I have been back in the U.S. for two months now and most followers of this blog knew exactly where I was for the
duration of my deployment. But for those that did not and more
importantly those that might happen upon this in the future as they are
preparing for their own deployment, I think it makes sense to reveal the
province that I was working in.
So without further ado, drumroll please...
KUNAR!!!!!!
I
was deployed to Kunar as the first ROLFSO for NROLFSM/ROLFF-A. Does
this mean I was the first person dedicated to RoL issues in Kunar? No,
absolutely not. My State Dept counterpart had been there for over 2
years when I arrived and the Brigade 2 rotations ago had a JAG that
worked some RoL issues as well. But I was the first from NROLFSM and it
was as surprising to me as it probably was to my family for me to end
up there. It was the 4th of the possible NROLFSM provinces I was to be
sent to (first Kunduz, then Kandahar, then Khost, and finally the
decision was made that it would be another K province...) on my second
deployment tasking (the first having been cancelled).
Here are the typical reactions I received when in transit from KAF to Kunar:
-
Where is Kunar? (AF personnel whose deployment world does not exist
beyond the large air bases and amenities that come with them...)
- You're going to Kunar?!?!?! -- said always in an alarming manner (personnel from all services)
The
first reaction is pretty self-explanatory. The second is I think a
reaction to what the average military person knows about Kunar. They
might have seen Restrepo so the words Korengal and Pech strike fear or
they have heard about the Battle of Ganjgal in relation to Sgt Dakota
Meyer being awarded the Medal of Honor. I purposely did little research
into what I'll call the military history of Kunar. I certainly paid
attention to the reports and analysis coming our intel guys. But I
didn't dwell on the past and focused on what I could do to carry out my
mission while mitigating risk in the present. One of my favorite
conversations about being in Kunar was with someone who was going to be
sending a team out there: Him: "yeah, they're really excited about
going to Kunar." Me: "oh yeah, why's that?" Him: "because there's
still a fight to be had out there...not just IEDs like elsewhere." Me:
knowing laughter (this was a few months in so I was used to such
sentiments by now).
So where is Kunar? It is on the eastern border of
Afghanistan, north of Nangarhar Province. Side note: Nangarhar
province is home to Tora Bora of Bin Laden hideout fame -- and guess
what, the raid to kill Bin Laden was launched out of FOB Fenty, also in
Nangarhar.
I split my time between 4 different FOBs/COPs in 4 different districts. I could talk ad nauseum about my deployment and have to frequently fight the urge to do so, especially among AF colleagues, so I will refrain from prattling on too much about Kunar and the dissonance between the extreme violence that still takes place in the province and the glimmers of hope, particularly in the area of rule of law. For all its flaws, "rule of law," and the criminal justice system in particular, is a relatively bright spot in governance in the province and for the judiciary nationwide. The reason? Force of personality and leaders increasingly willing to lead -- no small task in a country where government officials and judges in particular are targeted for assassination. Da Adaalat Kor translates as "The House of Justice" and that is what Kunar seeks to be. Every province in Afghanistan is different -- different ethnic makeup, different security concerns, different problems, and different glimmers of hope for the future. I won't try to argue that a bright future is possible if only we devote X number of troops and X amount of money for X amount of years. In my opinion the future of Afghanistan is largely up to the Afghans themselves (as the future of all countries is largely determined by its population's collective desires and abilities to make of a nation the society they want and need it to be). I only hope for many strong and able Afghans like a few of the judges, prosecutors, and investigators I had the pleasure of working with in Kunar.
