The Nature of Today's Soldiers

They were wearing the woodland camouflage pattern BDU's instead of the desert DCUs, but otherwise, there didn’t seem to be anything overtly different about the troops that arrived at Bagram on Sunday than any other soldier you might find in Afghanistan. Like every other soldier before them, they stepped off the C-17, shook off the stiffness of the long flight from Rota, Spain, and tried to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings. Like all their predecessors, they would face tedious welcoming briefings from the Personnel, Finance, and Base Operations, before being shown to their temporary housing. The difference is that these 17 soldiers of B Co 2/227 Avn Bn. accompanying a disassembled CH-47 Chinook helicopter are not staying in Bagram, or even Afghanistan. These troops are the vanguard of what has been dubbed Task Force Quake, an emergency response to the earthquake that has devastated large portions of Pakistan.

Now it's been 9 days since the earthquake struck, and most of you have already seen U.S. helicopters providing humanitarian relief there. These are all helicopters that were already in Afghanistan and are now stretching their legs a bit. They are people that you may have read about here before, Task Force Griffin, Sabre, and of course the ever present Big Windy. I can't tell you what kind of mindset it takes to put the war on hold, fly to another country over hostile terrain, and begin working relief efforts with nothing to look forward to but returning to the war. Over the next few days, more than 20 flights like the one that arrived Sunday with 20 more Chinooks and more than 80 more personnel, will drop into Bagram and one by one, the helicopters will be reassembled and test flown while their crews are familiarizing themselves with the intricacies of flying in the dusty high altitude conditions that prevail in this region. Within a week, these crews will have their Chinooks in the air and they will be on their way to Pakistan to begin relieving our guys there.

The most remarkable thing about these people is not that they left their families and homes in Texas with less than 3 days notice, but that they did it for the 3rd time in 4 months. These people are all fresh off the relief efforts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Now they get the added joy of flying through a combat zone to get to their next humanitarian effort. I never thought that I would get the better deal by going to war. At least I know when I'm going home.

Comments

[Pat in NC]

Just more reasons to be proud of our military. It takes some pretty special people to serve others in all types of situations be it combat or disaster assistance. I am one American who is extremely proud of our troops.

[Carol]

My husband is the B Co. 2/227th commander & reading your work has improved my understanding for their mission, it has been very insightful. These soldiers are incredible people, most of whom just returned to their families from a year in Korea. Keep up the excellent journalism & photography. If you should see my husband tell him we are so proud of him. Your writing will really help some family members in the unit who may be struggling a bit. Thank you greatly.

[Brittany]

Thank you so much for your writing. My husband is part of the 2/227th unit, and as Carol said, your writing helps us spouses understand a little more the mission that our troops are working on. Please keep up the posts as much as you can and God bless you.

[Misty TX]

Thank You so much for writing what you have about B co. 2/227. My husband is also in this company and had only been home from an 18 month tour in Korea and now he is gone again for who knows how long. But, you are helping to bridge the gap in our lives by writing what you know. Thank You again!!