I Promised Everyone a War Story....

Posted By Deebow • [January 25, 2008]

The silliest, most draining day I ever had in Afghanistan was the day we chased a legless man.

We were looking for a guy that had been a logistics support guy for the Taliban lurking in our AO.  Previously, myself and my Afghan Soldiers, along with a number of SF Soldiers and their contingent of Afghan National Police, had kicked in the doors of a number of homes and a mosque earlier in the week in the middle of the night.

Have I mentioned that nothing says "Knock Knock" like a 6' 3", 250 Pound SF Soldier smashing your door with a 48 pound battering ram.

We nabbed a few shady looking guys, but the big shots we were looking for had moved out.  This is not unusual, it is a hit or miss thing.

But today, we had some solid intelligence we gained while conducting a MEDCAP with the 82nd Airborne that morning for some of the locals right outside our firebase.  The intel was really good and the guy told us that he knew the "exact" house that this guy lived in.

My boss Captain Jack tells me about the "exact location" part as we are getting in the truck and lining up our convoy.

My only question was:  "Afghan exact or American exact?"

For those of you who have not dealt with your average Afghan and their ability to tell direction and distance, the definitions of "exact" can be very different....

"Afghan exact" says Captain Jack.

"Grrrreeeaaat!" I say back

Somehow, the average Afghan does not have the same relationship with space, time or distance that we in the West have.  It creates alot problems for us. 

The LN rides in the truck with the my Afghan Soldiers and with the 82nd in tow (they were still getting their bearings in the area), away we go.  This ought to be fun, we are headed out to grab a guy we missed the other day and Hell!  He is legless man, I mean, how far can he run?

We pull up to the house and in we charge.  Two minutes later "clear" goes out on the radio because we have rounded up all the kids, women and goats we can find in the compound.  The Afghans question them and no one by that name, "I don't know that dude" is the response we get.  The kids and women are crying with all the scary men pointing guns at everyone, the goats are scattering; mass hysteria.  The Afghans press a little harder and we get "Ohhh!  That guy!  Yeah, he lives over there (pointing somewhere other than where they are).

So we apologize to the kids, hand out some candy and water really quick and mount back up and drive to "there" with the help of our guy who still swears he knows the "exact location"

This little scenario was repeated 3 more times, and by now everyone is getting tired, cold, really muddy (it is early March, still winter at 8200 feet), and righteously pissed off that we have sooooo given ourselves away by doing this in broad daylight.

Turns out the occupants of the last house really did know "exactly" where this bad guy lived; right across from the clinic.

Well Hell; I know right where that is!  Been there before...

We pull up to this huge compound like a SWAT team serving a drug warrant, surround the place, and me and my Afghan Soldiers, along with some of my National Guard homies secure the door and then start to make entry...

The door was already ajar, and I see about 15 women and children scatter in all directions away from the door wailing and crying.  So I tell my interpreter Mujeeb to tell the children I can see through the crack in the door to come and open it the rest of the way.  The answer was more wailing and running.

I am about to kick open the door and I see this form move really quickly off to my right and it moves right into the fatal funnel.

Rifle coming up, safety coming off, holosight leveling off....  On what turns out to be an 11 year old girl who was the last one to run away with her sisters.

Damn near killed her...

I turned and looked at my compadres and said "Hey, lots of kids, pay attention and ID your target before you dump 'em.

"BAM!!"  I kick the door open and move into the compound and dominate my space.  And what should greet me as I do that than a bearded man to my 12 o'clock with his upper body out of an open window.

"SHOW ME YOUR HANDS!!"  Mujeeb translates for me (my M-4 model Universal Translator should have sufficed, I thought) and his hands come out of the window.  "ANYONE ELSE IN THE HOUSE?!"  "No" he says.  I tell him to stand up slowly and walk out to me.  "No can do" he says, he doesn't have his legs on.

We caught our legless man....   

---

Comments

I Promised Everyone a War Story....

The silliest, most draining day I ever had in Afghanistan was the day we chased a legless man.

We were looking for a guy that had been a logistics support guy for the Taliban lurking in our AO.  Previously, myself and my Afghan Soldiers, along with a number of SF Soldiers and their contingent of Afghan National Police, had kicked in the doors of a number of homes and a mosque earlier in the week in the middle of the night.

Have I mentioned that nothing says "Knock Knock" like a 6' 3", 250 Pound SF Soldier smashing your door with a 48 pound battering ram.

We nabbed a few shady looking guys, but the big shots we were looking for had moved out.  This is not unusual, it is a hit or miss thing.

But today, we had some solid intelligence we gained while conducting a MEDCAP with the 82nd Airborne that morning for some of the locals right outside our firebase.  The intel was really good and the guy told us that he knew the "exact" house that this guy lived in.

My boss Captain Jack tells me about the "exact location" part as we are getting in the truck and lining up our convoy.

My only question was:  "Afghan exact or American exact?"

For those of you who have not dealt with your average Afghan and their ability to tell direction and distance, the definitions of "exact" can be very different....

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