Russell in Afghanistan Update #9 – Time Plays Tricks On You In The North

Greetings all,

Where do I begin? This has been an extremely difficult few weeks for all of us. Spring is now upon us and I fully anticipate temperatures and tensions to escalate higher and higher for a seamless and masterful transition into a hellish summer. The most important news – what I should probably address first – is our most recent Troops-In-Contact event. Obviously, I cannot address much more beyond the fact that Master Sergeant Doug Reed, a great soldier, husband and father of seven was wounded in action last week. Troops talking about casualties to back home is always a delicate situation, so suffice it to say we were on an operation, we were engaged with the enemy, and he was wounded. Much more detailed information is available from the internet, but for the sake of our operations, his family, their right to privacy, and the discipline in our unit, I won’t be more detailed. He has since been transported to Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, and awarded the Purple Heart Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge. Doug is one of our best Soldiers and an integral part of our family here. He will be missed greatly, but we know well that if any one of us had been wounded, he would pick us up, encourage us to continue on and so would want us to do just that without him. Doug is the quintessential volunteer. He volunteered to join the Army, further volunteered to be infantry, a parachutist, and in the true fashion of a National Guard Citizen-Soldier, is also a volunteer fire department chief in the City of Jackson. I wish Doug and his family a swift and as painless a recovery as possible and all the strength they need for the future. I can guarantee that every last one of us is looking forward to that day a few months from now when we get off a plane or bus in Ohio and Doug is there with his trademark flattop haircut and confident if mischievous grin. If not, we’ll get down to Texas after Ohio, come hell or high water.

To aid in the logistics of his recovery and reintegration back to normal life, whenever that may be, a fund has been set up. Anyone who is compelled to donate, may mail their donation to:

The Doug Reed Courage Fund
c/o Atomic Credit Union
711 Beaver Creek Road
Piketon, OH 45661

Things have been heating up in our sector. It seems that it’s a race between various insurgent forces and the coalition to push resources to areas of Afghanistan that AREN’T Helmand or Kandahar. Meanwhile, we’re left holding down the fort and trying to shape the battlefield for future operations and units. I use this analogy quite a bit, but attempting to train and mentor the Afghan National Army while conducting a heated counterinsurgency at a fervent pace is like trying to repair a jet engine while in flight. It’s tiring and frustrating work. We conditioned ourselves through months of training at Fort Riley and in Hungary for what we refer to – often derisively – as “expectations management”. We set our sights on realistic goals, if low, to prevent burnout. We know that we’re not going to turn our unit into the unit that finds Bin Laden and wins the war in six short months. But we can nudge them a little closer to whatever a successful unit is considered to be by the folks on the strategic level. Well… setting your sights low isn’t enough sometimes. Performance of simple tasks which are considered completely remedial in our Army cannot be overlooked in the Afghan National Army. They’re remedial to us because they’re backed by 500 years of western military tradition, but to the ANA they’re often novel concepts. I have to keep forcing myself to step back and make sure I’m looking at my ANA through the proper filter. To fighters in Afghanistan – be they ANA, insurgent or other – fighting the Soviets, fighting between the various factions during the post-Soviet era or the Taliban roll-in, and even fighting the invading American forces early in the war, the common model of success to emulate was that of the insurgent’s ambush party. While we won’t have ANA tanks, infantry and helicopters conducting complex combined-arms assaults anytime soon, it is a small improvement to get them to take canteens and radios to an operation with them. It’s just not how they previously operated, and it’s not what success used to be defined as for them. While we have seen some very good ANA units come and go, and sparks of brilliance within our own ANA, we are at – in most areas – a sub-basic-training level still.

Things here are as okay as they can be, otherwise. Missions have been coming and going and days have been blurring together. Instead of telling me things have peaked and the worst is behind us, every combat action leads me to believe another more intense one is still yet to be had. Compared to my time in Iraq, this mission and tour have proven completely different in every possible way. The pace, the intensity, and the opportunity for close combat were completely absent from my previous deployment. I’m happy with having chosen to be an officer and an infantryman, and am lucky to have this opportunity to be a combat advisor. The thing about being a combat advisor in this war, in the north (an up-until-now undersupporrted region) is that even at your home base you’re out in the middle of nowhere. When you go out with your ANA you’re basically way out there with your neck out, with significantly fewer ANA troops than you’d like, way more vulnerable than you’re comfortable with, in a place – physically and tactically – where common sense would tell you never to put yourself, running around trying to get somebody else’s army to do those things that your army would do instinctively. I remarked to my sergeant soon after one of our major troops-in-contact events, “you know, I would have really liked to know what it’s like to go into combat with a company of 120 U.S. infantry soldiers all around me just to know what it’s supposed to feel like before I go in there with a few dozen ANA.”

Time is a relative and tricky thing in our existence right now. More resources and U.S. forces roll into the north on a daily basis. Some units move in virtually overnight, some units have been taking painstaking weeks or months to get here (namely the ones we NEED). MSG Reed was the beneficiary of a newcomer surgical team to our neighborhood. Sometimes a day will take forever to get over with. Today, I sit here wondering where the last two weeks went. I look at tomorrow and the next few weeks and agonize over a mile-long list of things I need to bring to my ANA commander’s attention that we need to work on or pay attention to. By tomorrow I’ll probably be paring it down, wondering what the most important things are for me to work on to set the stage before my replacement arrives. Trying to perceive time in the 700MPH-or-0MPH world of combat advising in the north is like being trapped in the famous painting The Persistence of Memory.

Here’s a story from the ISAF (International Security And Assistance Force) website that highlights an event from one of our more recent missions:

Other than that, I still occupy a spot on the waitlist at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and hope to hear in a few weeks whether I’m far up enough on the list to be offered a spot in their first round of offers. Until then, the most I can really do from Afghanistan is add another letter of recommendation to my packet and try to find the time to retake an undergraduate class or two for a better grade. I’m registered for a correspondence class, but with the way our internet connection’s been working and the way our summer operations tempo has been picking up, I may have to ignore the class until we return home in July/August. Any recommendations by folks who have been waitlisted by prestigious graduate schools are more than welcome :o)

As we plod forward through our tour, my immediate future is pretty hazy and I’m okay with that. I want to make huge plans and jump into a 2010 campaign, start applying for jobs, or start packing for DC, but the truth is I have no idea what the first few months back home will look like. I came home from Iraq on January 11 2005 and immediately moved in with Mary and started 18 hours of classes on January 17 and didn’t give it a rest until our honeymoon seven months later. In retrospect, it may have been wiser to take some time off and enjoy life. Until I figure out school or a job upon coming home, I’m okay with spending time alone with Mary, seeing an Indians game or two, reintegrating enormous cheeseburgers into my weekly diet, and not having to make 30-50 decisions daily.

Our mailing address has changed, as they inevitably do, and I’ve included it below. I would say May 15th is the absolute latest day something can be sent to me.
RUSSELL GALETI
OMLT ORTHUS
CAMP KHELAGAI
APO AE 09368

As always, you can read this and previous posts or pass along the link: www.russellgaleti.wordpress.com

I am sincerely grateful for all the letters, packages, emails, and encouragement folks have been sending my way. Again, the most important items we can possibly receive are new and gently-used children’s clothing, school supplies and first-aid supplies for the people in our area. Please keep Master Sergeant Reed and his family in your prayers as he recovers from his injuries.

Sincerely,
Russell Galeti

Pro patria!

RUSSELL P GALETI JR
1LT, IN, OHARNG
Operational Mentor and Liaison Team

“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in the happy hour when the establishment of American Liberty, upon the most firm and solid foundations shall enable us to return to our Private Stations in the bosom of a free, peaceful and happy Country.” – George Washington in a letter to the New York Legislature, June 26, 1775

Should anybody like to join the listserv, please have them email galeti+subscribe at googlegroups.com (replace “at” with @, of course)
Should you wish to unsubscribe, please email galeti+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com (replace “at” with @, of course)

1LT Russell P. Galeti, Jr., during an operation in March 2010, overlooking the village of Qaysar Khel, Baghlan, Afghanistan

Russell in Afghanistan Update #8 – Foreign Service Can Mean a Few Things

Nawroz Mubarak, Ladies and Gentlemen!

Happy New Year to you all. As I write this, today is the 5th of Hamal, 1389 here in Afghanistan. The new year came to our little piece of Baghlan Province without much incident, though the last six weeks have certainly been eventful.

First, I would like to announce that I was speaking with Mary just tonight and she informed me that I have been waitlisted for the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Considering it’s my first serious attempt at graduate school admission, I am encouraged with my foothold on the beach and will continue to do everything in my ability from way out here in Afghanistan to secure a seat in that prestigious institution. I would like to, in this very public forum, sincerely thank Dr. Gargan, Major General Wayt, and Lieutenant Colonel Dean for their assistance in writing letters of recommendation on my behalf, and to everyone who has offered me advice or encouragement in this pursuit. Being waitlisted is a good start, and I intend to ride this waitlist into the ground. I will continue to update on my status as I myself am updated. Everyone keep their fingers crossed.

Finally, after almost two months in-theatre, I’ve found the time to sit down and compose my initial impressions. My eyes are dry and itchy, my appetite has soared through the roof, it’s a rare thing when I can catch more than fifteen minutes to sit down without having to talk to somebody or fix some problem or another, or get more than five or six hours of sleep a night. Today’s a beautiful day, though. Friday is our “off” or, more accurately, “half” day, where we try to do as little as possible. The sun is shining bright, there’s a nice breeze, and a ceiling fan is humming. Laying on the couch, drinking some cold beer and listening to a baseball game would make this quite a pleasant afternoon.

It’s hard to believe that we’re already one-third of the way through our too-short mission here in Afghanistan. Considering how slow the two “extra” weeks we had in Hungary were, these two months have flown by at breakneck speed. As I reflect on my time here thus far, I already see my time here in Afghanistan in a very bittersweet way. I already feel quite strongly that I will remember this time as some of the most fulfilling and meaningful work I will have ever done, but on the other hand, it’s quite possibly the most frustrating darn job I’ve ever had, as well. It’s an amazing thing, as a just a plain old Ohio National Guard infantry officer, to have a share in this combined Hungary-U.S. Operational Mentor and Liaison Team; and to reside at this incredible nexus of a N.A.T.O.-led coalition with German higher command; U.S. conventional forces; a Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team; U.S. Special Operations Forces; U.S. civilian governmental agencies such as U.S.A.I.D., U.S.D.A, and Department of State; the Afghan government; the Afghan National Police; the Afghan National Army; most important, the people of Afghanistan; and dozens of other actors. Every time we try to execute a plan or partnership together, it’s the stuff dozens of dissertations are made of. We smile and chuckle to ourselves and derisively mutter “coalition warfare”, shake our heads and throw our hats on the ground, but that’s truly what it is. It won’t bring us world peace in the next week, but it does eventually work. Don’t get me wrong – it’s often frustrating as hell and not a day goes by where I don’t consider the finer merits of knocking someone from one of thirty different countries on their rear. But it brings to life the discussions from every political science class I’ve ever had when I can look at a plan and see how everybody has their own piece or strata within this province, everybody has their own plan, and everybody tries to make it mesh with the others’ plans as best they can.

Just last week, we were out on a mission, and I was with one of my counterparts in the Afghan National Army (ANA) – the company executive officer – and it was a beautiful scene that day. Mountains were all around, the sun was out, and the ANA, OMLT and other forces had spent the day and previous few days working on a project that has a lot of promise to provide improved security in the area. We had been living out of our trucks, staying up nights to pull security and to keep the ANA engaged. As I looked out of the little 4WD Ford Ranger that is the staple vehicle of the ANA over all our vehicles and soldiers and used my best techniques of persuasion and negotiation through an interpreter to explain to the ANA officer how important it is that he wake up a few times during the night to check on his soldiers and make sure his security perimeter was still there, the great satisfaction dawned on me that while I don’t fully quite know what I’d like to be when I grow up and it’s all said and done, I can’t think of much else I’d rather do than be a soldier in the service to my country until I get to that point where I figure out the rest of my life. While I’m sure Mary’s thrilled at the prospects of perpetual training schools and deployments (Georgetown? Are you listening? My wife would like me to stick around for a year or two.), given that less than 40% of American youth are even qualified to join the service nowadays and even fewer are inclined to do so, I’m privileged to get to serve like this, and happy that service is finding meaning here on this mission. The post-Cold War military and the people who make it work has proven itself to be the single most versatile tool of national will that we have at our disposal – from kinetic operations here in Afghanistan to hospital ships off the shore of Haiti, I’m convinced there’s nothing my colleagues and I cannot do.

The beautiful sunset over the landscape might have inspired that moment of job satisfaction more than anything, but it was simultaneously one of the scariest darn moments of my life, as well. And I’ve been shot at, rocketed, and IEDd on occasion. The ANA don’t have too many qualified drivers. Many Afghans will never have a car or have the need to drive a car, and so good drivers are sparse. Ever wanting to impress the American lieutenant, I’m sure, this ANA lieutenant kicked out the regular driver to take us up to the hilltop at what was probably 30 or 40 MPH. I’m a thrill-seeker and something of a good driver myself (I tell my wife that I’m ‘aggressively defensive’ whenever she gets on my case about how I drive), but while half my brain was trying to show no fear and remain completely cool while I carried on a nonchalant discussion with my counterpart about security and tried to pretend I had no idea I was being rocketed up a mountainside by a guy I wasn’t even sure knew how to drive, the other half of my brain was on Red Alert, calculating that it would take the truck approximately sixteen rolls down the east side of this hill before we rested in the draw below and frantically comparing our truck’s grip on the hilltop to an old adage I once heard about how mountain goats never lose their footing no matter the terrain. Suffice it to say it was a heck of a scary drive, quite surpassing any contact I’ve ever had.

While I won’t get into thorough details in such a public forum, the last few months have seen us go on several missions and I think just about everybody on our team has been in contact with the enemy at least once now. Personally, I was happy with my conduct under fire. Nothing crazy, I didn’t become Audie Murphy and the situation didn’t call for it. When I made the switch from armor to infantry in 2006, I realized I was giving up the opportunity to close armored hatches, slam on the gas and perform a drive-by when confronted by the enemy. Infantrymen trade those options to go most places in combat on foot with what we can carry, and so we can wear little blue discs and blue cords and blue badges on their dress uniforms. It might sound like a foolish exchange to the uninitiated, but life in the infantry is and will remain the essence of the Army and Marine Corps, and infantrymen all over are proud to be a part of it. I’ve never met an infantryman who did not have a specific reason why he decided to become one. Anyway, while I executed battle drills properly in Iraq, being out of the fight for six years, in a position of higher responsibility now, and a little closer to the actual fight, it had been – and I guess it is probably true of most guys in my position – a lingering question of how I would react the next time I was in contact. I was pleased that I did alright, as did all my Soldiers and most of our ANA. While the contact was by no means a pitched battle or intense, it was the first time I not only heard the pop of a round being fired at me, but also the ‘thwip’ and ‘zing’ of it, and saw the rounds impact nearby. One of my U.S. soldiers and I, after ducking into cover, our first reaction was to start joking about badges we qualified for now that we’ve been shot at. And then rounds started hitting a little closer, so we moved to better spots. I grabbed my ANA commander and an interpreter, and we ran, jogged, or walked (depending on the moment and location) from position to position to make sure people were where they were supposed to be and doing what they were supposed to be doing. Aside from the shooting, it was by no means a special event and I’m sure it will happen plenty more while I’m here. I’m sure when I re-tell it after a few Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold beers or when I’m 60, it will be a heck of a story, though.

Last time I dispatched, I had glowing things to say about our relationship with our Hungarian brothers. My words made it around the globe, literally, and preceded me, literally. By the time we got to Camp Khelagai, the Hungarian Ministry of Defense had already forwarded my impressions of deploying to combat as part of our combined team to the unit we were relieving. Tensions have heightened, as they inevitably will in these situations, but my appreciation of the situation remains the same. This is still the most unique experience of my career, and one of the best leadership challenges I’ve ever faced. Being away from home and overcoming language and cultural barriers between the U.S. and Hungarians and the U.S. and A.N.A. are formidable challenges as well. We’ve disagreed and I’m sure just as many guys want to meet me behind the Humvees as I’d like to drag back there sometimes. What keeps me going in the day-to-day, what keeps me optimistic, and what makes me get up every day and ask what I can do as a leader to attack our intra-team differences better daily is that I know at the political and strategic levels, our relationship WORKS. The Hungary-U.S. relationship works, and is a strong one. A lasting and meaningful product of such value to both nations is not going to be without its pain at the tactical level, but soldiers have to see that it’s worth it if our two nations can work together as partners. I think I’m lucky because my academic background and interests give me enough perspective to see what such a relationship means to the U.S., to Ohio, to Hungary, and to N.A.T.O. So, yes, while it’s an enormous pain in my – and my sergeant’s – rear to explain to one of our partners why he has to inspect his vehicle once a week for mechanical deficiencies, and why we get so frustrated with the kinship our partners share with their countrymen in the Provincial Reconstruction Team across town instead of with us, there was never any point where any person in this enterprise was told any part of it would be easy, so why would we expect that now? As long as we continue to not take anything personally, remain professional, and remain soldiers committed to the mission that brought us to Afghanistan, I think we’ll be alright. All that said, I’ve been living in college dorms and military barracks on and off for the last twelve years and am wondering when the day will come when I reach whatever magic rank it is where I don’t have to clean up after other grown men in the kitchen or bathroom. It’s getting old. I wonder if General McChrystal has to put the milk back in the fridge after somebody left it out all night or take out overflowing trash. My wife probably thinks this serves me right, though.

The flood of Soldiers, resources, and governmental support continues into our area, consistent with the Afghan surge strategy we’ve been hearing so much about. It does, in fact, seem that with the operations being conducted throughout the country over the last few months, this will be the summer that makes or breaks the world’s involvement in Afghanistan. I remain optimistic about not only our multinational cooperation, no matter how frustrating it is, but the progress we’re making with the Afghan National Army. Every day, I can find some small part of our relationship with the Hungarians that has improved, or some small advance we’ve made with the Afghan National Army. At the tactical level, that’s the best we can strive for.

Our time continues on here, and I will continue to maintain that six months is not enough time to make the progress we – I – would like to make. Regardless, I have little say in the matter and enjoy talking to Mary about what we will do when I get home. Vacation, graduate school, kids, and all that fun stuff. Until then, tomorrow’s another workday, and we have to give every single day our best effort if we hope to give the team that replaces us a better kandak than we ourselves inherited. I have been receiving letters, cards, and emails all full of encouragement and snacks (except the emails. If that were possible, somebody email me a Great Lakes Brewery Christmas Ale NOW) and sincerely appreciate the time it takes to jot down a few words and send them our way. First aid supplies, school supplies, and new and gently-used children’s shoes and clothing are the best possible things to send, if anything must be sent. In a war to separate insurgents from the population, small tokens like those items will sometimes become a great way to start a conversation, bring a community to come speak to us, or get a person smiling at us. When the stuff is in giant bundles on the backs of trucks at the PRT, it’s called “humanitarian assistance”. When it’s being handed out by an ANA soldier to a child in a village, it becomes kindness, which is an important part of every counterinsurgency.

Unless things change, which I pray they won’t, my address will remain as it is below. If something must reach me, May 15th would be the last date I would send anything, as mail takes approximately 4-6 weeks in either direction. It’s a heck of a Goldberg Device that gets mail to us, but it’s always appreciated. If it’s an acceptance letter to the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, it’s definitely appreciated and should be sent to my Cleveland address.

RUSSELL GALETI
OMLT ORTHUS
CAMP SPANN
APO AE 09354

Once again, my most sincere thanks for all the emails, letters, and well-wishes sent our way.

Russell Galeti

Pro patria!

RUSSELL P GALETI JR
1LT, IN, OHARNG
Operational Mentor and Liaison Team

“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in the happy hour when the establishment of American Liberty, upon the most firm and solid foundations shall enable us to return to our Private Stations in the bosom of a free, peaceful and happy Country.” – George Washington in a letter to the New York Legislature, June 26, 1775

Russell in Afghanistan Update #7 – Eastbound And Down, Loaded Up And Truckin’

I’m sorry, but I had to sit on this message for several days to avoid sending out information related to operational security. It was written in real-time, however.

I have since safely made it to RC-North and am getting to work!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The last of our containers and bags had been loaded on the plane and we had our seats. The plane, an enormous C-17 Globemaster, which belongs to a 12-nation heavy airlift wing, was sitting on the tarmac at Papa Airbase, ready to take us into Afghanistan. It would appear as though the moment we’ve all been waiting for had finally arrived.

Aaaaaaaand then, we found out the plane did not have the appropriate diplomatic clearances so we waited overnight in hotels near the Papa Airbase. We came back the next day only to discover that there would be no flight and we’d be delayed two weeks until a charter flight was sorted out.

So now, here we are, killing time at the Budapest Ferihegy airport, at 3AM waiting to catch a chartered Bosnian 737 to a German-run airbase near Mazar E Sharif, where we will begin our journey.

We’ll hit the ground in a few hours, tired and disoriented, and begin a process of processing into the combat zone that will make us both exhausted with bureaucracy and murderously crazy simultaneously. The whole process – from getting into the plane to finally being in the combat zone that has loomed ominously on all our horizons for months – is anticlimax at its best. The Army excels in that area. Though, despite the guaranteed lack of excitement we’ll feel this entire time, I am definitely having a hard time putting a finger on what I’m actually feeling at this point.

Most definitely, if we must go, let us just do it already. There’s no big fear in me. Not the nominal fear, the typical soldier-shaking-in-his-seat fear. We’re not jumping into France tonight. But I can definitely feel a hyperawareness coming back that I haven’t felt since I was in Iraq. In Iraq, the little action we actually saw became commonplace for most of us. In Baghdad, things were blowing up, left and right, several times daily. I know I always assumed – and I’m sure others did, as well – that if one of those big explosions were for me, I’d be the absolute last person to know it, so there’s not much to worry about. The worst of it would be standing at the machine gun on top of a speeding Humvee at the head of a convoy just wondering when that big shock would come that would send the road up around you in all directions. You’re crouched low and tight against the M240 just waiting for it to happen, even for an eight-hour convoy. Well, the hyperawareness is back again, compounded by five years of training for “the next deployment”, five years of watching techniques and battles – both allied and insurgent – unfold in the news and on YouTube. The back muscles are painfully tight once again, the jaw clenches unconsciously to the point where, when I realize I’m doing it, I get scared I’m going to crack a tooth, and I’m chewing on the insides of my cheeks. Terms like “contact with the enemy” start getting changed by your inner monologue into things like “people are actively trying to kill you”. Like I said, and I hope I’m effectively communicating, it’s not so much a typical fear as it is an awareness as the combat zone becomes an abstract thing on the news to its own – our own – reality.

I think it’s appropriate to feel that way. We are going to a real place, where real people are going to try to kill us and we may, or will, have to apply violence in support of our mission. I hope I’m not playing it up, but just portraying the reality of it all. I’m not Eisenhower, but I’ve got responsibilities to foremost accomplish my mission, and to do so as best I can so my US and Hungarian soldiers can come home safely. I’ve got obligations to those soldiers to make the best decisions I can, to give them as much leeway as I can to let them make their own decisions; and to the Afghans to help mentor their army as best we can. So I’ll presume the hyperawareness is a good thing and will help mission accomplishment. Despite it all, I had no problem unwinding in Iraq when it was time to unwind at night or when we’d get a day off. Permanently unwinding the spring, however, took a few years once back home, and hopefully it will not take as long this time around.

The biggest part of our training is behind us and we were able to march proudly to the band playing the Rákóczi March on the parade field at Tata as we passed in review for Dr. Ágnes Vadai, the Senior State Secretary for the Hungarian Ministry of Defense, and Vezérezredes László Tömböl, the four-star general Chief of Defense Staff, as well as a delegation from the U.S. embassy. It was extremely encouraging to see such a distinguished turnout for sixty soldiers. in America, we’ve been deploying so many soldiers so often, it’s easy to feel insignificant. In Hungary, this mission means a great deal to the Hungary-U.S. relationship, and it shows. The Hungarian Army has been extremely accommodating and hospitable to us every step of the way, and the Soldiers are dedicated team players. I’m proud to be going into combat alongside our Hungarian allies and I’m privileged to have even a small part in such a great relationship between our two countries. I truly feel that way. Somebody at our reception after the pass in review commented that the US-Hungary State Partnership Program relationship was probably the best the United States has at present. Having come from Ohio and seeing how hard the Ohio National Guard works at it from our end, and then spending time in Hungary to see how hard the Hungarian military works at it from their end, it’s not a surprise to me at all. This mission will definitely be something everyone can tell their grandkids about for any number of reasons.

Everything else being what it is, I *did* manage to somehow assemble my application packet to the Edmund A . Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Everybody keep your fingers crossed! Mary and I enjoyed our time together during leave and now for her, the hard part starts.Thankfully, it’s only six months. She never fails to roll her eyes and groan when I tell people combat advising tours should be eighteen months in theater because the first six months are just to learn the language, build rapport and learn the lay of the land and then you can start your twelve months of advising duty. She’s definitely been more than a good sport about it.

I’ll be sure to post my impressions of my first few days in Afghanistan as soon as I can get some quality time on a computer. Wish us luck in the coming months!

Our address has a slight change from last time. The Camp Kelagai has been removed, it’s now:

1LT RUSSELL GALETI

OMLT TEAM ORTHUS

CAMP SPANN

APO AE 09354

As always, you can read this and previous posts or pass along the link: http://www.russellgaleti.wordpress.com

Russell Galeti

Pro patria!

RUSSELL P GALETI JR

1LT, IN, OHARNG

Operational Mentor and Liaison Team

“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in the happy hour when the establishment of American Liberty, upon the most firm and solid foundations shall enable us to return to our Private Stations in the bosom of a free, peaceful and happy Country.” – George Washington in a letter to the New York Legislature, June 26, 1775

Should anybody like to join the listserv, please have them email galeti+subscribe at googlegroups.com

Should you wish to unsubscribe, please email galeti+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com

Russell In Afghanistan Update #6 – 1 January 2010 – Holiday Leave and Electronic Media Bombardment

Happy New Year to everyone!

For that matter, given the frequency with which I’ve updated – Happy holidays, Happy Thanksgiving, and a solemn Veterans Day to you all, as well. I must say, I’ve been quite remiss in keeping in touch in this mass forum. It’s not without an excuse, at least, as the last few months have been busy as hell.

There’s so much to tell you all about, and there are a ton of links in this email as I try to incorporate more illustrative forms of media into my updates. Since I last updated, my team has been very busy undergoing the most intense and final phase of our training in Hungary and Germany. There have been many, many moving parts to the last several months, hundreds of hours of training conducted within our team, and many battles fought with a multitude of organizations to help get us as prepared as we can be for our ultimate deployment to Afghanistan this month.

Part of being away from home means having to miss certain events that you come to regularly plan on. It’s the disruptive nature of things like these, and servicemembers who are on fulltime active duty have it even worse. Worse being relative, that is, as we all chose this profession. Still, one of the big events back home every year that I look forward to attending is a Veterans Day breakfast at Brady Middle School in Pepper Pike, Ohio. Mrs. Carol Kapostasy, a teacher there, puts it together every year in conjunction with VFW Post 5799’s Patriot’s Pen essay contest and I’ve been privileged to speak there the last few years. This year, I obviously was not able to make it, but sent my message over the internet.

October and November were pretty rough months which mainly saw two of my favorite things: a lot of time on weapons ranges, and time spent in the classroom focused on counterinsurgency and combat advising. The time spent outdoors got to be hellishly cold and wet, but we wouldn’t have had it any other way. The time discussing counterinsurgency and combat advising made some guys’ brains hurt so bad, I’m sure they would have spent an entire month outside in the cold and wet just to get out of the classroom.

The weaponry is important for obvious reasons. When we have to act quickly to destroy an identified enemy target, we must be able to expertly wield any weapon system at hand. Most of our training in direct-fire weapons systems has been defensive (reflexive fire and transitioning between a rifle which has just run out or malfunctioned and your pistol) because under normal circumstances there should be several echelons of ANA between us and the enemy. Still, variations between our western-bloc NATO-standard equipment and the Hungarians’ former eastern-bloc equipment caused us to have to familiarize ourselves with every system they had, and vice-versa. If, in the heat of an engagement, the only weapon you can find is a Hungarian machine-gun, you better know how to use it, and you sure as hell better know how to perform immediate action if or when it stops firing. The links below are to a video clip showing one of my soldiers (left position) and myself (right position) tossing both Hungarian and U.S. hand grenades at a target. With all the gear we had on, there’s a fair share of short tosses and some good-natured salty language from other soldiers, um, cheering us on. Hungarian Horseshoes – (a few bad words, nothing you haven’t heard before, though). Below that, there is also a short clip of me firing a rocket-propelled grenade, the insurgents’ weapon of choice, and a common weapon in the Hungarian and Afghan armies.

Putting together and teaching the counterinsurgency and combat advising classes were by far my favorite part. It was the part we were the most worried about translating properly from our military’s culture to the Hungarians’. While, on one hand, more Hungarians on the team have been deployed to Afghanistan than Americans, the training we received at Fort Riley will go down in my book as the single best thing the Army’s ever done for me and we wanted to be able to present its lessons to the Hungarians just right. If you get too academic or theoretical, you’re bound to lose most of your soldiers. You must repeatedly reinforce that tactics in counterinsurgency have just as much relevance and importance for the individual soldier as any offensive or defensive task. We tried as best as we could to present condensed versions of many of the culture, history, and social geography lessons we were fortunate enough to have received at Fort Riley and were pretty successful in getting points across.

One amazing and unlikely teaching device that Army instructors have seemed to warm up to is five to ten minute video clips offered on the internet via sites like YouTube, which can underscore just about any point one is trying to make. They were invaluable in helping drive home points that we were making in our counterinsurgency and combat advising classes, and soldiers could go back to them on their own time and review things they didn’t quite get the first time around. If you can take the time to watch most of these recommended videos, you’ll be guaranteed to know more about the last few years in Afghanistan than any of your friends or coworkers. Seriously, though, as mainstream America still has trouble grasping the full commitment that a war of this kind requires not only from the military domain but diplomatic, economic, media, and in terms of national willpower, a few of the videos below are excellent “energy bars” of information that really cut through a lot of the haze for many people.

Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire & The Afghan Campaign has a five-part video series, approximately 20 minutes’ total investment where he discusses the tribal nature of Afghanistan and even manages to strip away religious arguments while comparing Alexander The Great’s experiences in Afghanistan to our experiences today. It’s an extremely insightful perspective and only takes about 20-25 minutes at five minutes a pop:

Episode 1 – “It’s The Tribes, Stupid”

Episode 2 – “The Citizen Versus The Tribesman”

Episode 3 – “Tribes Are Different From You And Me”

Episode 4 – “Fighting A Tribal Enemy”

Episode 5 – “How To Win In Afghanistan”

CBS 60 Minutes Combat in Afghanistan: Lara Logan and 60 Minutes spend a month with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and see some intense combat. While this video does not demonstrate much interaction with Afghan security forces, it does illustrate what a truly up-close fight this is. The technology and stand-off Americans have been accustomed to seeing since the Gulf War are usually last resorts in this kind of fight. Gritty, determined soldiers and their gritty, determined opponents. These men are not pushovers, and while this video displays a lot of the strictly combat engagements, things get even more difficult when civilian considerations, local government and local politics come into play.

Beating The Taliban By The Book: Made by the same folks who made the Lost in Translation video, this something less of a good-news story. Here, U.S. soldiers – just as tough and smart as the soldiers featured in the 60 Minutes piece are shown, but through a lens of counterinsurgency. The way they interact with the population does not endear the soldiers to their tribal nature. They seem more concerned about complaining about electricity, water and toilets on their base than the situation outside it. They are gruff with elders, disregard a lot of nuance needed in dealing with tribesmen, and lack self-awareness of how they’re probably, in turn, perceived by the Afghans.

Lost in Translation – Afghanistan: A lot of salty language, but a good lesson. This video shows how difficult it is to relate to and communicate with the native populace on our own. Thus, why it’s so important we strengthen the Afghan security forces. Watch how one frustrated soldier communicates gruffly with a man who is many years older than him, using an inadequate interpreter. We used this video as a lesson in gauging and finding a good interpreter, but it also illustrates how a soldier without the proper training – not just language, but people skills, leader engagements and COIN training – can affect a situation for the worse. He’s no doubt a good soldier, and trying, but frustrated because he hasn’t entered the situation properly prepared and with appropriate expectations.

As always, with sites like YouTube, just assume that any comments posted below the videos are made by the dumbest people the world has to offer and please don’t think I support or endorse any of the rubbish third parties will post beneath those videos.

In my attempts to further impress the importance of patience in counterinsurgency, Mary had a chance to interact with Army Chief of Staff GEN George W. Casey, Jr., at the City Club of Cleveland earlier in November and ask him a question I sent her from Hungary. Click here to listen:

Thanksgiving was spent in Grafenwoehr, Germany, where we had a culminating mounted gunnery range and didn’t really get a Thanksgiving proper, but nobody seemed to mind too much. A wonderful organization known as Operation Baking GALS (http://www.bakinggals.com/) sent (literally) several hundred pounds of homemade cookies, brownies, and other such treats right before we left, so it really, really made up for a lot of the stuff we missed during your typical Thanksgiving feast. There really were some amazing ladies and families who were incredibly kind in sending us their recipes and treats. I was also lucky enough to say hi to my friends at WNYC’s The Takeaway for a brief interview about our Thanksgiving plans. Click here to hear:

Other than the exciting training that’s occupied our final phase, life has had its typical ups and downs for all of us. Some rugged terrain and about 100 lbs of gear during one of our field exercises caused a pretty nasty sprained ankle (worse than my wedding!) that kept me out of my gear and off my foot for the better part of a few weeks. Weekends off and passes here and there saw groups of Soldiers hit Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia, among other places. My wife, Mary, came out to Vienna for a three-day pass that was absolutely lovely. We had planned on spending a four-day pass in Zurich, Switzerland, but she had a bad case of the flu, and international air travel is just the wrong thing to do in that situation. I went to Zurich on my own (damn!) and though I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have with her, I found it amazing, if expensive, and am excited to go back there together someday. Most recently, as our training was winding down in Hungary, Mary was able to come out for our final week and see what life in Tata was like, where we could make a pit stop in Berlin to see my good friend and fellow OIF veteran Josh Gnizak and his wonderful girlfriend, before heading back to the States for Christmas leave. Berlin was amazing, futuristic, and had some bitter cold wind for the third week in December, but a great time was had. After Berlin, we had just the absolute damnedest time trying to get back to the States, as the holiday Snowpocalypse of 2009 had beset the eastern seaboard. After about four real and three theoretical flight itineraries and a small bribe to a ticket agent later, we ended up having to overnight in Newark, New Jersey and getting into Cleveland about sixteen hours later than scheduled. Jet lag and European Central Time has been taking its toll – I’m passed out by 10pm and wired at 4am. Christmas leave has come and practically gone and has been pretty bittersweet – a series of hellos, only to have to say goodbye soon afterward. With the love I have for the subject, I could make a career out of counterinsurgency and stability in Afghanistan, but part of me wants the next few months to zip by, for sure. Mary and I talked about the family aspects of a deployment to The Takeaway on New Year’s Day. Click here to listen:

Other than that, leave has been wonderful, even in the mundane things. I’ve done some laundry, got a dentist appointment in, got a new driver’s license… Being boring and not rushed can be good fun sometimes. My attempt to get into the MS in Foreign Service program at Georgetown’s Walsh School continues. I retook the GREs on the 28th and most of my application is in, with just a week to go before the deadline. January 5th will see me fly back to Budapest and sometime after that, we’ll finally enter Afghanistan. It only gets more serious from here.

And, while the start of a new year is usually the most symbolic time to start something new – hence, all the resolutions people make – I’ve never been much for resolutions. I either do something in the most quick and direct manner as possible, or I don’t. I can’t keep my room clean to save my life and though I did reach a weight goal this year, I never intended to do it by passing up all the potted-meat rations we’ve been getting in Hungary. As our boots-on-the-ground time draws nearer, I’ve been thinking more and more about the land we will all soon be risking our lives in, the war that is bringing us there and the tens of thousands of lives it has taken or shattered, and I have been taking in all the recent national soul-searching that has become popular about this eight-year-old war. I’ve also more than once been inspired by my good friend and fellow veteran and officer 1LT Kristen L. Rouse, the founder of Veterans for Afghanistan (http://www.veteransforafghanistan.org/) and the idea that the legacy of coalition nations in Afghanistan does not have to be one exclusively of war.

As an infantry company advisor, my role is somewhat limited when I am in Afghanistan in that my ANA counterpart must be the virtually sole focus of my influence, and – we hope – it will then be up to him to wield what we call non-lethal effects for the counterinsurgency. I have a great respect for the fact that everything we do as servicemembers in Afghanistan and as veterans of Afghanistan after our time there is over reflects directly on the legacy of the United States and its allies. While I hope we are able to go a long way with nonlethal effects and humanitarian assistance missions, I am not naïve to the fact that our operations will largely be offensive and defensive engagements. Regardless of what events or circumstance have in store for us while I’m in Afghanistan, I’ve decided that the best way to contribute to the country beyond my official military duties is by sponsoring an Afghan orphan through the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization (AFCECO – www.afceco.org). They are a great organization which partners with CharityHelp International, a U.S. 501(c)(3) organization, to establish orphanages throughout the country to care for Afghan orphans. It’s just one more, simple, small thing I can do to help the situation in Afghanistan.

I will say this: I am intensely interested in helping the people of Afghanistan within the confines of my combat duties or outside of them. My combat duties are my paramount priority and I may get to do nothing but them my entire time there. I can accept that but will continue to look for opportunities to apply nonlethal effects in our area. That said, I don’t mind if I don’t get a single Rice Krispie treat or bottle of Gatorade while I’m over there. If, as you’re doing your end-of-the-holiday clearance shopping, or cleaning out your attic, or whatever and have things that can be of use to Afghans, feel free to bombard my mail – shoes, winter clothes, school supplies and household first aid supplies are probably among the most important things that can be sent. If you or somebody you know doesn’t feel like sending anything, but still wants to make a personal contribution to stability in Afghanistan, visit the AFCECO site. We can all play a part in stabilizing Afghanistan.

Until we move or leave sometime this summer, my address in Afghanistan will be:

1LT RUSSELL GALETI
OMLT TEAM ORTHUS
CAMP SPANN\CAMP KELAGAI
APO AE 09354

I hope 2010 brings greater prosperity to our country and renewed resolve from the American people to stand by our commitments to the people of Afghanistan. A very, very happy new year to all. Your continued well-wishes and support are truly amazing and mean such a great deal to all of us.

Russell Galeti
Pro patria!
Russell P Galeti Jr
RUSSELL P GALETI JR
1LT, IN, OHARNG
Operational Mentor and Liaison Team
“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in the happy hour when the establishment of American Liberty, upon the most firm and solid
foundations shall enable us to return to our Private Stations in the bosom of a free, peaceful and happy Country.” – George Washington in a letter to the New York Legislature, June 26, 1775

Should anybody like to join the listserv, please have them email galeti+subscribe at googlegroups.com
Should you wish to unsubscribe, please email galeti+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com