Task Force Viper in the news again

All I can say is the hit and run tactics that have been working for them in the past are coming to an END !! The days of coming into Afghanistan attacking and then running back to Pakistan are over. This is the news article that I got off the web and I thought I would post it

ISLAMABAD – NATO helicopters based in Afghanistan carried out at least two airstrikes in Pakistan that killed more than 50 militants after the insurgents attacked a small Afghan security outpost near the border, spokesmen said Monday.

NATO justified the strikes based on "the right of self-defense." Pakistan is sensitive about attacks on its territory, but U.S. officials have said they have an agreement that allows aircraft to cross a few miles into Pakistani airspace if they are in hot pursuit of a target.

The first strike took place Saturday after insurgents based in Pakistan attacked an Afghan outpost in Khost province, which is located right across the border from Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area, said U.S. Capt. Ryan Donald, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

"The ISAF helicopters did cross into Pakistan territory to engage the insurgents," said Donald. "ISAF maintains the right to self-defense, and that's why they crossed the Pakistan border."

The strike killed 49 militants, said U.S. Maj. Michael Johnson, another ISAF spokesman.

The second attack occurred when helicopters returned to the border area and were attacked by insurgents based in Pakistan, said Donald.

"The helicopters returned to the scene and they received direct small arms fire and, once again operating in self-defense, they engaged the insurgents," said Donald.

The strike killed at least four militants, said Johnson.

The tribal area where the strikes took place is largely controlled by militants who regularly carry out attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. rarely uses manned aircraft to carry out strikes in North Waziristan and instead relies on drone attacks that American officials refuse to acknowledge publicly.

Pakistani intelligence officials said two NATO helicopters carried out a third strike inside Pakistani territory on Monday morning, killing five militants and wounding nine others.

The strike occurred in the village of Mata Sanger in the Kurram tribal area, which is directly across the border from the Afghan provinces of Paktia and Nangarhar, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Donald, the NATO spokesman, said officials were still investigating and could not confirm or deny reports of the attack in Kurram.

The Pakistani military could not be reached to comment on the NATO attacks.

I am down to just over 40 days and I know that we still have so much to do but I find myself thinking about what is going on at home and I am getting pretty excited to be part of it all. Marie and the kids are doing well and I am looking forward to getting home just in time for the major holidays. I think we will be planning a trip to Cincinnati this fall I am not sure when but I know that it will have to be at a time when the kids are out of school.

They are telling us that it may be a while before we get aircraft once we get home and as for taking time off I think it will be pretty easy to get some time to reset. I have over 60 days on the books and we are being told that we will get 10 days or so when we get home after all the mandatory reintegration training. Time will tell and I am sure it will all work out I am just looking forward to being at home with my family. I have to get back to the office so I need to cut this short but I will write soon till then, night all

Some Pictures

My Front Seater Jude came to America when he was 15, and is more American than a lot of people I know

Me standing next to my arch enemy the MI-24

Another Front Seater, Alexa and I were waiting for our wingman to get their aircraft fixed, she was trying to stay cool

What can I say it was a cool sunset, alright I may have tweaked it a little

It's been too long

Well the elections are over and we will soon find out how they went for the Afghan People. I hope that the election results are good and the people here can have a little more faith in their country. As for me and my part in this whole process I would just like to say that Task Force Viper has once again made a significant difference in Afghanistan. We reduced the problems experienced during the last election by over 50 percent and for that I feel pretty good. Any loss of life is unfortunate but hurting people for coming out to try and make a difference in how their country is to progress is so disheartening. The Taliban are so ruthless in what they will do to stop the democratic process is breaks my heart. I was glad that we were here to help and I hope that this Country will continue to grow and someday become a place of peace where one could actually come to visit. But for now that is just not possible and as much as most of these people would love for that to be the case it just isn’t so, some day.

So I am starting to pack up some of my stuff and get ready to ship things home, can you say hell yea!! All I know is we have less than eight week to go and now is the time that we all need to stay focused and keep our wits about us. I will be flying less in the next three to four weeks than I have since I have been here but once our replacements get here I will be extremely busy getting them ready to take over on the fight. We have three IP’s here and we will have to get them all up as quick as we can. This will involve local orientations and environmental flights for every aviator. And once these flights are done we will let some of our PIC’s take them out for their FMQ “Fully Mission Qualified” flights. And then it will be time for me and all my friends to sit back and observe and monitor. I will hopefully not be on the flight schedule the last week or so that I am in Country but you never know. It’s hard to believe that this tour is almost over I spent the last week writing my portion of a paper for a Unit Award that is awarded to one Unit a year and we have a great chance of getting it. Time will tell, I was never much for writing especially capturing what went right and glossing over what went wrong but as a Task Force we have done some amazing things and I am pretty proud to be part of all of it. I will never forget any of these people and I will never forget this place, I just hope that when it goes down in the history books we are seen for doing more good than bad.

So life back in the states let’s see, ice cream whenever I want it, everywhere I walk will be on hard surface with plenty of light, no more turning an ankle on the gravel that covers our entire FOB walking around in the dark. I can wear shorts and a T-shirt and not be covered head to toe in uniform. I will be able to go out and eat what I want or I can make what I want it’s not going to be luck of the draw in the chow hall anymore. I look forward to sitting at my desk in my room and having Shirley or Elli bring me a plate of warm cookies and a cold glass of real milk, and this list is so crazy long that I will just stop right here. Life is tough and we have a lot of things that need a little attention in our own Country but we must remember that our Country is the best Country in the world. I find myself tearing up these days every time I hear our national anthem and I know it’s because I finally think I understand what it’s all about. There is not much that I would not do for my Country, but the cool thing is that I truly think that’s how most people feel about our Country and that is just awesome.

I flew 5 hours the other day the night before the elections and we were pretty busy we had two engagements which are what it is all about for us here and I am ok with that. But the thing that made me sad is what they were trying to do. The Taliban were trying to set explosives in and around polling sites to harm innocent people and for the life of me I just can’t understand how someone could be in the mindset that hurting innocent people is ok. During my entire time here in Afghanistan in every engagement I have been involved in. I always had to tell myself that my actions were just and that it was them or me but to go out and place explosives where innocent people will go who are only trying to better their Country through a vote I feel in my heart is inexcusable. Well like I said earlier in this post we made a huge difference in the election and I hope that Afghanistan is the better for it. I am sorry that I have not posted for some time its just been pretty hectic with all that is going on over here. Till next time I post know that I am doing well and that my head continues to swivel from side to side and I refuse to become complacent, night all

September 11 2010

September 11 2010, I was not on the flight schedule today but the schedule was full. We had many extra flights on the schedule for saturation. It is about 1830 and I just got back from our HHC 1-3 cook out it was nice to have a grill out and to unwind a bit. I am also off tomorrow and I plan on doing nothing at all for the entire day, nothing. This day is almost over and I am glad that we have received no attacks there has been much rumor that something bad will happen today and I am glad that it has not been the case.

I am flying nights now and I am having a pretty good time of it, the mission sets are a little slower and as always it’s hard to shoot at what you can’t see in the night. We try to circulate the battlefield as best we can checking in with as many players as we can on a tank of gas. Sometimes when we check in we are asked to look at POO sites and anything else that is out of the ordinary.

Less than 60 days to go and I feel that the time is passing pretty quickly. We will start to see new faces in about 30 days and once we get them trained for the mission here I will find myself on the schedule less and less. Not that I don’t want to fly it’s just that I am ready to change out with the new unit and get back to the house. I look forward to getting back to my life with Marie and the kids, we have so much to look forward to and I can’t wait to get back to it.

I found out today that some of the videos from our FOB attack have been requested from many parties in the states whose names will go unsaid. I also found out today that everyone who was involved in the actions that morning are going to be recognized and awarded for their actions that morning. It is kind of cool that we will be recognized for what we did that morning but it really doesn’t matter to any of us, we all did what we did because we knew we had to for the safety of our FOB. I just remember looking at myself in my mirror the morning of the attack and for whatever reason thinking of the line from the movie Black Hawk Down “It’s what you do right now that makes a difference” so I put on my helmet and charged my M9 and out the door I went and within thirty minutes I was air borne taking care of business. As I read this it sounds pretty silly even to me but that was what went through my mind that morning and I will never forget any of it. 60 more days, and I will be out of here, night all

Back in the Groove

Well it seems as if the time is really starting to pass quickly now that we are in September. Our FOB is back to normal after the Taliban failed attempt to overrun us. We received an e-mail from General Petreaus congratulating us on our swift reaction to the attack on our FOB. I know that the attack that we had will probably be the last real attack on our FOB for some time. I am so glad that no one was seriously hurt and that life is back to normal or as close to normal as it can get living on a forward Operating base in Afghanistan. Only two more months to go and in less than a month we will start to see our replacements show up so we can get them trained up and mission capable.

Overall our moral here is great and we are all definitely keeping our heads in the game for the final stretch. I know that I personally try to be extra conservative when it comes to last minute mission changes, as an AMC “air mission commander” I way all my decisions based on what I know right should look like. I say it a couple of time a week that we are too close to going home to do something stupid and hasty we must all use tactical patients and make good decisions especially when it comes to shooting.

As much as I want to be home there are some things that I all ready know that I will miss about this place. The free food and laundry service are a couple but mostly it will be the people, and how we interact here in this environment. Living side by side one another and doing what it is that we do here I know will stay with me for many years. I have never trusted anyone with as much responsibility for my well being as I have entrusted the other pilots that I fly with here. And I know they all feel the same way as I do. I will remember this year in Afghanistan for the rest of my life but not because of what I did here but because of the people I had the pleasure of working with and the friendships that I have made. Plus I know that we were able to make a difference and that we changed many lives both Afghani and American. I know that I have grown in so many ways and that I have a new respect for many things in my life that I never had before and for that I am greatfull.