I'm in Afghanistan - General

[QUOTE=MarlaCouture;29544662] hope you have a memorable experience there. :smile:[/QUOTE] For the right reasons though.

Are there a lot of goats? Cause I sure do love goats :3

Is Opium/Heroin production really as widespread as I've heard it is, or is that just a load of crap?

My dad is going to Afghanistan this year :(

[QUOTE=hehe;29543512]Can you give us more information on what your job is as an Imagery Analyst? Sounds very interesting.[/QUOTE] It consists of a LOT of things, many of which are classified SECRET or TOP SECRET. What I can tell you is that I track radar from a JSTARS aircraft, I set up convoy routes, view UAS feeds, set up Helicopter Landing Zones, Drop Zones, Infiltration Packets, etc. All of this through satellite imagery.

[QUOTE=Jasun;29544770]For the right reasons though.[/QUOTE] Of course!

[QUOTE=BradB;29544801]Is Opium/Heroin production really as widespread as I've heard it is, or is that just a load of crap?[/QUOTE] Opium is one of the main ways the Taliban gets money. There are lots of drug labs over here. Probably more drug labs than HME and IED workshops. [editline]1st May 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Tac Error;29543863]For those who want to know how the Soviets fought in Afghanistan, here's a book called [url=http://www.ultimatesniper.com/Docs/48.PDF][b]"The Bear Went Over the Mountain"[/b][/url] with several combat vignettes. A lot of fascinating stuff, like regular Soviet units conducting ambushes against mujahideen...do regular ISAF forces go right into the mountains to conduct ambushes against Taliban rather than keeping the bulk of force in security?[/QUOTE] Missions are run on a regular basis. I'm not quite sure how the line units divide their shit. That's probably classified anyway.

What are the insects like? You see any of those camel spiders?

Any idea why the heroin production level has gone through the roof since the invasion?

[QUOTE=m!lls;29543760]Whats with everyone being dicks about this and suggesting stupid unfunny shit. Ontopic: OP have you ever been in a really stressful situation like a firefight or really suspicious looking people where you have had to get the fuck out of there?[/QUOTE] No, actually. For the most part I stay in the FOB. Not too recently a guy dressed as an Afghani regular crept into it and got to a conference room where they were having a meeting. He had a ball bearing suicide vest on and he killed almost everyone in the room (including himself, the sick bastard). [editline]1st May 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=JustExtreme;29545225]Any idea why the heroin production level has gone through the roof since the invasion?[/QUOTE] Yes. The Taliban use drugs to furnish their wallets.

Afghanistan is the opium centre of the entire world, and the US can't do anything about it because it's basically their economy. Though I heard some US geologists found trillions of dollars worth of natural resources the Afghans could use to build an economy. Burning the poppy fields would ruin the livelihoods of a huge percentage of the Afghan population, whether they're used for good or evil.

[QUOTE=TEH_TPMASTER;29545145]It consists of a LOT of things, many of which are classified SECRET or TOP SECRET. What I can tell you is that I track radar from a JSTARS aircraft, I set up convoy routes, view UAS feeds, set up Helicopter Landing Zones, Drop Zones, Infiltration Packets, etc. All of this through satellite imagery.[/QUOTE] [img]http://www.411mania.com/siteimages/commandermode_17688.jpg[/img]

How long are you going to be there for?

Do you work with other peace-keeping forces there? (Swedish, Norwegians, finnish, germans etc)

12-15 months!

Do you truely believe you are making a difference? Not in a trolling or offensive way, just want to know the real minds of people over there instead of media portrayal.

[QUOTE=JustExtreme;29545225]Any idea why the heroin production level has gone through the roof since the invasion?[/QUOTE] Taliban banned the production of Herion when they were in power. Now they use it as their primary source of income.

We could be using the heroin to make medicine, buy it from the Afghanis before the Taliban do @Warrocker32, care to explain how this is dumb?

[QUOTE=LordMalevolence;29545335]Do you truely believe you are making a difference? Not in a trolling or offensive way, just want to know the real minds of people over there instead of media portrayal.[/QUOTE] I save the lives of civilians and infantrymen every day just by doing my job. Of course I think I'm making a difference. There are some times, which haven't happened to me yet, when you fail and then people die. I can only imagine that it would be hard to respect your worth if you were the cause of somebody's death.

I never got why people thought that the Army would do all it could to preserve any life, including the enemies, including caring for enemy wounded.

[QUOTE=Raiskauskone V2;29545292]Do you work with other peace-keeping forces there? (Swedish, Norwegians, finnish, germans etc)[/QUOTE] In my job? No. Most of the stuff we work with is Top Secret and distributable only to the United States (and sometimes select countries). However, we have Polish, Korean, French, and African forces, among others, on the FOB with us.

After seeing the effect of and profits the Taliban derive from prohibition, do you support the drug war?

[QUOTE=sergeantsmiles;29545490]I never got why people thought that the Army would do all it could to preserve any life, including the enemies, including caring for enemy wounded.[/QUOTE] The Army does do that. In fact, I was just on detainee guard a few days ago for a guy that got shot up after he killed a soldier. He was wounded and now he's in OUR hospital getting better.

[QUOTE=lemongrapes;29545549]After seeing the effect of and profits the Taliban derive from prohibition, do you support the drug war?[/QUOTE] Legalising the drugs would mean the Taliban make no money [editline]1st May 2011[/editline] Have you ever fired your weapon in combat? By that I mean out of training, maybe at the edge of the FOB

[QUOTE=TEH_TPMASTER;29545227]No, actually. For the most part I stay in the FOB. Not too recently a guy dressed as an Afghani regular crept into it and got to a conference room where they were having a meeting. He had a ball bearing suicide vest on and he killed almost everyone in the room (including himself, the sick bastard). [editline]1st May 2011[/editline] Yes. The Taliban use drugs to furnish their wallets.[/QUOTE] Actually when the Taliban were in power, far less opium was produced since they were against it.

[QUOTE=ksenior;29545577]Legalising the drugs would mean the Taliban make no money [editline]1st May 2011[/editline] Have you ever fired your weapon in combat? By that I mean out of training, maybe at the edge of the FOB[/QUOTE] No. I haven't been here that long and people with jobs like mine rarely go outside the wire. [editline]1st May 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Catdaemon;29545247][img_thumb]http://www.411mania.com/siteimages/commandermode_17688.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] LOL!!!! NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!! [editline]1st May 2011[/editline] Also, kind of off topic, but does anyone know of a really good site where I can start a blog about my time here?

[QUOTE=JustExtreme;29545708]Actually when the Taliban were in power, far less opium was produced since they were against it.[/QUOTE] And it was criminal gangs in Nepal and the like making the money. When the drug war targetted them, production merely moved to Afghanistan.

[QUOTE=lemongrapes;29545900]And it was criminal gangs in Nepal and the like making the money. When the drug war targetted them, production merely moved to Afghanistan.[/QUOTE] Bingo.

Have you seen a woman without a burqua, OP?

This is an interesting account. Thanks for sharing. It's nice to get a view from a lesser heard from soldier. Usually, all I have read about is Army Air Corps, RAF and Royal Marines in action in Afghanistan so my view of the country is that from frontline men in frontline units doing frontline shit.