The Tampa Tribune / TBO.com
Howard Altman Columns
Today is the 14th anniversary of the start of the ground war in Afghanistan.
It is a fitting time to look forward by looking back.
Last week, President Barack Obama announced his intention to boost the numbers of troops who will stay in Afghanistan over the next few years.
The mission, to train Afghans and run counterterrorism operations, won’t change, the president said.
Just the amount of people who will put their lives on the line.
Obama said the U.S. will maintain the current level of troops deployed to Afghanistan, about 9,800, through most of next year.
That’s nearly double what he originally proposed at the end of 2014 as combat operations by U.S. forces were winding down after the nation’s longest war.
He also said last week that instead of going down to a “normal embassy presence in Kabul by the end of 2016, we will maintain 5,500 troops at a small number of bases, including at Bagram, Jalalabad in the east and Kandahar in the south.”
That’s more than five times Obama’s initial request.
It is a policy decision, reflecting realities on the ground that don’t match up with anticipations of the past.
It is a military decision, made with input from commanders like Army Gen. Lloyd Austin III, who leads U.S. Central Command, which oversees Afghanistan’s very volatile neighborhood. And while the day-to-day decisions will rest in the hands of Army Gen. John F. Campbell, head of International Security Assistance Force and United States Forces-Afghanistan, it will be up to the troops to carry out the mission.
At the heart of it, this is a human decision, requiring men and women to leave their homes, and families to wait and wonder.
As with most big changes in U.S. policy regarding Afghanistan, which remains a very dangerous place, I like to look back and seek out the opinion about the president’s announcement from those who made the biggest investment in the cause.
The Gold Star survivors.
Since the war started, there have been 2,347 U.S. troop deaths in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the nation’s longest war. Of those, 150 service members listed Florida as their home of choice. There were 35 men and one woman who listed Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee or Hernando counties as their addresses, according to an Associated Press database.
I reached out to three Gold Star parents. It is by no means a scientific survey, or even meant to be representative of anything other than the opinions of people who I have come to know and respect.
The feelings they expressed are theirs.
The value, I think, is that we should always remember. Whether you support the military or not, agree or disagree with the President, believe that the investment of U.S. blood and treasure is wise or unwise, these are decisions made in your name, funded by your tax dollars, involving your fellow citizens.
SPC Corey Kowall, 20, and a medic were killed Sept. 20, 2009, in a vehicle rollover in Zabul Province.
“As a mother whose child died in Afghanistan, it is hard to understand how we can declare the war in Afghanistan over when we still have troops on the ground and we are still fighting the same enemy,” says Kowall’s mother, Kelly Kowall of Ruskin, who runs My Warrior’s Place, which provides special programs and resources for service members, veterans and families.
“Have we not learned anything since our involvement in Vietnam? To know that another family will have to endure the pain from the death of a loved one who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country leaves me dealing with many emotions such as sadness, anger, disappointment, frustration and fear along with many questions that still today go unanswered.
“Why do we send our troops into a war zone if we are not going to let them complete the mission. Why do we send our military service members into battle when we tie their hands to fight with our rules of engagement? Why do we allow our troops to engage the enemy with faulty equipment and inadequate supplies?
“Why are we willing to let our soldiers die fighting to take control of a strategic location only to pull them out and allow the enemy to take back control of the very ground they fought so hard to obtain? I can only hope that one day there will be peace so that no one will have to endure the knock at the door to be informed that the Secretary extends his deepest sympathy in the tragic loss of a loved one.”
On June 25, 2011, Army 1st Lt. Dimitri del Castillo, 24, of Tampa, died in Kunar province, Afghanistan. He was on the radio calling in support for the men of his unit around him who had been attacked and wounded by small arms fire from enemy forces. Refusing to give up the radio, so he could help keep his men alive, he was hit and died with the mike in his hand.
“Americans we should always be concerned when we send our troops in harm’s way,” says del Castillo’s father, Carlos del Castillo. “That said, our military understands that peace can be brought about by a show of strength and conviction and not always or only by a show of fire power. Our military also understands the inherent risk of their chosen profession.
“I believe they would tell you they don’t want to have to pay twice for the same real estate. As to continued presence in Afghanistan, it is immensely complex. We must end the sequester and provide the support and materials need by our military. Afghanistan is only one of many hot spots. I am glad to see we are not repeating the mistake of prematurely exiting like we did in Iraq. In my opinion that was an insult to those who served and died in Iraq and done for political expediency. To me it was a shameful political act.
“I would be the first to never want to see a family endure what we have experienced. Yet the reality is we can all come home and politically say the war is over but the enemy may not agree, as we have clearly seen. The sad truth is there are people that want to see our country’s way of life ended. If you cherish our freedom you cannot let that be.
“I taught my children that we are fortunate and privileged to live in the greatest country on God’s green earth. I also taught them that we have a responsibility, as citizens, to defend the freedoms our country offers.
“As you know I miss my son every day but you should know my son was proud to serve and defend our country. I know he would rather fight for freedom and defend our Constitution than sit around and wish that he had done so. He was grounded in the belief of, if not me then whom.
“He told me he felt sorry for the Afghan people. They wanted nothing but to be left alone. They didn’t want the Taliban there. They understood why we were there but would be happiest if everyone just bugged out. They just wanted to raise their families in peace. Peace is sometimes elusive but as possible as it is sometimes costly.”
Clarence Williams III of Brooksville was 23 when he was killed along with five other soldiers by an improvised explosive device on July 8, 2012, in Maidan Shahr.
“Spc. Clarence Williams was doing what he wanted to do,” says Talisa Williams, his mother. “But as a mother, I do have feelings as well. I feel that they should be coming home. I feel they should not be sending anymore troops over there, because we already knew what’s going on over there when you said you would send them home.”
Williams say her feelings come from “love for my son, but not just for my son. We care of the other sons as well. I know they all join and know the consequences, but I truly pray that they all will come home safe and sound, not wounded and having PTSD, I just pray and hope they let the soldiers come home. We cannot go over and change what Afghanistan is.”
The Pentagon announced the death of two airmen who were supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan.
Maj. Phyllis J. Pelky, 45, of Rio Rancho, New Mexico and Master Sgt. Gregory T. Kuhse, 38, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Oct. 11 were killed in the crash of a British Puma Mk2 helicopter in Kabul, Afghanistan. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Pelky was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Kuhse was assigned to the 3rd Manpower Requirements Squadron at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
There have been 2,347 U.S. troop deaths in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, eight in support of the anti-ISIS campaign Operation Inherent Resolve, and 14 U.S. troop deaths and one civilian Department of Defense employee death in support of the follow-up Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan.
Original URL: http://www.tbo.com/list/military-news/altman/parents-of-fallen-soldiers-react-to-afghanistan-plan-20151018/
