Troops need public’s support
I am a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a friend and a union worker. I am also an American soldier, having served in three distinct combat operations: Desert Shield/Storm Task Force Freedom 1990-1991, Iraqi Freedom III Task Force Liberty 2004-2005 and Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan 2008 as a member of Combined Joint Task Force-Phoenix VII.
Every day we see new reports coming from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. Questions, fear, soldiers wounded or paying the ultimate sacrifice. Such is the daily lives of soldiers in “the Zone.” Let’s concentrate on one theater of operations, Afghanistan.
Having completed a tour of duty there in December 2008, there were conditions that I experienced as well as others of my platoon that have forever created a change in our lives. We are asked about our experiences from half-a-world away and to sum them up in two to three sentences.
This is like explaining your entire life in the same manner. They are also very personal experiences that we all sometimes do not wish to share amongst even our closest friends. However, in this case, I feel the need to speak out about what is happening and the dwindling support for the War on Terror that I witness every day.
The recent developments being reported from Afghanistan show a resurgence of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
We saw this firsthand in 2008 as attacks on U.S. and coalition forces were on the rise, occurring as close as the center of the capital city of Kabul.
During this time, our mission was to train and support the Afghan National Army and the National Police Forces, now known as the A.N.S.F.(Afghan National Security Forces). We had teams spread to the far corners of the country to perform these tasks and report on them daily. My specific mission was to support those teams by any and all means possible in order to sustain the forces.
There were daily requests by these teams for “anything” that we could do to help them perform their tasks to the best of their ability. No matter the request, or by whom, my team of electronic maintenance professionals would drop what they were doing and attack these requests as if someone’s life depended on it, because that may actually have been the case. Assistance was constantly requested both internally and externally. This is a fact of life in a combat zone. Soldiers did not care if it was not their Military Occupational Skill, they just performed, and performed valiantly.
When additional support is requested, it comes from those that are serving on the ground, not in an office. It is done so after careful thought and all considerations are weighed.
The time has come for that additional request. What say you, America? What say you?
James Montrois resides in Greece.
