Realities of the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)

[TheFiend]

Dedicated to the men and women who directly experienced the war in Afghanistan.

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TL/DR: In all seriousness, and with all due respect, I would like to encourage those who were actually on-the-ground to consider sharing first-hand experiences of what really went on in Afghanistan.

Basically I'm interested in everything from even the most mundane daily goings-on right through to the most outrageous experiences—in as much or as little detail as you're comfortable with sharing publicly.

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To start off, briefly outlined below are:

•2 primary thread objectives;​

•3 general rules;​

•A link to the Bodyguard of Lies²⁰²⁵ doco;​

•And 11 (optional) general questions-(specifically intended for servicemen/women that will (hopefully) encourage initial participation with an opportunity to provide some basic military background insights.)​

Feel free to skip the doco &/or general questions and jump straight in to pose your own questions or share your own first-hand experiences of course.

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Thread Objectives:

1. Provide a space to respectfully pose questions to—or share first-hand accounts of the true realities directly experienced on-the-ground by—those who were actually there.​

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2. Bypass the official sources/polished public narratives in preference for developing a TFSF source based on real-world first-hand insights of the men and women who were actually there.​

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General Rules:

a) No political or antagonistic bullshit.​

b) Be reasonable, respectful & objective.​

c) Overall, just don't be a dick.​

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Link to Bodyguard of Lies²⁰²⁵ doco:

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Synopsis: Exposes a tangled web of deception spun by the U.S. government during it's 20-year war in Afghanistan, revealing a campaign of lies and misinformation fed to the American public. Through shocking testimonies from government insiders, confidential documents, and private audio recordings of those at the highest levels of the military and elected leadership, this gripping documentary urges a reckoning with the wider implications of government deception on a global scale.

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General Questions(for servicemen/women):

•What branch were you in?​

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•What was your role in the military?​

•What made you decide to serve?​

•What did you learn during your time in the military?​

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•What do you miss most about serving?​

•What was your proudest moment while serving?​

•Did you have a nickname in the military?​

•What’s one thing about military life that surprised you?​

•How did your service shape what you do today?​

•What was it like coming home?​

•What do you wish more people understood about veterans or military life?​

 

[Golbez]

As a POG contractor, most of what happened in Afghanistan is highly classified so grunts will not be as forthcoming as what happened in Iraq. For obvious reasons as you've discovered. Just saying.

Also combat operations ended in Afghanistan much later than Iraq, so declas is going to take longer for people to be able to talk. Everyone would pick an Iraq over Afghanistan tour though, that I can say for sure. Either one is going back to the dark ages but Afghanistan was like x10 from what I've heard, and Iraq was pretty bad. Like most grunts say, combat was by far the least of the terrible that was seen over there.

 

[TheFiend]

As a POG contractor, most of what happened in Afghanistan is highly classified so grunts will not be as forthcoming as what happened in Iraq.

Yeah you make a fair point there @Golbez. Cheers mate.

Probably also doesn't help encourage forthcomingness when the OP author (me) is an unidentified online rando.

So, while I'm not overly concerned about revealing my real identity, I'd still prefer to refrain for obvious reasons....however that doesn't mean I won't at least provide some basic (non-identifiable) relevant deets, nor answering any arising questions here, for example:

•Race: Anglo-Saxon.
•Citizenship: N.Z.
•Military exp: non-existent.
•NZ Army Cadet exp: 4 years (lol).
•Political affil: non-existent.
•Respect for politicians: non-existent.
•Respect for the State: non-existent.
•Respect for State secrets: non-existent.
•Respect for military vets: significant.
•Respect for Truth: absolute.

Furthermore, I can share a bit about an extended family member who sacrificed his life serving with the NZDF (Army) in Afghanistan.

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Spoiler: Lt. Tim O'Donnell

Lt Tim O'Donnell was a distinguished New Zealand Army officer who died in August 2010 from injuries sustained when his patrol vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb during a mission in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan.



He was the first New Zealander to be killed in action in Afghanistan, a recipient of the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration for his actions in Timor-Leste and was described as a "free spirit" and a natural, courageous leader.

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Key Deets:

Name:

•Lieutenant Timothy Andrew O'Donnell​

Service:

•Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment​

Death:

•August 3, 2010, in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan​

Cause of Death:

•Killed by a command-wire improvised explosive device (CWIED) and small arms fire during an ambush on his patrol vehicle.​

Significance:

•First New Zealander to die in combat in Afghanistan.​

Distinguished Service:

•Awarded the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration (DSD) for his decisive actions to protect a convoy under attack in Timor-Leste in 2007.​

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•Served as part of the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamyan.​

Legacy:

•Remembered as a dedicated and courageous soldier who embodied the defence force values.​

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•His death prompted an inquiry into NZDF training and equipment, though the findings indicated the ambush was largely unavoidable.​

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•His family has advocated for his legacy, particularly in response to the controversy surrounding the book Hit & Run, which brought his death back into public discussion.​

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Spoiler: Official Report

Summary of Court of Inquiry into the death of Lt T. A. O’Donnell, DSD, RNZIR, and the Wounding of LCpl M. J. Ball, RNZSigs, Pte A. D. Baker, RNZIR and A. Ahmad in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan, 3 August 2010.

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Spoiler: Background

The Court of Inquiry was assembled by Commander Joint Forces New Zealand on 10 August 2010, and completed on 18 July 2011.

Evidence was taken from 59 witnesses and 129 exhibits were received.

The incident itself occurred at approximately 1630 hours on 3 August 2010, and involved a patrol of the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team ( PRT ) serving in Bamyan Province, Afghanistan.

Lieutenant O’Donnell, the patrol commander, was killed, and three other personnel of the patrol were wounded, when the patrol was the subject of a deliberate attack combining a command wire improvised explosive device ( CWIED ) with rocket propelled grenades ( RPG ) and small arms fire.

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Spoiler: The Incident

On the day of the incident the patrol had been engaged in delivering various supplies to villages in the isolated and mountainous Kahmard District in the east of Bamyan Province.

To effect this task the patrol was operating a mix of military and civilian vehicles, some of which were towing trailers.

The few roads in the area are narrow, winding, dirt roads which are subject to frequent washouts.

The patrol had carried out deliveries of supplies and various meetings with local people, including members of the Afghan National Police serving in the District, before the incident.

As the patrol was returning to its forward base area, along a route it had frequently used previously, it had to make a detour where the road had been washed out, across a roughly formed ford through the dry streambed.

That detour involved a hairpin bend and a descent into the streambed, and necessitated that the patrol vehicles slow down.

As the leading patrol vehicle, which Lieutenant O’Donnell was commanding, entered the detour at approximately 1630 hours there was no indication of anything out of the ordinary.

The other vehicles in the patrol were on the road, spaced out behind the lead vehicle.

As the lead vehicle turned into the detour the CWIED was initiated, immediately immobilising that vehicle, injuring all those in it, and causing it to catch fire.

On the crews of the other vehicles observing the detonation of the IED they reacted, while both their vehicles and the immobilised lead vehicle came under sustained RPG and small arms fire from firing positions on high ground.

That fire repeatedly struck all the vehicles.

An immediate contact report was sent to the New Zealand PRT command post.

The other personnel and vehicles of the patrol took up positions, from which they returned fire.

Despite the RPG and small arms fire which struck the immobilised lead vehicle and the ground around it, the injured personnel from that vehicle evacuated the burning vehicle, and attempted to extract Lieutenant O’Donnell.

He was unresponsive, and trapped by the damage caused to the vehicle by the initial IED blast.

Their repeated efforts to get him out of the vehicle had to be abandoned to avoid their receiving further injuries from the fire they were under.

They took cover in the dry stream bed, with one of them making his way, affected by eye injuries, to where the remainder of the patrol was located.

The hostile RPG fire was concentrated on the immobilised lead vehicle, which was struck between five and seven times.

The patrol was returning fire, and attempting to transmit details of the situation to the NZ PRT command post.

The PRT commanding officer tasked another PRT patrol to proceed to assist the patrol, and the Afghan National Police also responded by agreeing to deploy Police to the area when requested by the PRT commanding officer.

United States attack aircraft were also despatched to assist the patrol.

The members of the patrol heard an explosion from the burning lead vehicle.

Another vehicle of the patrol had also been disabled, but personnel of the patrol moved forward to retrieve the personnel from the lead vehicle, using one of the remaining functional vehicles to provide protection.

The two remaining wounded were evacuated and given first aid by a trained combat lifesaver.

The patrol reported its casualty state to the PRT command post, and was advised that both Afghan National Police and PRT assistance was on its way.

Helicopter evacuation of the casualties had been requested, but was hampered and ultimately precluded by deteriorating weather, so a military ambulance with an escort was despatched from the PRT base.

Once the Afghan National Police reached the patrol’s location they cleared the area of the contact.

The Afghan Police arrived well before the first PRT patrol, which on its arrival assisted in securing the area.

The immobilised vehicles were destroyed.

The combined PRT patrols, with the casualties and Lieutenant O’Donnell’s recovered body, then moved back to the Afghan National Police station at the village of Do Abe.

There they met the military ambulance and its escort, to which the casualties and Lieutenant O’Donnell’s body were transferred.

The ambulance and escort then commenced the return journey to the PRT base.

The combined patrols secured themselves at the police station for the remainder of the night.

The next day the site of the incident was examined.

Subsequently, the destroyed vehicles were removed back to the PRT base.

....continues....

(*a lot more info in the pdf below)

Spoiler: Full pdf