Live from Afghanistan, it's Saturday night! Or, t_b_f's on the road!

I think we need to send you more stuff.
God bless, TBF. Can't believe what you folks are doing over there. Hope your wife and kids are doing okay at home.

 

We've had a couple of aircraft shot up and shot at, but luckily I've avoided that stuff, thus far.

In a few days I'm headed out to one of the FOBs in a higher-threat area, so I'm sure it'll be a little more tense.

Our medics are the ones doing the real work, I'm just a taxi driver.

I thank God every day that I'm not an infantryman. Those boys are living in some pretty rough spots.

 

3B - glad you are doing well. Thanks for keeping us up to date. I am humbled by your bravery and living vicariously through you adventures.

Stay safe.

 

TBF, you a some kinda special person. I will not brook debate about this. Thank you. Thank you a thousand times for you service.

If you have time, I have a question about the chaplain not going with you guys. I am obviously wrong, but I thought chaplains went pretty much wherever they wanted. Is that not true?

 

When we fly to the other FOBs we support to swap crews, aircraft or med gear, we have to rely on another company within the battalion to handle passengers. At best, we have room for only two passengers in our aircraft, because that's all the extra seats we have in place.

Our aircraft do not have seats because we strap litters to the floor, so we're limited by the number of the seats the "chase bird" (they always follow us on the missions) can provide. They also have their crews and their gear in their aircraft, too.

So, sometimes the chaplain just isn't the priority. He knows that, and he's good with it.

We'll let him fly with us on missions that are not to a point of injury, which means they're at a secure FOB. He's gone with us a few times, but the number and type of patients on the 9-line MEDEVAC requests are so often wrong, we just can't afford to have an extra body on.

 

The best newspaper article I've read all year touches upon the choices our forces are facing in Afghanistan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/world/asia/29viper.html?ref=todayspaper

 

The unit mentioned in that story is mine.

The reporters are right. The medical rules of eligibility sucks. If the injury isn't directly conflict related, we can't help.

On Thursday, a 22-vehicle accident occurred just down the road, and some of the casualties were brought to the small FOB along Hwy. 1 where I am currently pulling duty. The accident wasn't conflict related, so he didn't meet the medical rules of eligibility.

The guy had severe internal injuries, and I watched medics in the clinic adjacent to our living quarters breathe for this guy for a couple of hours, waiting for an approval to launch that never came.

He died just before midnight, despite my making a dozen phone calls.

Pretty shitty night, overall.

We did, however, get to evacuate on Friday a guy who blew himself up while burying a bomb meant specifically for my helicopter.

Crazy stuff.

 

I sorta figured it was but didn't want to presume.

Happy Memorial Day weekend, Soldier. You and yours are in all of our prayers.

 

That's a hell of a story.

A very dramatic read. I wanted to race to the end to see if he makes it.

What a horrible position you guys must be put in on a daily basis.

 

Happy Memorial Day, three_bags... and as always, thanks for your service.

 

Thanks, man.


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It's been four days since we've had a mission at one of our remote sites. We've done more training flights than missions, which is OK, I guess, since that means no one's getting hurt.

But it sure does make for long, boring days.

 

Best to you, tbf.