Penguins of Afghanistan
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If a man says he does not want to go into the system, that’s fine. But in return for entering into the system they will be issued an ID card.
Staff Sergeant Jason Hughes sees great value in the HIIDE system and he was also very helpful in writing this dispatch. It was easy to respect SSG Hughes. After all, he had been “burned” in a recent Army Times article by the esteemed author Sean Naylor. SSG Hughes said that Mr. Naylor was accurate and responsible in his portrayal but nevertheless fallout had cost SSG Hughes his job as squad leader. Many people might have been angry with “the press” after something like that. Maybe it was all the combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, or maybe Jason Hughes is just not your average man (that much is clear), but he wasn’t afraid of the pen. There are generals and colonels and command sergeant majors who are afraid of the pen, maybe after having been burned a time or two, but that’s part of the war. When you get into the fight, you are going to get cut. Bottom line: keep rolling. Staff Sergeant Jason Hughes gets it. He got bucked off and busted up and jumped right back on.
Jason’s first tour in Iraq was with 506th Regimental Combat Team, 101st ABN (Air Assualt), and he was in Baghdad stationed at FOB Rustimiyah as an Assistant Team Leader on a Recon Team from November 2005 to November 2006. That was all he needed to say and I knew he had seen a lot of combat. Bad place, bad time. He came back for more, and now in Afghanistan seems to have the COIN manual memorized and is always ready to talk counterinsurgency, for which he seems to have an intuitive grasp. After 8 years in the Army, Mr. Naylor’s story came out SSG Hughes was “tactically reassigned” as the NCOIC (noncommissioned officer in charge) of Charlie Company’s Intelligence Support Team, and that’s how he ended up with a HIIDE system in his hands. SSG Hughes seems dead set on entering every Afghan possible. That might not help out this rotation much, but the culmulative effect of building the database can generate enormous benefit.
Unfortunately, this is another fragmented dispatch with no clear trajectory other than to mention HIIDE and Charlie company. Research got cut short after General McChrystal’s gang suddenly broke a written agreement and ended this embed.
My war gone by.
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Michael Yon
P O Box 5553
Winter Haven, FL 33880-5553
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Michael
Comments
Michael - nothing to apologize for! Another amazingly informative post and I thank you for all your hard work. We know the goons sold you down the river, man.
The two-front war!
Keep going, it is your kind of reporting that is putting a real face on this war, unfortunately not enough people seem to be paying attention and you got derailed trying to do it... God bless and God Speed
There's no way I (or many, many others) would ever know about the Good Work being done by the courageous men and women of our armed forces without the dispatches that you have provided for so many years. I applaud your integrity, your perserverance and your willingness to put yourself in harms way to bring truth to light. You have brought an intelligent perspective to un-intelligibly violent situations, put a human face on the experiences of our soildiers and the civilians they interact with, and shared rich experiences that are often reduced to mere sound bytes by politicians and news networks with self-serving agendas. You, and our military, have my deep respect and profound gratitude.
Don't lose heart. There is interest here. Our guys deserve a voice! It is also good for us to learn more about the people and conditions of Afganistan. Hang in there, be safe!
You are doing a great job and I appreciate the hardships you and the troops go through. I think there's little coverage of the Afghan war in the States now because there aren't big casualty counts on our side. So it gets "boring" to the press unless Americans get killed. I don't get it, but I think it's because most of the press is anti-war, maybe some anti-American, and unless they can print stories making our own side look bad, they're not interested. Wait until Karzai or the like make their next almost always false claim about Americans killing innocent civilians and you'll see plenty of publicity on that.
My wife and I discuss almost every day that we can't believe the easy life we live here while our amazing military is over there risking their lives for all of us.
It looks like I'm out of touch with what's going on as the censorship is news to me. If you haven't already, could you maybe do a dispatch about what's going on with that? (Or maybe have someone "write it" for you so you don't get retaliated against for it) Maybe some of us can contact some sympathetic legislators to get some action for you and the press to get that lifted. Also, could you spell out why you think the war is being lost and what could be done to turn it around? That would be very helpful.
Keep up the excellent work and please be safe.
I will hit the tip jar again. You deserve our support.
AmericanJarhead (aka: Cris Yarboroough
www.americanjarhead .com
Please keep up the tremendous effort. You are, no doubt, a voice crying in the Wilderness! My only wonder is why Fox News and some of the other conservative news outlets have not picked up on your important work?
Keep the Faith!
Semper Fi!
Charlie Walsh
May the Lord God (Who has a name, and it isn't Allah) protect you.
Another great article as usual. Since GEN McChrystal is the one who covered up the Pat Tillman boondoggle, it stands to reason why he doesn't like embeds. I wish my friends in Afghanistan could read your dispatches.
Just FYI retina scan is different than iris scan. You cant retina scan a dead body.
Great post and most useful about the biometrics. Question: You indicate that the eye biometric is a "retina" scan. Could it be an easier to obtain "iris" scan?
keep up the good work, i KNOW it is thank less job.... I pray forrour troops and ALL troops trying to help save people from the taliban etc.
Shalom,
Valerie
Where Bush was foolhardy and incompetent, Obama is indifferent and equally incompetent.
Meanwhile, my little brothers & sisters get blown to pieces for no apparent reason pursuing no clear objective.
Insanity is pursuing a false objective using faulty tactics. Madness is blaming someone else for your failures while using the same faulty logic and suffering the same crushing failures.
This is beyond madness.
The war in Afghanistan is criminally insane. Madness beyond comprehension. Sorrow beyond tears.
Stay safe Mr Y. !
""The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan says the war is a draw.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal says the momentum of the resurgent Taliban militants has been stopped. But for now, the general says, nobody is winning.""
With such poor command leadership, it cannot bode well for the boots on the ground, not to mention the different countries different command mentality. It is time for you to come home and get out of harms way which they are turning into 'fools way'. You are a good writer with all of the skills and your work will be appreciated in many venues, not just combat. Bring our people with you, just leave our command leaders in Afghanistan with Karzai.
One minor correction on the HIDE system. It actually scans the iris, not the retina. I'm an eye doctor so I'm supposed to notice these things. You can check this out by going to the Securimetrics site and downloading the data sheet for the HIDE device.
Hang in there!
and "....no clear trajectory"
Wake up sir. I follow you every day, have been waiting for you to post something. This was good work, until the last paragraph with more whining about McChrystal. You need to chill, get some rest, and go back later. This war will be on for a long time, and you can make it yours again, if that's what you really want. You need to look at yourself real hard in a large mirror and grip back up. "Lache pa la patat", and I mean all this with concern and goodwill, sir. Bon chance.
Larry Leon, Louisiana
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