Coastal Carolina University professors Paul Olsen, Alan
Case and Ken Townsend at Kandahar International Airport. |
A most unusual and unexpected opportunity landed
in our laps in August 2005. Coastal Carolina's Eddie Dyer,
vice president of University Relations, phoned me and Professor
Paul Olsen of the Department of Visual Arts and asked a rather
startling question: "Would you be interested in traveling
to Afghanistan to embed with Dr. Alan Case?" Case, a major
in the South Carolina Army National Guard, was preparing for
his second deployment to that war torn country, this time
as Senior Medical Mentor to the 205th Corps, Afghan National
Army (ANA) at Camp Shir-Zai near Kandahar Air Field (KAF).
Neither Paul nor I wasted any time giving a response-we leapt
at the chance to go. Embedding with Major Case would allow
us immediate insight into our colleague's own experience in
Afghanistan as well as a window into the personal, human side
of a war largely forgotten by the news media.
The war in Afghanistan is, indeed, widely considered a "forgotten
war." America's prolonged struggle in Iraq has cost
the United States far more dearly in lives lost, troops wounded,
equipment destroyed, money spent and domestic unity shattered.
Moreover, many observers argued until quite recently that the
war in Afghanistan was largely won—the Taliban ousted
from power, al-Qaeda forced into hiding and a pseudo-democratic
political system established. Too, the war in Afghanistan has
not been excessively bloody for Americans or clouded by uncertain
motives. Paul and I committed ourselves to bringing the story
of the Afghanistan War to greater public attention by shadowing
Major Case, interviewing as many military personnel of all nationalities,
military ranks and occupation specialties as we could in our
two-week journey and in so doing put a more human face on the
sacrifices being made there.
We witnessed and learned much from our travels through Bagram,
Kabul and Kandahar in July 2006. We observed an Afghan population
with one foot in the 13th century and another in the 21st
century—a mixture of automobiles and donkey carts, women
wearing burkas and others in western jeans and T-shirts, newly
constructed buildings replete with modern conveniences and
private homes still surrounded by human waste trenches. So
many families remain tribal-oriented while others assume a
more urban and cosmopolitan perspective. Afghans seem as much
a people in search of an identity as they are in search of
domestic security.
Members of a squad from the Oregon National Guard prepare to go on patrol.
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At Camp Shir-Zai, just outside Kandahar Air Field, we rendezvoused
with Major Case, who was serving as adviser and mentor to
the ANA 205th Corps Surgeon in the development and implementation
of a combat health support system. In shadowing him, we found
ANA soldiers and a medical staff that manifested the promise
of post-Taliban Afghanistan. Recently constructed military
barracks and dining facilities that cost $68 million resembled
those found on army posts most anywhere inside the United
States. ANA soldiers generally spoke well of their training
and routinely voiced commitment to the enduring war against
the enemies of the new Afghanistan. Progress was most certainly
evident. Indeed, ANA combat units have lately assumed a greater
role in military operations against Taliban forces and consequently
are suffering substantially higher casualty rates. Their commitment
to securing their nation is all the more impressive when one
watches these men leave for battle packed into the bed of
abused and war-worn Ford Rangers, armed lightly and not protected
with body armor. Their pay remains absurdly low even by Afghanistan
standards, and their families are sometimes targeted by Taliban
supporters. To us, it appeared that a sense of national identity
is emerging among Afghans, a perspective shared by ANA 205th
Corps Commander Major General Raufi. That new spirit, he added,
is further evident in nonmilitary developments. The nation
now has an elected president and national assembly, the economy
shows signs of improvement, more schools and hospitals have
been constructed and provide fundamental services, and a national
police force now exists. Still, serious problems continue
to plague Afghanistan, he said. The country has suffered three
continuous decades of war. "It will take time to rebuild
our country" and establish security, said Raufi. Security
remains the general's most pressing concern. He pointed
to the persistence of an enemy force he believes largely comprised
of Afghans, trained well in neighboring Pakistan, armed with
weapons supplied by both Pakistani and Iranian interests,
and determined to return the country to Taliban control. The
ANA, he insisted, requires heavy weapons, armored vehicles,
body armor and much more training, implying that U.S. and
coalition forces have been rather slow providing these necessary
items.
The medical staff at Camp Shir-Zai also have certain needs.
ANA medics, by their own admission to Paul and me, receive little
formal classroom instruction. On-the-job-training is more common.
Too, medical facilities are quite limited in their capabilities
and services. ANA troops who suffer serious wounds are typically
treated in American medical facilities at KAF or transported
to Kabul for specialized care. Physicians, such as Colonel Bashir
at Camp Shir-Zai, are professionally trained but lack access
to refresher courses at established medical schools or training
in new medical skills. Supplies typically prove inadequate at
best, and medicine is often scarce. Were it not for the direct
material contributions of the United States and the work of
American mentors, such as Major Case, the very organizational
structure of the ANA medical corps would be crippled.
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