First Team

Armed with almost ten hours of sleep on Sunday night, I began the second week of training with my team. Days that are not composed of a strict curriculum (as was the case during Convoy Operations Course) allow LT and me to use a lot of creativity. There is no rule for what needs to happen on a given day, but everything must be tied into either building proficiency in our civil affairs mission or the basic Marine skills needed to operate in a combat zone.

This strange mix of the civil and the military is representative of our bastard child status in the Marines Corps. In no other unit would one go from PT (physical training) to machine gun drills to a brief on Pashtun culture in the span of three hours. As autonomous units we also need to focus on uncommon skills for enlisted Marines: powerpoint presentations, building assessments, Afghan agricultural crop information, and so on.

I got to see many facets of each Marines' strengths, weaknesses, and personalities as they struggled through the eclectic training each day. The junior team members coalesced into a fascinating group that never fails to frustrate, confound, or amuse me. Sometimes they manage to do several at once.

Creole is a twenty two year old finishing up his first enlistment. His dark skin and hair make him appear distinctly Latino but he is actually of French, African, and Native American descent, something his height betrays. For the last three and a half years he was attached to a Motor Transportation unit here at Last Pulgas, and he has the spare tire around his midsection to prove it. Creole volunteered for duty in civil affairs because he wanted to deploy to Afghanistan, and even his new bride's constant requests to the contrary could not change his mind. Of the young guys, he is the most motivated and willing to dive into the messy business of (re)building Afghanistan.

The next member of the team is Mumbles from Guadalajara, Mexico. Although Spanish is his first language, he has no problems speaking English; his biggest problem is actually the inability to speak above a fifty decibel level. Mumbles was my driver to 29 Palms: trying to hear him over the diesel engine's roar proved to be the most frustrating experience in a seven hour traffic jam. He is dating a girl who lives up in Reno but, in true native Mexican style, spends the weekends visiting his mother in central Los Angeles. Mumbles is the only junior enlisted Marine with deployment experience: he spent six months in Iraq last year cooped up in the cab of a 7-ton (big armored truck).

Our youngest and smallest Marine is Dominicano. He stands around 5'5" and probably weighs 135 pounds, which will present some interesting challenges as our communications guy responsible for carrying batteries that weigh 2 pounds each along with the rest (the total probably equals his body weight). There is an off-again, on-again girlfriend in the picture but Domicano fancies himself a ladies' man and thus rarely mentions her. His quick wit is matched perfectly by his mouth, and he impresses me constantly with his ability to learn. He recently confided in me he wants to earn a B.A. in Political Science and return to the Dominican Republic and "fix shit".

Along with all other Marine units, we have a Navy Corpsman who is responsible for medical training and care. I have not made my mind up yet, but I am very worried about our guy, Drama. Although he was recently promoted to Petty Office Third Class well ahead of his peers, Drama has a 6 month pregnant Marine wife and just about every personal problem you can imagine. In less than three weeks I've dealt with bedbugs in his apartment, moving apartments at the last minute, complications with the pregnancy, a huge fight with his wife, and now arranging marriage counseling for the happy couple. His nickname is obviously well-earned, although on his better days I can see what a huge asset he could be to the team. Only time will tell whether he makes the cut.

These four people are the members of Team #1, Civil Affairs Detachment, for whom I am responsible. I am their counselor, mother, father, accountant, personal trainer, and main source of information. I am the first person they see every morning to start the training day, and the one who lets them off in the evening. Even though we have spent little time together, I already know this will be a great group. I've already wanted to kill each of them several times over, but my affections for them to continue to grow with each passing day. First team, my team, our team.