A Different Video of Restrepo by Jeremy Shepler

Check this out this video of COP Restrepo, which was in the Korengal Valley: Deployment Video of Restrepo

"10:04

This video is from the first half of the deployment for 1st Platoon Viper Co. 1-26IN and I hope it shows some people the hardships they endured. A great group of men."

MilSpouse Blog Hop

I've really enjoyed writing a milspouse blog. The support is incredible. I'm taking part in the Milspouse Blog Hop, started by Riding the Roller Coaster. At this point over 180 milspouse blogs are taking part. It's a great chance to familiarize yourself with new bloggers. Go ahead and look through the list. There are many bright, independent and strong thinkers.
I'm supposed to write a bio about myself. I've written one over here, which explains everything. I'm on Facebook and Twitter too.

Three Different Views Of A Ride

Perspective is personal. How someone sees or feels is entirely individual. How it's described can be factual, dry, embellished and even missing key details. When presented with a story from a writer who crafts breathtaking prose, the reader rarely questions the content.

Last month Dexter Filkins, who is no amateur when it comes to the scratch of a pen, gave NY Times readers a glimpse of a road trip in Afghanistan. On Afghan Road: Scenes of Beauty and Death details a road trip both beautiful and dangerous.

"The mayhem unfolds on one of the most bewitching stretches of scenery on all the earth. The gorge, in some places no more than a few hundred yards wide, is framed by vertical rock cliffs that soar more than 2,000 feet above the Kabul River below. Most people die, and most cars crash, while zooming around one of the impossible turns that offer impossible views of the crevasses and buttes."

In Filkins' version, he survived the drive --only by chance. He writes of cars with bad brakes and bald tires, stacking up behind slow trucks. Inevitably, the drivers decide to pass, oftentimes crashing into oncoming traffic. I was caught up in the prose, the humor, the anecdotes the first time through. So I reread it several hours later. But this time I caught two superlatives:

"Most people die, and most cars crash"

Most? As in almost everyone who dares to take that drive? If most die, why do people return? Besides, what is most? With a statement so bold, I'm thinking eight out of ten. When I read further about the accidents he witnessed or about the number of victims taken to the hospital, I'm thinking nine out of ten. Filkins does a great job at describing the drama of this dangerous drive. There are doctors claiming they're going to open medical stations along the way, and bully Afghan drivers. I'm feeling a bit lost after the reread, but can't figure out why.

Leave it to resident Jalalabad blogger, Tim Lynch of Free Range International, to correct Filkins' version. He takes Filkins to task for grabbing onto trivial things and inflating them into news.

"I have driven that road maybe 500 times in the last five years. I drove it before it was even paved and feel I am in the position to correct some of the crap phoned in from by our celebrity reporter… ready? Well hold on a second, you have to read the article linked above so my hasty critique makes sense. OK. Ready?

Worse, it seems Filkins made geographical and historical errors. Lynch corrects them:

1. The “Kabul Gorge” is west of Sarobi, centered on the Mahpar Pass; what you labeled as the gorge is in reality the Tangi valley. Tangi is Dari for “dam” and every valley downstream of a dam is called the “Tangi Valley” which is why there are about 30 of them around the country.
2. When the British Army withdrew from Kabul in 1842 they went through the Latabad Pass, which is about 7 miles west of the Mahipar Pass. The current Jbad to Kabul road did not exist back in the 1800’s."

And a factual error as well:

• "It is impossible for vehicles to reach high rates of speed required to “sail through the air” when driving through the town of Sarobi. It is too crowded, with too many turns, and the ANP would not tolerate that kind of recklessness anyway. I have seen plenty of bad accidents on the Jbad to Kabul road, but never seen or heard of one inside the village limits of Sarobi.

Do you see how easy it is to recognize BS when you are not confined to FOB’s or luxury hotels Dexter?"

If the geography is wrong, then it doesn't even pass muster as a reliable travel story.

Then Amy sends me her own video, uploaded to YouTube some time ago. Watch passing through Surobi.

Amy points out how "normal" it is in a sense, not the four-wheeling sailing through the sky, account given in the NY Times. Even she, a female driver, has made that drive. As for the "bully Aghans," Filkins describes as drivers, Amy says they do drive "crazy," but no more so than in Haiti, India or Pakistan. If there were no such thing as insurance premiums, and if there were livestock on the road, other more "civilized" nations might drive like this too.

Like Tim, she admits that when it's rainy or icy there are very bad accidents. But, unlike the impression that writers like Filkins has given, most days are boringly normal.

Anyway, Filkins took us on a wild ride, but two others had differing views. I think Filkins is a really good writer, and I hope he gets to the hard news --unembellished, historically and geographically correct, soon.

We've Been Too Serious.... time for a cat photo

I was messaging with Historian, Author and Journalist Andrew Lubin. His son is leaving on his fifth deployment. Andrew himself will leave in awhile for his 11th embed as a reporter.

Both of us (and I suspect many others) are warred out.

So here's a photo of a casting call for the cat remake of the movie TRON.
Really, this stuff cracks me up.

Restrepo: One Platoon, One Year, One Valley. An Interview with the Filmmakers

Specialist Misha Pemble-Belkin (l.) and fellow soldiers from Battle
Company, 173rd US Airborne during a firefight at Outpost Restrepo during
combat in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley.

“I don’t want to not have these memories, because they’re the moments that make me appreciate all that I have.” -From the documentary, Restrepo

Note: To learn more about PFC Juan Restrepo for whom the outpost was named for, go here. As noted in my prior post, I'm publishing the Restrepo press kit as is. Here is the interiew. -Kanani

Q&A with Tim Hetherington and
Sebastian Junger

How did you come across this particular assignment – what brought you there? why did it appeal to you?

Sebastian: We were on assignment for Vanity Fair and ABC News. After an embed with Battle Company in 2005, I’d had the idea of following one platoon for an entire deployment and both writing a book and making a documentary about their experience.

We hear the initial reactions of the soldiers upon hearing that they’ve been assigned to the Korengal Valley. What was your initial reaction?
Sebastian: When I stepped off the helicopter in June ’07 I was stunned by the ruggedness of the terrain –and the beauty. Then again, I didn’t have to spend a year there, and I assumed the fighting would be minimal, which of course it wasn’t.

What kind of advice/protection did the soldiers offer you while you were shooting? Did you receive any training/guidelines (for your safety) prior to shipping out?
Sebastian: They knew Tim and I had been in plenty of wars before this, so they didn’t really offer any advice. Once or twice during combat I was advised where good cover was (it depends on what direction they’re shooting from).

Did you take turns with the camera?
Tim: We each had a camera and filmed more or less of our own volition. If I was busy taking stills, Sebastian would make sure to cover the camerawork. There were scenes where we were both shooting, and we would divide things up in a crude manner – I’d take the wides, he’d take the tights, or I’d shoot the Afghans while he shot the Americans.

What limits were placed on your access?
Tim: No limits at all on access; none. There was a stated agreement that we would not shoot wounded American soldiers – or would get their okay later – and I think there was an understanding that we would be very sensitive about filming the dead. The army asks to review a rough cut later for security and privacy concerns, but they had no issues.

Did you stay the entire duration of their deployment?
Tim: No, we did five trips each, sometimes together, sometimes not. Each trip lasted around a month.

How much footage was shot vs. what made it into the film? Did you ship footage back as you went along?
Sebastian: We shot 150 hours of footage, and we’d bring our footage back on each trip and copy it and log it. We also shot around forty hours of interviews at the soldiers’ base in Italy about three months after the deployment.

Who are these soldiers? Did you get any distinct impression of them, where they came from, why they were there? Any specific qualities that come to mind?
Tim: No one had followed a platoon for an entire duration of their deployment, so we became incredibly close to many of the soldiers. They came from a variety of backgrounds and had joined the army for a myriad of competing reasons. Some said they needed to get out of their parents’ home and saw the army as offering them independence, others that they were seeking a rite of passage and new experiences. Many didn't think they had many options open to them and saw the army as the best opportunity on offer. They came from all over the U.S. – many from Texas and California, others from faraway places like Guam.

Sergeant Brendan O’Byrne (l.) and Private First Class Juan “Doc” Restrepo (r.) of Battle Company, 173rd US Airborne on a train one week before their deployment to Afghanistan.

What kind of dynamic did you have with your subjects?
Sebastian: Each trip the dynamic got more and more relaxed and comfortable. It became clear to the soldiers that we were not doing a political story and that we were comfortable in that environment – and that we were willing to take the same risks they were and endure the same discomforts. Tim broke his leg in combat; I ripped my Achilles tendon. Then I got blown up, but none of those things kept us from going back out there.

After being under fire for a sustained period, how would you describe the effect it has on you? Did you notice any change in the soldiers over the course of your time with them?
Sebastian: Both of us have been war reporters for some time now, so this was not our first experience being shot at. Being in a combat zone can be both exhilarating and terrifying, combined with long stretches of boredom. Things appear very simple in a war zone as the clutter of daily living recedes with the larger equation of being killed or staying alive. Mix this with being drip fed adrenalin, and inevitably it's going to make “coming back” incredibly difficult. I think this is something that the soldiers experienced, and to a lesser extent we also.

Specialist Misha Pemble-Belkin (l.) and Ross Murphy (r.) of Battle Company, 173rd US Airborne relax at Outpost Restrepo

In one scene, we see a soldier making small talk during serious acts of war. It’s quite affecting and an interesting choice. Why did you choose to include it? Were there other moments like this that struck you?
Tim: There's a great emphasis in war reporting on capturing the actual “bang-bang” fighting of war – and many reporters feel that any work would be incomplete without a sense of this “action.” We were no different, but because there was an incredible amount of fighting going on in the Korengal Valley, recording the actual firefights got quite boring. What was infinitely more interesting and revealing was how the soldiers carried on in these situations. People who haven't experienced war inevitably base their understanding of it through the mediated versions of news or Hollywood. These representations are often limited and can't quite reveal the humor, boredom and confusion inherent in combat. It's something we felt was important to represent.

The film shows how multi-faceted the role of the captain is with respect to his team and the village/elders – being able not only to advance the military goal but also having to communicate the humanitarian aspects, too. Were there any dynamics of the platoon that you hadn’t anticipated that you were especially glad to have captured?
Sebastian: I was unprepared for just how smart and dedicated the officers were, and many of the enlisted men as well. I was also amazed by how open and welcoming they were with us – the press. It was not what I had anticipated.

Any interactions with the village people/elders that didn’t make it into the film that you wish you could have included?
Tim: There were many, many scenes of all types that we were heartbroken not to include in the film. There were very funny moments in the “shuras” – the meetings with the elders – and also very intense moments when someone was very angry. There were several scenes of locals saying how much they hated the Taliban and gave up information on them, and other scenes where they clearly hated the Americans and wanted them to leave. All of it shows the complexity of this kind of war, but we couldn’t put everything into the movie.

RESTREPO filmmakers Sebastian Junger (l.) and Tim Hetherington (r.) at Outpost Restrepo. Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, Kunar Province. 2007.

The film is very balanced and doesn’t lead you, but rather just shows you how it is. Could you describe whether you had any guiding principles about how/what you shot as well as how you edited, how you shaped the film ultimately?

Sebastian: We were not interested in the political dimensions of the war, only the experience of the soldiers, so we limited ourselves to the things soldiers had access to. We did not ask any generals why they were in the Korengal, for example, because soldiers don’t have that opportunity, either. Our guiding principle was that we would only have people in the movie who were fighting in the Korengal. It was that principle that excluded Tim and me from the movie as well… and prevented us from using an outside narrator.

Tim: It was a conscious choice. We are journalists, and as such, we are not supposed to “lead” people to a certain opinion. That is called “advocacy,” and it certainly has its special place in the media world, but as journalists, it’s not something we wanted to engage in.

National Geographic Entertainment presents An Outpost Films Production made in Association with The National Geographic Channel. To be released July 2010.
All images compliments of the documentary RESTREPO by Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger. Image © Outpost Films

*Special Note: I noticed that Junger admits to being surprised at how smart the officers and enlisted men were, as well as how open. Before an uproar ensues, let me point out that since coming into the military 2 years ago, we also have had every single assumption torn asunder. I have admitted it often in this blog. Like Junger and Hetherington, we too have had everything we thought we knew challenged and often proven wrong. This has happened time and time again. While it might be the first thing to snark at, bear in mind, that those who admit it have undergone a transformation and have gained not only growth, but humility. Over and out.

"Restrepo: One Platoon, One Year, One Valley"

Outpost (“OP”) Restrepo. Korengal Valley, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. 2008.

Rather than boiling this down, I'm sharing the Press Kit in full for the documentary coming out in July. Restrepo received the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. I hope to get invited to a screening sometime soon (hint, dudes, I'm in LA/OC). And if anyone from the film wants to talk to me, I've stopped biting so get in touch! The following information might not be new to some, but has been written for someone unfamiliar with the 173rd. An interview with the filmmakers will be posted here in two days. The only thing I've added is a photo of the late PFC Juan Restrepo, because it's important people know of him. -Kanani


RESTREPO chronicles the one-year deployment of a platoon of American soldiers at one of the most dangerous outposts in Afghanistan.

SYNOPSIS

RESTREPO is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, “Restrepo,” named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 94-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you.

DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT

"The war in Afghanistan has become highly politicized, but soldiers rarely take part in that discussion. Our intention was to capture the experience of combat, boredom and fear through the eyes of the soldiers themselves. Their lives were our lives: we did not sit down with their families, we did not interview Afghans, we did not explore geopolitical debates. Soldiers are living and fighting and dying at remote outposts in Afghanistan in conditions that few Americans back home can imagine. Their experiences are important to understand, regardless of one’s political beliefs. Beliefs can be a way to avoid looking at reality. This is reality."
– Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger

THE MAKING OF RESTREPO

PFC Juan Restrepo, 1986-2007
Battle Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne),
503 Infantry Regiment

From May 2007 to July 2008, Battle Company of the 173rd Airborne Brigade was stationed in the remote Korengal Valley of eastern Afghanistan – considered one of the most dangerous postings of the war. The soldiers of Second Platoon built and manned a remote and strategic outpost that they named “Restrepo,” in honor of their medic, PFC Juan Restrepo, who was killed in action. This is their story, in their words, of a group of men who came be considered the “tip of the spear” for America efforts in that area.

In the past five years the Korengal Valley – a rugged valley six miles long near the border with Pakistan – has become an epicenter of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. It was considered to be a crucial relay point for Taliban fighters moving from Pakistan toward Kabul, and several top Al Qaeda leaders were thought to have used it as a base of operations. In 2005, Taliban fighters cornered a four-man Navy SEAL team in the Korengal and killed three of them, then shot down a helicopter that was sent to save them. All sixteen American commandos on board died.

Captain Dan Kearney of Battle Company, 173rd US Airborne meets with local Afghan elders in the Korengal Valley, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. 2008.

The fighting was on foot and it was deadly, and the zone of American control moved hilltop by hilltop, ridge by ridge, a hundred yards at a time. There was literally no safe place in the Korengal; men have been shot while asleep in their barracks. To date, close to fifty American soldiers have lost their lives there.

Starting in June 2007, Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger dug in with the men of Second Platoon, making a total of ten trips to the Korengal on assignment for Vanity Fair Magazine and ABC News. Each trip started with a helicopter flight into the main firebase in the valley and then a two-hour foot patrol out to Restrepo. There was no running water at Restrepo, no internet, no phone communication, and for awhile, there was no electricity or heat; it was essentially just sandbags and ammo. Some days the outpost was attacked three or four times from distances as close as fifty yards. Hetherington and Junger –sometimes working together, sometimes alone – did everything the soldiers did except pull guard duty and shoot back during firefights. They slept alongside the soldiers, ate with them, survived the boredom and the heat and the cold and the flies with them, went on patrol with them, and eventually came to be considered virtually part of the platoon. By the end of the deployment, they had shot a total of 150 hours of combat, boredom, humor, terror, and daily life at the outpost.

Conditions for filmmaking couldn’t have been harsher. The surrounding mountains rose to a height of 10,000 feet – all of which was traversed on foot. Long operations meant carrying enough camera batteries to last a week or more, on top of the fifty or so pounds of gear required on even ordinary patrols. Cameras got smashed into rocks, clogged with dirt and hit with shell cartridges during firefights. Men were killed and wounded during filming, so there was a constant issue of when it was OK to turn on the cameras and when it was not. Only the filmmakers’ close relationship to the men of the platoon allowed them to keep shooting in situations where other journalists might have been told to stop.

Three months after the end of the deployment, Hetherington and Junger traveled to Vicenza, Italy, where the unit is based. They used two Veri-Cams, a full light and sound package, and two cameramen to conduct in-depth interviews with their main characters. These interviews – initially considered a kind of glue for the verité, and a way to avoid outside narration – wound up being some of the most powerful and affecting material of the entire project. The soldiers were able to allow themselves a level of emotion and introspection that is simply not possible in combat.
Specialist Kyle Steiner of Second Platoon, Battle Company, 173rd US Airborne at Outpost Restrepo.

Hetherington and Junger hired acclaimed editor Michael Levine (Billy the Kid, My Kid Could Paint That) and associate editor Maya Mumma to help them put the film together at Goldcrest Post. John Battsek and Nick Quested joined the team as executive producers on the project. The edit lasted ten months and was closely supervised by both filmmakers.

RESTREPO is Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger’s directorial debut. Junger's time with the men of Second Platoon is also the subject of his forthcoming book “WAR,” to be published on May 11th by Twelve, a division of the Hachette Book Group. In a starred review, Publishers
Weekly called the book “riveting... an unforgettable portrait of men under fire.”

All images compliments of the documentary RESTREPO by Tim Hetherington
and Sebastian Junger. Image © Outpost Films

The documentary of the Korengal Valley.
National Geographic Entertainment presents An Outpost Films Production made in association with The National Geographic Channel to be released July 2010.

In Jalalabad: Logan Lynch Teaches A Photography Class

Lately, my friends and I have been talking about what kinds of young people are going to make it through this tough economic situation. The answer is the ones who can grab a challenge with little or no skills and make something of it. No truer example can be found in an American civilian in Afhganistan, Logan Lynch.

Last year, Logan Lynch, an eighteen year old high school graduate, met up with Amy Sun, one of the lead coordinators along with Keith Berkoben of FabLab Afghanistan. The two hit it off --meaning Logan was adept at rising to all of their directions. Logan was rewarded with being asked to work with Fab Lab. His latest challenge involves creating a photography class for the young men and women who take classes at the Jalalabad Fab Lab computer center.

Assignment: Take close up of an animal.
Taken by Samir

I'll let Logan explain it all here:

"Amy Dearest, along with requesting me to create and start a beginners photography course for men and women in Afghanistan, has now requested I write a blog to accompany the classes.

As I am teaching photography, most of the posts will consist of my students photos with some minimal explanation in writing.

As I have never been a photography student nor have I ever known much about cameras other than I look to aim at things and click the button, I've spent the past few weeks researching photography and setting up a general course outline to teach my students.

Three days out of the week I dedicate to teaching my female students, and the other three days I teach my male students, Friday being a holiday here. Ideally I'll put up a post a day reviewing that days activities. Most likely I'll put up two posts every other day reviewing the female class and the male class of the past two days."

Get that? He's never taught photography. He's never been a teacher. And yet, none of it deterred him. He's doing it because there's a need, and he's delving into some heady stuff:

Photo by Samsoor

..."we covered evocative photography, pictures that evoke any sort of emotion in people. I used this to give them the first assignment of the day, a single picture that tells a big story and evokes a lot of emotion in people, to be turned in at the end of the course. On top of having an assignment every class, they now have a general assignment that they should always be working on."

According to FabLab director Amy Sun of MIT, this is the first step in part of a larger plan. The next step is to teach the present students how to teach the class. They have the TA lined up to teach it in the future. This way the photography class can not only spread and grow, but do so without them. Sun says when they plan a project, it's always with an eye to "what if we can't get back?" In a sense, by teaching these teens to use cameras, video equipment and computers, they are creating documentarians of their own country. After this, Sun would like to see business opportunities open up for the women and girls who have computers and the internet at home. This program and the others will take more funding, and Sun is looking for internet sponsors now.

Back to Logan, one has to admire his spirit. How many people (regardless of age) would shrug and say they couldn't do it? To Amy's credit: how many directors would insist on finding someone with teaching experience, get saddled with writing a grant, ask for curriculum plans, instead of just assigning it to someone who they feel can handle it?

That's what I think is needed for the next 30 years: people who can handle "it," whatever it is. It'll be the hunter/gatherers who can synthesize all sorts of information that seemingly doesn't go together who can meld it into a tangible product. They might have Ph.D's, they might have no degree at all. What will matter more than anything else is the willingness to try, and accept setbacks as means of perfecting the route to success.

"The second male class, oh boy. Four people showed for class this time. Two students haven't been back at all since the first class, and have one of my cameras, and Hameed (who recruited them as they're his classmates) has been assured that if I don't have my camera back to give to some other students who are split in 3's/4's, he will not have a head much longer."

Like coming up with a photography class for people who have never even held a camera. Might never even have had their photograph taken. Things like this not only rock, they're an indicator of what can be done if tried.

Why don't you follow Logan's progress? Add The Photography Class to your sidebar. His is one of the new, young voices I talk about when I say the milblogging landscape is changing.
And Mr. & Mrs. Lynch: You did a FINE job raising Logan!

Letters from Gordon & Andy: Boxes with Candy and ...Hot Yoga Chicks?

It seems the guys have received our first round of packages. Also, welcome to A&G's families and friends.

"Hello!
How are you guys? Thank you so much for the package. It was absolutely amazing to get two packages. All the soldiers that I work with were jealous. We already made so much progress eating the things you guys sent me. You guys are really too kind. There is so much stuff!

There is a particular item that you guys sent me that has all the other soldiers going nuts. It's that yoga magazine you sent. I haven't got the chance to see it yet. Their reason for grabbing it is so they can "look at the hot yoga chicks." Soldiers are shameless.

I am actually working with a civil affairs company. We do a lot of paperwork together. They are mostly reservists. Work is finally starting to pile on for me as I learn to do more things. I think I am finally starting to get a good feel of what I am supposed to do here, so I can say life here is safe and well.

If there is anything I can do to repay your infinite kindness let me know. I could never make it up to you guys, though. Your packages really cheered me up. Lately I've been a little homesick. Well, I should be back soon enough. So I'm pretty sure I"ll see you then. Thanks again for the packages. It was awesome. Thanks again!! God bless.
Sincerely,
Gordon"

Also, this came in from Andy:

"kanani- i got your two packages the other day and i just wanted to say thank you so much. i took a couple sweets from the sweet box and gave most of it to my soldiers. they were greatly appreciative of some candy that didn't come from the dining facility on base. everything you sent is of great use to me and i would like to thank you again for your support. things are going great here. we're finally settled, should be training up for some missions in the near future. i hope you and your family are doing great back home.
God bless, Andy"

If you're a family member you can order a blue star flag for your home, and a blue star pin to wear while your loved one is deployed.
And I'd like to say hello to Andy's sister Joy, who is a very talented cellist with a symphony in Germany. I will meet her this summer when she comes home. In a way, it must be very hard for their parents. Both children are so far away. They should be proud of both of them.

"I'd like to dedicate this to a guy in Afghanistan. His name is Michael Yon"

Reviews and critiques can be ghastly, however everyone survives. Well, not everyone. As Tim Kindred says, "eh? if you think writing critics are bad, wait until you get into professional theatre." Anyway, welcome to the club. Back to grindstone. We've all been there before. But if you decide to write a play, man, you're on your own.

There's even a monkey in the video.

The Prince Of Wales Has It Right

His Royal Highness rocks. Somewhere along the line, he became a very cool dude. When he is King, the Commonwealth will be in good hands.

"the families are the most wonderful support
to their loved ones, that is what they do so magnificently"

Taking Out The Big Red Pen: Michael Yon

Writers don't necessarily like to rag on one another, but taking out the big red pen is something we do when we sense the writer needs help getting back on the path.

Like others, I've been following Michael Yon's latest travails over on Facebook. I have always admired much of Yon's work, and never hesitate to link to him when he posts one of his photojournalism stories. At his best, Yon provides a window into a world and tells it unflinchingly but with compassion.

At his worst, Yon can be a tireless self-promoter. This surfaces especially when he doesn't get his way, and unfortunately, Facebook is the perfect conduit for mind-farts. Consider this little snippet, picked up by the National Review:

"Life was good before I went to Iraq. But after three friends were killed during the GWOT, and my growing mistrust for the media and for the US Government/Military, I quit traveling the world and went to war. The United States was in peril. I am American. Today, I do not trust McChrystal anymore than some people trust the New York Times, Obama or Bush. If McChrystal could be trusted, I would go back to my better life. McChrystal is a great killer but this war is above his head. He must be watched."

Yon didn't follow this up with a long, well-researched story telling us why he felt this way. Instead, all the National Review and Facebook audiences got was an ominous post akin to a warning about Lord Voldemort. It's not until the reader goes through his Facebook posts that one relates this to his getting kicked off his latest embed. Over on Blackfive, we find out Yon has been kicked off two in the last twelve months, and a total of four since he started his work as a reporter. And through the magic of Facebook, Yon lets General McChrystal have it with some ugly assumptions and accusations, which include:

"Sends chills that McChrystal himself thinks we are losing the war."
"McChrystal cannot be trusted to tell the truth about this war.."

Popularity is often confused with authority. Simply put, Yon doesn't have the authority to make such pronouncements, and equally troubling is his popularity might keep some from questioning what he writes. Can he verify this is what McChrystal thinks? Did he say that? Substituting your point of view for someone else's when supposedly reporting is lying.

However, Major Chuck Ziegenfuss brilliantly dissects Yon's facebooking and gives appropriate retorts to Yon's accusations. Uncle Jimbo on Blackfive makes an appeal to Yon to take responsibility for his current situation. This isn't to dismiss any of the prior work Yon has done. I'm taking this on a case-by-case basis. But, from his comparing the Senior Public Affairs staff to crazy monkeys; to his parsing out bits on Facebook over a 24-hour period about Canadian General Menard, when other journalists had the story who published it as a whole; Yon has a knack for always putting himself in the middle of the action. Here's the latest corker:

"Will make another attempt to leave base in next hours. If nothing gets blown up this time, and no generals do crazy things such as monkey around with a rifle or a keyboard, should be able to get back to working on dispatches on 1-17th Infantry by Tuesday. Will take a week probably to get something out."

But for drama, there is always Facebook, updated frequently. Though I have answered the plea to keep him in Afghanistan in the past, there are other people to support who are getting a great story, and don't leave this writer feeling manipulated or witness to a giant tantrum. Michael Yon is talented. I hope he takes a giant step back from his drama, which appears to be crushing him.

Hat tips: UberPig, Jim Hanson, Leta Carruth

Stuff, Rankling, and being me

A few weeks ago, I got bronchitis again. It's the second time since December that I've been sounding like a chronic smoker hacking up a lung. Mind you, I do all the rinsing, the eating good stuff, the holistic crap. But this was a nasty bug that found me, and had to be obliterated as it tends to ruin everything --from getting to yoga to being able to edit and finish projects. Not that I mind sleeping, but doing so for days on end made me crabby. But this time, instead of waiting for some miracle to happen, I hauled myself into the office and got some antibiotics. I hate taking antibiotics but there are some times when you just need the big guns to wipe it out.

I'm getting better --especially after a road trip that was needed to gain some mind shifting. While I was away, puffing twice a day on a lovely inhaler, I decided that there are some milblogging stuff I'll probably never be able to do. Like, I will never be a military expert. I will never be a military spouse who knows all the ins and outs of military life. I will never be able to sort out acronyms. I will never let this blog morph into a mil-poli blog. Lastly, rank (as it pertains to spouses) will forever seem bizarre, unnecessary and baffling.

This admission is just the small business owner talking --the one who took care of clients and employees, always ensuring their needs were taken care of. I scratch my head when I get word from the grapevine of an officer's wife snootiness. That's the kind of stuff that will just kill you in business, and so... yeah, you got it. I can't relate to divisions caused by perceptions of privilege, held by either side, at all.

Pushing all that craptatisticism aside, I was reminded of one thing while I was on vacation.
I am best at being me.
Period.
Over and out.

Kudos to The Thunder Run and The Dawn Patrol

I was delighted to hear that Castra Praetoria written by America's 1st Sgt won for best Marine blog, Pink Camo for best milspouse blog. My friends at Free Range International got wiped out by Blackfive in the last quarter. But Tim has proven above all else --he's a reliable resource for on the ground reporting in the region. In addition, I think there are two people who deserve recognition for doing something that requires a lot more work than people would think.

The Thunder Run and The Dawn Patrol are two aggregate blogs that pull in news sources from across the internet. Aggregate blogs require a lot of work. The Thunder Run requires that David scan a reader for much of the day, looking for those stories that pop out. It's not easy going through several hundred blogs a week, trying to find those bloggers who are still at it, and on the look out for new ones written by those out in the field, but don't get that much traffic. Yet, David manages to find them. I can't help but think that a nod from David has given many a new blogger encouragement to keep going.

Mrs. G. of The Dawn Patrol pulls in stories from across the blogosphere and the news feeds that pertain to the War on Terror or the military. Her job really never ends, as news is 24/7. There are so many stories to share, and yet she can only bring to the forefront the ones that are going to make the most impact on her readers. The two of these individuals are well respected within the milblogging community and really deserve it.

Steinbeck's Friends and a chance but brief conversation about war

This weekend I had the pleasure of going to the Steinbeck Center in Salinas and meeting Thomas Steinbeck. He's down to earth, funny, well read, and engaging. We were there to find out more about his new book, In The Shadow Of The Cypress,"which is a tale that takes place about the Chinese in Monterey in 1906. I'll comment more when I read it. In the meanwhile, read this terrific article about him written by Marc Cabrera from the Monterey Herald.

It was a crowd that I mix easily in, people who have read a lot, write, and are inquisitive by nature. Writers and readers are my favorite people. Not only was it was great fun to listen to and have a few words with Mr. Steinbeck himself, but chat with several of his friends who (like me) had journeyed there for the occasion.

His dearest friends were very interested in my husband's role as a surgeon in the US Army. They were curious and asked many questions. Inevitably, opinions came out.
They have strong feelings about these wars.
Well, so do I.
And with the military.
Well, so do I.
But then he said, it wasn't an issue with the troops, it's the military industrial complex.
Well... so do I.
Everyone has a different opinion, which have been shaped by our experiences. I can't guess the sum of what his were based on, since truthfully, it's always complicated. But I did find out he's a Korean war vet, and also a therapist. I think it's invaluable to know where the other person is coming from when talking about something as heavy as this. I think our feelings about war are more complex and bear discussing when you can find parties willing to listen and process.

Unfortunately, on both ends of the spectrum are a lot of people who have already made up their mind --not only about the war, but about each other. I know families who are divided in their opinion. But the worst has got to be the one who were against their soldier's service only to have him die over there. It was a painful admission they revealed in a tersely worded email. I think what probably haunts them to this day was their rush to judge him and the accompanying fights.

Anyway, I didn't get the feeling these two were like that at all. I can only guess they'd be great people to hash things out with. I gave them my card and also recommended they read Operation Homecoming, and also a bit about COIN. I hope they search through the archives on my blog and pull up "FST." More to the point, I hope I hear from them again.

On the drive back through the beautiful route that took me from Carmel, along the 101, and back home, my reverie was broken by a report heard on the radio. US troops opened fire on a bus killing 5 civilians. A tragedy. No one is resting well tonight. I'm sure more details will follow, as they did after that other, separate event that fueled the previous week's infamous and entirely lacking in factual information, wikileak. Initial reports are never the full story, which always paints a far more complex picture. For now, there's this superficial account until we get more info, written by an AP reporter on The Army Times.

"U.S. troops opened fire on a bus carrying Afghan civilians Monday, killing four people, an Afghan official said, setting off anti-American protests in a key southern city where coalition forces hope to rally the public for a coming offensive against the Taliban."

Bad enough, I then swung by my friend's blog, Free Range International. He'd written about a different attack by the Taliban in downtown Jalalabad just a few days earlier. Tim wrote about it in an article with pictures he took called Death In The Morning. He arrived at the scene shortly after, and even posted photos, like this one.

"Yesterday morning started with an event so senseless and evil that it is hard to describe. An American army patrol was moving through downtown Jalalabad when the villains detonated a bicycle mounted IED. This IED had no chance of even denting the paint job on an MRAP, but it did throw out a bunch of shrapnel, which killed one of the best diesel engine mechanics in town and wounded another 15 civilians – mostly children."

Two events, both tragic, different in motivation. Even though the couple and I who met probably do not see eye to eye on a few things, I hope it wouldn't be too presumptuous to think we could both agree that the two events were horrible tragedies, that war is hell and that prayers are being sent to everyone.

It isn't much, but it's a start. Let the conversation between Americans begin --if even in just small starts like the unexpected one that I had the other night.

Tired of War

I'm tired of war. Not troops, not milsupporters, but like everyone else, I'm tired of it. And so I'm taking a break, fleeing in the morning up to my cousin's house in Carmel. There's a nice assortment of adults, teens and animals staying back at the house. They'll have fun.

I'm excited because I'm getting back to some basic things I love. The creative side of me has felt fairly stifled for far too long. I just need to get out, prioritize, and relax. There will be 6.5 hours of driving time each way -- all alone. I shall relish it. First stop is to Tor House, the home of the late California poet Robinson Jeffers.

The next day, it's off for some wandering in Carmel. I plan on walking in the village, and even driving to Asilomar beach to walk that stretch so familiar to me when I was a kid. We're also going to the Steinbeck Center to see Thomas Steinbeck (John's son) read from his new book, In The Shadow Of The Cypress. If you grew up in California, the lone cypress is an iconic symbol not only for Carmel, but also the feeling that we are here at the edge of the United States, a part of it, yet in many ways, out on our own.

Despite all the problems the state, many of us have roots here. We can't imagine not being a part of it, not feeling like a Californian all our lives. To this day, what California was haunts Joan Didion, and much as what it was becoming haunted John Steinbeck. I feel caught in the middle. I'm still here. I still love it. No matter where we move, I will always be a Californian, as were my grandparents and my parents, and as my children are today.

So... have a good weekend. I hope you do something you love as well.

Gordon's Downrange Journal

A group of us on Facebook are supporting two soldiers who have deployed downrange for the first time. I met Gordon at the home of Armed Liberal a few months ago. Here is Gordon's account, written shortly after arriving. He wrote it for this blog. You can even leave a comment for him below.

My journey to Afghanistan was interesting. I was dropped off by my uncle and his family on the 28th of March at Joint Base Lewis McChord. There we waited for hours and hours just to draw weapons. Of course, after that we waited some more!

We took a commercial flights that sent us through the US, to Europe, and then to Kuwait. We were in Beuhring for 1 night. I was actually scared that I would be stuck in Kuwait for 3 weeks because I heard the last group in 5/2 that went to afghanistan before us was stuck there for 3 weeks because of admin problems. And when I mean admin problems I mean PVTs being retarded and missing the manifest!

Finally we arrived in Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. Afghanistan sure does smell bad. It think it's because the landing strip was right next to what we call "Shit Pond" It's literally a large body of water filled with poop. It's the sewage processing plant. It was not pleasant. So all 163 of us arrived at night in KAF and stayed at the transient tents. It's where they put all the people who just inprocessed.

A lot of us were going to different units. I couldn't believe the entire brigade only has a single company of engineers. That's not good for me because I will probably be stuck on a staff position because all the platoon leader slots are filled.

Anyway, we spent the next couple of days getting acquainted with KAF and its ammenities. They have free laundry service, a PX, Burger King, Subway, Tim Horton's (Canadians love this place), pizza hut, and others. They also have religious chapels all over the camp, MWR centers with phones and computers, and a large gym that is actually quite good. So I can't really complain about the situation I was in.

The best part about KAF is that there's water EVERYWHERE. The water here is not drinkable, and everything is bottled. there are literally thousands of crates of water sitting in places all over the base. All you have to do is walk 10 feet and there's more water! I must drink about 2 gallons of water a day. But with the water comes a very bad thing.

The Afghan heat. My god it's terrible! I have never really used lotion before. I had to use lotion here consistently for the first time. Also my lips get really chapped, and I am starting to get a soldier tan. That is the lower half of my face is dark (because of my eye protection and hat), my ears, and my hands. So unattractive!!

Anyways, it's just temporary. It's not like its going to get any hotter here at 90 degrees. Oh wait, I was sadly mistaken. Supposedly, during the hot months here, it gets over 120 degrees sometimes. Good thing I'm a fobbit, and I stay inside most of the day. I still have to walk
everywhere, and I think at the end of the way I get one shade darker, and eat that much more sand. Anyways, I finally found out my job. I am going to be working with civil affairs specifically with the Governance, Rescontruction and Development (GR&D). This is what I get
for being in an engineer company with no spots for brand new butter bars.

My job is very complicated because I am filling out paperwork I have no experience with. However, I think I can getting the hang of it. I spend most of my day walking around, taking care of errands, eating, and typing up CERP reports on the computer. I hope I don't
have to do 4 more months of this! Anyway, today I am finally going to evaluate some roads for ied craters. It should be fun.

That's all I have for now, I will be updating some more when I actually get more to talk about.

Thank you all for your support and love!

Miblogging Awards: The Sandgram Endorses Castra Praetoria, Other Blogs Need Your Vote Too

Over the years, I've been very lucky to have key people guide my writing development with finely honed criticism and also with encouragement, even rave reviews. I try to do the same when I see someone who writes well.

It's a habit. I'm constantly on the look out for good writers, be it authors of books, or the guy down the street who writes poetry. Here on the blogosphere, I've found a few who have a natural way with words, which for them has translated into producing quality blogs.

The Milbloggie Awards are given by Milblogging.com. Some of the blogs nominated are popular, highly trafficked, enjoy large followings, have invested much time and hard work to produce material every day. They are responsive to their readers, as well. Many of them have garnered Milbloggie nominations and wins in the past.

This year, there are four finalists in different categories --three whom are new, and one who has worked diligently for many years but has yet to win. They have consistently energized the blogosphere with their original content, well formed opinions and point of view. They are not as well known as "the big blogs," yet they are in the running to win.
So please, if you haven't yet, register and log into Milblogging.com and vote for the following (no need to be a milblogger, all you have to be is someone with respect for the craft of writing). My favorites are:

Best Veterans Blog: Free Range International
Best Marine Blog: Castra Praetoria
Best MilSupport Blog: From Cow Pastures To Kosovo
Best Milspouse Blog: A Little Pink In A World Of Camo

On a personal note, I was happy to give a leg up and nominate three blogs that I knew mightn't win, but wanted to recognize their good work and send traffic their way. The Semi-Normal Every Day Life Of A Female Marine, and Rajiv Srivinasan: Thoughts From Afghanistan, are two bloggers who are young, and write with a very strong voice.

In addition, I nominated Military Consciousness, a diary of an Airman In And Out Of Afghanistan. This is a blog written for his mother and aunt. He tells it like it is, yet it's a very personal account (with photos) of his time downrange. He's due to come home soon, and we wish him the best.

Bottom line: I'm just paying it forward. Encouragement always meant a lot to me, a writer doesn't learn the craft in isolation, he or she hones it with the advice and patience of others. They learn by writing and rewriting. Not only is writing an act of expression, it's a craft.

I also want to give a hat tip to The Sandgram, a blog that was nominated, made the finals and is garnering a lot of votes. Perhaps realizing that his past win was plenty, last night he asked everyone to support Castra Praetoria.

Honor is the backbone of The Marines, and The Sandgram's move reflects this. Excellent.

Of course, my hope for everyone mentioned above is that they continue to explore writing in all its forms over their lifetime. Blogging, microblogging are just two ways to write. There are so many forms of writing --from short stories, poetry, fiction, journaling, scriptwriting, letter writing, and creative non fiction, and I hope they try them all. And remember, not everything has to get published. If you write a book, but never get it published --you should consider it an accomplishment.

There are as many blogs as soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines, and guardians. The lesson here is to spread ourselves out a little further, seek new voices, encourage others --and change that sidebar from time to time. Staying with the same blogs is a little like being stuck on a virtual FOB or reading only one book. There's room for everyone in the military blogosphere, and it's good to give recognition to the ones who aren't expecting it.

Good Writing=Good Blogs

We all have different things that resonate with us when reading blogs. It's like reading a book --there's no right or wrong in what one likes, rather, there are personal factors which determine whether one can relate to it.* Perusing the milblogs, what grabs me are bloggers with a compelling voice. In other words, their writing pulls me in, makes me want to read more. It's been thrilling to find young writers on the web (as well as some older ones), who show signs of naturalness with the craft.

Rajiv Srinivasan, an officer in the US Army, takes a literary approach to blogging about the war. I don't think it was intentional, rather, it's his natural way of telling a story. When I first came upon Srinivasan's blog, I was immediately taken in by the descriptive passages. It reminded me of the late Indian writer R.K. Narayan. Srinivasan takes the reader on a journey to experience the sights, sounds, dialogs and his feelings about the war. Not only does he show the details, Srinivasan conveys what he's learned about himself, how he feels, how his perspective has been broadened. Srinivasan writes without the crutch of sentimentality.

There are also aggregate blogs, those that pull in stories from around the web. One of the most revealing has been The Semi-Normal, Day-to-Day Life of a Female Marine. Her blog features photographs and stories about female Marines today, as well as those in the past. Always a trove of information, Female Marine brings to light the sacrifice and service these women have made. She's terrific at pulling threads of information together, plus she's consistent with sticking to the point of view of her blog. There's always an aspect about the present wars and history revealed. As important, any assumptions held by most of the public about the Marines being solely a male organization are proven wrong.

Two different blogs, yet one thing both share is a strong voice. I hope both continue to blog, and also explore writing's many forms over their lifetime.
Obviously, there are many others. I look forward to the day, when milbloggers, who have found their writing voice through blogging, will begin partaking in programs like these.
Brown Writers' Symposium 2010
University of Iowa: Writers' Workshop
UCLA Writers' Program









* For instance, Michiko Kakutani writes brilliant reviews in the NY Times. Sometimes, after reading the book she gave glowing reviews to, I don't agree. This doesn't make me less smart, her smarter, or the novelist inept, worthless or dumb, it's just that the three of us relate to different things.

Reading Afghanistan: Taking The Initial Tourist Approach

Library, Greenwich Village, 2009

"...the craftsmanship of the writer was the difference between engaging me, or turning me off."

I've been having an email conversation with Charlie Sherpa, who writes the blog Red Bull Rising. He's readying for a deployment. Charlie's posts about the preparations make for informative and compelling reading. Lately, we've been exchanging opinions on books. He wanted to know what I've read. I was grateful he asked, as I feel for the past year and a half, I've been somewhat of an autodidact trying to take in as much as I could about a land I'd never thought of before in my life.

When I knew my husband was going downrange, I circled around the library a few times, trying to figure out what to read. Since I knew nothing about war, the military or Afghanistan, I decided to first find out about the country. So I decided to start off like a tourist being told she's leaving soon.

But it's not that easy. You just don't go into Border's and ask if they have a guidebook to Afghanistan. Such a question brings out either a sneer, or a look of incredulity. As in: "who goes there?" "Why?" "Don't be ridiculous."

Fortunately, I found one on Amazon. Afghanistan, A Companion and Guide by Bijan Omrani and Matthew Leesing is a thick, heavy tomb. The duo have written many guides about hard-to-get-to places, but this book is epic in scope. I've found it invaluable for getting a glimpse into a country which in so many ways is perceived as a backwater, but this perception shortchanges its sweeping history:

"a comprehensive introduction to 3,500 years of Afghan culture. Starting with a full history of the country from 1500BC, each chapter looks at the major cities and regions, describing their distinctive cultural and ethnic traditions, their associations with poets, artists, musicians, travelers and holy men, as well as warriors and conquerors."

Along with the book, I purchased big map. When it arrived, I taped it to the wall, highlighting my husband's location as well as some places of historical significance found in the book.

At the library, I found Tony Wheeler's book, the founder of Lonely Planet. As only he could do, Mr. Wheeler decided to travel to many of the countries in Badlands, A Tourist On The Axis Of Evil. Mr. Wheeler takes

"into account each country’s attitude to human rights, terrorism and foreign policy, he asks ‘What makes a country truly evil?’ and ‘How bad is really bad?’ – all the while engaging with a colourful cast of locals and hapless tour guides, ruminating on history and debunking popular myths."

I won't give it away, but at the end of the book he has Mr. Wheeler has his own evil ranking.

I decided to delve further into the culture by getting firsthand accounts of westerners who were working, not just traveling. Not that I wouldn't have wanted to have read accounts written by Afghans, but these weren't available at the time. Sarah Chayes's The Punishment of Virtue, Greg Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea, and Scotsman Rory Stewart's, The Places In Between, provided not only information on the culture, customs and challenges, but did so with an engaging and interesting narrative style.

Stewart, a scholar fluent in the languages of the middle east, and also a long time civil servant, had taken 2 years off in 2000 to walk 6000 miles from Turkey to Bangladesh. After the ISAF forces went into Afghanistan, he went to finish the portion he had been forced to leave out earlier.

"There are no tourists," said the man in the stiff jacket, who had not yet spoken. "You are the first tourist in Afghanistan. It is mid­winter -- there are three meters of snow on the high passes, there are wolves, and this is a war. You will die, I can guarantee. Do you want to die?"

These were the first books I read, the ones that made it easy to imagine the pungent whiff of Kandahar on a hot summer day, or the fifty year old pomegranite orchards in Arghandab. The narrative style, and the craftsmanship of the writer was the difference between engaging me or turning me off. Later, I read military books, war books, saw movies and read blogs like Free Range International. But if it weren't for the initial approach as a tourist, I wouldn't have been ready for the heavier stuff on war by Filkins, Ricks, and others.

You can find all the links to the books I've mentioned on my Amazon sidebar.