Rambo the Afghan - Jamal Udin - Someone You Should Know
Friday, February 02, 2007
"Since he can't have a weapon, he found a big red pipe. So he stands there at the front gate in his US Army ACU uniform with his red pipe. If a vehicle approaches the gate too fast or fails to stop he slams his pipe down on their hood. Then once the gate is lifted the vehicle moves on the 2nd gate where the US Army MP's are. So he's like the first line of defense.
"Last Thursday at 0930 hrs a Toyota Corolla packed with explosives and some Jack Ass that thinks he has 72 Virgins waiting for him approached the gate. When he saw Rambo he must have recognized him and known the gig was up. But he needed to get to that 2nd gate to detonate and take American lives. So he slams his foot on the gas which almost causes the metal gate to go up but mostly catches on the now broken windshield. Rambo fearlessly ran to the vehicle, reached thru the window and jerked the suicide bomber out of the vehicle before he could detonate and commenced to putting some red pipe to his heathen ass.
"He detained the guy until the MP got there. The vehicle only exploded when they tried to push it off base with a robot but no one was hurt. I'm still waiting for someone to give this guy a medal or something.
"Nothing less than instant US citizenship or something. A hat was passed around and a lot of money was given to him in thanks by both soldiers and civilians that are working over here. I guess I just wanted to share this because I want people to know that it's working over here. They have tasted freedom.
"This makes it worth it to me." - JOHN W. HUNT, CPT, US ARMY
I first posted about Rambo the Afghan a few weeks ago. This story (a small blurb written by CNN) about the above incident caught my interest:
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Two civilians thwarted an attempted terrorist attack Tuesday when a vehicle loaded with explosives attempted to crash through the front gate of a U.S. base in the Afghan capital, according to the U.S. military.
The two men, an interpreter and a security guard, dragged the apparent suicide bomber from the vehicle before he could detonate explosives, said Col. Tom Collins, the chief spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
"I think it's a pretty amazing and heroic event," Collins said.
He said that at about 9 a.m. Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET Monday) a driver crashed his vehicle into Camp Phoenix, the base where the Afghan National Army and police are trained. The driver reached for what appeared to be a cord to detonate a bomb, he said.
"Amazingly, a couple of Afghans who just happened to be on the scene there realized what was happening," Collins said.
"Anyone's inclination would have been to run away but these guys are genuine heroes," Collins said.
The area was immediately cordoned off while authorities waited for a bomb disposal team.
During the attempt to disarm it, the device went off. It's unclear how much or what kind of explosive material was used, Collins said. No U.S. or coalition troops were injured.
Well, there's more to the story. Udin, better known as Rambo the Afghan, was written up in the Stars & Stripes last year. The story is after the Jump and is a big part of why Jamal Udin, Rambo the Afghan, is Someone You Should Know:
'Rambo' helps keep U.S. base in Afghanistan secure
By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, January 25, 2005KABUL, Afghanistan — A taxi stops near the front gate of Camp Phoenix on the outskirts of Kabul. Within seconds a short, stocky man wielding a pipe starts to approach the vehicle. The man with the lead stick means business.
“Move the car,” he demands in a language anyone could understand. “Move the car. Now!”
The occupant hastily pays his fare, and the taxi driver wastes no time backing away.
With the way clear, the Afghan man U.S. soldiers call “Rambo” returns to his post just inside the gate to resume his vigil.
A person would be hard pressed to find anyone in the camp who doesn’t know or hasn’t heard of Rambo, so named by troops in the 10th Mountain Division.
“He’s definitely a legend on this camp,” Sgt. Michael Sweet said.
While Sweet, an Indiana National Guardsman, is a shift sergeant, it’s abundantly clear that Rambo is the primary gatekeeper.
In June 2003, when U.S. forces first rolled up to the front gate of what was then a Russian-Afghan transport company, Rambo was waiting. He hasn’t left.
Stories of Rambo permeate the base. Some are factual. Others are not.
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His real name is Jamal Udin, born in Kabul “maybe 41 years ago,” he said, to parents who moved to the capital from northern Afghanistan.
For many Afghans, details such as years and dates aren’t all that critical.
As a teen, he said, he served as a conscript in the Afghan army, which, at the time, was under the thumb of the Russians.
After military service, Udin got a truck-driving job with the transport company. His trips took him all over the region: Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan.
It was during this time that he married his wife, Shahgull, who was a couple of years younger than he was. By Afghan standards, Udin had a good life. He had a steady job, an apartment, six children and a wife he adored.
The turning point for Udin, he said, came several years ago when a rocket-propelled grenade apparently fired by a Taliban soldier slammed into his apartment, killing his wife.
Udin remembers the time of day — 10 or 11 a.m. — but not the year. The Taliban captured Kabul in September 1996, but were beating back counterattacks for sometime afterward, so it could’ve been 1997.
“We loved each other,” Udin said of his wife, “which is why I will never remarry.”
Udin took his brood — four sons and two daughters — to Pakistan, where Shahgull has family. They remained there for about four years.
“While I was in Pakistan, I saw President Bush and his wife on TV,” Udin said. “They said: ‘We will help Afghanistan. We will rebuild Afghanistan.’ That’s why I like Americans, and why I like to work for them.”
That commitment to his country prompted him to return to Kabul. Because Udin had sold his apartment, the only logical place to go, he figured, was his old workplace. His bosses didn’t have a driver’s job open, so they assigned him to the front gate — and he’s been there ever since.
“He takes a lot of work off of our hands,” said Spc. David Young, who, like Sweet, is with Company C, 151st Infantry Battalion.
Udin has an incredible capacity to remember faces, Sweet said. He always knows who belongs on base and who doesn’t. If a stranger approaches, the man they call Rambo steps forward first to sort things out. And his lead pipe, wrapped in red tape, rarely leaves his hand, sending a subtle but convincing message not to cross him.
The guy is dependable, too. Udin typically works from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., every night. Last year, he can recall taking only two days off. Every fourth or fifth night, he’ll visit his brother’s house to see his daughter Zarmina, who is now 10.
While Udin frets about his daughter, the troops worry about him.
Udin’s room is filled with gifts from well-meaning, young Americans. A general’s driver from the previous rotation gave him a TV; a sergeant from the Indiana Guard bought him a space heater; and another current occupant of the base, a female soldier, presented him with a blanket, gloves and a black, wool hat with the name “Rambo” stitched across it.
And that’s only scratching the surface. There are several 12-pack soda boxes, instant soup, snacks, sunglasses and even a bottle of bubbles, the type that kids like to play with. Udin also has his own camouflage uniform.
“They are always taking care of me,” he said. The attention, he added, “makes me work harder and harder for them.”
For months after the Americans arrived, Udin refused to accept money. His company was already paying him, and he saw no reason to double dip. When his company quit paying him, he accepted the Americans’ offer. Today, his monthly salary is $420, plus meals.
“Have a good day, Rambo,” Spc. David A. Pranger said after he delivered lunch to Udin.
“He’s not really military, but we bring him breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Pranger added. “He’s a cool guy. He’s always here to greet us.”
Indeed, whenever a military vehicle — U.S. or coalition — enters or leaves the compound, the occupants inside get saluted.
Udin patrols the area outside the gate with a vengeance because the area tends to attract locals looking for work or handouts. The compound is also situated along a busy street.
Terrorists, he explained, “might attack the front gate with a car bomb.”
A couple of months ago, an Afghan fired on a French military vehicle.
Udin sprang into action immediately and charged the armed man. Before he could disarm him, the French shot the man themselves.
“I’m not scared,” Udin said. “I feel like I am in the Army, so if I die, no problem.”
“Rambo is one of the most honest, genuine persons I have ever met,” Sweet said. “He’s worth every penny they pay him. He never complains.”
Udin hopes to soon get an apartment so he can move his five children back home. The pay he receives from the Army has helped him immeasurably, but he states he has no intention of abandoning his post any time soon.
“Whenever the Americans leave, I will leave,” he said. “As long as they want me to stay, I will stay.”
One final note. Over at American Citizen Soldier, the most excellent Buck Sargent has a picture of Rambo. Scroll down to his pictures on the right side bar. The fifth picture down is Rambo is saluting Buck.
Update: In the Comments, Agnieszka O. says that Major John at Miserable Donuts wrote about Rambo too.
Update 2: Andi's husband knew Rambo and describes some of his heroics in Afghanistan.