To lose a friend

You know those violent shocks to reality I talked about in my last post? I guess you never know how violent they can be, until you experience them.

The only word I can think of to use for the road to the checkpoint (If you can call it a road) is "insane." Imagine driving an 18 wheeler down one of the narrow pedestrian paths of the Grand Canyon, that's what it felt like. We were responding to the Afghan National Police's request for help, in a remote area that could be called shady at best, and flat-out suspicious at worst. I don't know what they were doing and I don't care to know, but they caught the attention of some armed insurgents. As a result, we were rolling in, ready to help out our allies, ready for a fight.

By the time we arrived, I'll admit we weren't in the most cooperative of moods. The drive had taken it out of us already, and the general attitude was simply "fuck this," myself included. What I saw when we arrived was very sobering.

The commander of the precinct caught in the firefight, Commander Heidar, was carrying one of his men up a hill to their truck. The man's body was limp, draped over Heidar's shoulder. The commander held an AK-47 in his unoccupied hand, walking very solemnly, but with a purpose.

At that moment, I felt a sinking feeling in my gut, the kind that makes you feel completely helpless and tiny. These men, our closest allies in the area, just lost one of their friends in combat. I have never experienced any major losses in my life, but this hit me pretty hard.

Long story short, we finished business in the area, feeling like we'd been beaten pretty badly. The Taliban had given us a black eye, and all we could do was take it. There was no revenge, we had done all we could and they had once again slipped into the night.

Several days later, our Lieutenant got a call from Heidar. He just wanted to talk - No business, no intel, just... talk.

We stopped at his headquarters, and our LT sat down and talked with him, simply as friends. I do not know what was said other than what I've been told, but Commander Heidar came away from it with a much better outlook, thankful that we are there for him. As he says, no one has ever honestly cared about his men as much as we are, American or otherwise. He is grateful to have us as his friends and as his allies in arms, and I for one am glad he's on our side.