It started out like any other day on our little fire base. Our small detachment consisting of 1st PLT C CO 1-506th, C CO Mortars (minus SPC Goings), and a few more attachments (I don’t remember their roles) continued our retrograde operations for FB Nawa. It was a very small base of operation and I was told it was once the pharmacy for the village. It was also located next to the Nawa police station. Part of our mission was to train the Police and assess the village using SWEAT (Sewage, Water, Electricity, Academics and Telecommunications).
Adding to this mission, we were scheduled to leave this fire base within the next few days and there was a strenuous amount of labor that needed to be completed, patrols to be conducted, as well as guard towers that still needed to be maintained. I vividly remember manually loading a few up armored doors from a M1114 with three other privates into the open hatch of a CH-47 while my squad leader inspected the stripped HMMWV frame for sling load as part of the retrograde. That morning, I awoke to the sound of a 1st platoon prepping equipment and trucks to link up with 4th PLT.
The 4th PLT concept was envisioned and implemented by our BN Commander to be an organic additional asset equipped with ASVs (Armored Security Vehicle) mounted with M2s and MK19s. 4th PLT became our designated Quick Reaction Force (QRF) Platoon and their mission was to provide armed security for all the Maintenance company trucks and Jingle trucks that were assisting in the retrograde of FB Nawa. They all drove from Fob Warrior 3 days prior and were engaged in sporadic fire fights throughout the three day convoy.
I began to prep for tower guard and waited in the little room that was designated our TOC (Tactical Operations Center) for the Sergeant of the Guard (SOG) to conduct Guard Mount on myself and three other guards. We were instructed to keep an unyielding eye out for suspicious activity in the village of Nawa that day due to the fact our friendly convoy was to arrive in a few hours and the convoy had been taking small arms fire, struck a few IEDs and had been hit by some RPGs near villages they passed through from enemy Taliban fighters. Upon completion of my brief, I moved to my designated tower and began to scan my sector.
About 3 hours or so into my shift, I saw 1st platoon make link up with the convoy and began to head back to the FB. As they turned around, I noticed a cloud of smoke erupt from behind the 1st vehicle and the first vehicle stop. I felt like something went wrong (I never witnessed an IED detonate before, so I didn’t know what I was observing at the moment. ) so I immediately notified the SOG over the MBITR (Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio). I started to feel anger as I slowly realized what happened. The SOG ran into the tower and grabbed the binos as I guided him to where I viewed the explosion.
As that happened, the Battle Captain blurted quickly over the net that PFC Salvador was hurt and he would be getting medevac’d once 1st PLT made it back to the FB. My heart began racing as I expected the worse. 1st Platoon made it back and within a few minutes, the UH- 60Q touched down to evacuate our wounded soldier. I can’t remember if his wound was his part of his face or his dismembered leg, or both but I remember the mixed feelings of happiness for him to still have a life and the connection of wrath in the hearts of all of us on the FB. The enemy was going to pay. We were going to destroy all of them if they encountered us.
The bird took off and within moments, we heard gunfire from the village. We were notified that the Afghan National Police (ANP) Chief was murdered in the middle of the market. The entire fire base immediately prepped for possible enemy contact and to search the village. The ANP wanted us to recover the body of the police chief and keep it in our base out of fear that it would be desecrated. I eagerly wanted to go with 1st PLT despite completing a 5 hour guard shift so I approached one of the squad leaders from 1st PLT and was approved by 1st PLT’s PSG so I grabbed my rifle and fell in with 3rd squad as we exited the FB.
We went through the village with an extremely hostile nature and searched through some homes of people we deemed suspicious. Our interpreter nicknamed “Elvis” understood our hostility and translated accordingly when necessary with whoever needed to be interacted with. By the end of that mission, we couldn’t identify any enemy in the village so we assisted the ANP with recovering the police chief’s body and brought it back to the base. After things died down, I was able to see my friend Sam whom, I haven’t seen in 5 months or so.
It was around 1800 and I decided to sit down in a GATOR (A small John Deere Vehicle) with my friend Sam. We exchanged stories and caught up since we haven’t seen each other for a while. He then asked where the latrine was, so I pointed him in the direction of our outhouse. He left and about 8 minutes passed when (I want to say Tower 2) a then SPC Cohran, opened fire with the M240B right above me. He’s shouted out the three D’s (Distance, Direction, Description) and since I was closest to him, I echoed from the top running into the facility we all resided in to grab my gear.
Chaos ensued as everyone began to head to their battle positions. I woke up my Section Leader and told him what was happening then grabbed my gear and ran toward the Mortar firing position. There were about 3 rounds of indirect 300M or so outside of our base. Our base was pretty small, so I assume it was a difficult target for the enemy. By the time our section made it to the mortar firing position, my section leader was already issuing fire commands for the system. I did my role and grabbed an HE round and stood by for the gunner (Then SPC Gilstrap) to tell me to hang it.
With all the adrenaline from the gun positions and anger from PFC Salvador being injured felt a pressure to perform and destroy . All I can think was, “If you take one of ours, we’ll take 100 of yours! ” . We dropped two rounds HE for an immediate suppression, but we able to acquire a BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) as the enemy already broke contact. Forwarding on to the next day, I was informed by my Section Sergeant that I would not be in the convoy to push to Fob Warrior and I would be getting on a bird as part of the advance party.
I didn’t think it was fair and I exclaimed how much I wanted to fight to my first line supervisor SPC Gilstrap. He understood and calmed me down. There just weren’t enough seats to fit us all and I was the least experienced. I understood where he was coming from, but I was determined to find a way to get into the fight. I was/am extremely proud and I was not going to be denied the chance to do my job or not get the chance to fight alongside my brothers.
I flew out about 2 days after the conversation with SPC Gilstrap and my Section Sergeant, I landed at FOB Warrior, Ghazni Province and reported to SPC Goings, our other Mortar man who was attached to 2ND PLT C CO 1- 506th. Somehow, he must have known how I felt because when I linked up with him, he issued a WARNO stating we would be leaving the next day to provide Overwatch for the convoy coming back from FB Nawa. I was ecstatic to the fact I was afforded an opportunity to prove myself and fight with everyone else. SPC Goings brought me to speak with SSG Castillo, who was the Squad Leader for 1st Squad 2nd PLT C CO.
A lot of people in the company knew who I was due to the fact that I was constantly in trouble back in garrison. But, SSG Castillo just got to our company during the deployment so he only knew what people told him about me. He told me he didn’t care what I did in the rear and I had a clean slate with him. (I ended up being 2nd PLT’s primary 60mm gunner whenever they went on patrols or missions later in the deployment because he vouched for my character and my actions). I barely slept that night out of excitement and catching up with my peers.
Within the next few days, we left FOB Warrior and I received the experience I longed for. The entire mission (which lasted a total of 8 days) went down in the history of the 1-506th History as the “Baja to Nawa”. SSG Unger, the PSG of 4th PLT received a Silver Star for his actions during the course of that mission and PFC Salvador received a purple heart. That was the one of the longest missions we took part as a company of on my first deployment and though I may forget bits and pieces of the deployment, I won’t forget that feeling of pride I had while serving with my brothers in the 506th INF.
It was identical a tribe of warriors comprised of all brothers and that experience helped mold my entire leadership style and the way I operate to this day. Outcome I’m not sure if the lessons or the results of this mission are publicized anywhere as I cannot find a reference to them online, however I know that all those who took part in all of the missions, which contributed in the successful movement from FB Nawa and FOB Warrior, will always refer to that experience when training younger soldiers while also adapting to new enemy TTPs (Techniques Tactics and Procedures), and updated technology.
We relied heavily on violence of action and constant rehearsals whenever we were engaged in anything from, striking an IED to React to Contact and it indeed proved effective for us. I know I learned a lot about myself over the course of those 12 months and though I can’t fully recreate those conditions for my soldiers during training, I will ensure that that receive somewhat similar stressful conditions during training if not for their sake, but for the future soldiers they may have.
As I’m older and more experienced now, I appreciate all the training my leadership (Including NCOs from other platoons) provided me with even though when I was younger I didn’t fully understand why we trained the way we did. Lessons Learned The greatest lesson learned in my opinion from this experience is, would plainly be to be confident in your ability and confidence in your organization. If you can’t have confidence in your organization, your peers, and your leadership, then there are serious issues in your organization.
In the eyes of the young soldier, that feeling of knowing people have your back and people can rely on you, play a huge role in the development of your career as well as your perception of the Army. Looking back on my experience has taught me to pay attention to the upbringing of that young soldier. Not only will they feel part of the team, they might be filling into the role of a leader one day, which will overall influence the way Army fights and will win wars. In my legacy, I’d like to leave an imprint of influence in leaders and soldiers who are competent and confident, capable of flexibility and lethality when necessary.
As an 11C in a light Infantry company, I learned early that you must be proficient in Infantry Task and drills just as much as being able to exceed to the best of your ability in 11C task. I didn’t expect to go on patrols and execute missions as a regular rifleman, sitting in a turret with a M240B or a SAW gunner at any time during training in garrison but, my leadership constantly drilled versatility into my head. Victory is never guaranteed and the more capable hands and forward thinks we develop within our ranks, the greater chance of success we can assure ourselves.
