No the title of this blog post is not a typo. It just sums up how I’ve been feeling this week as well as what I may have said more than once throughout the week. This was truly the first week where I really felt like it was time for me to go home. I’ve done my time here in Afghanistan and I’m just REALLY ready. Never in any of my blog posts have I really written about what it’s like here from a kinetic perspective. I certainly did this for two reasons, one I just don’t want to think about it or write about it. Secondly it’s probably better I just don’t have you read about it. This week I do want to write about the kinetics. If you don’t want to read about it, just stop reading….
To help set the stage for Afghanistan in the last couple days I need to mention that the Taliban officially kicked off the fighting season. This is no different than any other year and if you Google Taliban and fighting season you can read their objectives on open source.
If you are still reading I want to write about April 30th. The day started out like any other Monday. I got up and went to the gym. I enjoyed a moderate eighty minute ride on the bike. Afterwards I went back to my room, showered, and got ready for the day. At 7:58 when I was about to put my pants on to leave for breakfast I heard an extremely loud boom. With the explosions that are close we hear them, but not only did I hear this one I felt it. The windows of our building blew open. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before the base alarm would sound and we would be sheltered in place. Although in those few seconds I was praying I had just heard and felt something falling nearby and it wasn’t an explosion.
I finished getting ready while I waited for the all clear alarm. I spent those forty or so minutes watching Big Bang Theory and cleaning my room. I went to the Facebook page Kabul Security Now where the locals post the latest incidents,. From there I figured out it was a motorcycle born improvised explosive device (IED) that exploded. I later found out it was 200 pretty close. After about forty minutes the all clear alarm sounded and I proceeded to leave my room and head into work.
- There were a large number of reports killed in this attack and this was on Kabul Security Now
No sooner did I make it down my steps and a few feet down the sidewalk than I heard and felt another explosion. I was with someone else and we both said some explicit words and proceeded back to our rooms. The shelter in place alarm sounded once again. ISIS-K (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) claimed responsibility for the attacks on April 30th. To put it simply, they are the terrorist of the terrorists. The Taliban may have kicked off a fighting season, but there is an effort underway for reconciliation with the Afghan government. They also state they are trying to mitigate civilian casualties not create more. These ISIS-K f#$ers detonated a motorcycle IED then waited for the first responders to arrive on the scene and detonated a personal born IED (suicide vest). There is no excuse for that type of human carnage and in my mind simply put it is pure EVIL!
- I found this picture in the New York Times article
The all clear alarm sounds again and I go into work. Ironically I spend the rest of the day teaching a class with my office to the tactical level advisors on Civilian Causality and Mitigation. The course goes well, even though the start was delayed due to the happenings of the morning. After the class I went back to my office to check my email for the first time that day. As I’m going through my emails I realize that along with what happened that morning we also lost a US Special Forces Soldier. Out special forces got into a ground engagement with the enemy and one lost his life and another was critically wounded with a gun shot to the chest. The gun shot victim is in stable condition, but at this point in the day after everything I saw, heard, and felt this was just too much. I looked at my computer and said I just want to go home. This was the first time I cried regarding the situation here. I’m not sure why that day and not any other, but I had just had enough. I’m tired of watching this. I think it’s just that I’ve put in my time and it’s my time to go. I’m ready to turn the watch over and go home to my family!
To add more insult to injury down south that same day a vehicle born IED made its way into a coalition force convoy. It detonated and caused many injuries to the Romanians in the convoy. Thankfully they were all in tactical vehicles and walked away from the blast. The unfortunate part is 21 innocent Afghan children on the road were killed from the blast.
Again it’s time to go home! While I was waiting for the all clear alarm after the second IED I did pack a sea bag of things I won’t need for the remainder of my time here. I will mail this sea bag home this week. A sign I’m getting closer!
I apologize for writing about the dark side of Afghanistan. I still do hear and see amazing things everyday. I’m just tired of watching the terror!
But to end with some sunshine. I am working to raise money to buy gear for the Afghan women who run with Free to Run. I created a GoFundMe account. https://www.gofundme.com/afghan-women039s-running Please visit the link and donate. I will use the money to buy the gear and have it shipped here to Afghanistan. One of the issues they are having is getting the gear shipped here. I can help with that (and so can you)!
Darchelle's Vacation with Uncle Sam 