It's very easy to lose perspective in Afghanistan. Marines tend to forget how they look in the eyes of the population, both figuratively--an occupying force--and literally--gigantic alien-looking guys with big guns). Creole saw this first hand a few months ago.
He was on a patrol in the bazaar with an infantry squad and needed to speak with key health care personnel in the area to determine the level of care provided to the locals. True to form, Creole offered to carry some ammunition or gear to lighten the load for some of the grunts. This is a fairly standard practice; it helps us integrate with the guys and shows we're willing to carry our fair share. This seems intuitive but you'd be surprised how many attachments pretend they are above the normal responsibilities of a Marine.
Anyway, before this patrol Creole takes an AT4 anti-tank rocket launcher and straps it to his back. About an hour later, they reach their destination - a pharmacist's shop toward the southern end of the bazaar. Creole is of course the guy who goes in to speak with the pharmacist (AKA someone can pronounce the names of drugs in Pashto). Just to make sure everyone's tracking, we have a giant Texan in full body armor and bristling with weapons walking into a shop simply to ask how business is doing. The guy at the counter was (justifiably) scared and refused to answer the questions. I'm pretty sure he thought his shop was going to get blown up. And Creole was getting pissed because he couldn't understand what the guy was so scared of. Finally the interpreter sorted out the problem and the Marines left to finish their patrol.
I didn't hear this story until several weeks later and I couldn't stop laughing. Dark military humor, I guess. The reality right now is we can't be the baby-kissers and money-spenders in Sangin because security is all anyone cares about. It'll get better, in sha Allah, but for now I'd prefer to have that guy with a rocket launcher, even if he is Civil Affairs.
No comments:
Post a Comment