April 7, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Insert from Shaun O’Mara on his trip north:

Today I got a last minute invite to take the last seat on a Blackhawk to the north of the country to document the latest Afghan National police Academy graduation with an American Marine Colonel. I jumped at the chance, offered condolences to Bair, grabbed cameras and went out to the ramp.

There was no Colonel to meet, the graduation wasn’t that day, there were in fact four seats left and the American photographers were getting territorial. However, when two Blackhawks pull up like taxis outside the Roxy at closing time – do you really care where and with whom we’re going?!

We flew fast and low out of Kandahar and gained altitude the further north we went. I was met at the American FOB by a fresh-faced Californian girl (who also happened to be a sergeant – aren’t they all?) to my VIP room in the desert ghetto.

The following day I met up with a Stryker patrol (American armoured vehicle with 7.62 and a 20mm canon crewed by four.) The crew was hospitable enough, but seemed to lack operational maturity compared to our exceptional Canadian crews (we almost drove over some locals due to communication difficulties.)

Watching the northern town fly by through the sight picture screen of the 20mm, we arrived with only one near fatality at the newly appointed police academy (staffed by USMC mentors.) Watching the recruits hold an AK in one hand and a Qu’ran in the other screaming out their oaths was almost as surreal as the Afghan marching methods (think Russian troops being trained by the Ministry of Silly Walks.) I was left with the mild feeling that vampires had been left in charge of the local bloodbank; and since it was ‘man-love Thursday’ and the convoy was leaving and no-one knew how I as to proceed from this desolate northern town prone to riot where they play croquets with the heads of foreigners – I decided to hitch a ride back with my previous hosts.


Having missed a horrible dinner in the US DFAC I consoled myself to eating soft serve ice cream on top of the rocket bunker watching the hazy Afghani sun sink into the hills (that Hannibal, Alexander, Attila, the British, the Nazis and Soviets all failed to conquer) thoroughly convinced that at any minute I was going to get jacked sky high for my slovenly and ill-disciplined behavior.

A colonel greeted me a good evening and a over zealous Presbyterian pastor was the only one who invited me down ‘frum thar’ to attend a service that was touted as ‘Lively with Christ!’


GOB BLESS AMERICA! AND AFGHANISTAN! (I hope the hard fought contest for kookiest country on earth is settled soon…..)

SJO

Splitting Up the Team

April 6, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Shaun was sent off today up north to photograph an ANP (Afghan National Police) graduation ceremony. Not quite enough room for the whole team and in those instances, the photographer goes, (my rules.) For myself I went out to the EME compound to watch the vehicle techs work on LAVs and trucks. The unit SgtMaj greeted me and gave me the grand tour of their new facilities. It’s a pretty huge shop with all the latest gear and its was actually pretty cool to watch the team drop in LAV engines. The techs didn’t really like having me around taking pictures and I had at least 3 different people come up and ask me not to take photos of them or what they were doing. In the past I would take the time to explain I was not media (despite my ID) and that what I was actually doing was trying to create a legacy of their effort. Honestly, I just didn’t feel like going through the effort. They gave me stink-eye and I just kept taking photos in spite of their scowling.

Despite the lack of support from the techs, I have a great plan for a painting about the EME’s effort over here and coming to their shop and getting some detailed pics is a great start. I know typically the war effort is seen as the pointy end of the spear and as a former infantry guy, I also tend to also only see that side of it. This is inaccurate, non-inclusive and does not represent the Canadian war. At least 3 of the 10 paintings I’ve committed to will represent the support elements of the war: EME, cooks, medics ect. It might not be grand or heroic but this place would grind to a halt without these people supporting the mission. They need to be represented and remembered.


Shaun is gone for the night and I expect him back tomorrow sometime. Sending him off on his own isn’t really part of the plan (we’re suppose to support each other) but we need to jump on these opportunities. As predicted, getting based out of KAF has really slowed us down. Its unlikely we’ll be allowed to get back out to the FOBs due to operational demand. Nothing we can do so we’ll continue to mope around this base of 30,000 people and jump on any chance we get to get back outside the wire.

April 5, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Today we have a day off. Well, kind of. Basically, the Public Affairs Office (PAO) has nothing for us so we stood down and took it easy for the day. I still got up at 6am (I’m not sure why I can’t sleep in any more) and came down to the media tent to get some work done. I let Shaun sleep in because I’m sure the ride out from the FOB the night before shook something loose.

The media tent is pretty basic. It’s almost a piece of history unto itself as the all war correspondents have worked out of here for the last 6+ years. Every reporter seems to have left stuff here and the place is littered with old helmets, body armor, hard cases for video cameras and even racks of video boxes. Its dusty but everything here is dusty. I had to scrub down the desk I was working at because based on the dust accumulated, you’d think nobody had sat there for 30 years. Nope, that’s just Afghan dust. The reporters in the media tent are a quirky bunch. Matthew Fisher from Canwest is gruff, outspoken and swears like a former soldier. And he’s also brilliant, professional and extremely knowledgeable about the war. He is Canada’s most seasoned war correspondent and has covered every war, conflict and engagement in recent history. It was an honor to meet him. Tara Brautigam is a staff correspondent with the Canadian Press. Great guy and I appreciate him sharing his space and faux beer with us. We also hung out a bit with Jeff and Crystal from Global. Great people one and all. Thanks again for your hospitality.


I know we’re not media but it’s been fun to be treated as a reporter, at least up to the point where you have to interact with the soldiers. When they think you’re media they tend to be apprehensive and aloof and rightly so. Although the media has been generally supportive about the war, soldiers remember Somalia. They know that when the media is around they have to be on their best behavior and present a positive picture regardless what they think. When we explain to them that we’re not really media and that our project is about document the real experience (their experience) then they tend to loosen up and let us in on all the good stuff: stories about their experience, what they’ve seen and done ect. Its not newsworthy but it is story-worthy and that fits with our goals.

Shaun makes the best use of his time finding everything and anything to photograph including some great photos of the base graffiti. Brilliant stuff. I’ve created a couple of decent little watercolors so far and I’m hoping to do a few more with my down time in KAF. I predict a lot of down time in KAF…

Road Moves

April 4, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Unfortunately we’ve had to move from our FOB in the South Panjwai area back to Kandahar Airfield (KAF). I’ll state that we did this under protest as our goals cannot be attained back in the confines of the main base and to date we’ve received nothing but support and encouragement from the leadership on the FOBs. This was a logistics issue only and after it was explained to us (a couple times) we packed up our belongings and waited for the Combat Logistics Patrol (CLiP) back to KAF.

Our trip in was via Chinook was fast and efficient: the trip out was via road-move and it was hot, long and bone-rattling. Canada uses ‘people-pods’ to move troops on the ground in southern Afghanistan and its best to describe this mode of transport as odd. We’ve moved about a fair bit in the back of LAVs and TLAVs which are confined but with the hatches open, provide some relief. The people-pod is a sealed, armoured sea-can on the back of a large (24 ton?) truck (Mike B will be sure to correct my truck-ignorance). Basically you’re sealed into a large can on the back of a truck, on convoy from the FOB back to KAF. I can’t give specifics but the ride ranges from 2-6 hrs… Oh, and the air conditioning in the tuna-can was broken and Shaun was having an active bowel day. Yes, it was that kind of trip.

  

Shaun did not enjoy this ride and in all honesty, neither did I. The poor Airforce SSgt beside Shaun REALLY didn’t enjoy the trip but again, that probably had as much to do with the smell coming from Shaun as the boat like motion of the pod. We had a short stop at another FOB and managed to get into KAF late the same day. Our handler Sgt R met us at the depot and got us to our lines which we’re really thankful for as we had no idea where we had landed. The Public Affairs group here runs a tight ship and thanks to people like the good Sgt, we’ve always had somebody here to point us in the right direction when we hit the ground all discombobulated.

We ended out day with a walk on the boardwalk. It’s a bit surreal to be out in a FOB at the start of the day and having chicken strips in a TGI Fridays at its end. Welcome to Afghanistan.

For the Love of Porcelain

April 3, 2011, South Panjwai, Afghanistan

Another beautiful day in Afghanistan. Waking up here is both surreal and grounding: there is calmness in the country-side with the fields turning green and the birds chirping but this is in contrast to the seriousness of the mission. The fact that we’re in the middle of a war zone where IED explosions and the occasional shooting is ever present is a great reality check. Nothing like painting a pretty water-color of a nearby village only to be interrupted by a plume of smoke in the distance from some ordinance being detonated. Surreal and grounding.

Today Shaun went out on a dismounted patrol with some engineers. Again, he took some great photos and was treated very well. He got to experience what many who come to this country as a soldier never experience and I think he was pretty happy for it. While he was outside the wire I was up on the high feature in the FOB watching his progress at a distance. I took the time to work on a modest little landscape-watercolor that will eventually be turned into something more grand in the future. Working on watercolors and sketches here is difficult due to the environment (dust, wind and harsh sun) and the distractions. I try to cram in some work when I can but there is so much to see and do and I can’t sacrifice opportunities to talk and capture photos that will be more useful to me in the long run. We’ve been able to capture a lot of stories here and some of them will be worked into the paintings. Some will not because they are too personal and I’m just not comfortable sharing them (even though the soldiers shared them with us).


One lesson I’ve learned here is that nothing is what it seems and you can’t take anything for granted. I guess that’s a pretty cliché point of view but some of the stories we’ve heard here really cement the cliché. Personal relationships at home, internal conflicts and external recognition are common themes. Probably the funniest story came from a troop that was providing security for Shaun on his dismounted patrol. He was going home soon for his HLTA (mid-tour leave) and was complaining that as soon as he was home, his wife wanted to go camping. Imagine roughing it in a FOB (and outside the FOB) for six months only to go home to more camping. Too funny. As one MCpl mentioned, as soon as he got home he was going to kiss his daughter, his wife and his porcelain toilet (not necessarily in that order). Security, safety, hot water and a comfortable bed to sleep in are not things these people take for granted. Everybody should have to experience what they experience, if only for a week or two.

This might be our last day in the FOB: extenuating circumstances that we have no control over and no, it was not Shaun’s behavior (although he risks much with the SgtMaj.) Whatever happens, we’ve accomplished at lot in the short time we’ve been here and if we never get another chance to get outside the wire, we still have captured everything we needed.


Lastly, I wanted to thank the Arty troop that hosted us in the FOB. Frank, you have an amazing team. Thank you so much for taking care and putting up with our antics (mostly Shaun’s antics ;). Andy, thanks for great stories and banana bread (I’m pretty sure we’re the only embeds to leave a FOB with a care package). Look out for Gille. Buzz, thanks for setting us up and making sure we didn’t blow anything up. Seriously, I didn’t know grenades would come tumbling out of that seacan when I opened it up. Bon Chance my friends.

Going on Patrol

April 2, 2011, South Panjwai Afghanistan.

Today Shaun and I headed out with some Infantry folks from Quebec for a mounted patrol. We moved from our FOB out to provide security and support for engineers who were building a paved road north of our position. Paved roads might sound frivolous in a place that struggles to provide clean water but paved roads really deter the planning of IEDs. As much as we westerners think that IEDs are bad for our troops, we are reminded that for every soldiers killed by and IED, 25 Afghans also lose their lives to them. IED’s are a terror weapon and paving the roads is a great project to protect solider and civilian alike.


In the district we are in the Canadians area responsible for patrolling the roads. This task falls on the engineers and infantry with the support of the ANA and ANP. If I were to assess risk in Afghanistan it would start with an administrator sitting in an air conditioned trailer in KAF and end with the engineers and infantry outside the wire, driving or walking the roads. I don’t assign importance as every role supports the end goal but after riding in the LAV out on these rough roads, one develops a certain appreciation for the risk these soldiers are taking. Very gutsy stuff. Shaun did a brilliant job capturing images of the soldiers on the move, during dismounts and when we hit various smaller patrol bases (austere indeed). All in all it was a great day and we captured enough info for at least 3 paintings.

I might start to sound like a broken record but again today we were amazed at the level of cooperation with the soldiers we were attached to. Nothing but love. All the troops we worked with were happy to see us, happy to have us along (although a little amazed that we’d want to go outside the wire) and more than a little interested in what the end results would looks like. Shaun spends a fair amount of time over here getting some of the photos ready to hand back to the soldiers. They focus on their jobs and don’t really get a chance to snap pictures and to boot, Shaun’s photos are better than anything they’ve ever seen. While in the FOB we are attached to the gunners (also from Quebec) for accommodation, care and feeding and they have been exceptionally accommodating. A happy, professional crew who, at over halfway through their tour, are still keen and ready to dole out a world of hurt when called on.

We were informed today that for reasons I can’t go into here, we are ordered back to KAF. Can’t release the details but its quite a bit ahead of our original schedule. Its bittersweet as we’d much rather stay in the FOB than in KAF. We’ll miss this place (and Shaun will waste away with the loss of the flying kitchen) but we have captured a lot of content and I’m confident we’ll get another chance to get outside the wire before heading home.

Friends in High Places

April 1, 2011, South Panjwai Afghanistan.

Today Shaun and myself moved from KAF to a forward operating base (FOB) in the South Panjwai district of Afghanistan. Along the way we ran into our good friend Mike S at the linkup for the ride into the FOB. Its was great to see another friendly face in KAF and indeed, it was because of Mike and others that Shaun and I have the gear we need to be able to operate here. Mike was generous enough to provide our body armor, ensure we had transport to the FOBs and even the day of our meeting he showed up with more goodies. Thanks again Mike.



The ride out to the FOB was quick and efficient. Rotary transport into FOBs is all business and they don’t want to hang around any longer than they need to. After a few quick stops to drop off personal at other patrol bases, we arrived at ours (name withdrawn due to OPESEC). Those who have been here will know it for its high feature that was built by the Russians. We were met by a young MCpl who gave a quick briefing of the base and walked us around the perimeter. Immediately, Shaun and I felt very welcome here. Our accommodation was better than KAF, we were surrounded by cheerful, efficient soldiers going about their business and there is very positive vibe about the entire base. We met the base commander and SgtMaj and again were welcomed and afforded every courtesy. Once we explained what we were doing there (you’re a what??), everybody got it. More than that, they truly appreciate that somebody has come all the way from Canada to document their story. I think they feel a little bit forgotten about over here as they do watch CBC and the only time they are mentioned, is when one of their own is flown back to Canada under a flag.
A word on food. Anybody who has ever served knows the importance of food and when you’re operational, in a theater of war, it becomes more than just food: it becomes part of your existence, your routine and if its well prepared, it becomes a highlight of your day. The food on the large bases like KAF and KAIA is managed by a catering contractors from the US and UK… and it was very uninspiring. Plastic food at its best. In contrast, the food in the FOBs is created by military cooks who take a great deal of pride in work and it shows. The food in this particular FOB is as good as any I’ve ever had. I’ve actually had to cut back for fear of gaining weight. My associate Shaun on the other hand dives right in.