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| One Giant Leap |
Published: 07/22/2009 Author: Michael Yon
Posted On: July 22, 2009 at 7:44 AM By: |
One Giant Leap
by Michael Yon <http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/author/myon>
Yesterday, a helicopter crashed on base at Kandahar Airfield,
killing sixteen. Later that night we had a minor rocket attack which
caused me to roll out of bed onto the floor, while this morning, I got
up to the great pleasure of watching Neil Armstrong on the BBC, talking
about this historic anniversary, when man first stepped on the moon. I
remember that launch as it roared so brightly into space. It remains
perhaps the most spectacular day in the history of man. Every worthy
endeavor comes with a cost.
Around the same time Mr. Armstrong was speaking this morning,
roars from war jets rumbled through base as they rushed down the nearby
runway. A British Tornado lifted off but did not get far before it
crashed and burned. The two crew members successfully escaped and are
recovering from ejection trauma. The cause of the Mi-26 crash last
Tuesday that killed five is unclear, but a military source mentioned
that the helicopter was shot down by an RPG. At least six aircraft-two
jets and four helicopters-have gone down this month. Two Americans were
lost in a jet crash.
My flight from Kandahar Airfield to Camp Bastion was less
eventful, and shortly after landing, I was given a tour of the trauma
facility that I had heard and read so much about. I'm not a medical
professional and so cannot make a professional assessment of the
facility, but can say that it seemed like an A facility. If I were a
soldier, it would be very good to know that such a high-tech place is
waiting, with plenty of extra beds, and a relatively massive staff
including 43 British, 45 Americans, and 97 Danes. The place is crawling
with trauma expertise. The Danes just took over operation of the
hospital today at noon, and will run it for three months. This writer
is plenty upset with some countries for not devoting enough resources to
this war, but at least with medical facilities they are primo. (This is
also true in Iraq. Every U.S. soldier who got shot or blown up [who
could still talk] would tell me that their treatment from the battle
zone back to the United States was exemplary, but when they got back to
Texas or wherever, their treatment was often terrible.) In any case, as
someone who might also get shot or blown up in Afghanistan, my
grunt-level assessment of this facility at Camp Bastion is very
positive. On medical care, we can rest assured. The biggest problem
they have to treat are heat casualties, which can occur by the dozens.
The U.S. Marines are flooding in, and you might think that every
Marine helicopter in our arsenal is here. I'll not give numbers and
types other than to say the line of aircraft is long and formidable.
The U.S. Marines are a spectacle for the U.S. Army and also the
British Army. The Marines will come in and live like pure animals, and
build a base around themselves, whereas the British and American Armies
will tend to build at least part of the base before coming in. One
Marine commander told me that during the early part of this war, his men
didn't even shower for three months. We talked for a couple of hours
and he was proud that his Marines didn't need a shower for three months,
and that his Marines killed a lot of Taliban and managed to lose only
one good man. That's the Marines. They'll show up in force with no
warning, and their reputation with U.S. Army and Brits who have fought
alongside them is stellar. A NPR photographer who just spent more than
three weeks with the Marines could not praise them enough, saying he'd
been with them in Iraq, too, and that when Marines take casualties,
their reaction is to continue to attack. They try to stay in contact
until they finish the enemy, no matter how long it takes. Truly they
are animals when it comes to the fight. Other than that, great guys.
Tonight at dinner, a young Marine Lance Corporal sat in front of me at
the crowded dining facility. "Good evening, Sir," he said. I asked,
"Are you living like animals out there?" "Livin' the dream, Sir!" They
are fantastic.
In any case, tomorrow I go back into combat with the British
infantry soldiers of 2 Rifles
<http://www.michaelyon-online.com/british-forces-at-war-as-witnessed-by-
an-american.htm> . The last mission I did with this excellent "Battle
Group" (British for "Battalion") was in Iraq, and they killed maybe
26-27 enemy during that mission. The platoon I had accompanied fired
about 4,000 rounds. It had been a rather loud day. The battle group is
sustaining serious casualties here in Afghanistan, and I look forward to
joining them right where we left off: in combat. |
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| Posted on July 22, 2009 at 7:44 AM by
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