Day 362: ANA lead house-to-house training

Afghan national army soldiers wait for instruction on house-to-house searches. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

An Afghan national army instructor tells his troops how to prepare to enter a house. Select this photo for a high-resolution version. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

As part of the "entry team," this Afghan soldier secures the team's backside. Select this photo for a high- resolution version. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

The ANA instructor shows a soldier how to position himself prior to entry into a home. Select this photo for a high-resolution version. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

It's been nearly a year since I set foot on Afghanistan soil back in May of 2008. It's been both a rewarding and frustrating 12 months, but one thing I'm sure of, the Afghans are slowly taking the lead both in the field during combat operations and on Kabul Military Training Center as instructors. 

This is no small feat, as it's a major step toward Afghans being able to provide for their nation's security.

First security, then economic development (which the coalition is aggressively "attacking" now), and then personal empowerment. The latter, in my opinion, the final step in creating a free Afghanistan in which its citizens have the opportunity to better their lives -- without the fear of oppression or violence from either internal or external forces.

And a free, productive Afghanistan is -- like that of Pakistan -- a must if we're to ensure peace prevails globally.   

Day 331: Kuchi Village medical assistance mission

The typical Kuchi Village home. A combination of mud, wood and garbage. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Caulkins provide wound care instructions to villagers. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

Kuchi Village Malik (elder) Nungless sits with the new medicine he received by members of the medical team. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

Air Force Maj. Paul J. C. Valdez provides extra security during the mission to Kuchi Village. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

A Kuchi Village gentleman stops for a quick photo as he makes his way into the medical tent. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

Kuchi villagers welcome camp's medical assistance team

Five miles northeast of camp lays Kuchi Village, a rural community of nearly 1,000 who, in much need of medical attention, welcomed a coalition medical assistance visit April 5.

Arriving at the village, visitors are met with an atmosphere similar to that of a county fair --- makeshift accommodations, animals living in close proximity to the villagers, and the smell that comes when no waste disposal system is in place. 

The villagers, however, seemed good hearted and open. 

“I’m happy about this mission,” said Kuchi Village Malik Nungless as he looked out over the crowd of villagers who had gathered. “I’m happy because it was the coalition and Afghan national army that came to help us.”

The 72 year old sporting a thick, white beard appreciated the opportunity to receive free check ups and medicine. And it wasn’t the first time he welcomed these guests.

“We’ve visited the people of Kuchi Village on numerous occasions and they told us they had some medical issues,” said Sgt. 1^st Class Aaron Christianson, a medical embedded training team NCO in charge assigned to Camp Alamo, originally from Effingham, Ill.

Christianson said during one of their previous visits they agreed to return and perform an on-site medical evaluation and treatment of the villagers. Afghan doctors and medics, both army and civilian, along with their U.S. counterparts, ensured 80 villagers were seen – to include women and children.

“We dispensed approximately 300 prescriptions, while referring nine patients to the local Cure Medical Hospital,” said Christianson. “Much of it was similar to what we’ve seen at other villages – muscular pain and various infectious diseases requiring antibiotic treatment.” The issues were, in many cases, due to their poor living conditions and lack of clean drinking water.  In one particular case a 35-year-old man, who looked to be in his upper 40s, came into the makeshift medical tent wanting doctors to look at his lab and ultrasound results.

“There was nothing to indicate what preceded the ordering of the tests,” said Dr. (Air Force Lt. Col.) Scott Caulkins, a family practice physician normally assigned to Hurlburt Field, Fla. “He gave a history of edema and body aches. Labs showed signs of kidney disease with proteinuria and mildly elevated liver function studies, and negative hepatitis tests. Ultrasounds of the liver, gall bladder, pancreas, kidneys, and bladder only showed stones up in the kidney.

“As long as the stones stay in the kidney, he has a greater risk of being harmed in the process of getting them removed, but the proteinuria suggests other medical kidney disease,” said Caulkins, from Niceville, Fla. “We gave him a referral for an internal medicine evaluation at the Cure hospital downtown, and recommended increased hydration in general.”

Then there was 6-year-old Neamatullah who, only days earlier, had a run in with one of the many large dogs loitering throughout the village, leaving him with a sizeable chunk of his backside missing.

“The dog bit him four days ago,” said his father Ghundal. “Yet this was the second time the ANA and U.S. doctors have treated him.”

“It’s always a pleasure to get out and perform our real mission, helping the local Afghan people that are so desperately in need of medical care, making new friends, and exchanging cultural knowledge,” said Christianson. Camp Alamo’s commander agreed on the importance of such missions.

“Humanitarian assistance visits, such as this, are a key component of counter-insurgency operations,” said Army Lt. Col. Brian Redmon, Camp Alamo Mentor Group commander.

“The importance of this is demonstrated by the multi-national cooperation between the Afghan, U.K. and U.S. personnel to make this assistance mission a reality,” added the 44-year-old Redmon, a native of Springfield, Ill.

Day 288: Itchy trigger fingers

SFC Ralph Parsons quizzes an Afghan National Army soldier during tactics training on responding to an ambush. Parsons is with the Kabul Military Training Center's Mentor Group. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

Itchy trigger fingers not allowed:

Alamo mentor stresses the basics with ANA soldiers

By G. A. Volb

KMTC Public Affairs

CAMP ALAMO, Afghanistan – “Kilke-ta-Az-masha Durku,” the 45-year-old Sergeant First Class from Lawton, Okla., told Afghan National Army soldiers on Kabul Military Training Center’s tactics range.

The words he spoke, in Dari, reminded the young Afghan troops to keep their fingers off the trigger when not needed. It was the type of exchange that had onlookers wondering if the seasoned noncommissioned officer was fluent in the language.

“Actually, that’s all I know,” said Army SFC Ralph Parsons, with a slight grin on a cold, wet day atop the rolling hills of KMTC’s ranges.

Parsons, a mentor with the Basic Warrior Training branch here, focuses on the ANA’s command staff instructor section, evaluating training, and helping them develop new tactics and techniques for instruction.

“The typical ANA soldier wants to learn,” he said. “I think they want to be challenged and want to belong to an organized group with a unified effort.”

On this day, there were about 600 soldiers from a training Kandak practicing their reaction tactics to an “ambush.”

“ANA soldiers excel at anything they can actually physically practice,” he emphasized. “They do extremely well at hands-on practicum -- like assembling and disassembling weapons, first aid and such.”

He said the biggest challenge is the obvious language barrier and having to use interpreters for everything. There’s also a certain level of trust that has to be developed between the soldiers and mentors.

“They know that with each new mentor comes change, and they expect that,” he said. “But sometimes they’re not sure who the expert is or who’s ideas and suggestions they should accept – yours or the previous mentor’s.”

Such things are important since the training methods push a lot of information at the soldiers in a small amount of time.

“When I conduct a check on their progress, sometimes they get eight out of 10 questions correct, and sometimes just one or two,” he said. “So those are the types of issues my team is trying to identify. They grasp the overall concept of the instruction, but not the details as to why something is.”

In the mud and rain on the tactics range, the training scenario tested their ability to discovering an enemy lying in wait and reacting to an ambush. “The concepts of laying down a base of fire, assaulting and flanking through the ambush site are also taught,” said Parsons. “To help them survive they must work together in fire teams, to communicate, put down a large base of fire and immediately react to contact, to assault through the objectives, and to be aggressive.”

The ANA, if nothing else, is aggressive according to those closest to the training. Parsons attributed that to their belief that one day they see Afghanistan being the country their grandparents told them about, a free and prosperous nation. Many too said the Taliban had terrorized their villages and families and that they are here for revenge. But first things first – and that’s the training.

This six-week course is broken into three major categories: First aid, tactics, and basic rifle marksmanship with AK-47s, plus Soviet weapons familiarization.

“These privates come from all over Afghanistan – all provinces and villages – but here at KMTC they are unified for the first time as one Kandak (battalion) and one Tolli (company). It’s my hope that, following the course, they realize they have the ability to learn a wide variety of tasks that it takes to be a soldier and a warrior. That they’ll continue to build on what they’ve learned here at their corps.”

Day 252: Training in the mud

At their newly formed Forward Operation Base, an ANA officer discusses security requirements with his troops. (Photo by G. A. Volb/Select photo for hi-res version)

Members of the coalition training force set up a command post in order to track their ANA soldiers during their final battle field test before heading down range to join the ongoing fight with the insurgency. (Photo by G. A. Volb/Select photo for hi-res version)

By all accounts, the Afghans are indeed warriors. They've been fighting for decades and they know the lay of the land. 

Their ability to roam the mountains isn't lost on coalition mentors as they've seen them in action. Not much in the way of upper body strength typically, but they are aggressive hikers and climbers. 

Recently, in testing a Kandak's -- or battalion's -- ability to react to situations on the battle field the Mentor Group here held a Situational Training Exercise. Complete with all the specialties that would comprise an operational battalion, they were put through the paces of: 1) Reacting to a staged ambush, and 2) Setting up, securing and operating out of a forward operating base. 

It was a cold, nasty, muddy three or four days for the ANA soldiers. Yet, according to those observing their actions, they did quite a nice job. 

It's very early in the ANA development process -- it's a marathon for sure, so I caution our western partners to keep that in mind -- but minor successes continue as slowly, but surely, their tactics and ability to execute on the battle field improves. Much of the ongoing training has now been taken over by the ANA themselves and stories from the front point to more and more instances of the ANA leading the fight.

I asked my interpreter when it would get warm again; March he said. I asked only because I was glad I didn't have to trudge around the countryside and mountains training. That train left the station nearly 26 years ago for me. And I'm glad for it. 

Day 236: The Snow comes

Soviet wreckage in the foreground stands in stark contrast to the snow-covered mountains in the background. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

The first snow was a long time in coming here. At just under 6,000 ft in altitude, it's been in the mid 20s every morning for quite a while. Such chill makes it a chore to visit the showers and bathrooms. I remember thinking it would be nice to see some snow on the ground if it was going to be that cold anyway.

And so my request was answered at last. Just two sloppy inches that melted away almost as quickly as it fell. 

The left over water and dirt from my boots tends to make a mess of the entrance way to my "apartment." I take great care to ensure I don't track in too much slop.

I'm hoping another snow comes, this time a foot or more would be nice. The white tends to hide the landscape of dirt, rock and the treeless terrain surrounding Kabul.

I'm going on month 10 now; and as each slips by I realize just how important it is to find new things to do with my time, a new focus every now and then that keeps the personality of my life here unique. 

I'm taking a vacation soon. And I'm very much looking forward to it.  

Day 207: The whistle and the bang!

It was 5:45 a.m. on a typical Wednesday here; it's cold as the mountains begin to fill with snow. I had just returned from the shower -- and began peeling off the sweats I use to keep warm during my trek down to the facilities -- when I heard that eerie sound. 

It was a whistle from overhead, high pitched at first turning to a low, weaker version as it seemed to descend on the camp. 

For a split second as I stood there in my birthday suit, the sound vanished. And just as quickly, the "BANG" erupted from the silence. 

It's a jolt you can't help react to; I knew alarms would be sounding soon, so I scrambled to throw on some warm clothes to sit out the events (whatever they may be) from the bunkers on base. 

As it turned out, it was one mortar round that came in ... close enough for me to hear that whistle. 

It was the third time such incoming has come up a few hundred yards short of my "hooch" which, being on the second floor, would only serve to protect those below from the blast.

It's going to get interesting here very soon.

Day 183: Can you hear me now?

I’ve been in Kabul for just shy of seven months now and the routine, while still routine, has begun to nip at my nerves a bit.

Let me explain: First, the early morning bathroom trips to facilities about 50 feet away which, during the summer months served as a nice escape from my quarters, is now into a 40-degree chill – right around the corner snow will make it even more “fun.” As the Afghan National Army major I mentor told me; “It’ll get much colder here,” and he used his hand to show how much snow is possible – extending his hand from the ground, stopping just under his knee caps.

Secondly, each time I “phone a friend” I’m faced with the typical three or four tries – network failures, lost signals etc. – before a successful call. Once a cute cultural disadvantage, “Can you hear me now?” really has taken on a life of its own here. Members of the team can be seen moving in crisscrossing patterns around the camp, with each step hoping to bring a better signal. “Go outside the gate,” one tells me. “No, behind the piss shack,” another yells.

I describe my living quarters as something comparable to those serving a year’s sentence at a minimum security prison – though prisoners have access to indoor plumbing.

My “living area” is 7x9 feet worth of Little America – slightly smaller than I had given it credit for initially. On occasion the cramped quarters has me, first, banging my head against the underside of my bunk bed; then backing up into my wall locker and spinning around just in time to smack my toes on the ladder that takes me to my bed. Again, initially quite comical, but now tend to piss me off a bit.

After multiple such instances, it's become aggravating – though I find myself laughing about it all in a twisted sort of way. And I continue to tell myself it could worse … and it surely could be, as our young troops across Afghanistan are living in much more austere environments, dodging bullets.

At work flecks of yellow dust float down from the ceiling whenever someone on the second floor moves; I presume it's paint as it settles on my keyboard, computer, chair and hair. At the base of the walls little yellow "ant hills" grow in size as the weeks pass. I sometimes wonder whether the Russians or Taliban noticed such things when they occupied my chair. 

Every night I call my lady friend back home, and I repeat the process in the morning. It's just to say "Hi." But she too notices the difference in my demeanor on occasion. I'm an easy going "Guy" but with each passing day, I look for a new hobby or vehicle to expend some energy. It has become such that I look forward to laundry day.

Anyone need some laundry done? Can you hear me now??

French Camp Alamo

The French contingent at Camp Alamo, Afghanistan. Part of a multi-national, multi-service coalition force that makes the days a little more livable here. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

Day 161: A Soldier's Soldier

Army SGM John Spisso, above right and at top, provides personal security for the commander of Camp Alamo's Training Assistance Group during a village visit. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

Living a dream: Sergeant Major mentors future Afghan National Army leaders

By G. A. Volb

Camp Alamo Public Affairs

CAMP ALAMO, Afghanistan – At first glance he looks like he was shot out of a womb in full battle rattle -- an Army Ranger before the doc slapped his pink backside. 

In truth, Sgt. Major John Baptiste Spisso joined the Army at 18 to pay for college. Then learned the Rangers did things “others only dreamt of,” an excitement he felt worth investing 10 years of his life in. It was that decade with the 75^th Ranger Regiment out of Ft. Benning, Ga., that molded him into the high-energy soldier and mentor he is today.

Now 42, the square-jawed, athletically built Sergeant Major doesn’t as much wear the uniform as he lives what it represents -- Army core values including loyalty, honor, integrity and selfless service.  “It’s about personal challenge and honor,” he said, now serving as the Training Advisory Group’s advanced combat training brigade sergeant major here. 

They’re values he’d like to think he’s instilled in other soldiers during his 24-year career as a drill instructor at Ft. Benning, an instructor at West Point, with New York Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School and now as a mentor to Afghan National Army soldiers at Kabul Military Training Center.

“I liked them all for various reasons,” he noted of his assignments. “I could run and gun with the best of them in my early years as a drill instructor and member of the Rangers. And in the last part of my career I’ve been able to train, coach and mentor some great people at West Point and OCS.” 

His latest challenge, however, has him mentoring senior ANA leadership, specifically five command sergeant majors for their advanced combat training team.

“It’s enjoyable to help a cause I believe makes our own country safer,” said Spisso, on his current deployment to Afghanistan. “I don’t want our children serving here, so I’m focused on ensuring the ANA is ready to take the lead.” 

In Spisso’s case, that means mentoring a brigade, combat arms, combat support, combat service and support, and basic officer training course sergeant majors. 

“My goal is to instill the fire, courage and discipline in their senior non-commissioned officers so they can train, coach and mentor their own soldiers,” said Spisso. “They have to fight this fight on their own. They have to face the enemy in battle with the technical and tactical skills necessary to win.

“I challenge them everyday to forge the foundation for their own success just as the early colonial leaders did in our Army,” he continued. “I consistently tell them they need to take this challenge seriously so their children can live in peace.”

It’s a challenge he prepares for early in the morning with some physical training. It also helps with the nearly 40 pounds of extras he tends to carry with him on missions. A quirk of his not lost on his wife, 1^st Lt. Lona Spisso, who describes him as a “gear junky.”

 “He’s very knowledgeable when it comes to both military and sports equipment and, of course, when he sees something new and improved he’s got to have it,” said the lieutenant. “We’re avid scuba divers as well, which he’s also made a gear-intensive hobby of ours. And we have enough paintball gear to outfit a small army… our entire basement of the house is dedicated to gear only.” 

The Greensburgh, Pa., native said he tries to prepare for each day with some type of workout. No doubt at 5’ 8” 174 pounds and 13 percent body fat, Spisso would be considered a gym rat by many.

“Typically, I work out five days a week in garrison, but in this environment I’ve been going six or seven days a week,” he said. “I do strength training five days a week and cardio at least four. My goal has always been to be an athlete … a warrior-athlete.” 

His lifestyle meshes well in his role as operations sergeant major for the New York Army National Guard’s 106^th Regional Training Institute at Camp Smith. 

And if hard-work and dedication isn’t enough to ensure success, the superstitious noncommissioned officer never goes on a mission minus the rosary his wife made him out of parachute cord. 

“It’s commonly given to Rangers and special forces soldiers,” said Lieutenant Spisso, herself serving a deployment to Afghanistan not far from her husband. “I wanted to give him something to keep with when he’s out on combat patrols. He hasn’t taken it off since we left Ft. Bragg.” But it’s not all about “luck” for the sergeant major.

“He’s always in the right place at the right time,” said Army Capt. William Hart, who worked with Spisso at OCS for five years. “He’s always looking for new ways and better equipment to accomplish the mission … training, developing and mentoring young officer candidates and lieutenants.

“JB is in constant contact with former comrades and new officers in the field to find out how the enemy is fighting, what gear works, what doesn’t and which leadership styles are effective,” the captain continued. “He incorporates all of this into scenarios for the students so they’ll have an idea of what they will face in combat. The training he develops is not in any Army manual, it comes from more than 20 years of service and dedication to being a complete war fighter. He’s a soldiers’ soldier – no one comes close to the dedication he demonstrates in leading and training soldiers.”

It’s a dedication Sergeant Major Spisso hopes will help “newborn” soldiers and seasoned warriors alike become better professionals for several more years to come. 

Day 146: Patience is a virtue

An Afghan National Army recruit is finger printed so sign for his equipment. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

But their first step is determining boot size. Here the recruit has his boot size written on his hand. (Photo by G. A. Volb)

It’s 90 degrees in the shade as some 90-plus new Afghan National Army recruits make their way into Kabul Military Training Center’s in-processing building here.

Like the practice stateside, recruits fill out paperwork, have their educational history reviewed, and are given a physical to ensure they can handle the rigors of army life.

To ensure the process of inducting a healthy force into the ANA has the best chance of succeeding two American Air Force mentors routinely observe their methods, offering feedback and advice honed over the years to help make it all more efficient and effective. And patience throughout is very much a virtue ... something those in the west find hard to understand sometimes.

“I work directly with the medical providers and quartermaster to coach them in anticipating their logistics and administration requirements,” said Maj. Ron Greenaway, a medical administrator and chief of medical manpower for Headquarters Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va., now serving an Army “in-lieu-of” deployment here. “Logistics is probably the most challenging aspect of their system.”

Greenaway has already noticed some improvement since his arrival in February though. “The ANA medics now routinely process recruits for induction without relying on mentors for direction,” he said. “They have completely taken over the vaccine administration process and require very little in the way of direction from us to maintain the process. Our goal now is to refine and streamline their procedures, while adding additional disease screenings.

“In the short term, we’d like to establish a more robust disease screening process and build complete medical records during in processing,” said Greenaway. “Long term, we’d like to improve their logistics processes – helping them to anticipate needs and address them before they become emergencies.”

“Infection control,” is another priority, said Capt. Matt Hayes, physician mentor at the in-processing center. “We want to begin working on standard precautions like hand washing, wearing gloves, and disposing of needles properly.

Hayes, who is deployed here from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., where he’s a primary care physician with the 437th Medical Group said “their medical technicians have already begun wearing gloves on a consistent basis during immunizations,” which is a step in the right direction.

The quality of the ANA starts with recruiting, emphasized Greenaway. “As their screening process becomes more robust, efficient and effective, the already high caliber of recruits will improve.”