From Kevin Miller

Greetings Friends,

Since my last update was largely from a soap box, I think for this one I’ll focus on less passionate but hopefully still interesting topics. Today – at least as I start this update – I experienced my first team departure of sorts. Another team who was also residing at FOB Fiaz – a mentor team for the Afghan National Army – left to begin their out processing and prepare to return home. Most of that team – possibly all of them – had been here at Fiaz since sometime last spring. And they had shared the FOB with most of our team for much of that time. So they were leaving behind a large part of the “family” of which they had been a part for the last eight to nine months.

The departure wasn’t overly emotional, but it was clear that these were people who had shared many challenges and hardships of a sort. Because we are not in a combat role in our positions as mentors, I don’t believe the bonds that form are the same as they are for soldiers and others whose lives are at much greater risk. Even so, people do become like family and, in some cases, friends. There is a distinction between friends and family. Not all family members (in a traditional, nuclear family) would consider themselves friends, but because they’re family they feel a responsibility to look out for one another and care for one another at least to some degree. In that respect, soldiers serving together almost anywhere are usually much like a family. Then, if the circumstances are right and, to some degree, if the chemistry between some of the soldiers is right, they can also become more like friends. That is, the bond grows deeper and stronger.

In the case of the group that was leaving when I began this update (about a week ago now as I continue it), I believe they were all from the California National Guard. And in the case of our team’s Security Force (SECFOR), they were all from the New York National Guard; so the soldiers on both these teams had some things in common from the get go – beyond being soldiers, that is. They also arrived in Afghanistan about the same time and are now heading home together – both the Afghan National Army mentor team and our SECFOR. Now as I write this, our SECFOR is being dropped off at Camp Dubs to begin their out processing so they can head back to the U.S. (there was a several day delay between starting this update and continuing it). Unfortunately, I was not able to see them off at Camp Dubs as I had a meeting to attend in JBAD, but I was able to see them all this morning and get a picture of them before we left ABAD.

In the case of the first group (the army mentor team from California), I’m not really sure if they reached the “friend” stage. I just wasn’t around them enough to get a sense of that. Our SECFOR – for the most part it seemed – had become friends. It was clear in how they treated each other, how they joked together, how they worked together, and how they looked out for one another.

Now, these bonds were between peers – soldiers of close to the same rank. The friendship bond doesn’t typically extend to those in the leadership roles. Rather, in the best of circumstances, the bond might become more like sons to a father. I believe this was the case with our SECFOR and the other two mentors on our team who had been with them since August. Given more time, I think the same may have been true between them and me. I did have all of them sign a Wisconsin flag that I just received, though this was not an original idea; one of the SECFOR guys had done the same thing with a New York flag. And, one of the other SECFOR – the one who just received his citizenship – was having everyone sign a Polish flag. In my case, I will also have all of my new SECFOR sign the flag before we end our deployment here. And I’ll fly the flag over the FOB at some point.

One last comment on the SECFOR team that is heading home – they were dedicated and hard working beyond pretty much any team I’ve seen in theater. They never let up or slowed down even as their departure date approached. Many teams and individuals start to “coast” a bit when they are becoming short timers. They lose some – or a lot, in too many cases – of their enthusiasm and dedication. Also, many will look for ways to avoid going out on missions where the risk might be greater than staying on the FOB. Not our SECFOR. Even as we jokingly made suggestions about going to some of the more dangerous places in Konar, they were ready to roll. I know I will miss that aspect of them a great deal; I will also miss them as people; they were some outstanding individuals. Fortunately, one of the New York SECFOR extended so will be staying with us for a few more months.

This leads into the related topic of leadership, command structure, and team building. Afghanistan, like Iraq previously from what I understand, is in the process of a changing organizational and command structure based on lessons learned here and in Iraq. The good news is that the higher commands are making adjustments regularly based on lessons learned; the bad news is that many of those changes have challenged the way most of us in the military are used to doing things.

Traditionally, units deployed as units. Soldiers who were assigned to a unit and trained with that unit were deployed together and served together for their entire deployment. When their time was up, another unit came in and replaced them. While that is true in some places and roles in Afghanistan, there are many places where it is not the case. That can create real challenges for leaders trying to build effective teams. Now, it’s understandable why this is happening. The military structure was not set up as a nation building force and, in many respects, that’s what we are now doing.

In our role as mentors for the Afghan police and army, we are taking on a task that traditionally was given to Special Forces soldiers – though on a much smaller scale. In order to provide mentors on the needed larger scale, it became necessary for the military to tap into the entire force and provide the specialized training needed to be a mentor. Our team went through that training at Fort Riley, KS over the summer. Once deployed as mentors, we need to have enough personnel with us to provide needed security. The additional personnel, however, don’t need to be trained as mentors nor do they need as much experience as those soldier serving as mentors. Therefore, Security Forces – or SECFOR – are taken from other units and matched up with mentors to create each mentor team. In addition, each team is either assigned a medic or draws a medic from a pool whenever going out on a mission. These medics typically went through the mentor training course at Fort Riley.

As if this wasn’t complicated enough, throw in the National Guard and Reserves who, for some reason, deploy for a different period of time than the Active Component forces – and who are mobilized on various schedules. Consider also that the implementation of police and army mentor teams has been phased in over the course of several years meaning there isn’t a regular cycle for when new mentor teams are created or existing ones are replaced. Finally, know that various circumstances arise requiring personnel to be moved during the course of their deployments.

The result is that we have teams and individuals regularly coming and going. An example is my Police Mentor Team in Konar. The team that was in place in Konar when our team arrived from Wisconsin in August had changed several times during the previous several months. Then, when we arrived, three mentors and a medic replaced three mentors and a medic. They joined the SECFOR who had been assigned to the old mentors. Many of these SECFOR, however, had moved to the Konar team at different times and had been previously assigned to different locations in the country; while they all arrived in Afghanistan at the same time and all came from New York, they had not been together on this team the entire time.

This group – the new mentors, medic, and SECFOR – did work together without much change for a little over two months when a need arose for a PMT Team Chief in another province. Our higher headquarters wanted someone with Provincial Team Chief experience. Thus, the Konar chief was moved to that other province and I was moved to Konar. The Konar team, with me as the new chief, worked together for about six weeks, but the SECFOR are now gone and a new group of SECFOR are coming on board. Because of our timelines, this new SECFOR will still be part of this team (pending other changes that could arise) when it is time for us to finish our deployment and head home.

By the way, the name for this change of personnel is RIP – Relief in Place – and it refers to the idea of having teams or individuals fall in directly on a mission or position that already exists and is occupied. It is also supposed to include an overlap during which the old team or individual provides some training and guidance to the new people. This is typically referred to as the “Left Seat-Right Seat Ride.”

Of course, other changes can be expected and there is one other factor to throw into this mix – Leave. Anyone deploying for 270 days or longer is allowed a 15 day leave. With travel time in and out of the country, this can mean an individual might be gone as long as a month. In the case of our Konar team, my NCOIC (NCO in Charge) left for leave about a week after I came on board. He was gone for a month. Before he had returned, our medic left for leave and, the same day the NCOIC returned, my assistant Team Chief left for his leave. That day we also picked up another medic to fill in for our regular medic on leave.

I think it’s easy to see how this structure and situation can challenge the leadership skills of any officer or NCO. I have been extremely fortunate. My Assistant Team Chief and NCOIC are clearly among the best of the best. They have done an incredible job of building an extremely effective team; and I already mentioned what exceptional SECFOR we had helping to make that effective team possible. Now we will work on rebuilding that team with the new SECFOR coming on board. Of course, this structure and situation can also contribute to soldiers catching “short timers” disease. If stronger deeper bonds are not formed with teammates and the team itself isn’t being all that effective, it’s understandable that people become anxious as their deployments come to an end causing them to have trouble staying enthused and dedicated.

Now, before anyone starts wondering how such a convoluted system could exist and worrying that it speaks badly for the military and/or our ability to succeed in Afghanistan, keep in mind what I said before. The situation here – the way we are working to rebuild Afghanistan as a democratic nation – is constantly evolving. That very evolution is one of the reasons things are so complicated and challenging. In addition, that evolution is demonstrating a need for a different type of military force which, in turn, is requiring the military to adapt. This adds to the complications and challenges.

There hasn’t been a war or related conflict fought anytime in history in which things couldn’t have been done better. It’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback and point out the problems that need to be fixed. The good news I see is that the next step of evolution for our efforts in Afghanistan is a more coherent structure and effort using larger organic units. That, however, is in and of itself another change; and it’s not possible to go directly from the current structure and systems to a new one. There will need to be a phased process. I am optimistic we will see a much more effective system in place over the next year. In the meantime, I am willing to do the best with what we have – and even face a few more complexities and challenges if they are part of the process of moving toward something significantly better.

I’m going to shift gears now. I have mentioned to a few people in other correspondence how incredible the stars look from FOB Fiaz. Most of us in the U.S. are either unaware of or have forgotten just how many stars are visible from Earth – when “light pollution” is not an issue. There is so much artificial light where most of us live and travel that it never gets truly dark at night; there is almost always some artificial light coming from somewhere. At FOB Fiaz, everything is pretty much blacked out at night and, because electricity is so scarce, there are very few sources of artificial light anywhere in the area.

Consequently, going outside on a moonless night reveals stars in a quantity almost impossible to imagine. It is even possible to see the dense band of stars that I believe form parts of the Milky Way so far off in the distance. On such nights I will just stop and stare every time I walk outside. Now, on nights when the moon is in the sky, the appearance is much different. In fact, it’s hard to believe just how bright the moon can make it. This past week we had a full moon and walking outside seemed almost like daytime on a very cloudy day. Of course, it is much harder to see the stars on these nights, but there is a different kind of wonder then.

This brings up another, but related, topic – wearing a “headlight” at night. Most of us here – at least at the smaller, more remote FOB’s, have strap on headlights for walking around on the really dark nights. These are common among campers, of course, but it’s interesting to think of wearing them regularly for walking almost anywhere on the FOB. I often think about how strange this seems while also realizing that I use the headlight so naturally after having done so for a while. It’s rather strange to think about a number of things that have become routine and natural here that a year ago I would never have imagined I would ever do.

Since this will certainly be my last update before Christmas, I will finish with a few comments about that holiday and spending it in Afghanistan. As with Thanksgiving, I am not personally feeling bad about being here for Christmas. I feel bad that my family will have to celebrate Christmas without me, and I will certainly miss being with my wife and kids – just as I miss them every day. But I feel good about what we’re doing here and truly believe we’re making a difference; that’s not something that can be wrapped up and put under a tree. Consequently, it makes the presents that can be wrapped and put under a tree seem not quite so important (please note – that does not mean I don’t want presents on future holidays when I’m home).

Of course, that’s not to say that everyone here feels the same. On the other bases, many of the offices and even buildings have Christmas decorations in place – and many did the same for Thanksgiving and Halloween. Since we have a new group here at Fiaz, they really haven’t had a chance to decorate and – to some degree – I hope they haven’t had a chance to miss home too much.

That being said, I’m going to hold a Christmas Eve service for anyone wanting to come. We don’t have a Chaplain here and I’m not sure if there is one assigned to the PRT nearby, but we are a small group and I think we’ll do fine on our own. I believe it is important for those of us who are Christians to have the chance to remember what Christmas is truly all about. And in many respects, it is God’s gift of Jesus, the sacrifice he made for us, the example that set, and even Jesus’ teachings that – to me at least – are why we are here. We have a responsibility to take care of those who are unable to take care of themselves – even if they are of a different faith – and we are to love others as Jesus loves us.

So while those of us here are spending Christmas away from our homes and families, that is not such a great sacrifice compared to that of Jesus dying for us. Of course, there are Americans who have made that sacrifice as well; and it is for them, also, that my belief in our mission remains rock steady. Jesus did not give up when most people failed to listen to him and follow his teachings and examples while he was alive. Rather, he remained steadfast in his mission – even knowing the end to which it would lead. So while our progress at times seems slow – or even might seem to degrade some – our resolve must not falter.

Those of us serving in the Armed Forces anywhere in the world know the risks we are facing and know the end to which our service might lead. But we also know that the sacrifices of our predecessors have given us the lives we now have, and now it is our turn to make sacrifices for the sake of our families, our friends, future generations of Americans, and people like those in Afghanistan who, without us, would be completely vulnerable in so many ways.

It is truly a privilege to serve our country and in so doing to act out many of the ideals that Jesus taught us. I will be thrilled to spend Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, and many other special occasions at home with my actual family and my long-time friends next year. In the meantime, I am happy and proud to be doing the job I’m doing – and celebrating these holidays – with my Army family here in Afghanistan.

For all of you and your families, I wish the absolute best and hope you find and celebrate the true meaning and joy of Christmas; you could not ask for a greater blessing than that (though a 60” HD Plasma Screen TV wouldn’t be so bad).

God’s Peace to All,

Kevin