Remember the veterans

As the US marks Veterans Day, the sacrifices of those who serve should be remembered. Yesterday, Chris Chivers, formerly of the ProJo, had another of his dispatches from a remote and dangerous outpost in Afghanistan. 

For now, the soldiers of Apache Troop absorb and repel attack after attack. Sergeant Michael Ayres, a squad leader, summarized the practical mindset: standing watch behind heavy machine guns, the soldiers, he said, are waiting for reinforcements so they can change the nature of their fight.

"We need all the help we can get out here, so we can push out patrols and get out of the defensive," he said.

Many also find they are managing their frustration at taking harassment fire from the heights overhead and ambushes from opposite ridges, but because of the severity of the terrain, and the insurgents' quickness, of not being able to fight at close range.

"I'm just so tired of seeing muzzle flashes at 800 yards," said Gunnery Sergeant Daniel McKernan, who trains and advises the Afghan Army here. "This is like Vietnam. Hike around these mountains and you never see them. But they are always out there. And they always attack you."

While the soldiers wait, their days are filled by the routines of life in a hostile land. Soldiers stand guard around the clock. Each soldier is allowed to sleep in brief shifts, in crowded bunkrooms shared with bed bugs, flies and mice, while others man the guns.