Posted on 03/13/2002 8:17:32 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — There was not quite a swagger, but a lot of confidence in the walk of Company A as it poured from a C-17 Globemaster III on Tuesday at Kandahar Airfield, its home away from home in Afghanistan.The 90 troops who arrived at the base had gained the confidence in their step during combat in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, part of Operation Anaconda, the effort to wipe out a concentration of Taliban and al-Qaida fighters.
The operation was in the mopping-up stages Tuesday as aircraft and soldiers on the ground continued to identify and destroy hiding areas in the mountains.
But it started out as a serious battle and Company A, 2nd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division, was in the thick of it.
During the operation’s second day — March 3 — the soldiers came under mortar and machine gun attack.
"When it started happening, I was, like ‘oh, this is serious,’" said Staff Sgt. Juan Haynes. "Some mortar rounds came quite close. Well, real close."
The soldiers were hidden in a dry riverbed, out of sight of the enemy with the mortars above them. That was a saving grace for Company A.
"They weren’t able to see us, and they don’t know how to use their equipment so they couldn’t get a fix on us," Haynes said as he waited for his gear to be unloaded.
Spc. James Moore said, "It was a different experience. You don’t get shot at every day."
When the shooting did start, the soldiers said, they hid their fear and went to work.
"We knew exactly what to do as soon as it happened," said Moore.
"I thought I’d be a little more scared, but I wasn’t," said Pfc. Clint Stibich.
The company’s first sergeant said the soldiers performed admirably in what was the first combat for nearly all of them.
"They performed like they were trained to perform," said Jon Blossom. "I saw leaders taking charge. I saw soldiers do what their leaders told them to do."
The freezing nighttime temperatures and the high altitude were hardships that had to be overcome. The cold-weather gear helped battle the chill, but the air, so thin that it tested the ability of helicopters to fly in it, often left troops short of breath — the mountains’ peaks reach more than 10,000 feet above sea level.
But they confronted the enemy they had come to confront and were now hoping for some hot food, hot showers and a day or two of rest.
Kandahar Airfield isn’t home, but it is on the route.
In the meantime, the soldiers of Company A are feeling a bit proud of themselves.
"I’m pretty proud I did it," Moore said. "Later on down the road, maybe my kids and other people’s kids won’t have to go and do it."
Haynes said: "The way I see it is, it takes a special type of person. Not everybody could do this. So I’m proud that I did my little part for the world."
Haynes said: "The way I see it is, it takes a special type of person. Not everybody could do this. So I’m proud that I did my little part for the world."
In journalism school, so I've been told, they tell you to close your article with what you're really trying to say.
All I've got to say is, Amen! And Hoo-Rah!
I am sooo proud of all of our troops!!!!!
Stand Watch Listen thank you for the thread and all that you do here at FR. Your threads are always so good.
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