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Nemitz: Tip of the spear
Guard unit brings a Maine stoicism to outpost's 'true infantry mission'
By Bill Nemitz bnemitz@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
COMBAT OUTPOST DAND WA PATAN, Afghanistan - Capt. Paul Bosse stood atop a guard tower at this tiny outpost Friday afternoon and pointed to a small flag fluttering in the hot, arid breeze a mere 600 yards away.
Capt. Paul Bosse of Auburn, who commands the Maine Army National Guard’s Bravo Company, stands before an Afghanistan Border Police compound marking the Pakistan border.
Bill Nemitz/Staff Columnist
Sgt. Eric Christie of Richmond stands near an armored vehicle identical to the one in which he and two other Maine soldiers were attacked and wounded with rocket-propelled grenades. Christie and the driver have since returned to duty.
Bill Nemitz/Staff Columnist
Additional Photos Below
EDITOR’S NOTE
Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram columnist Bill Nemitz is reporting from the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. Nemitz left Memorial Day weekend to join the 152 Maine men who make up the Maine Army National Guard’s Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Mountain Infantry. Members of Bravo Company are among the 94,000 troops currently in Afghanistan.
"See that flag over there? That's Pakistan," Bosse said. "We're that close."
And at the same time, he's so far from the rocky coastline, lush forests and infinitely more peaceful landscape of his home state of Maine.
In military parlance, they call places like this dry, dusty, 10-acre combat outpost the "tip of the spear."
It sits hard on the eastern edge of a mountainous region where Taliban fighters from both Afghanistan and Pakistan, tribal warlords from centuries-old villages and al-Qaida operatives from who knows where come and go with their ever-shifting alliances, criss-crossing agendas and deep-rooted defiance of all things American.
It's also where some 150 soldiers from the Maine Army National Guard's Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Mountain Infantry, find themselves entrenched in perhaps the most challenging mission in recent Maine military history:
First, they must try to control the flow of insurgents who regularly move -- sometimes by road, other times by mountain trail -- across the treacherous border between eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan's near-autonomous western tribal region.
Second, they must nurture local Afghan Border Police, as well as the national Afghan Uniform Police, from fledgling and sometimes corrupt collections of rag-tag recruits into security forces who might someday defend Afghanistan from its myriad of insurgencies without the heavy helping hand of the U.S. military.
"Securing the border and mentoring are not mutually exclusive," noted Bosse, who spent Saturday afternoon drinking chai with a local ABP intelligence officer.
Finally, soldiers from Bravo Company take every opportunity they can get to connect with the local population and persuade them that their ever-shifting loyalties do not a stable country make.
All told, it's a tall order for a company of soldiers from Maine with a median age somewhere in the mid-20s.
But 2nd Lt. Kyle McCrum of Winterport, who served with Bravo Company during its deployment to Iraq in 2005-06, says even the youngest Mainers are by no means in over their heads.
"They say you can't compare Guard with active duty, but if you put us up against any active duty unit, we'd probably hold our own," said McCrum, 29.
"These guys are all totally competent," he continued. "They train hard. They stay in shape. You've got a lot of very intelligent guys here."
They need to be. From the nearby towering, 10,000-foot peaks still capped with snow to the valleys where the mid-day temperatures already push past 100 degrees, the Dand wa Patan District of Paktya Province, like much of Afghanistan, is bracing itself for the summer fighting season.
"This is no place for sissies," said Bosse, 37, who lives in Auburn and commanded a platoon during Bravo Company's deployment to Iraq. Bravo spent that year providing security for convoys south of Baghdad and living on sprawling military bases that would dwarf this postage-stamp combat outpost, or COP.
"Even when you're not taking fire, this is a true infantry mission," Bosse said. "It's not people driving around in vehicles or working behind an air-conditioned desk in Kabul. It's hard living."
Indeed.
Formerly an Afghan Border Police compound -- a company-size detachment of so-called "ABPs" still shares the post with the Americans -- COP Dand wa Patan had been occupied by a National Guard company from Georgia for just four months before Bravo Company took over in late March.
In early February, less than two months before the Mainers arrived, a suicide bomber disguised as an ABP officer infiltrated the walled compound and self-detonated just inside one of the barracks -- injuring five Georgians but killing only himself.
The pockmarked concrete still blemishes the building's entryway, a silent reminder to all that anything can happen at any time.
Beyond the battle scars, COP Dand wa Patan remains very much a work in progress.
When not out on patrol or manning an observation post barely visible on a high ridge some four miles away, Bravo Company's soldiers have built sturdy tables and benches inside a small mess hall -- the meals still come from a nearby food trailer.
Where once there was just hard-packed, dusty soil, clearly defined stone walkways now lead from one building to the next.
The ever-popular gym sits in a small tent, but just last week it received a much-needed supply of new free-weights, dumbbells, benches, a squat rack and other equipment.
But the latrines -- well, they still need some work.
With no females serving in the infantry unit, soldiers openly urinate into 4-inch-wide plastic tubes protruding at 45-degree angles from the ground.
And while primitive plywood shacks provide some modicum of privacy for soldiers to relieve their bowels into open metal drums, the waste is then dragged a few yards away to the perimeter of the outpost, mixed with diesel fuel and torched.
"It's kind of like sitting around the campfire," explained Sgt. Roscoe Driscoll of South China, who occasionally pulls the incineration duty just like everyone else. "You laugh, but when you see it burning and it's cold at night, there will be guys out there shooting the (whatever) and watching it burn. It just smells like diesel to me -- you get used to it."
As demanding as life might be inside COP Dand wa Patan, however, the world outside the wire is where the real challenges await.
Just two weeks ago, Sgt. Eric Christie, 23, of Richmond was the truck commander aboard an MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle) leading a convoy back from the city of Gardez, about 35 miles west of here.
Suddenly, insurgents attacked the lead truck with three rocket-propelled grenades.
One hit the rear right side of the vehicle, while another came through the front windshield and exploded directly behind Christie -- peppering his back with dozens of small shrapnel wounds.
"There was just a big flash and a loud BANG," recalled Christie. "And then it felt like someone was hitting me in the back with a hot poker."
Wounded worse than Christie was the truck's gunner, Pfc. Andrew Chic, 23, of Hampden. Christie crawled out the back of the truck's cab and tended to Chic until a medic came forward.
Meanwhile, the also-wounded driver, Spc. Ryan Curley, 24, of Bangor wrestled the vehicle two kilometers beyond the "kill zone" on flattened tires.
According to Bosse, Chic is now recovering from his wounds at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Christie and Curley, meanwhile, are already back on duty after being treated for several days at a combat support hospital at Forward Operating Base Salerno.
"It's still sore and stuff," said Christie, who's actually been back out on the road since his return. "But it's not horrible."
That kind of stoicism, even among the youngest soldiers of Bravo Company, is not hard to find.
Sitting on a cot inside his crowded enlisted-men barracks late last week, Spc. Matt Chaisson, 21, of Richmond laughed about rappelling down a sheer cliff a few days earlier while rotating out two weeks at the remote observation post.
"It started hailing while we were going down. The hail was this big," he said, making a circle the size of a golf ball with his thumb and index finger. "All I had was an MRE (meals ready to eat) bag. I was holding it over my head."
Chaisson, a mortar specialist, did a tour in Iraq with the 169th Military Police shortly after graduating from Richmond High School in 2006.
He said he understands the theory behind the U.S. military's current counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan -- a delicate balance between thwarting the insurgents while cultivating trust with the rest of the populace.
Still, like many soldiers here, he can't help but wonder who the good guys are and who the bad guys are whenever he heads out on a mission.
"COIN (counterinsurgency) is nice and all -- before they start blowing you up," Chaisson said. The challenge for the Afghans, he added, is "to do the right thing when nobody's looking."
Spc. Peter Donovan of Lisbon, also 21, is one of Chaisson's 11 bunkmates. He begged the Guard to send him here after his originally planned deployment to Iraq with the 133rd Engineer Battalion was scrapped at the last minute in December.
Why the burning desire to deploy to a war zone -- and an increasingly dangerous one at that?
Two reasons.
First, Donovan said, "I more or less thought that when I'm 80 years old, I'd really regret not going. I didn't want to say, 'I could have gone, I should have gone, but I didn't.'"
Second, Donovan, whose parents both served in the Maine Guard, said he truly believes he and his fellow soldiers can do some good before they head home -- probably in mid-November.
"It's not just about coming out here and killing as many people as you can," Donovan said. "It's about leaving something behind when we go, something better than when we came."
Columnist Bill Nemitz can be reached at 791-6323 or at:
bnemitz@pressherald.com
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Additional Photos
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A view of Combat Outpost Dand wa Patan, home base for the Maine Army National Guard’s Bravo Company, 3rd Batalion, 172nd Mountain Infantry, on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bill Nemitz/Staff Columnist |
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Spc. Matt Chaisson, 21, of Richmond reflects on life as a mortarman with Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Mountain Infantry at Combat Outpost Dand wa Patan in Afghanistan. Bill Nemitz/Staff Columnist |
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Bravo Company Spc. Mike Desjardins of Berwick works on fortifications Friday at Combat Outpost Dand wa Patan in Afghanistan. Bill Nemitz/Staff Columnist |
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A Maine Army National Guard soldier runs laps Friday evenng around Combat Outpost Dand wa Patan on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bill Nemitz/Staff Columnist |
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30 COMMENTS
jake007 said...
A huge thank you to all of you serving over in that hell hole.
June 6, 2010 at 6:18 AM Report abuse
trisailer said...
These are great Americans doing a job that they believe strongly in. They, unlike others who sit at home on their couch, are putting their lives on the line for their commitment to this country and their fellow soldiers. They are doing the job that they committed to do but I believe that it is time to end our involvement and bring them home. The best way to honor them is to let them live. We are there because our generals and intlligence agencies told us they could get bin laden and that clearly is not going to happen. The generals are wrong again we should stop listening to them.
June 6, 2010 at 9:36 AM Report abuse
No-O said...
Wow trisailer. That's impressive incoherence for Sunday morning.
June 6, 2010 at 10:04 AM Report abuse
springs said...
Bill Nemitz is a fine man, a very good reporter and is willing to be in a war zone in order to produce stories about our fellow Mainers who are serving there.
June 6, 2010 at 10:34 AM Report abuse
sldrwife said...
As the wife of one of these soldiers, I would like to thank them all for their service! These men are giving up precious time in their lives to defend our freedom. They are missing their families and friend; the birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and beautiful Maine summer days for all of US....some are even missing the birth of their children! Please think about all of these things before you post your political views about the war and just hold your tongue on that and thank these great men!!!
June 6, 2010 at 10:45 AM Report abuse
QUxSRUFEWVRIRVJF said...
This is my second deployment and I do another one if asked. I just hope everyone that sits behind their computer and criticizes our work overseas has been in our shoes. We the men and woman of the armed forces have voluntarily signed our names on a contract to protect our country from all enemies foreign and domestic, and if you for one minute do not think that the Terrorist Organizations that flew 3 plans into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 11SEPT2001 are our enemies then I would love to meet you in a dark alley on a cloudy night.
June 6, 2010 at 10:54 AM Report abuse
trisailer said...
"and if you for one minute do not think that the Terrorist Organizations that flew 3 plans into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 11SEPT2001 are our enemies then I would love to meet you in a dark alley on a cloudy night." Clearly you are not serving in the military because a high school education is required and what you have is about 3rd grade. But, nice try.
June 6, 2010 at 12:03 PM Report abuse
No-O said...
trisailer, if there's anyone in the 3rd grade, it's you. And you haven't spent 1 day serving this country. You're a consumer of other's bravery.
June 6, 2010 at 12:09 PM Report abuse
trisailer said...
They are not defending freedom. Whatever they are doing there it is not defending freedom. The reason we went to Afganistan was to get bin laden and that clearly is not going to happen. 911 did not threaten my freedom but the patriot did. The overreaction and the fear that Americans are demonstrating is what is threatening my freedom.
June 6, 2010 at 12:09 PM Report abuse
No-O said...
The overreaction of over 5000 Americans slaughtered in their own country? Yes, of course, that's nothing to be concerned about. Wow, that level of ignorance is impressive.
June 6, 2010 at 12:15 PM Report abuse
trisailer said...
You can KMA no-zero. I am a vet as was members of my family going back to the revolutionary war. You don't have to be a vet to know that this war is a waste of money and men.
June 6, 2010 at 12:16 PM Report abuse
No-O said...
You're definitely no vet. But nice try. You can't cover the stench of your views hiding behind a claim of service to this country.
June 6, 2010 at 12:20 PM Report abuse
sdemetri said...
Good comments, as usual, trisailer. It is a shame that these men and women are in the position they are in, and I wish them all the best. Both the Clinton and Bush admins talked with the Taliban about oil and oil pipelines through Afghanistan. The pretense of going after Bin Laden and al Queada is clear if anyone knows anything about how Cheney and Rumsfeld opened up an airspace and corridor into Pakistan from the Tora Bora mountains specifically for them to escape. This war is about other things larger than terrorism and the dishonest pretexts Bush et al gave the country.
June 6, 2010 at 12:27 PM Report abuse
YXJteTRsaWZl said...
Stay safe everyone-we all are thinking of you and want you home safely! A big thank you to my husband-you ARE making a difference over there, and the kids and I love you so much-the dogs miss you too. For those of you putting up your political view on this article, do us all a favor and write an opinion paper and get it published-it does not belong here.
June 6, 2010 at 12:48 PM Report abuse
Dino90000000 said...
Thank you x a million. Please stay safe, and be home before you know it.
June 6, 2010 at 12:58 PM Report abuse
trisailer said...
QUxSRUFEWVRIRVJF is a troll. The lowest kind of scum is one who represents himself as a soldier or lies about his service. 70 million people have died in wars during the 20th century. You would think that some would start to question the sanity of war and in particular wars started by chickenhawks. Since that last gulf war over 7,000 American men and women have died as a direct result of that war. Over 100,000 Americans have been wounded and 200,000 have brain injuries. Please tell us about the "freedom" that these folks are dying for.
June 6, 2010 at 1:14 PM Report abuse
Riml said...
No-O - How about doing some serious research in history, and telling us just who has been successful with a long-term occupation of Afghanistan, including instilling foreign ideals and cultures. Then why would we be any different?
June 6, 2010 at 1:16 PM Report abuse
tenacity said...
anyone notice the censorship of the 'rainbow reporter' PPH ???? Seems the article on the collaborator with terrorists, ie Mainer on the boat in Gaza, held nothing but contempt for their hero in the comments section. Guess what happens...yep POOF it's gone.....typically lying liberals.
June 6, 2010 at 1:46 PM Report abuse
tenacity said...
ignore sailor-boy he has no concept of sacrifice for his country only for himself....liberal M0R0N. Thank you all who serve to safeguard this great nation (sailor-boy box boy at the local PX doesn't count as service)
June 6, 2010 at 1:50 PM Report abuse
JulieP said...
What a waste. These soldiers are pawns of a dying empire. Bring them home now and put the politicians who sent them over there on trial for war crimes.
June 6, 2010 at 2:06 PM Report abuse
trisailer said...
I didn't think I would get any volunteers to answer the question of what "freedom" are you talking about when you say that we're fighting for freedom. Pehaps you were talking about the freedom to have a home, One third of homeless men are vets. The VA estimates that 107,000 are homeless on any given night. Maybe you were refering to the freedom to have a job, one in three unemployed are vets. The unemployed rate for vets is 14.7% half again more than the national rate. It appears that the real benefactors of this freedom you talk of are the millionares and the billionares, they are doing quite well and you won't see any of their children serving.
June 6, 2010 at 2:32 PM Report abuse
Q1YtNjdvbmNl said...
War just plain suks for everyone, except maybe the armchair Generals who have never been closer than a computer game they use to spew their venom from "We" had Dan Rather sending nightly details of our war home, I thank you Bill Nemitz for adding a personal touch for the people of Maine Until the people who never leave the safety of their homes understand the horrors of war, it will continue and soldiers/sailors/airmen will die
June 6, 2010 at 2:57 PM Report abuse
DasBoot said...
trisailer, Why are you even in this country, you clearly do not belong here. Canada is calling you.
June 6, 2010 at 3:03 PM Report abuse
grumblestilt said...
"How about doing some serious research in history, and telling us just who has been successful with a long-term occupation of Afghanistan, including instilling foreign ideals and cultures. Then why would we be any different?" Riml is right on - just as we defeated the Soviet Union by working closely with our victorious ally whom we trained, armed and funded (Remember - Reagan's ally was Osama bin Laden), our enemies are sticking it to us. This war is costing us dearly in blood and gold - because we didn't race in with a clear focus on not getting bogged down in Afghanistan. We don't have Bin Laden (thank you, President Reagan for turning him into a soldier), we don't have Afhganistan, we're losing Pakistan, it's going to cost us trillions of dollars (the most expensive part of war - WE CANNOT FORGET - will be the next 60 years of caring for our vets. Are we so sure we did the right thing when we asked our troops to make the ultimate sacrifice in this place and at this time?
June 6, 2010 at 3:36 PM Report abuse
treakie said...
Everybody should read "Three Cups of Tea," about an American hiker who got lost hiking in Afghanistan and was found and befriended by the local people -- I never knew this piece of information that was mentioned in the book, the Taliban org was founded by very young, 18-yr-olds way back when, I don't know if it was when the British invaded their country or the Russians, but founded to fight invaders to their country -- During the Russian invasion, we were on the Taliban side -- I don't think we have any business being there -- That being said, doesn't take anything away from the, mostly young, people that we have serving over there -- I wish them the best, a speedy tour and hope they all make it back home safely --
June 6, 2010 at 4:28 PM Report abuse
Roxieow said...
We back here in Maine and those with ties to Old Town think of you every day Paul. I keep you and your troops in my prayers every day! I can't remember the soldiers name but I gave him a "Kick back on the Kennebec" tshirt before he left. He had one to take to you. Julie & Jenny W. Mom.
June 7, 2010 at 7:56 AM Report abuse
Roxieow said...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/29/60minutes/rooney/main6530502.shtml?tag=currentVideoInfo;segmentTitle
June 7, 2010 at 8:56 AM Report abuse
jude said...
I have great admiration for the troops in Afghanistan and for Bill Nimitz as a journalist. This is at least his second time to war. He was in Iraq at least once. And our mission seems just as well. However, I can't help wondering if it's becoming more expensive than it worth. I Read Dexter Filkins' article in the New York Times today. He reports that Afghan "security" companies, paid to protect NATO convoys, are paying bribes to the Taliban not to attack the convoys. They are doing this with US taxpayer money, and they have connections with the highest levels of the Afghan government. Makes you wonder.
June 7, 2010 at 10:47 AM Report abuse
Mitch said...
Dear Peter (SPC Donovan), As your former teacher, I wish you hadn't used the word "just" but glad to hear you are doing well over there. I am proud of you. It is interesting though, that about a week after we first met, we both experienced 9/11 in the classroom. Now, here we are, almost 10 years later, both deployed. You in Afghanistan, me in Iraq. Life is indeed strange and unpredictable. Keep your head on a swivel, down, and out of your fourth point of contact. ;) All the Best, CPT Mitchell Baghdad, Iraq P.S. Jude, I think this is at least Bill Nemitz's fourth time. Camp Victory, Iraq
June 7, 2010 at 12:46 PM Report abuse
ProudNickMom said...
Thank You Bill for sharing my son's life in Dand Wa Patan. No one will understand how we yearn for one little glimpse of him, his life or something related to his service there (even the urinals!). You are where my heart is every minute of the day. I wish you safe travels and hope we get to see all the pictures you took when you get back! Proud Mom of a 172nd Mtn Co Soldier!
June 7, 2010 at 8:33 PM Report abuse