit he and his Marines train and the local Taliban in Kajaki.
From the story:
KAJAKI, Afghanistan — It was an eerie mission: The Afghan police wanted to crash a Taliban funeral, and they needed Marines to help.
The Afghan Uniformed Police made the decision after learning that two insurgents had been killed by a Hellfire missile strike two days earlier while planting an improvised explosive device. A team of AUP and Marine advisers made their way April 14 to a small Taliban-held village here in Kajaki, and the police summoned tribal elders to speak with Zahir Jan, the AUP’s assistant district commissioner, Marine officials said.
Marines with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., cordoned off the area to provide security, and the police leader told the grieving elders that emplacing IEDs wasn’t a legitimate way to practice jihad, the holy war against those who don’t follow Islam. Zahir, who fought the Soviet army as a member of the mujahedeen, stressed that the Marines were assisting Afghan police and doing no harm, said 1st Lt. Brandon Remington, a Marine adviser who sat alongside him. The elders offered tea to the No. 2 policeman in Kajaki district, but he declined and suggested it might be poisoned, the lieutenant said.
“It was a bold move because no one ever goes there,” said Remington, the officer in charge of 1/8’s Police Adviser Team 1. “Right there you feel safe, but when you get 100 meters away, it’s ‘game on’ again.”
The meeting clearly caught Remington off guard. It occurred last month while we were embedded with another part of 1/8, his battalion. When we returned to Forward Operating Base Zeebrugge, he found us, shared his story and expressed amazement at what he had witnessed.
“That only happens,” he said, “in a counterinsurgency environment.”
Marines make sense of Taliban flags in Afghanistan
May 4th, 2012 | Afghanistan Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines Sangin | Posted by Dan Lamothe
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Good morning, friends. Photographer James Lee and I are currently holding it down at this massive forward operating base and waiting on a few interviews.
Over the next week or so, we’ll continue to offer up images and thoughts here on Battle Rattle from our time in Kajaki and Sangin districts with Marine infantry units.
A Marine with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, stops on patrol beneath a flag marking a compound in Sangin's volatile "Fish Tank" area. The Taliban marks buildings with several different kinds of flags, each with a different meaning. (Dan Lamothe / Staff)
Up for discussion today: Taliban flags.
Several times outside the wire, we observed that Marines pay attention to flags flown over compound buildings. They come in several colors, but the ones that draw the most attention are black or white.
In Kajaki, Marines at Observation Post Shrine paid close attention to a compound that had a white flag flying overhead. It marked the building as Taliban friendly, said Sgt. Levi Steele, a squad leader with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.
In the Upper Sangin Valley, flags came up again. Marines at Patrol Base Watson handed 2nd Lt. William McCabe a black flag last weekend that they had seen a child playing with in a nearby field. They traded the boy a few of pieces of candy for the flag, Marines said.
White flags in Taliban country typically mark insurgent safe havens, said McCabe, a platoon commander with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. Black flags are frequently a call to arms — an order to come out and fight, essentially.
We also came across the green and white flag depicted in the photograph here in Sangin’s volatile “Fish Tank” area this week. The 1/7 Marines on patrol with us that day were uncertain what it meant, but their interpreter told them green flags can be used to mark buildings occupied by new inhabitants. It was unclear if it was Taliban-related or not.
A closer look at Kajaki Dam — and the Marines who defend it
May 2nd, 2012 | Afghanistan Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Good morning, friends. Photographer James Lee and I made it back early this morning to this forward operating base, the main hub of Marine operations in southern Afghanistan.
That means we’re finished with patrols on this trip. I’d like to thank the personnel with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.; and 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif. They hosted us along the way in Kajaki and Sangin districts, respectively, sharing their worlds in some of the most dangerous areas Marines patrol.
For those who have been following along on this blog during our trip, I wanted to point out that Marine Corps Times has posted online our story about Forward Operating Base Zeebrugge, the cliffside base used to defend the landmark Kajaki Dam in Afghanistan.
As the story points out, artillerymen with Golf Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, spent the better part of their deployment serving as provisional infantrymen in the region, defending the dam and the surrounding area.
One of the fascinating parts about the dam is its varied history. Russian, British and U.S. forces all have served there, a fact that highlights the many years of conflict in Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Gregory Sanders put it well while looking out at the dam’s picturesque cliffs with me last month:
Every time you see something like this, it makes you realize this place used to be nice,” said the platoon sergeant with Golf Battery, standing on one of the cliffs overlooking the dam’s spillway.
“Once you look around, you say ‘Wow, this place has a lot of history to it.’”
Local folklore holds that Soviet troops were trapped and killed by mujahedeen fighters in one of Zeebrugge’s buildings. I couldn’t verify that story, but observed that the building’s hallways are pockmarked with bullet holes. The facility, now known as “Militia House,” houses Afghan soldiers partnered with Marines.
Marines push raids, surveillance as Afghanistan drawdown begins
April 30th, 2012 | Afghanistan Battle Rattle Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHAMSHER, Afghanistan — Good morning, friends. I’m back at the computer now after a foot patrol in Sangin’s Green Zone this morning with Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines. We pushed through fields, canals and trails for several hours, and it was relatively uneventful.
One thing I would like to point out today: Marine Corps Times has posted online another of my long-form features out of Kajaki district. It highlights the increasing prominence of surveillance and raids for Marines in Afghanistan, particularly in light of the planned drawdown of forces there.
Conducting raids successfully requires massive amounts of planning and understanding, however. Marines must know where Taliban fighters and their weapons caches are, and the best way to strike.
Staff Sgt. Matthew Hutchenson, a platoon sergeant with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., put it well:
I guess I can say that now I know what a cop feels like on a stakeout,” said the platoon sergeant for 1/8′s 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company. “You wait, and wait, and wait – and then you get what you need and move on them.”
The raids and surveillance have been particularly helpful in the Zamindawar area of Kajaki, Marines said. The region is a known insurgent staging ground where coalition forces have confiscated mass quantities of drugs, weapons and materials used to make improvised explosive devices.
Watching Hutchenson and other Marines observe Zamindawar from Observation Post Shrine made for a fascinating evening.
Marines are ‘player coaches’ in Kajaki, commander says
April 24th, 2012 | Afghanistan Battle Rattle Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Afghan Uniform Police Class 1-12 receive recognition at their graduation ceremony at the Sofla Precinct Station in Kajaki, Afghanistan, on April 9. The AUP are being advised by members of 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejune, N.C. (James J. Lee / Staff)
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — With the war in Afghanistan beginning to wind down, the mission for Marines there is evolving.
Just ask Lt. Col. Kevin Trimble, commander of 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. He sees his troops as “player coaches” for the Afghan forces, and he acknowledges the transition to Afghan control will come more quickly than it did in Marjah and other districts in Helmand province.
“The whole thing is about what is ‘Afghan right’ and what is ‘Kajaki right,’” he said. “We’re doing this fast. Is this Marjah? No. But it has never been Marjah.”
Those are among the details in a long-form story Marine Corps Times posted Monday out of my embed here in Afghanistan.
I’ll have several more detailed reports out of Kajaki, where I spent two weeks on the ground with 1/8.
We realize there are a number of Battle Rattle readers who may not otherwise see the hard-news reports, so we wanted to point them out here.
Your thoughts on the ground covered are appreciated in the comments section below.
Checking in midway through our Afghanistan assignment
April 22nd, 2012 | Battle Rattle Camp Leatherneck Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Three weeks after flying out of Washington, D.C., photographer James Lee and I have reached a milestone midway on our assignment in Helmand province.
Staff Sgt. Adam Mosley, a forward observer attached to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, provides overwatch during a patrol through a poppy field in Kajaki, Afghanistan, on Thursday. (James J. Lee / Staff)
We arrived today on this forward operating base from Kajaki district, marking the conclusion of our media embed with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. I’d personally like to thank all the Marines in the unit who shared their world with us, from battalion commander Lt. Col. Kevin Trimble right on down to the many lance corporals we trailed outside the wire on patrols.
If you’ve been following this blog, you’ve no doubt noticed the many slice-of-life pieces we’ve posted in the last few weeks. That’s part of our assignment. However, in coming days you’ll also find links here on Battle Rattle to a variety of hard-news stories stemming from our time in Afghanistan. Marines of many ranks have assessed everything from their hardships and sacrifices to what Helmand province might look like after a drawdown in forces. We’ll share their thoughts along with our own observations in stories appearing in our print and online editions.
For now, we remain here at Leatherneck plugging away on our work. Stay tuned for more dispatches here — we should be embedding with another infantry unit soon enough.
Rainstorms present comedy, challenges for Marines in Afghanistan
April 20th, 2012 | Afghanistan Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki | Posted by Dan Lamothe
A Marine runs across the muddy courtyard at Patrol Base Sheheban in Kajaki, Helmand province on April 20. (James J. Lee/Staff)
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WHITEHOUSE, Afghanistan — If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to walk through peanut butter, visit southern Afghanistan during a rainstorm.
I learned that lesson the hard way in the last two days in Kajaki district. The storms started Wednesday while we were visiting elements of Weapons
Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, at Patrol Base Sheheban, a small outpost to the west of the Helmand River. The rain kicked in again today
before dawn, and continued with few interruptions until nearly 2 p.m. local time.
Rainy season here is in February, they tell me. Except when it pours in April.
In all seriousness, the storms present both comedy and challenges in a land with almost no pavement.
On the light-hearted side, Marines slip and slide through ankle-deep mud nearly anywhere they go, even on a relatively big base like Whitehouse. I
watched a Marine in shorts and a Gortex poncho slip on a hill at Sheheban yesterday, landing square on his backside. He wasn’t hurt, and everyone
nearby cracked up.
On the more serious side, the storms limit air operations and change the dynamics on patrol, too. Improvised explosive devices hidden during the rain can be difficult to find because the water washes away tell-tale signs, such as disturbed dirt. Marine units also typically vary the paths they take when they leave the wire, but that’s difficult when fields, streams and canals swell with water.
Photographer James Lee and I returned today to Whitehouse from Sheheban, trekking through the rain with a squad of Marines to the Helmand River before crossing it in a small steel motorboat piloted by an Afghan. After playing in the mud for the last three days, the hot shower waiting for us here was a blessing.
Marines patrol through poppy blossoms in Afghanistan’s Kajaki district
April 19th, 2012 | Afghanistan Battle Rattle Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Cpl. Joshua Leary, left, and Cpl. Alexander Prasil patrol through the poppy fields near the Helmand River in Kajaki, Afghanistan, on April 18. Marines from Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines operate out of Patrol Base Sheheban, a joint position with Afghan National Civil Order Police and provides security near one of a few area river crossings. (James J. Lee / Staff)
PATROL BASE SHEHEBAN, Afghanistan –- I can say it from experience now: patrolling through the poppy fields of Helmand province is every bit as distracting as I had been warned.
The beautiful poppy blossoms leap out at anyone passing. The flowers — ranging in color from white and pink to a deep, rich rose — stand nearly waist high, and will likely remain in bloom for at least another week. As the blossoms shrivel, farmers will score the remaining bulbs and collect the fluid oozing out. The product is developed into heroin and other opium-based drugs — something that isn’t legal in Afghanistan, and yet the main cash crop for the country.
Photographer James Lee and I arrived on this patrol base this morning, making the move from Forward Operating Base Whitehouse, the headquarters in Helmand’s Kajaki district for 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C.
It’s a trip complicated by geography. Route 611, the main road in the region, runs northeast up the east side of the Helmand River, but the Marines are also concerned about insurgent activity on the other side of the water. To push the Taliban farther away, they established Sheheban, Observation Post Levy and a couple other outposts that have since been turned over to Afghan forces.
To get to Sheheban, we took a small steel motorboat manned by an Afghan across the Helmand River. It was slightly alarming at first, given the rudimentary nature of the craft. The boats are used regularly by Marines and Afghans alike, however, and ferry everything from livestock to vehicles.
On the other side, elements of Weapons Company 1/8 man Sheheban and Levy. Firefights have not been frequent recently, but the region is littered with improvised explosive devices, said Staff Sgt. Albert Hayes, the platoon sergeant for Combined Anti-Armor Team 2, which has elements based at both outposts. In one March 23 IED strike, a squad leader, a corpsman and an interpreter were hit, Hayes said. They all survived, but were pulled from the battlefield with shrapnel wounds, lacerations and other injuries.
The names of the two Marine bases on this side of the water underscore the extremes in Helmand province. Sheheban was named by Afghan forces, and means “beautiful” in Arabic, Hayes said. Levy was named after Lance Cpl. Christopher Levy, a member of Lejeune’s 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, who shot Dec. 7 nearby and died three days later.
We left the wire with CAAT-2 Marines today, patrolling for several hours through fields and villages. Stay tuned for more images and dispatches in coming days.
Marine lieutenant in Kajaki played football at Navy
April 18th, 2012 | Afghanistan Embedded journalism Infantry Kajaki Marines | Posted by Dan Lamothe
Second Lt. Jeff Lenar was a burly lineman for the Naval Academy before dropping some 50 pounds and becoming a Marine officer. (James J. Lee/Staff)
KAJAKI, Afghanistan – Second Lt. Jeff Lenar is a long way from the bright lights of college football at the U.S. Naval Academy, and it took serious discipline to get there.
The infantry officer with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, leads 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, overseeing Marines in combat who patrol near the landmark Kajaki Dam in Helmand province. Since deploying early this year, he has led his platoon in raids into Taliban-held area and overseen surveillance missions used to collect information about insurgents.
His trip there was complicated: to join his fellow Marines, Lenar shed dozens of pounds from his 6-foot-4 frame. He was listed at about 270 pounds while on the team, but now weighs about 220, he said.
Lenar, 25, of Marietta, Ga., said he lost the weight in about six months before reporting to officer training at The Basic School, out of Quantico, Va.
“I went into it knowing I had to gain weight, and then that’d I’d have to take it off,” he said of playing college football.
As a Midshipman, Lenar provided depth at offensive guard, graduating in 2010. He reported to 1/8 in July 2011, and has been with the battalion since.