IN
THE COURSE OF my life’s journey, I have met many people who were survivors of different
mishaps and catastrophes, circumstances and deprivations, wars and conflicts,
and they lived to tell their experiences, predicaments and fortunes. While
others I came across to, are witnesses of, or have been recipient of tales from
these survivors, it still are stories worth telling. I am an eager listener and
I always remember the stories very well and added these pieces of information
into my “library of self-preservation”. This blog is, in itself, a repository
of pure survival tales.
Let
me tell you about Afghanistan first. It is a beautiful landlocked country with
mixed ethnicity but, unfortunately for its populace, it is in constant turmoil.
It had enjoyed peace for just relative short periods of time. Colonial powers
have invaded it in the past and there were inter-ethnic wars but the 1970s was
the year when the escalation of the problems besetting Afghanistan begun to be
felt. The former USSR interfered and invaded the country but the population
resisted and fought as one people.
When
the Soviets left in 1989, internal disagreements fractured the shaky mujaheddin
alliance and, in 1994, the Taliban seized an opportunity. They wrested control
of the country and imposed their medieval and brutal ways on the land.
Afghanistan became a refuge and a training ground for religious extremists from
all over the world symbolized by al Qaeda. The attacks on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 were planned from the forbidding
mountains and caves of Afghanistan.
The
United States and NATO forces struck back and defeated the Taliban regime and
its al Qaeda allies in 2002 and began to pacify the country. It became another
insurgency problem that the Western allies indirectly inherited from the
Russians. The US military were deployed in Afghanistan and saw considerable
combat actions. Their mission was to protect and to patrol the remote regions
so the incipient Afghan government could function. But the enemy remains
entrenched and used violence to influence the civilian populace to their side.
We
know that a few servicemen of Filipino ancestry served in Afghanistan but we
know less of what units they were fighting under, much more their tales. I was
waiting at Ondo Espresso Bar in Gen. Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City when a typical
local man in New York Knicks jersey and cargo shorts arrived together with his
pretty girlfriend. I got introduced to the man by a common friend and I
informed him that it is an honor and a privilege to meet him. This is the
veteran and he is not even in his 40s.
I
am very fortunate to have this casual interview opportunity with a former US
serviceman who had once been a part of the 101st Airborne Division, the famous
unit whose exploits are now part of Hollywood lore like Saving Private Ryan
and Band of Brothers, to name a few. He is Private Joel Costelo. He
hailed formerly from Mabolo, Cebu City and once studied in our local
university. He emigrated eventually to Queens, NY in 2002. He talked willingly
of Afghanistan, his “brothers”, their sacrifices and frustrations, and civilian
life.
“I
enlisted with the 101st and got assigned to Afghanistan in 2009 after training
for many months in the US. Although I was trained with the best, there is
always a feeling of dread. I have never been in a conflict before and that
feeling took most of your waking time thinking about it. In just a few days, I
got my first taste of an Aghan welcome committee and then it became regular.
They shot at you from nowhere and you shoot back where you thought they fired…
“We
do not execute conventional parachute drops anymore like those seen in movies
but we trained and deployed quickly from helicopters during big operations like
in Black Hawk Down. We did both vehicle and foot patrols, mostly
platoon-sized movements, and got into frequent firefights. We were the infantry
and we were the frontliners. While at base, we ate like dinosaurs, slept like
turtles and we did the dirtiest jobs: latrine duty…
“In
the 101st, I noticed some Asians. We were very few, maybe less than ten and, I
believed, I was the only Bisaya (a Cebuano). I was the smallest guy in
my platoon but I carried the same load. Maybe more. But I carried on without
complaint, trudging on for 12-15 miles a day over the most rugged terrain,
hefting three different weapons and their ammunition, getting harassed, from
time to time, by enemy fire.”
The
101st Airborne Division is now known as the 101st Air Assault Division. Its
main headquarters is in Fort Campbell, KY but it has forward operating bases in
Afghanistan and Iraq. When it was known by the former name, the men behind the
“Screaming Eagles” badge had fought in every great battle during and after
D-Day, dropping behind enemy lines and disrupting supply arteries. Normandy.
Rhineland. Ardennes-Alsace. Germany.
It
saw extensive action in Vietnam in 1968 and Desert Storm in 1991. It currently
has a small detachment carrying out missions in Somalia. Afghanistan is their
largest deployment to date. The bases are located where the thick of the
actions are. They interdict insurgent forces streaming from Pakistan, protect
vital roads and airports, initiate and construct community projects, and train
and support the Afghan National Security Forces during locate-and-destroy
patrols.
Pvt.
Costelo’s unit is based in FOB Sharana in the Province of Paktika. The province
shares a border with Pakistan where Taliban militants maintain strongholds and
enjoys protection from their fellow Pashtun tribesmen who, themselves, are
fighting against the Pakistani Government. It is a very rugged environment,
lawless and bare of trees, with mountains and valleys that could hide an army
undetected. Worse, these insurgents know their country very well.
“In
time, I was assigned as an assistant gunner for the M240B machine gun and, that
meant, I have to carry additional ammunition for that. Many months of exposure
to hard living, surviving enemy fire and the mild climate of Afghanistan had
made my body more strong and much more flexible to do the tasks of an
infantryman. My mind had long ago adapted to the regimented life of a soldier
but, here, it starts to show stress…
“The
enemy uses his terrain very well. He fights his own style of fighting. He
chooses his own time and you are there forever in the crosshairs of his sight.
You hear the bark of a Dragunov and, a split second later, you felt warm air
passing near your skin. The bullet missed you and the ground beside you
explodes into dust and fragments of rock threw up on your face, half blinding
you and you scamper for cover. You shoot back at empty space…
“Living
day by day, patrol on to the next patrol, firefight after firefight, had
steeled me and my ‘brothers’. We survived because we worked together. We
accepted our fate and we had our share of injuries and, soon, death would claim
some of ours. It was hard to accept that someone you knew well took a bullet.
You seethe with anger and you can do nothing. But that was the easiest part.”
The
Wazi Khah region of Paktika Province hosts numerous mountain passes that were
used as avenues of travel by nomadic tribesmen from Pakistan into Afghanistan
and vice versa since the time of Alexander the Great. It is there where Pvt.
Costelo and his “band of brothers” were operating. The insurgents are known to
blend with the local population since most, or all of them, are related by
blood, by tribal laws and by religion.
Islam
is misunderstood by most but, actually, it is a religion of peace which has its
patriarch as Abraham, like Hebrew and Christianity. It is the second biggest
religion in the world and their Holy Q’uran states that every worthy Muslim
welcomes strangers as friends, even those of different faiths. Teachers who
were converted to the Wahabbi line of thought, thinks otherwise, and poisoned
the minds of the young and the gullible.
Paktika
is populated mainly by the Pashtun, although nomadic tribes make their
livelihood there. Because of the constant turmoil, illiteracy is high. What
education they get are from the madrasahs – the religious schools – and are
taught the wrong interpretation of Islam. The Taliban came from this movement
of religious schools fed by false teachers with hatred and violence. The
presence of foreign al Qaeda fighters only emboldened them.
“Because
of my adaptability to learn new languages like Pashtun and Farsi, I got
assigned as interpreter for my team. We have our official ANSF interpreter and
I am always beside him. I earned a sort of privilege where my commanding
officers would look the other way if I committed infractions. That privilege
also required me to add another weight to my load – the HIIDE camera or the
Handheld Interagency Identification Detection Equipment…
“One
infraction I committed was getting injured during an ambush. I was reprimanded
for not using a seat belt. Another time, was bringing live prisoners to Bagram
Air Base because no FOB would accept them. Another one was treating a mortally
wounded Afghan without surgical gloves. The most serious one which almost
placed me on court martial was uploading photos in Facebook when I found a rare
internet signal…
“In
my conversations with village elders, they would ask me if I am American or
Hazara. Hazara is another tribe from Bamiyan Province who were descendants of
Mongols. They would not believe I am American. Then I would tell them I am
Filipino and they believe me. They would add that they have seen Filipinos
passing by their villages. I do not think there were overseas Filipino workers
in Afghanistan, except maybe aid workers. Then it came to my mind that the Abu
Sayyaf of Southern Philippines has its origins from here.”
Haj
Abdurazzak Janjalani, a Filipino Islamic scholar, was a product of such
madrasahs. He fought in Afghanistan as a mujaheddin alongside Osama bin Laden
against Soviet occupation. He was one of the many Filipinos who answered the
call of Jihad – holy war – and learned new tactics, which they used against
their countrymen when they returned home. Eventually, he became the leader of
the notorious Abu Sayyaf which he founded. He died in 1998 during a clash with
the Philippine military.
Foreign
jihadists led by bin Laden influenced the young Afghans to embrace Wahabbi
extremism. They sent them to Pakistan and returned as “freedom fighters”,
totally injecting them with poisonous and dangerous doctrines into their minds.
The elders are subjected to threats or violence and leadership control of the
villages are usurped by the Taliban. Some villages resisted but the Taliban
would use their full force on the hapless civilians.
The
continued presence and unabated movements of insurgents in the countrysides are
a threat to peace, reconstruction and development. The International Security
Assistance Force also helped in the counterinsurgency mission of Afghanistan, totally
separate in scope from Operation Enduring Freedom, where the 101st AAD is
operating under. Real-time intelligence were used to monitor movements and
presence of insurgents and the acquisition of such were basis for operational
missions to suppress these forces.
“On
one such patrol, we walked for days to search our quarry. It was the last day
of our patrol when we climbed a high peak and, seeing the beauty of the
countryside, we took a group picture. Right after putting the camera back, we
were suddenly under fire from a large force. We were very exposed and there was
no cover and concealment except for a few head-sized rocks. We used the rocks
to cover our heads and wished bullets would not hit the rest of our bodies…
“In
that firefight, we cannot move and maneuver. We stayed where we lay or crouch.
It was late afternoon. Soon dusk would come. In my high state of excitement I
had to answer the urge to take a leak. I took a piss lying down, the spout of
liquid arching over on to one side causing annoyance from my ‘brothers’ as a
few drops touched their uniforms. They were too serious. I laughed so hard that
the volume of fire from the enemy increased…
“Our
chance to get out alive from the ambush was darkness but we cannot do that
without support. We had communicated to our HQ earlier our location and those
of the enemy. We were completely surrounded. A fighter bomber arrived and
rendered the landscape around us into a very fiery and wondrous sight. The
harassment stopped and we navigated in darkness along the gullies using night
vision goggles.”
Village
visits were common and the individual soldier behaved as he must
professionally. The units are briefed in cultural sensitivity, religious
tolerance and so many rules to remember and comply. The use of force on
civilians were deemed forbidden and prisoners were to be treated humanely as
possible. The battle for the hearts and minds were as applicable as ever. This
was not a war against a people but a war against ideology, much more sinister
and dangerous than communism.
These
insurgents do not follow rules. The only rule they follow is the law of
violence. These are half-literate men that do not know kindness, humility,
forgiveness, love, charity and hope. Theirs is a world of constant desperation
and violent changes. They lived like animals and accept death as “martyrs” of
their faith, an illusory idea which true believers of Islam do not condole, for
these wayward men did not follow the teachings of the Prophet.
“I
cannot forget when I was using the HIIDE on a village elder. Suddenly blood
splashed on my face and on my uniform. I was stunned for a moment as the old
man fell to the ground with opened entrails. Bursts of gunfire erupted
everywhere and I dived for cover. I fired at I thought the enemy were and then
I saw the old man still alive and pleading for help. Shouldering my carbine, I
dragged the injured man to safety and applied pressure to the wound but the
intestines they fell outside…
“I
saw my officer down with a wound on a leg and he was firing back. A ‘brother’
reminded me to leave the injured civilian alone and focus on the enemy. They
were very near and I could see their faces. I thought I hit some but in the
confusion of battle you cannot count it as yours. Somebody must have hit them.
The best thing to do is to keep yourself and your ‘brothers’ alive. After more
than an hour, the last shots were heard. The dead enemies were lined on the
ground. A few prisoners were handcuffed…
“The
eyes of the mortally-wounded elder haunt me always in my memory. I do not know
what happened to him after that. He was transferred to a military ambulance and
taken away. I could have done more for him but we were under pressure. I have
to contribute firepower for my team else we would all be annihilated, including
the civilians. But this was not the worst I encountered. This was one of the
easy part.”
The
101st AAD is a very cohesive unit. More like a single organism instead of as a
fighting unit composed of different individuals and characters. The movie Band
of Brothers showed why they operate with such efficiency for a large unit.
These guys trained, dined, fought, slept, laughed, suffered and consoled each
other and together in the confines of barracks life and on the battlefields.
They are the modern Spartans.
But
behind that facade of invincibility are men who are susceptible to inner
struggles and domestic problems. These soldiers gave up the comforts of their
homes, the support of spouses and families, the cozy old life, a rosy future
because they value more their service to country and flag. They know the
outcomes of their choices and they would rather stand up for their beliefs than
rant excuses in social media. They sacrificed everything for a vague future.
“The
hardest part really was containing your emotions and the solitude. I dreamed of
getting a bullet for myself to shorten my tour. We did what we were ordered to
even in the most volatile situations because it was the rightful thing to do.
It was a miracle I made it home alive in 2014. Back there in Afghanistan, we
were not earning much for what we did so the rest of us Americans could enjoy
freedom and our way of life. Lazy people on government welfare lived much
better than us and they are the ones complaining. It is unfair for those who served
overseas…
“I
have a ‘brother’ who has no home and no more family to return to. His wife ran
off with another guy, taking all his money and his son. Another of my ‘brother’
gets a video from a friend and sees his wife having sex with another man. What would
you do if you were in the same room with them? It is hard, man. Very hard. The
complex of emotions, coupled with the stress of battle, are almost unbearable.
You may be able to control them for now but it will have an effect on you later
on…
“After
my tour, I found it hard to fit back to the old civilian life. The 101st was my
home and my family and I liked it there. I missed the action. Is there
something wrong with me or is it just a withdrawal mechanism of my body with
all those stress and emotions that I underwent for five years beginning to
simmer down from my system? I do not know but I yearned for conflicts. When I
learned that Marawi City was taken over by foreign and local ISIS militants, my
urge to be there was overwhelming.”
Private
citizen Joel Costelo was divorced by his wife after his discharge from the
Army. He is currently taking up law enforcement studies in the US so he could
work as a policeman someday. He visits Cebu now and then so he could be with
his future wife. He is on vacation and taking up film production in a local
film academy here. He found the outdoors a good therapy to lessen the volatile
memories of Afghanistan.
101st
Airborne Division Motto: Rendezvous With Destiny
Document
done in LibreOffice 5.3 Writer
All photos courtesy
of Joel Costelo
