I haven't had much time lately to post here as much as I would like to. I guess that is a common problem for those of us that somehow have failed to be either independantly wealthy or an Exxon CEO, but I have had to,in fact,attend to real life stuff. I suppose one or two other Kossacks have to,on occasion,do the same. And tonight(this morning--it took me a while to do this) I feel the urge to say something. In fact,the last week or so has really sucked. Just as the recruit course I have spent the last few months training was on its last stages( and kind of using up a whole lot my time!), while on a field ex,I got the sort of shot in the gut that so many of us live with( and dread ) the possibility of happening every day now.
As mentioned above I was on a field ex with my recruits,going about our business and,while doing so,we were visited by some 'poobahs', doing their thing,visiting training locales and generally getting in the way of those trying to do a job while they do theirs. One of the group was an NCO I have known for years. He took me aside and, saying he thought it would be better to hear from him( he was right) that a very good friend of mine had,just a few hours before,(don't ask me to give you details on the NCO network of information passage amongst peers---let me just say it works and let us never speak of this again) been killed by an IED.
And that is why I write this. I just got home after spending the last couple of days in M...s(in consideration of his family I feel it improper to release his name. He had a website and it has already received inappropriate posts in the wake of this awful event.Isn't that nice?) home town in preperation for todays funeral and theres a bit of a hole in my heart. And I think that it is time I wrote of my friend M...
We hear it all the time-"he was a great guy..do anything for a friend..yadayada and all that. But you know what? He really was. M... had a smile that could light up a room. It was real and it was genuine. When things were crappy that smile would be there. He could see the funny side of all the crappy situations. He would be there whenever a friend needed a hand.He was that kind of guy. He donated a huge amount of time to his old high schools drama program ( they got the word just as their new production was to be shown-honestly, I can't remember the name of it-they immediatly dedicated the show to M.... He was that kind of guy.) He wanted to be a soldier because there was a history of service in his family. He became a very good one. He left a fiancee. They were to be married at the conclusion of his tour. And when I heard the news it was like a punch in the gut. This one was tough.I had to go for a walk. A long one. It was a beautiful spring day in a beautiful area(for an Army training area!) I found a stump to sit on and spent a while trying to absorb it. Thank God for cam paint and sleep deprivation. The two contribute to covering up any red eyes. M... tried to make a differance.He was that type of guy. The funeral procession came down the mainstreets and the church was overflowing. I have been told there were 1000+. I believe it. It was tight. Even for those of us on the guard.There were few dry eyes. But M....was that type of guy
He volunteered, repeatedly, to do the job he was doing there. He was involved in projects to help--the often overlooked,but oh so very important, part of the attempt to defeat the Taliban-- bring what we take so much for granted. Things like water supply. Schools. Hospitals and clinics. And that is what made him,and makes those involved in like work,such valuable battlefield targets for the Taliban.
Just think how it must drive them nuts that there are people working to enable a situation where girls are allowed to learn to read. Where the populace is not kept in a state of compliant poverty. Is it perfect there yet? No. Not by a longshot. But it is better. And ever so slowly it will continue to improve,thanks to the efforts of soldiers like M.....And with every tiny baby step taken the power of the Taliban will continue to wane.
I will miss (and already do) my friend. My 'happy place' is a little smaller and a little emptier today. But whom do I feel more for, besides his family and his comrades who so obviously hurt today? Quite simply, those who will never get the chance to see his smile light up a room or a grim day. Hear his banter during a difficult task.Receive his so freely given assistance. I have seen all those. I am fortunate. It still really, really sucks though. Big time.
M......
05 Aug 80-- 22 April 06