Toward the end of Nov., Wygle was talking with his wife Ona, who asked him what he wanted for Christmas. In a way she was asking on behalf of her husband’s stateside employer, the Waverly Health Center, where he works as an ER unit coordinator. They were making it a project to send him a good present.
“I’m not much of a Christmas guy; to me it’s more about family than gifts, and there’s not much I could use here,” Wygle said. “So I said, ‘Well, have them send me a box or 2 of school supplies.’” The supplies were for children at the local school, Quala e’ Najil. It's one of the closest schools to the tiny COP Najil, where Wygle and his fellow Soldiers are serving. In an area that is one of the more dangerous spots in the Laghman Prov., Najil is a town where the Soldiers say that they usually feel relatively safe, and children walk up and talk to them from the streets.
From there, Wygle, a 7-year veteran of the Iowa NG, said his co-workers at the Waverly Health Center approached the local newspaper and asked for donations. Wygle said that Ona did not tell him about the article in the Bremer County Independent until after it came out, and packages started pouring in. He now has the article on a table inside the wooden b-hut, in which he and some of the other mortarmen live.
"To say the response was overwhelming was almost an understatement," Wygle said. “It’s a really good thing,” he said. “They said that they sent about 20 boxes, 16 of which I’ve already received, and they've 70 or more on the way! They still continue, today, to get stuff in for these kids. Basically in one month’s time, the town of Waverly and its surrounding areas gathered up enough school supplies for all 3,000 kids at the school.”
Wygle, other Soldiers from Co. A, and ANA soldiers conducted a dismounted patrol to the village of Najil, Jan. 3, and delivered the first batch of supplies to the school. The troops were immediately flooded by children, whose teachers herded them back into their classrooms.
At the school, the soldiers took time to interact with the children, and toured the school with the principal. About 2,000 boys attend the school in the morning, with another 950 girls attending in the afternoon. The ANA were noticeably happy to line up the children and hand them the supplies.
Wygle said little things make a huge difference to the children, who are very poor. In fact, a good toy for a child in the village is a wire with 2 wire wheels on it, which they push through the streets. “We're trying to make sure the kids who don’t have things, get them,” he said. “They’re not asking for big things. You give them a pen and it’s like you just gave them their first bicycle.”
The Iowa support rendered boxes full of pens, pencils, snacks, pads and book bags. Quala e’ Najil school principal Haminullah said he is "thankful for the donations from the U.S., and that they were a good thing, because the children are from a country that is poor and war-torn." The supplies will help the students get a better education, which will benefit the larger picture. Education is the foundation of a strong country,” he said.
Army Maj. Steven Shannon, the Laghman PRT civil affairs team chief, who works at COP Najil with the Co. A Soldiers, said that he's been to the school and met with Haminullah 6 or 7 times. He said one of his planned projects is to renovate the inside of the school and add classrooms to it, as well as provide sidewalks on the streets outside for the safety of the children.
In the meantime, Shannon said that these school supplies will make a big difference. “I think it’s an awesome thing for the town and businesses of Waverly to do. The people really appreciate it, because the standard of living here is pretty low. Plus, the word on the work that we do for these people – that word gets out. People communicate here by word of mouth. We’ve put in for 6 projects for Co. A, and the word is already out. Elders are starting to come to the COP and talk about their concerns, and we’re not going to get anything done here without the elders,” continued Shannon.
Shannon also said, "though the majority of the supplies came from Bremer County, there were also some donated from a project known as Op Care.
Wygle said the response was amazing, but it didn’t completely surprise him. “It’s kind of an Iowa thing,” he said. “It’s not just my community; it’s all of our communities. They support every single one of our Soldiers here. My employer has always supported me through drills, flood duty, schools, deployments and now this. They really, really stepped up.”
Waverly and its surrounding towns have made it clear – they support their Soldiers.
FOB Thunder is nestled in a quiet corner of Paktya. It's nearly surrounded by picturesque mountains, but the apparent tranquility is an illusion that conceals an enormous amount of activity. Buildings and other construction projects are going up all around the FOB, as the ANA’s 203rd Thunder Corps expands and increases it capabilities.
Army Lt. Col. Dale Waltman takes pride in the work his team is doing, but he doesn't see success in buildings alone. He measures success in terms of the relationships he has built. “The relationships we've been able to establish with our ANA partners and contractors are our greatest accomplishment,” said Waltman.Sgt. 1st Class Mathew Reilly is quick to point out that although he's an advisor, he realizes that local solutions are necessary for local problems, and that American construction standards don't always work in the stark Afghan environment. “The Afghans don't want to be Americans,” said Reilly. “The Afghans are going to find their own ways of doing things.” It's this sort of respect for their Afghan partners that's led to the ETT’s successes with the ANA.One of their projects, an observation post, was deliberately built with traditional Afghan materials and construction methods. “This observation post will still be here in 200 years,” said Reilly. Both Waltman and Reilly are humble about the work they're doing, but it's clear their efforts are paying major dividends where it matters the most.
GHAZNI PROVINCE – Soldiers form TF Iron Rakkasan and members of the AUP, using the Precision Threat Detection System (PTDS) blimp at FOB Andar, identified a group of insurgents with weapons and explosives Jan. 3.
Soldiers of 3rd Bn, 187th Inf Regt, 3rd BCT, 101st AD, first identified 4 insurgents acting in a suspicious manner at a road intersection. As the insurgents began to move, TF Iron Rakkasan took quick actions to prevent the insurgents from emplacing an IED and escaping. A combination of hellfire missiles and 30 mm machine gun fire killed one insurgent, and drove the 2nd one to seek refuge in a nearby qalat.
Through a combination of AH-64 Apache helicopter engagements and close contact with Soldiers on the ground, TF Iron, AUP and support elements killed 4 insurgents, and safely destroyed the IED. “It's always a pleasure to work with our American partners,” said AUP cmdr Zadir. “We strongly value working by their side, as they help us to make this area safer.” In order to destroy the IED material and to conduct sensitive site exploitation, Soldiers with Co A, 1st Bn., 187th Inf. Regt., maneuvered to the engagement site. With the assistance of the Afghan police, they cleared the house in search of the insurgent. “The guy was hiding in the back of a long narrow hall, used for sheltering sheep and cattle during the cold months,” said 1st Lt. Josef Kaplan, platoon leader with Co. A. “He created a very effective fatal funnel and was using the sheep as cover, and the thick walls to protect himself. It was clear that he was in for the fight and was not going to give up.” Two Afghan police and one American Soldier were wounded in the initial exchange, while attempting to coax the man out of hiding. The wounded were evacuated, while the rest of the combined forces captured an insurgent’s motorcycle, land mine, 40-lbs of explosives, an RPG, 2 RPG warheads, 2 AK-47s and 4 hand grenades. “The Afghan police were instrumental in the op,” said Kaplan. “We woke them up in the middle of the night, and within minutes, they were organized and ready to go. They were motivated and working hard. It was very impressive.”-30-
“I feel as though making a budget and having a vision for the future, has changed their thought process,” said Bevalian. “The leadership will use these tools we’ve taught them, and they'll progress in the future.”
Maj. Scott DeJesse will assist the civil authorities to developing a 3-year budget for the region, and will reinforce the efforts of the Nuristan PRT. “We need to create a definite schedule and work together to meet deadlines, in order to keep the budget on a reasonable timeline,” DeJesse said.
The PRTs in Laghman and Nuristan will both expand in the coming weeks to cover more territory. PRTs work with the govts at the district and provincial levels to improve the infrastructure capacity and security.
Another squad leader, Sgt. Logan Curry, echoed Hagerman’s assessment of Hyman and Gallagher, though Curry did have one caveat. “They just flat, outperform everybody sometimes; except me, of course,” Curry said with a grin.
“They’re squared away,” said Pfc. Mark Diaz. “They know exactly what they’re doing, and they do 110% all the time.”
When told about how superiors and peers lauded her and Gallagher, Hyman reacted modestly. “You know, I feel like we’re just like anybody else,” Hyman said. “We’re just Soldiers. We do what they ask us to do, and we try to get the job done. I don’t think we’re anything special from any of the guys.”
Gallagher, who has 28 confirmed enemy kills, described her combat experience in similar terms. “I think of it as a learning experience,” Gallagher said. You’re put in a situation where you have seconds to think on something, and you just have to react. I enjoy it, but it’s also something I won’t forget.”
Gallagher and Hyman both spoke of their fellow Soldiers with a respect forged under fire. “They’re like my brothers,” Gallagher said. “I protect them and they protect me.” “These are all my brothers,” said Hyman. “They take care of us. They treat us just like they would themselves.”
Diaz responded with the same sentiment. “I consider them to be sisters, because we’ve been with each other so long, that you just can’t react anyway else,” he said.
Gallagher and Hyman both have dangerous jobs. A fellow Soldier with the 64th MPs, Pfc. Barbara Vieyra died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her convoy with an IED and RPGs, Sep. 18. Hyman couldn't talk about her friend’s death, while Gallagher shared her feelings about their fallen comrade.
“As much as you don’t want things like this to happen, it does, and you have to keep going,” Gallagher said. “I mourn her when we can, and she’s always in my thoughts, but I also go out each and every day knowing, that one day, the people who did it will get their due.”
BADGHIS PROVINCE - A soldier exits a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in the village of Darrah-I-Bum, Jan. 5. The soldier was part of a cadre of personnel accompanying the ISAF command sgt. maj., Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill on a visit to the Marines, sailors, and soldiers of Special Ops TF-West, living and working in Darrah-I-Bum.
Soldiers and Marines walk through rotor wash from a UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter as they move toward an FOB.
Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, listens to a SOF Marine during a brief at an FOB in the village of Darrah-I-Bum. The command sergeant major and a cadre of personnel discussed security, and the future prospects for the FOB on a rooftop position overlooking the valley.
Command Sgt. Maj. Bryan Link, Special Ops TF-West command sgt. maj., and Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill, walk toward a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at an FOB.
The view of Darrah-I-Bum from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter as it flies away from an FOB in the village of Darrah-I-Bum.
By Staff Sgt. Ricardo Branch
"Over the past couple of years, I have grown a bit tired of training and racing just for personal benefit," he said. "I decided I wanted to start giving back.""I chose the Wounded Warrior Project, because I was inspired by a lot of the stories of individuals overcoming obstacles in their life, from injuries sustained while they were in the military," he said. "This is my way to give back."Pfc. Robert Rankin, from the 185th Military Intel Co, 2nd AAB, 25th ID, said he heard about orgs. raising money for wounded warriors, and always wanted to do his part. "My sergeant told me about this event," he said. "Knowing you're making a difference for another service member, is what makes me do this," he said.
Photos by Spc. Roland Hale
CAMP TAJI - Army helicopter crew chiefs of C Co, 3rd Bn, 126th Aviation Regt, a Vermont NG helicopter co., stand outside an HH-60M MEDEVAC helicopter, as it spins up on Camp Taji. The unit is the first to receive the HH-60M, which is the Army's newest MEDEVAC helicopter. The company is attached to the eCAB, 1st ID out of Fort Riley, Kan.
An HH-60M MEDEVAC helicopter, sits at a hover before launching on a mission.
Story and photo by Sgt. Coltin Heller