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January 18, 2005
[Have an opinion about the issues discussed in this article?
Sound
off in our Discussion Boards.]
By Kevin Dougherty,
Stars and Stripes Mideast edition
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| Kevin Dougherty / S&S Army Spc. Trevor Beaman and other members
of his squad traverse an open field while on a foot patrol in
a Kabul neighborhood. |
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| Kevin Dougherty / S&S On a recent patrol, Spc. Nick Barlow,
left, Staff Sgt. Pat Keane and their translator chat in a Kabul
neighborhood with a truck driver named Norallah, far right.
Barlow and Keane are members of 6th Platoon, Company A, 151st
Infantry Battalion of the Indiana National Guard. |
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| Kevin Dougherty / S&S Soldiers from 6th Platoon, Company A,
151st Infantry Battalion of the Indiana National Guard, head
for Camp Phoenix after a morning patrol through the streets
of Kabul. |
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| Kevin Dougherty / S&S "Cherry," the mascot at Camp Phoenix,
greets soldiers from 6th Platoon, Company A, 151st Infantry
Battalion of the Indiana National Guard as they return to their
compound. |
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KABUL, Afghanistan
— Ten minutes into the morning patrol Spc. Austin Wethington stumbled
into a pit of urine while negotiating an icy alley running between
two rows of mud houses.
The Afghan kids trailing the squad broke into a chorus of laughter.
Wethington couldn’t help but chuckle himself as he withdrew his soiled leg.
Five minutes later, an Afghan child, who hadn’t seen the soldier slip, called the 19-year-old from Plainfield, Ind., “Mr. America,” as the squad passed by.
“He’s fueling his ego,” Spc. Trevor Beaman cracked.
Afghans’ perceptions of U.S. forces can vary from moment to moment, which is why steady contact with locals is the best way to gain their trust. The most effective way to do that is to walk amongst them.
Wethington, Beaman and five other members of 6th Platoon, Company A, 151st Infantry Battalion of the Indiana National Guard recently went on a foot patrol through an area called Hudkhill on Kabul’s northeast side. The neighborhood is a field away from Camp Phoenix, where the unit resides.
The other soldiers from the Hoosier state who took part in the 90-minute march were: Staff Sgt. Pat Keane, 34, of Decatur; Sgt. Jeremy Campbell, 26, of Pekin; Spc. Greg Gilbert, 24, of Anderson; Spc. Joe Pavolka, 21, of Laporte; and Spc. Nick Barlow, 20, of Fort Wayne. Campbell and Gilbert are combat medics, while Keane is the platoon sergeant, though, on this patrol, Barlow led the squad.
Every second or third day a soldier can expect to go out on a foot patrol. In addition, they spend a lot of time on the road on convoy security or assisting a troop or unit in need. Soldiers also take their turn as members of a quick-reaction force.
“We do a little bit of everything,” Keane said.
As they left the compound behind, the soldiers were seen off by the base mascot, Cherry, a local white mutt, which now calls Camp Phoenix home.
After Wethington’s misstep, the patrol emerged from the alley and into a clearing before happening upon a village elder. Keane had explained beforehand that elders are often approached during a patrol and asked a few questions, such as the possible movement of anti-coalition fighters or living conditions.
“Prior to the Americans coming,” the bearded man said through an interpreter in response to a question about daily life, “we didn’t have food to eat on a regular basis.”
The next elder Keane looks to approach is cradling a brown blanket, obviously concealing something.
For a moment Keane grows suspicious, until the squad’s interpreter tells Keane it’s a deceased child under the cover. The troops let them grieve in peace.
Peace of a different kind soon comes to the patrol. The gaggle of kids that have been shadowing the GIs for the better part of 15 minutes finally decide they ventured far enough away from home and retreat.
The patrol sets out across a dormant dirt field. A different group of boys playing soccer on the far end approach as the patrol nears. For a few kicks, Beaman gets into the act. That delights the kids and a second posse forms.
Barlow’s patrol aims itself down another narrow, irregular, frozen, dirt pathway dividing a group of homes. They look new, based on the condition of the outer mud walls. Keane pauses with the interpreter and inspects a hole at the base of a wall. It looks to be an electrical junction box in the making.
“That’s a good sign,” Keane said. Afghans’ “main desire is to have electricity back in their villages.”
The alley spills into a busy street that leads the troops to a road they crossed earlier. From there, the Hoosiers’ hooch — and pooch — aren’t far.
One more issue, however, demands their attention.
A man discreetly alerts the soldiers to a makeshift hash house along the road. Information is gathered, pictures are taken and the patrol resumes.
“He doesn’t want it here,” Barlow said. “He says the police won’t do anything about it because the people who started it bought off the police.”
Cherry waits for the patrol as they near a back gate of the camp, his tail wagging like crazy. The dog somehow got on top of a high wall laced with concertina wire.
“After seven months, [patrolling] can get old,” Beaman said, “but it’s a new adventure every day.”
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