Fortunate Son

Winning Hearts and Minds Premiers on Blip TV

fortunateSon — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 19:10:00 +0000

Meet the men of US Army Civil Affairs in Afghanistan. Sergeants Kling, Reisz, Carrillo and Captain Corsten tell us about the Civil Affairs mission and take us into the communities of Afghanistan to see what it takes to rebuild a war-torn country.

America Is At The Mall

fortunateSon — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:34:00 +0000

Army Restructuring Doctrine for Counter-Insurgent Warfare

fortunateSon — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 22:13:00 +0000

Once only part of Special Operations doctrine, the concepts of Counter-Insurgent Warfare (aka Forth-generation Warfare, 4GW) are finally (after five years) beginning to find their way into standard Army training and doctrine.

This New York Times article entitled "Military Hones a New Strategy on Insurgency" discusses these late-coming "revalations" and the coming evolution of the big-battle-trained solider.

I have to feel a little vindication from this official recognition. Throughout countless, heated discussion with fellow soldiers and during "Cultural Awareness" briefings I have maintained an argument of what I call the "Tactical Advantage of Being Nice" - my way of explaining why it not only is a proper way to conduct one's self as a representative of the United States, but that in doing so it provides certain advantages. Make the local population choose between the "lesser of two assholes" and they'll choose the one's they identify with the most: The insurgency.

The old-guard notion that "looking hard" all the time makes the bad guy think twice about taking you on is finally being reconsidered. Its clear that no matter how we act, the enemy has proven it is perfectly willing to take us on in one way or another. It's our conduct in interactions with the other 98% of the population that have a dramatic effect on how many enemies are created from them and how much cooperation can be expected in defeating existing ones. Noone "has your back" like the local population. With the majority of our KIA and WIA being the result of IED and in-direct fire, our reliance on popular cooperation is imperative to prevent loss of life.

Additionally, this change of doctrine forces a serious re-consideration of soldier-to-population ratios with regards to post-conflict security. It is an encouraging (if not woefully belated) sign. Experts tend to agree we had an initial "window" to win the confidence of neutral locals and squandered it due to the SECDEF's insistence on minimal troop deployment. This was a result of the perceived political need to prosecute the war "on the cheap" and the consequent denial that led to the lack of planning for any but the best-case scenarios. I've come to several inter-dependent conclusions regarding this:

1) The lack of contingency planning was caused by the political reality of prosecuting a war that lacked overwhelming public support resulting in...
2) An increased reluctance and decreased ability to engage in future interventions (preemptive or otherwise) leading to...
3) A socio-political landscape that essentially requires that we sustain an initial (and potentially devastating) attack prior to any large-scale military deployment.
4) The lack of public support for an economically and socially disruptive full-mobilization and draft has caused our political "leadership" to make strategic decisions regarding troop utilization that has overextened our offensive military capabilities and has resulted in opportunistic negative developments with Iran and North Korea.

Its great to know the Army is adapting its doctrine, however I suspect that we may not have the collective will for another intervention for decades to come. We have plenty "anti-War" types who are willing to demonstrate once war becomes a fait accompli, but we don't have near enough "pro-Peace" types willing to work for a more just and equitable world and actually prevent the conditions of war before they begin. As long as the average American's preoccupations are the price of gas; as long as we remain willfully ignorant of the world around us; as long as we're content to be the "Shining Gated Community on the Hill", it would seem to me that our fate will be to settle for the ensuing partisan blame game for the last crisis while waiting for the next Pearl Harbor or 9/11 in order to get people to pay attention to the miserable conditions of their fellow man and stop tolerating the existence of those regimes that benefit from their misery and ignorance.

As it stands, the score is still 0-0, the newspapers have already printed the headlines declaring our humiliating loss, our broadcasters are sending the opposing side our playbook, sixty percent of our spectators (most were "fans" only before kickoff) have headed for the parking lot, our coaches are down to fielding only seven players and we're still in the first minute of the game.

Catching Up

fortunateSon — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 19:52:00 +0000

I haven’t written in quite sometime. I think you have to be a little OCD to make a good, consistent blogger. My inspiration seems to come in spurts. The last month (May) in Afghanistan wasn’t very exciting – we sat around in a tent in Bagram playing dominoes all day for over three weeks – and since I got back home in mid-June, I’ve been spending the majority of my time either simply enjoying the things I missed and re-adjusting back to the things I didn’t. I guess you could say I’ve been suffering from a bit of burn-out and am just now coming back around to the idea of actively speaking out and organizing my thoughts on global social and political issues. There's also been what I can only describe as "adrenaline detox" and an accompanying mild-depression that comes with feeling somewhat disconnected with the world you left behind; a kind of reverse culture-shock that has caused me to feel an almost constant state of unease with "normal" life. I'm told many people experience this but that never makes it any easier to deal with, does it?

When I got home I realized just how much I had given up in order to undertake this “grand experiment” and it frightened me a little: Nearly 600 nights sleeping alone instead of with my wife. All of the gatherings of family and friends: Two Thanksgivings, Easters, Forth of Julys, several weddings and births, innumerable birthday and backyard parties. I’ve missed about 15% of my dogs’ short lives with us. Considering they’re probably my #1 favorite form of entertainment, that one hurts more than just about all the others.

That’s not to say that I would have changed anything. I know that when I look back on it I’m immensely thankful for all that I have learned, all the people that I’ve met and have influenced me and for the swift kick in the ass it gave me that has permanently shaken me out of complacency and the perceived “need” of accustomed comforts. This experience has shown me that one person really can make a big difference. In just twenty months I went from sub-human recruit in Basic Combat Training to subject matter expert on roads, power and project selection in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, briefing the CENTCOM commander, four-star General John Abizaid and CFC-A commander Lt. General Karl Eikenberry. I was told on several occasions by Afghan leaders that their personal relationships with me positively influenced their perceptions of Americans and I know that my team and I influenced hundreds if not thousands of young Afghans, leaving lasting, positive impressions of Americans as a kind, caring and giving, yet determined people who want nothing more than for them to inherit a free and open society where they will have opportunities not available to their fathers; where ignorance does not dominate their lives.

In the coming weeks I intend to update the site in several ways: I’ve got several books to add my Recommended Reading list. I’m becoming involved on the local level with the One movement and will be adding links to that organization. I’m starting to work with local business leaders to encourage more private-sector involvement with international economic development. Along the same lines, I’ve taken a real interest in corporate citizenship (a.k.a. Corporate Social Responsibility) – helping companies develop more enlightened and progressive cultures, marketing and managing their image for improved recruiting, retention and community perception. I’m starting to consider offers to do some public speaking and am beginning to organize and develop some presentations that I intend to make available for download on this site. All of these are starting-points for what I consider to be the beginning of a “Phase 2” of my personal journey.

And stay tuned for the long-awaited chronicle of my two years as a Civil Affairs operator in the United States Army…

Aggie Muster in Jalalabad

fortunateSon — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 09:28:00 +0000

As some know, I went to Texas A&M (much to the chagrin of many of my friends in the Greater Austin area). We Aggies have a tradition called Muster that is commemorated every April 21st. For the uninitiated, think of it as Aggie Memorial Day. Its a very solemn occassion where we honor the passing of all current and former students since the previous Muster.

Admittedly, I haven't exactly been the most active Former Student. I haven't been to a football game in years and I've been remis in keeping in touch with my local alumni club, but yesterday I rather fortuitously ran into a fellow Aggie here - with all the Aggies in the military, it happens but no so much way out here in far eastern Afghanistan. We decided to get together today to commemorate Muster and he even had a flag that he brings with him on every deployment! We took this picture to send back to fellow Aggies back home.

A Visit to Osama's House

fortunateSon — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 09:17:00 +0000

The last place Osama Bin Laden was ever seen in public was at his home in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Well, technically its just a bit out of town. Conveniently on the way to his commute to Tora Bora down in the Pachir Wa Agam district just two hours drive south. Well, the other day our team finally got around to going by and "paying our [dis]respects".

Granted, its not in keeping with the usual spirit of my website, but I'm not a big fan of sociopathic mass murderers, so we thought we'd leave a little message on behalf of the people of New York. I've got it on video too. Heh.

American Generosity

fortunateSon — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 05:36:00 +0000

I am truly honored to have recently played a part in a very thoughtful and generous gesture of kindness and empathy for strangers. A couple of months ago I received an email from one of our unit officer's spouses in Phoenix, AZ who told me of a second-grade boy named Payton who wanted to participate in our humanitarian efforts here in a very personal way. Having outgrown his baby blanket, Payton asked if he could give it away to an Afghan child in need. Yesterday, while visiting a local refugee camp, we asked an elder to help us find a child to give it to. We presented it yesterday to a little gilr on behalf of Payton.

It was my sincere honor to play a part in this generous act of giving. Many of our fellow Americans could take a lesson from Payton. If everyone took an interest in the wellbeing and comfort of their fellow human beings and offered even a small portion of their personal possessions toward easing their suffering the world would be a much, much better place to live for all of us.Thank you, Payton.

Operation Flintstone Provides Vitamins to 2,000 Afghan Children

fortunateSon — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 15:38:00 +0000

UPDATED: Added more pics to the Operation Flintstone site from recent MedCAPs.

Just added a bunch of new pics to the Operation Flintstone sub-site! We've recently held some Medical and Veternary Civil Actions (MedCAPs/VetCAPs) in the rural communities here in Nangarhar and were able to distribute a month's supply of children's chewable vitamins to over 2,000 children so far...and we still have a few more MedCAPs coming up soon.

For those who don't know, Operation Flintstone was a project that my mother started to supply nutritional supplements to the children of Afghanistan as a way to give the folks back home a way of directly helping in our efforts here.

Army Reserve May Take Over Civil Affairs

fortunateSon — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:32:00 +0000

Found this article today on Military.com. They've been discussing doing this for a while. Most agree that its definitely going to happen sometime next year. Noone can agree on how this will change things, but one thing's for certain: It will definitely change things.

I do like what LTG Hemley is saying about the Reserves. He's pissed a lot of people off but its all true and needs to be said. The Reserves is not equiped to fight this war...but then, neither is the Active component. The military adapts slow, but I guess its better than no adaptation at all.

JBad PRT Team in Stars and Stripes

fortunateSon — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 07:35:00 +0000

Our Civil Affairs team made the 20 March 2006 issue of Stars and Stripes. We had a reporter here with us for about a week. I was actually expecting more in depth reporting than this after a full week, but at least it makes us look good! (links to pdf)

A New and Worthy Project

fortunateSon — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 15:59:00 +0000

Getting towards the end of my tour here, I find my thoughts drifting more and more towards home and resuming my long-lost life with my wife, dogs and extended family in Austin, TX. However, something has come up recently that has renewed my vigor and as crazy as it sounds has had me regretting that I have such a short time left! Well, to be more accurate, I'm regretting that I didn't meet these guys a year ago. Just last week I got a letter from a reader who turned me on to an ongoing film documentary project about Civil Affairs:

www.winninghearts.org

Interestingly enough, it was inspired by the writings of Rob Schultheis in his book Waging Peace that I had put up on my Recommended Readings section back in September! Mr. Schultheis is involved directly with the project as well. It inspired me to write to them, offering whatever assistance I could to help make their project a success and get the word out about the good work we do here every day. I got a prompt response back and we're in discussions as to how I might be able to help contribute to this effort.

And if you want to contribute, they have a "Donate" button at the bottom of their main page.

Remembering SSG Newman

fortunateSon — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 08:36:00 +0000

I've been meaning to write this post for nearly a month now. SSG Clint Newman died north of Deh Rawod in central Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee on February 13th. The loss of SSG Newman has been the hardest so far for all of us. Having been with the 321st for several years, Clint was a close friend to many there and part of the core group that made the 321st what it was.

I remember my first day at the unit when I was still a pre-Basic recruit; an outsider who knew absolutely noone. Clint was the first person to speak to me, the first person to make me feel comfortable; to go out of his way to make me feel welcome. When I took a diagonstic fitness test (APFT) just before basic, and wasn't in the shape I am now, Clint ran the last two laps with me when I was starting to slow down. I remember being so struck by his quiet decency, grace and kindness that I asked him jokingly: "Were you a Boy Scout when you were a kid?" He was a good man, and a good friend who made every life better that he came in contact with.

His official Special Operations Command notice and biography can be found at the SOC website.

For anyone interested in doing something on behalf of SSG Clinton Newman, his family has suggested giving a donation in his name to the Fisher House. For those of you not familiar with the Fisher House, it is an organization that houses military families while their loved ones are in military hospitals. There are volunteers
that cook meals and help the families in any way they can. This really eases the burdens for the families as they care for their ill or wounded military family member.

The address to the Fisher House at Fort Sam is:
Manager
Fisher House
3623 George C. Beach Road
Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234

Laptop and School Supply Donation

fortunateSon — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 14:36:00 +0000

I donated my old laptop and a bunch of school supplies sent from home to the neighborhood elementary school today! What a way to start the day. It was just an old laptop to me I've had for years, but to them it was a really big deal. These are the moments that really make all the sacrafices worthwhile. They took me around to each classroom and I got to talk to little girls and boys about the importance of education, how they are the future of their country and of course, the most important thing: Exchanging hundreds of smiles. It sounds cheesy but these little connections are what people remember more than anything. I'm proud to be a positive representation for the United States. With as much abuse as we get in the world, some of it much deserved, we do a hell of a lot of good and I'm blessed to be a part of it.

New Operation Flintstone Post

fortunateSon — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 11:51:00 +0000

All the supplies are in and I've posted a team photo with all the packages on the Operation Flintstone site. Check it out.

Jalalabad PRT in the Media

fortunateSon — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 17:09:00 +0000

We've been getting some pretty decent media coverage as of late. Just the other day CSPAN ran a show covering a Congressional Delegation (CODEL) that was here last month. I wasn't a part of that one myself since I was out-of-town but some of my friends are interviewed at length in it.

The links are here and here (requires RealPlayer) but have been off-and-on so keep trying them.

Additionally, our PRT commander was interviewed by the Doug Stephan radio show that ran on 10 February. (go to min 31:55 and it lasts for about 5 min) I'm supposed to be interviewed any day now as well so stay tuned for more details on that.

UPDATE: The above links seems to ALL be broken for now. I'll try to find better one's. Sorry.

Article: War in Isolation

fortunateSon — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 23:03:00 +0000

My friend Robert Bryce just published another article recently in Atlantic Monthly discussing the IED threat we face out here every day. Having been hit by a couple of IEDs, its obviously something on my mind every time we head out of the wire.

I've placed the full version of the article on pdf for download here.

Robert is a fellow Austinite, a remarkable guy and a helluva writer even if I don't agree with everything he says all the time. Come to think of it, considering who I enjoy hanging around with, not agreeing with me on matters of politics seems to be a prerequisite for my friendship.

From the article:
IEDs also create fear and uncertainty...Fear and uncertainty, of course, ultimately breed mistrust. That may be the most damaging aspect of the IEDs: they prey on American minds, making soldiers suspicious of the local population and ultimately isolating them.

This is likely the best point that could be made concerning the overall effect of IED's on our mission both here in Afghanistan and in Iraq. That isolation and mistrust is, in my opinion, the single most detrimental result of insurgent tactics that complicates and delays what really is our ultimate goal: economic connectivity and mutual, cultural acceptance.

There are several factors that add to our isolation from the local population which in turn limits the effectiveness of our efforts. One of these is the employment of IEDs, but it’s not only the IEDs that alienate us from those we are ostensibly here to help.

BODY COUNT POLITICS

You don't have to read the writings of Mao or Ho Chi Mihn to know that defeating a democratic "superpower" isn't that hard if the voters back home don't believe in the cause. When public support drops to a certain level, partisan politics becomes the insurgent's most effective weapon. Reach that threshold and you'll soon have U.S. Senators and Congressmen (and don't forget journalists) racking up wins for you. Just keep the pressure on and be patient - victory is all but certain. Don't believe me? How many times have we already seen the "L" word on the cover of major weekly periodicals?

The losses we've encountered thus far from all enemy engagements are "tactically insignificant"* from an operational perspective. This simply means there are not enough losses to have a noticeable effect on our mission capabilities. The fact is, more souls were lost (1,052 by most counts) in one friendly-fire incident in WWII, the sinking of the Montevideo Maru than in the first three years of GWOT combined. But of course "tactically insignificant" turns into strategic defeat when the politics played with our body-count undermines public support for our efforts. Americans have proven time and again that we can handle great loss of life if the purpose and end state are unambiguous and a direct threat to themselves is tangible. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration's mismanagement of information operations and public relations both pre and post-conflict in Iraq, combined with the misdeeds of a small, handful of individuals have eroded the credibility and moral clarity of our “side” of this conflict, thereby lowering the threshold of acceptable losses considerably.

As a result, commanders on the ground are coming under increased pressure to prevent loss-of-life. The amount of second-guessing and hindsight recrimination that goes on after a KIA incident is disgraceful and can be a career-ending event for commanders if investigations find the slightest deviation from the increasingly constrictive SOPs, regardless of whether they would have made a difference. This politically-driven force-protection mania translates into increased security restrictions by risk-averse commanders that severely limit our mobility and effectiveness and by extension, our interactions with the public. I should add, most of these security measures, save the installation of electronic counter-measures (ECM) devices, do little if anything but provide window-dressing to our actual force-protection level. I think the question of "How can we win if we can't engage the enemy?" should be replaced with "How can you win a war if you can't risk loss of life?" Soldiers are spending more and more time inside the wire and less out amongst the local population building relationships and rebuilding infrastructure and governments. Its negative effect is most tangible.

ETHNOCENTRISM

Another major contributor to our isolation is our mentality and attitude toward the local populace. Soldiers and Marines are not policemen; we're not diplomats; we're not politicians or public officials. Our traditional, explicit purpose is to engage and neutralize the enemy. Most of us are good-hearted, well-intentioned individuals with a strong moral sense. However, the most striking and disappointing observation I have made since my arrival here nine months ago is our overwhelming, misplaced sense of superiority to the cultures we've come to assist. This phenomenon isn’t limited to those of us who serve in uniform; it is pervasive in civilian agency mindsets as well. The term for this is "ethnocentrism". Most soldiers, including many in Civil Affairs, limit their interactions with locals to a minimum; zero if possible. There is an unspoken but clear apartheid between Westerners and Afghans that only a select few chose to reach across. Many actively despise the Afghan nationals and certainly look down on them. Dehumanizing terms such as “Haji” and “Sand-Nigger” are reminiscent of those from another era: “Charlie” and “Gook”. In some ways these feelings are understandable; even I recoil at the harsh subjugation of women and the lack of what I would consider to be innate hygiene practices. But this superiority complex is unwarranted and dangerous. It’s important to divorce the circumstances from the individual and remember the profound disadvantages in education, health and technology that others have been born into. As we work toward burying ignorant, prejudicial views of the past back home, its disheartening to think we would simply move on to new, socially acceptable prejudices and not internalize the underlying lesson: We are all the same inside. That’s not just my feel-good, bleeding-heart belief, it is a scientific, genetically-proven fact.

We may be here to help, but charity can easily be construed as condescension when the proper spirit isn't honored. Imagine someone "giving" you say, a loaf of bread by chucking it at your feet like you might a dog. How much would you “appreciate” that? Sure, you’d eat the bread if you were hungry but your feelings toward the giver would probably not improve from that interaction. Giving is a shared moment between two souls and has little to do with the gift itself. A sense of cultural superiority nullifies the giving spirit that must be present to foster understanding and recognition of a shared humanity. I’m not sure what agency or department would be best suited for training a more “spiritually enlightened” government service-member, but it certainly isn’t the United States Army or Marine Corps. This will remain our greatest hurdle to building true and lasting cross-cultural harmony, regardless of how many schools, clinics and roads we build here.

A LIMITED EXCHANGE

Unlike post-war Germany and Japan, we have no ability to venture out and intermingle with the local population. This is due as much to the nature of counter-insurgent warfare as to considerable differences in cultural norms and an inherent, if not understandable xenophobia in the traditional leadership of the indigenous population. Unfortunately this retards the process of cultural exchange and integration. We cannot even look at the women, let alone date or marry them. Adopting their children is so difficult, it might as well be impossible. The best we can hope for is to lay the foundations for individual freedom, education and the communications and commercial infrastructure that will foster the free exchange of ideas. This will facilitate the people’s ability to make informed choices as to what they read and write and how they will dress, behave and believe. It really is the only way to break the stranglehold of ignorance and oppression. The illiterate are doomed to fall prey to the designs of wicked men. Historically, cultural shifts are either slow or extremely disruptive and costly. It is going to take time, blood or both to build understanding and tolerance between the myriad cultures of the world, but it will happen. The more individual freedoms and connectivity with the outside world, the less time. The more enlightened and proactive our approach, the less blood.

Our inability to see ourselves in others; our misguided belief that we are not connected in spirit; this is the ultimate isolation we must overcome.

Author’s Note
Whenever I make criticisms, particularly those directed at the military establishment, I feel the need to point out that the men and women I serve with are very professional. Their desire to “win”, to perform at the best of their abilities is without peer. They are the finest soldiers, sailors and marines on the planet. If dispersions are being casts here, it is not in their direction, but toward the training and doctrine of the military as an institution and its seeming inability to move beyond its stolid, conventional mindset and its fierce loyalty to the defense industry. Let us not fool ourselves. The military in its current form, and the defense industry built around it, are manifestations of our collective fears and of profit motive, not of our desire to help those in need around the world. I don’t see that changing any time soon. The military will always be good at halting foreign aggression and bringing tyrants to their knees, but for real change my faith lies in the peripheral cultural exchange and economic connectivity that ultimately results from military intervention and the requisite establishment of the rights of the individual.

*The term does not connote a lack of sensitivity to each individual loss which is obviously a catastrophic event for friends and family of those who have fallen. No disrespect is intended.

Back in Business

fortunateSon — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 16:05:00 +0000

We're back, baby! I've cleared it with my command to keep posting as long as I don't post pictures from the PRT or any of our operations and that none of the subject matter discusses any of our operations, past, present and future. Aside from the occasionally picture of me giving toys to a refugee or the standard mug for the team photo, this has never been an issue anyway, and I never discuss operational issues anyway as a matter of course, so it shouldn't have much of an effect on content.

I'm freakin' ecstatic! I've been working on a couple of articles and applying at some graduate schools, so I've had to write a few Statements of Purpose lately which, I might as well share with you all. After all, content is content, plus its a nice restatement of why I'm out here doing this, away from my loved ones and friends...er...which you might expect given its called a "Statement of Purpose". Duh.

This Statement of Purpose (opens pdf) is the one I sent to American University. I'm looking at a couple of Peace and Conflict Resolution masters programs. AU's School of International Service and ICAR at George Mason University. Both in the Washington, D.C. area. If they go by my undergrad GPA for an intelligence indicator I'm screwed! I consider it more an indication of a 22-yr-old's lack of motivation and direction. But oh, well. We'll see what happens. Wish me luck!

Glad to be back!!

A Crying Shame

fortunateSon — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 07:03:00 +0000

"We are here to protect democracy, not practice it."

A famous saying in the U.S. Military. Apparently there is another big "blog" crackdown and I've been asked by my chain of command to stop blogging for now. I will continue to journal and write on topics offline for future publication but unless I can get someone to "bless" it, it could be down until early May.

I have to take this seriously, sorry. I at least have to wait a little while until interest subsides. What usually happens in these scenarios is that someone puts a picture on the web without thinking it through and someone else interprets it as a violation of operational security. The military then establishes a sweeping new rule banning the practice, even for those who have done nothing wrong at all. I'm getting used to that one. I call it the "Rule of Lowest Common Denominator". A phenomenon in the military that requires everyone to be restricted to rules that are set with the least intelligent and worst soldier in mind.

In the meantime, read Thomas P. M. Barnett's sequel to "The Pentagon's New Map" called "Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating" for a view of globalization's alternate ending. The ending I'm here fighting for I should add.

He has a weblog too.

Honoring A Fallen Comrade: 1SG Tobias Meister

fortunateSon — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 08:15:00 +0000

On December 28th, 2005 the 321st experienced our first combat lost here in Afghanistan with the death of First Sergeant Tobias "Toby" Meister.

Services were held last Friday in his hometown of Jenks, Oklahoma.

1SG Meister, 30, was a loving husband and father of an 18 month old son. His death was an incredible loss to our organization and we will all miss him terribly. Our thoughts, prayers and love go to his family at this difficult time.

I had been on leave back in Austin and found out the night before I left to come back to Afghanistan. My wife and I met his wife and son at our going away picnic just before we deployed. Such a beautiful family. A very sobering reminder of the dramatic costs being paid here and in Iraq every day. Every nine hours to be exact.

1SG Meister was truly a soldier's soldier being named the "U.S. Army Reserve Drill Sergeant of the Year" in 2002, he was at one time head of the Drill Sergeant school at Ft. Jackson, SC. To have made the rank of First Sergeant before the age of thirty is truly a remarkable accomplishment that indicates just what a tremendous asset he was to our team and equally what a devastating loss his death has been to his family, his friends and to us.

He was traveling between our PRT here at Jalalabad and his PRT just a few hours north of us in Asadabad when his vehicle was hit with an IED. Indications were that his death was instantaneous and there was no suffering. An Afghan national, an interpreter was also killed. One Marine was seriously injured but is recovering back home.

Here is another post that has a photo and more detailed biography. What an amazing man. A true role model for us all to follow.

1SG Meister, you will be missed. Your life will be honored every day that Afghans are free to speak and go to school and improve their lives free of tyrany. And we will be here to continue to ensure that they have that chance. As long as is necessary.

Update
Someone from the Asadabad PRT put together a very nice memorial video for him.

Time's Persons of the Year

fortunateSon — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 23:19:00 +0000

The "Person(s) of the Year" of Time Magazine came out this week. They named Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates as this year's "Persons of the Year".

It is so encouraging to see this. Bono wrote the suprisingly intelligent and well-informed forward to Jeffery Sach's latest book, "The End of Poverty" which I very quickly added to my (lesser know/read) Recommended Readings section. Bono has lead the public-relations charge in both the foreign debt relief and sub-Saharan AIDS awareness campaigns for years now and my respect for him has grown immensely over the years...as well as my belief that this is truly a life-long, altruistic pursuit of his, which is encouraging. Too often a celebrity will pick up a pet cause (think: USA for Africa), usually some acute and fashionable issue de jour, promote it (not to mention themselves) for a while, say something sanctimonious about it before a song now and then and then it fades away. What Bono has done and continues to do is providing tangible, macro-economic impact and is inspiring throngs of otherwise disinterested youth to take an interest in development economics.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is setting a new standard in research, development and most importantly, distribution of antimalarial and anti-retroviral drug treatments to the developing world. Their hands-on approach and enourmous endowement has revived many vaccine programs and its sheer size ($23 billion) ought to shame developed-world governments the world over into digging deeper to care for the less fortunate of our human race.

I am at times concerned when I see only the richest "good Samaritans" getting media attention as I feel it perpetuates the misguided notion that philanthropy is for the extremely rich vs. my personal conviction that we citizens of the developed world recognize our "relative wealth" in comparison to the average human and in so doing, feel compelled to action now, and not wait for our perverbial ship to come in in order to reach out to liberate the oppressed and extend hope to the hopeless. Still, in this case they deserve all the attention and praise they can get.

I find it particularly encouraging that Time has dedicated pretty much the entire issue to major philanthrophic, development and international aid trends...since its obviously close to my heart. This same week there is another article in Newsweek calling Economics the "Sexiest Trade Alive" and mentioning Jeffrey Sachs, a man who is rapidly becoming one of my biggest heros. Could I have predicted a mega-trend when I threw my name in the "International Security and Development" hat two years ago? I hope so. I would love nothing more than to see us all awaken to the suffering the "other half" of our people endure and dedicate ourselves to ending it now...not waiting until we make our first billion or until we sell our 10th platinum album.

Medical Supplies Have Arrived! Your Donations At Work!

fortunateSon — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 05:26:00 +0000

This is a repost from the Operation Flintstone site. The original post is here. Special thanks to Mom for making this all happen!

The medical supplies have arrived and are awaiting the short ride to San Antonio-- soon to be off to Afghanistan--all due to your generous donations!

We are sending 50,000 children's vitamins (a 90 day supply for 555+ children!), 600 units of infant multivitamin drops, antibiotic and diaper ointment, as well as bandaids, cotton tip applicators, and ziplocs to aid in the distribution. Previously donated crayons and paper goods will also be shipped.

Future opportunities for shipments may include school supplies and antimalarials, mosquito netting and mosquito repellent when warmer months arrive.

We sincerely thank all of you for your generosity!

Happy Holidays!!

Operation Flintstone - Final Push

fortunateSon — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 09:03:00 +0000

We're hoping to raise as much as we can, as soon as we can for the purchase of medical and health supplies for the refugees currently flooding into Nangarhar province where I am stationed. We're calling it "Operation Flintstone" (because we're buying a lot of childrens nutritional supplements amongst many other things) and its got its own page. I wanted to make sure to post on the main site to remind everyone that we're trying to get a shipment out the door ASAP so that it gets here in time for winter. Please visit the link and please pledge. I will be here to document the arrival and distribution. What other charity gives you that kind of personal feedback?

Journal Entry - A Long Time Coming

fortunateSon — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 17:24:00 +0000

The JBad CA Team

So, when does a journal become a memoir? I’m not sure either, but I’m certain that this span between journal entries is blurring the line. Honestly, I’ve written a couple of times without completing anything and then deleted everything after reading it later and deciding it wasn’t what I really wanted to say. Yes, I’ve been fighting the battle of journalistic honesty of what is more appropriate for a public journal: The emotional subjectivity of the moment or the rational objectivity of retrospection. Looks like I’m going with the latter. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I really want out of this weblog.

Do I want to be political? Well, yes and no. I have political leanings that vary from Left to Right based on the subject-matter, but my journey being chronicled here goes so far beyond politics. What I’ve taken on here is as much a spiritual journey as a career move and a statement about what I think we as the wealthy of the world should be pursuing: Moving beyond the hollow promises of material gratification into self-actualization by using our considerable mental and physical resources toward building a just and equitable world.

Do I want to recount the details of my story as it unfolds? Yes, of course. It’s really the only part of this that most of my friends and family find interesting. One cannot expect their passions to be shared by everyone, and I tend to lose my audience pretty fast when I wax philosophical for too long. And then there is the increasingly skeptical view of the Army toward war bloggers. We’ve been officially warned now not to post pictures on the internet. I can guarantee that nothing that I’ve posted could reasonably be construed to violate operational security but I have to be careful not to reveal too much of the specifics about what we’re doing here. It’s too bad really. We’re doing some very interesting things. Building roads, schools and power facilities – it’s the good news that doesn’t get told nearly often enough. Most importantly we’re building relationships and trust and understanding between cultures that have for too long not had enough of either.
The world is too small for isolation from the changes we might fear.

Do I want to increase awareness of Civil Affairs and our mission? Yes, but…I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m equally interested in pointing out the serious flaws inherent with the current order of battle within our organization. There are things the military is very good at and there are things it wasn’t designed to do. Yet, we are doing them and will find ourselves taking on more and more of those unconventional, non-kinetic responsibilities as we continue to wage war against the causes of chronic instability, extreme poverty and gross inequity. We have to establish real competencies in the areas of international development. We must devise standard doctrine, protocols and IT/Communication systems with our brother and sister organizations in the United States government as well as with the international and non-governmental organizations that share the battle-space. We have to assert our unique role within the military as the bridge between the civilian world of development and the constructive aspects of the military. The Civil Affairs community has to come into its own. In my short time here, it has become clearly apparent that the Civil Affairs branch isn’t taken seriously in the Special Operations community or the military establishment as a whole. And it should be no shock, as its own policies, recruitment standards, operational readiness and curriculum attest to the fact that it doesn’t take itself seriously either. There are some clear changes that must take in order to build the collective competencies needed to face future challenges and to develop the respect and prestige that our unique mission deserves. I will be writing on this particular topic at length in the future. In fact, it’s a prime candidate for my future Master’s thesis.

The Last Four Months of My Life

The last four months have witnessed many ups and downs, many changes, reversals of fortune. If there’s one thing I’ve learned so far is to not get to upset whenever something changes that isn’t to your liking because it will most likely change six more times before actually coming to pass, so its best just to sit back, watch and wait and hope that the final outcome is to your advantage. Of course politicking, posturing and strategizing are all part of the game. But nothing is more important than maintaining a positive, steady mindset. I wish I could say that I was able to do just that the whole time but in fact, I’ve had some really bad days (ok, weeks) here where I had begun to think I had given up my life and my family for so long to contribute in some meaningful way to the rehabilitation of a society only to sit behind a .50 cal crew-served weapon while other people with the rank but not the motivation, interest, temperament, conviction or dedication did all the things I thought I had been trained to do. At one point as I sat in the 130 degree sun manning yet another gun turret I was forced to come to terms with the fact that this may end up being my only contribution and that it was going to have to be enough for now. That at least my sitting here was preventing someone else’s son from having to be here that didn’t want to be. I’ve had days where I felt as if my age and experience were so overshadowed by the rank on my chest that I feared it was insurmountable; that it was unrealistic for me to ever believe that I would be allowed to perform any task beyond the typically thoughtless and menial tasks I was currently being assigned. There was a point where we were having days on end of down-time and for the first couple days I sat around like everyone else feeling a little sorry for myself. It was then I realized that my real challenge was going to be doing whatever it was I was going to be allowed to do as best as I could with the kind of attitude that I would find inspiring if recognized in someone else. I had to transcend or be miserable for a year. It was my choice.

I started teaching myself everything I could get my hands on about Nangarhar, the NGO’s here, development concepts, current and proposed projects, studying the previous team’s documentation, anything to make myself more valuable; invaluable. Immediately things started to turn around. I brought up the idea to USAID to help them when I had downtime, which turned into an official liaison role that is working out marvelously and breaking new ground in civil-military cooperation. I essentially created a role for myself, stepped into it and got to work. The change has been astonishing and I’ve made some good friends through my work with USAID; friends that I think will play a role in the next step of my journey. When I left to come here people would ask me “What will you do when you come back?” and I would say “I don’t know what’s around the corner, but that’s the exciting part. I do know that this year will reveal the next step to me.” It has started to do just that. I am gaining confidence every day and I have a clear vision of what things we can improve upon. I’m discovering ways to use my personal strengths to effect positive changes, both within the organizations I am a part of and within the community. A saying that I love keeps coming up in conversation: “There is no limit to what can be accomplished if you don’t care who gets the credit.” It’s my mantra; the creed for all “underlings” out there with good ideas. I speak with people daily who are one degree removed from ambassadors and generals; two degrees from the President himself. It’s on me to come up with “infectious” ideas. If they are truly good ones, they could easily find themselves incorporated into U.S. development policy. It’s not likely, I know, but it is possible. Never underestimate the power you have to influence positive change.

I’ve settled into life at the PRT pretty well. All things considered, we have it pretty well. We have air conditioned rooms, electricity and pleasant-enough grounds. I wake up every morning, put on some music, grind some coffee and fetch breakfast for myself from the dining facility and bring it back to the room for some quiet time. If it’s a mission day, we get up around five or so, I eat breakfast on the hood of one of our Humvees while we wait to roll out and either discuss the upcoming mission or read from one of my books once everything is prep’d and ready to go. There’s a lot of waiting in the Army. It’s always a good idea to bring a good book and a headlamp for overnighters. If it’s a non-mission day I usually get into the office around 8 or 8:30, take care of the menial administrative things and then get to work on the fun, more important stuff. I’ve been lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to have some input on some of the new software tools we’ll be using in the near future. I can’t say much more but what I’ve seen these applications will be critical in the maturation process of civil-military cooperation and data collaboration with both internal and external entities.

Room for Improvement

I have to say there have been many unpleasant surprises in regard to process development, strategy and toolsets considering we’re four years into this adventure. I’m amazed at how ad-hoc things are run both locally, but more importantly from higher commands both civilian and military. The problem is essentially continuity and lack of standards and measurements. We arrived here to find that the previous team had reinvented processes and procedures to their liking from whatever the previous team had put in place. A quick scan through the file system proved that this was occurring at each rotation and I can attest that it happened again once we took over. We did our own process reengineering, threw out the old team’s tools in favor of our improved versions and carved our own wheel so to speak. Needless to say, this happens at every PRT for every rotation and to compound the problem, it happens in between rotations when high command authority rotates in and out. We can’t get around rotations but so, so many of our continuity issues could be resolved by simply having standard software and communications solutions that are taught prior to entering theatre during the ridiculously long two-month mobilization training. The discontinuity of leadership brings with it disjointed, short-term goals with no overarching theatre-wide phased implementation plan. Commanders both local and on up are judged solely on short-sighted criteria that causes them to pursue short-term projects that can be completed within their tenure oftentimes so that the follow-on command can’t take the credit. I can just see myself getting dragged into someone’s office and chewed out for saying it but its true. The fault lies in the lack of a systematic series of metrics to produce accurate measures of effectiveness. Leadership problems are exacerbated by Civil Affairs Command recruitment policies that prevent what the military calls “ascension” into the officer ranks in the Civil Affairs branch, which means that those with the desperately needed private sector, professional experience that wish to bring their expertise to the fight cannot get commissioned directly into Civil Affairs. They have two options: Receive a commission in another branch and wait a minimum of a year to be promoted and then branch-transfer to CA, or do what I did, forgo the commission and join the enlisted ranks. Having been through that route, I can safely say that it’s not a viable, realistic recruitment avenue if CAPOC wants to bring in real, competent civilian experience into their ranks. The stated reason for this policy is to ensure military experience from other branches in the CA officer ranks and that is indeed important but this leaves no alternatives for attracting new civilian competencies and expertise and without that balance, the unique objective of Civil Affairs to have expertise in both the civil and military arena is severely obstructed. Combine this policy with the high attrition rate being experienced as pre-911 reservist using Civil Affairs slots as a field-officer “pasture land” leave in droves over fear of combat deployments and the result is a drastic shortage of officers. So far, USACAPOC has seen fit to fill these gaps by allowing anyone with the rank to take a two-week PowerPoint class and assume CA commands without the appropriate level of training one would expect of a Special Operations branch. Higher command fills their gaps but at great cost to both competency and reputation as they field more and more unqualified, unprepared leadership. Meanwhile, on the enlisted side of the equation, the Army is happy to take any 18-yr-old with no job experience or military background and allow them to go directly into Civil Affairs enlisted positions. One might expect this wouldn’t be an issue; that lower-enlisted would be expected to fulfill menial task that would not require civilian-sector competencies and this is often what happens. But if that were the intent, why would they continue to send them through an intensive thirteen-week AIT (Advanced Individual Training course) that focuses solely on teaching the civil-military operations skill sets? In some cases the ranks are so thinned out that the 18-yr-old fry cook ends up actually getting to perform the duties of his M.O.S. (Military Occupational Specialty) and conducts Civil-Military Operations in theatre which is good, but when you think that someone with a Masters degree in Economics and ten years of civilian-sector experience cannot contribute their expertise to the fight without agreeing to the same salary and status as the inexperienced fry-cook, its clear that attracting competency is not a serious concern of our high command. Recruitment and training policies have to be drastically overhauled to meet the demands of the 21st century battlescape. It’s a compelling topic and a challenge which I intend to explore in much greater detail in the future.

The Quake

fortunateSon — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 09:34:00 +0000

YES! We felt it here...bigtime! I was in my room grabbing some last minute things for a multi-day mission when it hit. I thought it was a bomb at first but it kept going. It was rather confusing what with it being my first earthquake experience. I then thought it was some guys upstairs rough-housing on the balcony so I went outside to check it out. I'd like to say it was my self-preservation instinct or something but I just didn't want to miss all the drama. As I don't watch much TV these days, its all I got! Once I got outside and saw everyone yelling for us to get out, only then did I realize it was an earthquake. Not to make light of what has happened, but my first thought was "Cool! My first earthquake!" We didn't find out until just a few minutes ago that apparently 18,000 human beings may have been lost. 7.8 on the Richter? Wow.

We were out in the countryside and didn't see any signs of major damage here in Nangarhar but I understand Pakistan was hit hard. I hope we get an opportunity to help, though I imagine it will be a rather morbid assignment.

A Personal Thank You

fortunateSon — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 16:49:00 +0000

Click the link for the video.

We have been inundated with kindness and generosity from the folks back home recently. Last week I received nearly twenty care packages from my collegues at Noblestar, my family and from strangers through the AnySoldier.com program. I wanted to do something to show everyone back home who has been sending toys, school supplies and candy that their generosity is bringing smiles to the faces of the children of Afghanistan and directly impacting the lives of others. Thank you all, but especially my "Memaw", Ann and "The Happy Meal Lady", for your generosity...and I can't forget my mom and my wife.

If you feel like sending more, please do. We'll put it to good use. We're adopting a 1000-student girl's school down the road soon. We should have no problem giving away toys and school supplies! And don't forget Operation Flintstone. It's supposed to be a hard winter this year. We can use all the health and medical supplies you can spare.