Can a Moderator please move this to NSFW as after reviewing the juice bar rules this contains graphic violence and should be in NSFW. Thanks.
I am coming home for good.
I warn you this post is long and is an account of terrible events.
I have done a year out here and have seen more death than I care for. Yesterday we lost another helicopter I'm sure it got no news coverage. We luckly got the crew out of it before the Taliban burned it in place where it had done an emergency landing. Afghan truck drivers by the dozens are beaten, killed and extorted daily while trying to deliver food to the international troops attempting to subdue the Taliban. I have been shot at, mortared and I am glad to be out of here on the 8th of July.
Today is the 4th here most of you will enjoy a pleasant afternoon with friends and family. DO NOT take that for granted. The war for stability in Afghanistan it difficult and there are many contributing factors to include when trying to pose an opinion on it. I have seen the good and the bad in Afghan culture this last year and I can tell you that people here have the same feelings as Americans when it comes to Life and Liberty. They have just been denied it here too long.
I have posted already about my own expierence during a mortar attack but I have another more shocking report from 2 of my coworkers.
Below is an account by my co-worker when he was part of an attack at Kandahar. I have had to edit out names of some people and companies involved. It is a bad read. Hold fast.
KHANDAHAR ROCKET ATTACK
On 20 March 2009 at approximately 2000 hrs (local) on Kandahar airfield Bruce and I were walking back from the Airfield Managers office. Just as we reached the opening into the Compound we heard a loud screeching sound coming from our left to right over our heads. As we heard this we looked up and got a quick glimpse of a small but fast moving cylinder shaped object overhead and impact into the compound on our right at 30 meters away. The explosion was deafening and we could feel the overpressure wave as it consumed us.
Bruce yelled “Get to a bunker”! As we ran past the opening of the compound I could see smoke rise from a living accommodation. The first thing that came to mind was the possibility of injured personnel. I veered off and ran into the compound and to the entrance of the facility. As I entered the building the fire was at its beginning stage in a resident’s room. The hallway was in an L configuration. As I rounded the corner I stepped over what I thought to be debris from the explosion. I began looking for the injured and was calling out. Satisfied that that part of the building was vacated I rounded the corner once again and stepped over what I still thought was debris on the floor.
After I took several more steps I heard a moan. I stopped, turned around and listen. Then I heard it again, I stepped over to the debris and realized that it was an injured man. He was lying on his right side with blood extruding from his ears and mouth. I glanced at the fire and saw it had increased in size. I was not aware yet to the extent of his injuries so I did not want to just drag him out and have him suffer secondary injuries.
At this point I began looking up and down the hallway for a fire extinguisher and none were to be found. Thinking one maybe outside I ran to the entrance and found none there as well. Outside the door people had gathered and were just watching. I pointed to two people and told them to go find some fire extinguishers. To another, I told him to phone the paramedics and a fire truck.
I re-entered the building, the hall had filled with smoke, it was burning my lungs and visibility was reduced. I duck walked to the injured man and removed my small flashlight attached to the zipper of my flight suit. The fire was getting larger, I considered executing a fireman’s drag and remove him from the building, however, low to the floor the smoke was not as bad, so I wanted to give him a quick look over first to determine the extent of his injuries.
I began at the top of his head; I opened his eyes with one hand and looked into them. H eyes appeared to have been filled with milk and his pupils were cloudy. As I reached his stomach I could see that his entire abdominal cavity had been completely torn open, I could clearly see his large and small intestines as well as his stomach. I noticed small punctures in his organs with clear body fluids weeping from holes. I looked farther up into his exposed body cavity and could see his heard struggling to beat as it hung from the bottom of his rib cage, it was also beating erratically.
His left arm appeared to be fine. However, there was not much left of his right arm, just the radius with a few fingers attached. I continued examining him and when I got to his legs his left was fine, however his right, just like his arm was badly mangled, his leg was twisted and his right foot facing opposite of where it should be.
At this time two people came in and engaged the fire with two fire extinguishers. I remembered my survival vest was at my living quarters maybe 100 meters away. Now that Bruce was assisting me I was going to have him retrieve the vest which contained a tourniquet, quick clot, and a trauma kit. I looked and noticed that even though his injuries were severe that his bleeding was minimal. We kept his head turned to the right to keep his airway open.
At this point the individuals fighting the fire were on their third extinguisher. I noticed that instead of aiming at the base of the fire as they should he was just spraying in the air which did absolutely nothing. This made me angery, didn’t these guys stay awake during fire fighting training?
I then ran out the door to yell for more extinguishers, as I was going out the door another person was approaching with two more extinguisher. I took both from him and instructed him to stay outside. I did not want anymore people inside than we already had. Standing upright the smoke was bad and Bruce and I were coughing badly. I instructed Bruce to not let anyone else in the building.
I pushed the two men that had tried to fight the fire out of the way and instructed them to go down the hall and once again check to make sure the building was vacated. I began fighting the fire that was in the corner of the room by aiming at the base of the fire using a sweeping motion (as trained). I witnessed what appeared to be an arm from the elbow up pointing skyward, I suspected this to be a fatality.
Using only half the fire extinguisher I had the fire out. I sat it on the floor next to the other incase we had a flare up. I then ran back outside and demanded a blanket. The smoke at floor level was minimal and I chose to leave the injured man there until paramedics arrived. I had considered placing him on a large board that was at the entrance and dragging him out. However, quite frankly, I was not only concerned about aggravating his existing injuries but was afraid he may tear in half.
Bruce entered with the blanket and I covered the injured man with it to treat for shock leaving his organs exposed. I did not want the blanket to touch his organs and have it dry out and stick to his organs. Bruce stayed at my side to assist.
While maintaining an open air way I could see the flashing lights of the ambulance. After a few minutes the paramedics still had not entered. I ran out to see what the delay was and seen that the people that were just standing around had stopped them well short of the door. I ran over and directed them back into the ambulance and guided them to the open door of the building.
During this time other rockets had come onto the base and had impacted and exploded. The sirens of an impeding attack continued to blare the whole time. There were no lights in the building due to the blast knocking out the electricity. At this point one of the paramedics had entered the building I told him we had one fatality and one critical.
The paramedic began treating the injured man. He asked for the cling wrap from his med kit. I removed that from the kit. We rolled the injured man onto his back and placed the cling wrap on his right side and pulled it over his exposed organs and to his left side. Bruce held his head keeping his airway open while on his back. We then rolled him back onto his right side, lifting him up slightly and running the wrap underneath him. We did this several more times until his organs were secure by the cling wrap.
Another paramedic then entered the hall. I concluded we were running out of space with all the people in the hall. I stepped into the room where the rocket had impacted and the fire had been located. What I thought had been an arm turned out to be a twisted piece of metal bed frame. I brought this to the attention of the paramedic and told him the guy in the hallway is the only injured person I am aware of.
Having noticed that when the other personnel were clearing the rooms that they only opened the door and inserted their heads into each room. I did not feel that was a thorough enough search or was my first one. So, I excited the building. I then instructed another person just standing there to follow me. We went around to the other side of the building and entered at the other end of the hallway. I told him I will take the rooms on the left and him the right. When we exit each room yell clear. This end of the hall was still full of thick smoke, as I entered each room I looked under the top bunks of each bed because some of the residents had draped a blanket from the top bunk to create a tent like area over the bottom bunk.
Many of the bunks I looked at had lap tops lying on them which had already gone into sleep mode. As we exited each room I had to run outside for fresh air and a lot of coughing. In a few minutes all rooms were thoroughly inspected to my satisfaction.
Bruce and I joined back up to see if there was anymore assistance we could provide. By then fire trucks and security had arrived. My throat and lungs were burning badly and the same with Bruce. The paramedics examined the both of us and sent us to the hospital. There, we were once again examined but more closely. We were both put on oxygen for about an hour.
Later that night I discovered that the injured guy we provided first aid to had died in route to the hospital and that three others had been injured. At some point when I was with the one that was injured Bruce had been out treating the others that were injured.
A total of three rockets impacted the base that night. Days later I was told by a member of EOD that had responded that the rocket was a Soviet type 63 spin stabilized rocket that weighs 41 pounds and a 2.9 pound warhead. A favorite of the Taliban and found throughout the country. The tactic of choice is to take three of these rockets, prop them up on a rock or piece of wood and aim them in the general direction of the target. A 12 volt battery and timer are then attached. When the rockets launch, the culprits are nowhere to be found.
As I have said countless times in my posts from Afghanistan. War is hell. Go hug your friends and family.
{pDs} War ...coming home