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

I've been paying a lot of attention to the news out of Afghanistan because I feel like I "know" someone there. Please take care. We're praying for you in the Lugnut house.

 

Stay safe, tbf. Godspeed. There are a lot of people in SportsJournalists.com nation pulling for you.

 

Whew. Just flew in from Marjeh ... and boy are my arms tired. Ba dum bump.

Just finished a five-week rotation at a forward site from which we serve the Marines in Marjeh.

Some pretty hard flying out there, and some amazing injuries (both good and bad), to boot.

The three Marines with the worst injuries I saw (gunshot to the neck that nicked the carotid, a gunshot wound to the abdomen and a gunshot wound to each shoulder) actually walked to the fucking helicopter.

It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. The guy shot through the neck was their medic. After he was shot, another Marine stepped on an IED and lost both legs. This medic starts treating the other Marine (who later died en route to the hospital) while someone was applying pressure to the gunshot wound that hit him in the neck. I mean, if there's a better definition of a hero, I can't find it.

I serve in the 101st Airborne Division. Our Soldiers are badasses. Period. But the Marines fighting in Marjeh are the bravest, toughest sonsofbitches I have ever seen. They would fight their own medics (Navy Corpsmen) to keep from getting on our helicopter. Just so they could stay and fight with their friends.

I say that to make this point: When you think of this war and the people fighting it, don't think of the MEDEVAC pilot who gets pissed if he stays in an LZ more than two minutes. I ask you to think of the Marines who live in that shit day in, day out. My heart goes out to those kids (because that's what most of them are, 19-year old kids).

There were a few sad ones, too.

The Taliban knows we pick up local nationals, and they bait us. They'll hurt kids so we come screaming into the LZ, and they open up on us. We picked up several one-year old kids who "drank gasoline" or "fell off the house." Those are the hard ones to do, because their fathers will escort them to the hospital and you just want to push them out of the helicopter because they either did it, or took money from the Taliban to to let them do it. Either way, their responsible for it.

Here are a couple of my logbook entries from the trip:

1 July 10

2.0 (hours) Day (mode of flight) A/C 749 with crew names omitted. Mission to Pakistan border to south to pick up three CAT A (urgent) patients and two KIA. Had A-10 escort near border, who hung out at about 300 AGL (above ground level) and was the best escort I've ever had. We landed at the LZ w/the A-10s overhead. One of the KIAs was accidentally loaded onto our bird (we don't load KIA with living patients for emotional reasons), after I fought with the battle captain to launch our only chase (another Black Hawk with guns) aircraft to the site to pick up the KIAs. Transported back to Camp (name omitted). A-10s fired diversionary rockets as we left the LZ to confuse enemy.

11 July 10

.6 Day, .7 NVG Aircraft 749 (crew omitted) Two trips to (FOB omitted) for four CAT A and six CAT B (priority) patients. Suicide bomber attacked bazaar near the FOB. Local hospitals full. I led mission because all three other pilots were brand new to area. Good experience that improved my confidence.

5 July 10

1.2 NVG Aircraft 749 (crew omitted)
One CAT C patient (Afghan National Army) from Marjeh with dental pain. Evac'ed back to (FOB omitted). 9-line (MEDEVAC request) said mechanism of injury was poor dental hygiene. No shit. Moderate dust landing.

We get a variety of missions, as you can see. Not all blood and guts and firefights. We get our fair share of dental and anxiety patients.


Blitz, thanks for the football memorabilia.

 

Wow, tbf. Glad you're safe and thank you again.

 

Wow glad you are back safe and sound. Amazing stuff.

Reading your stuff I wish the Taliban would shoot Lebron in the neck and The Heat give the Marines 20 million.

 

Amazing, riveting stuff about the medics. Thanks for your service, 3Bags. Hoping you stay safe.

 

Keep safe.

Shitty war, but everyone over here knows you guys are doing a great service to this Nation.

Thank you.

 

TBF - Great to hear you're OK. Incredible stories - just incredible. Keep up the great work.

 

So happy to hear from you...started getting nervous, to be honest. Your posts here are the highlight of this entire board. Stay safe, and stay in touch.

 

Congrats on your successful mission. Thank God you're okay.

 

Just wanted to let everyone know I wasn't involved in the Helmand Province crash today. I'm alive and well.

 

Way to go, 3Bags.
Keep moving.