The Political Conundrum!

So now the trip has started. A trip that I think really started 11 months ago when I left my career in Information Technology for this new one where I support the warfighter. The warfighter that I can no longer support directly since I have retired from the Army, but one I can support now in what I do. I may no longer be a First Sergeant for soldiers anymore, but I can make sure that I am doing all I can to help save their lives and take lives of the enemy.

Some have asked me “why” I am going back. They have said things like “your war is over” or “what do you need to prove” or “why can’t you just stay in the US”. I am not sure of the answers I have given each time I was asked something like that, but I can tell you the short answer to all of that is because “it is my job”. If not me then whom? Just because I may no longer be a leader of troops doesn’t mean that I have to walk away from them. The military is my DNA, plain and simple. Those who know me, know that. Some may not like it, but hey…it is what it is.

The most important thing to me is what my wife and boys think, not anyone else. Does my youngest son want me to stay at home? Sure he does, but I also know he is proud of what I do and admires my service. He may not totally grasp what I do right now or why I do it, but he will.
I know this to be a fact because I have seen it happen twice already. My oldest son who at one time sat in the unit parking area on the hood of the car wearing my helmet minutes before I boarded a bus to go somewhere did what was in his heart and followed me in the Army. He served honorably as medic for six years to include a year in combat saving lives and even trying to take a few while he was at it. My military service shaped his youth and now his own experiences have made an impact on the rest of his life.

My middle son who was born in a military hospital and “grew up” as a true military brat has witnessed everything from a bad parachute jump to me rendering honors to my fallen soldiers. He has also made his own decision to join the military and is hoping to be accepted into West Point or at least get into a ROTC program at a university. Both of them did this without motivation by me or my wife, just like I made my own decision to join and come home to tell my parents when I was in high school.

My lovely wife who will be postponing the celebration of our 19th wedding anniversary until I get back has stood by my side since day one. When we got married I was in uniform so there was no doubt what she was getting into. She has been the rock for me on many occasions and she is the central pillar that holds the house up all the time, especially when I am gone.

So as long as they accept what I do then I am good with it. Again, they may not like it all the time and at times may get worried, but they accept it. They know my passion and they understand it. For everyone else….sorry you don’t get it.

The Washington Post kindly invited me to contribute a column to their "On Faith" blog regarding the latest controversy over the proposed Cordoba House Muslim community center in New York near the site of "Ground Zero." See below:

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/08/by_evan_f_kohlmann_the.html

Bitter religious fighting over mosque plays right into al-Qaeda's hands

By Evan F. Kohlmann

The way that renowned Christian preacher Franklin Graham portrayed Muslims on a nationally-televised news broadcast last week, one would imagine that Islam is some sort of insidious cancer devouring the civilized world. Between his nauseating description of Islam as a "devilish" faith and his nonsensical discussion about the "Muslim seed" of President Obama, Graham managed to shame not only himself, but also the very democratic, pluralist ideals that we as Americans aspire to. I watched in disgust as his uninterrupted tirade continued, and it suddenly occurred to me that some viewers might not recognize that Graham speaks only for a prejudiced minority, whose numbers have been artificially inflated by the cynical recent tactics of various political candidates. To that segment of viewers, Graham instead represents the larger, ugly face of American xenophobia and prejudice--and in doing so, this self-described "man of God" has merely provided extra ammunition for al-Qaeda to use in its battle against us, our constitutional ideals, and our ethos of personal freedom...

As you read this blog entry I will already be on my way back to Afghanistan. It has been a little over 3 years since I left the country and now I return. Granted it is only for a short stint compared to my last time in country that lasted a year, but I am still going back.

This time I am also going as a civilian versus as a soldier like before. The journey I have taken to get this far has been a long and frustrating one. Going over as a civilian is much tougher than as a soldier. When you go as a soldier, the military has people waiting to check off every box. You go through a process called “Soldiers Readiness Checks” which is usually a big room full of tables with people behind them that handle every step; legal, dental, medical, etc. You also go to “classes” to ensure that you have all the latest information.

As a contractor working for the Department of the Army, I pretty much had to do all those things that are handled in the readiness checks and the mobilization training myself. I have been working towards this trip trying to complete everything since April. Granted not full time, but as I got closer and closer, more hours every week were committed to getting ready to go.

I will miss my family very much and they have made it clear they will miss me. In fact, last night as I was packing and getting gear ready my youngest son looked at me and said “Daddy I don’t want you to go” and I told him I would be back soon and explained that the amount of time that I would be gone would be very, very short compared to last time. He seemed ok with that, or maybe he just realized his desire was just not to be.

Speaking of gear, the task of packing brought back some flashbacks and memories. As I went through old military gear that would be needed on this trip back to the ‘Stan; the smells, the handling of it, even the sight of some of it that has been packed away in several footlockers all made me remember things. Not necessarily bad things, some were funny or neutral memories. Heck, even some gear released the Afghan dust and dirt that was still embedded in it as I handled it.

So as I packed the duffel bag, sorted through what I would need and what would not be carried on this mission (different than any other I had ever done), I reminisced. Most of the time was by myself in the basement with the music playing.

But now the duffel is in the belly of this Delta Airlines jet instead of strapped to a pallet on the back ramp of a C-130. My personal bag is no longer camouflaged and issued by the Army, but is instead made of soft black leather. The meal on the flight was not an MRE, but instead a meal from the airline which kind of made me wish I had an MRE.

The blogs on this website over the coming weeks will be primarily dedicated to documenting my trip. I will do my best to scribe every impression, thought, and observation I have of life today back in the ‘Stan (at least where I will be located). For the most part I think they will be boring as I don’t see them letting me anywhere back to the game of hunting the enemy, dang it. No matter how much I would love to do that, it is not my purpose this time. Besides I didn’t bring all of my gear needed for that anyway.

Bouhammer Out..

The fatal cross-border shooting of an Israeli soldier by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in early August has sparked a debate in Washington as to the utility of providing Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to the Lebanese military. Since 2005, the US has obligated over $700 million to the army, which has less than 50,000 troops.

The robust program was started in the immediate aftermath of the Cedar Revolution. But much has changed since then, and Congress is asking whether the policy is still appropriate. Of particular concern is the relationship of the Shiite militia Hizballah to the standing army. There is a history of collusion and cooperation, which, although not surprising, remains problematic.

Over the past week, I’ve written two articles discussing in detail US funding for the LAF. The first piece provides the history and context of US military assistance to the LAF. The second addresses the policy issues and asks what, if anything, should cause the US to downgrade its FMF program with Lebanon.

There is a lot of money spent on new toys, gadgets, weapons, etc. for the war in Afghanistan. Some of them are loved and some are thrown to the side by the soldiers/marines. Some are only used by special operation forces and some are issued to everyone. 

Ever since senior Obama administration advisers such as CIA Director Leon Panetta and Vice President Biden admitted that Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan was minimal, with fewer than 100 operatives believed to be on the ground there, war critics have complained the President has little justification for escalating the U.S. commitment there.

But the inside-the-Beltway political debate underscores a fundamental misunderstanding of what Al Qaeda’s role in Afghanistan — which Osama Bin Laden’s minions call “Khorasan” — truly has been, according to Special Operations commanders and troops on the ground.

Today’s Washington Post makes hay of the fact that Al Qaeda is barely mentioned in the 76,000 pages of war files released last month by WikiLeaks. The story overlooks two key facts: (1) The voluminous files are mostly “sigact” - “significant action” - combat reports dispatched as incidents happened; and (2) troops who faced Arabs in battle fighting alongside Afghan “Taliban” rarely knew, even after they had killed them, that they were up against non-Afghan opponents.

Critics also fail to realize that a single Al Qaeda operative’s knowledge and experience in guerrilla and terror tactics is of incalculable value as a force multiplier to the Taliban.

Al Qaeda’s Arab operatives are considered a fearless elite. They have knowledge of Islam that makes them seem like religious scholars to many Pashtun tribesmen, who they have led into battle in the past. After Al Qaeda fled Afghanistan’s cities with their Taliban government allies in 2001-02, they reorganized and reconstituted their ranks in Pakistan. Al Qaeda returned to the fight in 2004, training, equipping and often leading or joining Haqqani fighters in battle along the eastern border.

Their presence was often suggested by the tactics used by Haqqani fighters, the cells’ skill at accurately firing AK-47s and RPGs, and gear such as armor-piercing ammo, body armor and night-vision devices.

Today, as they withstand CIA’s withering drone onslaught in Pakistan’s tribal belt, the Arabs are more low-key in their Afghan ops than they were in the past. The CIA’s targeted killing of Skeik Mustafa Abu al-Yazid after he left Mir Ali may also have impacted their activities on the other side of the AfPak.

Arabs from Al Qaeda still fund and train the Taliban, but no longer lead operations from the front, Army Col. Donald C. Bolduc, who leads the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, told me in his office at Bagram Airfield this month.

“They’re considered much too valuable to risk that,” said another U.S. official in the war zone.

During the winter, Taliban leaders ensconced in Pakistan send in Al Qaeda operatives to train their fighters in bombmaking tradecraft during the lull in fighting, sources said.

“The Pakistani madrassahs are still the big recruiting and training place. The Afghans go to a madrassah in Pakistan, where an Arab is typically like the dean, or headmaster, and learn how to fight,” the official told me. “Then the Afghan goes back home and teaches others to build bombs or fight — and gets paid handsomely for it.”

Meanwhile, as we reported in today's New York Daily News, Taliban leaders in key Afghanistan districts have been "shwacking" each other (Special Forces term) to jockey for "permanent" leadership positions after the U.S. begins to draw down forces next year.