Dr. Mike Colson is an active
duty Command Chaplain at NAS
Whidbey Island in support of
CONVAQWING and Patrol Wing 10,
who are actively involved in
the War on Terrorism. With PhD's
in psychology and human services,
he is the Navy's guru on "self
care" and "getting a life."
As a chaplain he is an advocate,
and offers support for servicemembers'
mental and emotional well-being.
Chaplain Colson has been married
for 27 years, has two almost
grown sons, and lives on Camano
Island in Washington's Puget
Sound. He takes his own boat
to work every day, has an active
international crisis intervention
and public speaking schedule,
and is slated to return to Iraq
and Afghanistan in the very
near future. He describes himself
as a "Military Chaplain - with
strength of character, words
of encouragement, and a face
made for radio!" His third and
most recent book, "In Irons
- Sailing Into the Wind for
Life's Sake," is a collection
of humorous vignettes from the
world around us. Other books
include "Accelerating Your Own
Life" and 'The Paradox of Underachievement,"
available from mikecolson.com.
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December 2, 2004
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Night doesn’t ease itself away from dusk in Afghanistan - it prefers to fall on you as if by foul design. Balanced on the knife-edge called “all is well,” soldiers stationed here are chilled witnesses to a weak sun cooling itself against 11,000-foot jagged ridges. In the second it takes a warm heart to plummet, vampire dark surrounds your every movement.
If you’re stationed in Bagram Air Base fighting today’s war on terrorism, you scan the perimeter wire surrounding your compound and imagine in the darkness languid shapes taking form where only minutes before barbed wire hung as a sentinel to security and military d’affairs. It will be cool during night operations - wind dusting itself off as it cuts through the peaks and valleys of the Hindu Kush.
In the very same valley where Genghis Khan and Alexander conquered settler stock and left a barren land of fierce nomads, CJTF 180 stands sentinel. VAQ 133, like 134 and 142 before them, and Army and Air Force combined forces are lending their support to a more profound and altruistic mission amidst the bleak - peace, security and prosperity in a land that has known nothing but human sacrilege since 700 B.C. It’s Thanksgiving in Afghanistan and the night rolls on.
With the darkness come sounds like those out of Revelation itself - for everything that gets done operationally happens at night here. You’d have to be familiar with the cacophony of war to appreciate all the nuances of all-night operations. Soft red and green lights are the only sight identifying Bagramites scuttling around and underneath EA6B Prowlers, A10 Warthogs, blackened spec op and other helo’s, and C-17 after C-17. Their head lamps fixed on their foreheads blur in your vision, but it doesn’t for a minute diminish the precise way they carry out the launch of first one, then another sortie. It’s devilish work made possible by the commitment of the maintainers, and the confidence that pilots and crew have in the young men and women - some of whom were only born in 1985 or 86. Now that would be one hell of a visual - if you could see it!
One group calling Bagram home for Turkey Day is VAQ 133, EA6B Prowler jocks who are yet again incurring the ire of the entire air base community. And that’s the way they like it! When you straddle the largest and loudest attack frame on the planet - shoot it into the sky - and rock the back eyeteeth of Army and Air Force personnel within a 10-mile radius, you have just got to be proud. When told that their jets were too loud, one 133-er responded; “We’re not loud, just outspoken.” Now that guy is a bubba from the Rock - Whidbey Island that is.
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Did I mention the dust yet? Or the roving bands of local Afghan help carving out B-huts from rough timber? How about the 49 things each sailor, soldier, airman, or Marine does every day to keep the pressure for peace on, all the while smelling the turkey cooking at one of two chow halls? Well, I just did! These guys will eat well because the contractors take care to provide the best - though the combinations can boggle the imagination. Big Tom turkey’s stand next to stuffing, roast beef or ham and cheese sandwiches, packs of beef jerky (extra spicy), fruit cups, breakfast bars, hot chili, a caldron of “homemade” soup, baked potatoes and cheese spread, and to top it all off - lobster and crab legs with spines so long you can impale your finger if you get too hungry too fast!
Getting into the chow hall is the social event the day - especially when there is much to be thankful for. Guys stand armed to teeth like lambs - in pairs, groups of 4 and 5, and the odd gaggle of guys who’ve spent the better part of 3 months together like it was old home on the range. Cooking for guys who are front-loaded for combat takes a unique diplomacy that sounds a lot like, “Coming right up.” The lines move quickly, soldiers trays look like a charity food hamper grab bag, and there is cheer - even
High above the Hindu Kush looking down on Bin Laden's "Condo"
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camaraderie - as the like-minded gather together. There’s a printed prayer on the table, harkening you back to pilgrims, pumpkins, and feasts - something that if you think about it, is not necessarily the stuff of life for warrior types from Baltimore, Houston, Compton, or East St. Louis. It’s good, though. During this feast no one speaks loudly, mopes, or has a bad thing to say. It’s Thanksgiving for God’s sake! Though it could easily be any day of the week - say, Tuesday - ’cause it’s this way all the time at chow. An hour earlier you’re sweating an IED, sniper fire, or worse - a traitor. But hot chow is a daily thanksgiving that fends off lonely nights knocking themselves silly trying to stay focused and keep each other in the game.
It’s dark all right, but that doesn’t begin to convey what the real story is this vampire dark and cold night in Afghanistan. You’ve just got to see these young men and women chewing on turkey legs, jerky, and power bars in harms way to appreciate what we all have to be thankful for - THEM!
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© 2004 Michael Colson. All opinions expressed
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