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Written the week prior to deploying to Afghanistan

So, just to start out let me say I’m 24, unmarried, went from college into the Army. I am a Lieutenant, which is a junior officer, in charge of a platoon of 30 soldiers. My platoon is one of four in a company, and together we are led by a Captain. I was at my unit for less than a month before I was given my platoon and told we were deploying.

We are Army Combat Engineers, and we are tasked with a mission called "Route Clearance." Basically what we do is drive down routes searching for the infamous IEDs that are such a problem and such a huge reason for casualties for coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. We go very slowly (about 2-5 mph) and keep our eyes peeled and try and search for telltale signs of the roadside bombs. When we find them we dispose of them by either rendering them safe by diffusing them (ever seen The Hurt Locker?) or we blow them up in place. Each platoon in my company is a self-sustaining patrol and each patrol is led by a Lieutenant.

I am not alone in leading, I am assisted by a Sergeant First Class called a Platoon Sergeant and my platoon is split up into squads each led by a Sergeant called a Squad Leader. I will frequently refer to them because they are the closest advisers I have as well as very close friends.

Our train up to deploy has been tough. We spent a month training in very realistic conditions in the Southern California desert. Since returning from California our time has been spent in a frenzy to make sure all our gear is getting packed in shipping connexes to make the trip over to Afghanistan while finding time to take leave and visit families. Movement of several hundred soldiers and several tons of equipment is a logistical headache. Most of the gear we are going to use is already in country and we will pick it up there, but we still have to ship over things such as computer systems, radios, weapons, tents, generators, air conditioning/heating units, and a plethora of medical equipment. I am reminded of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, a book about a platoon in Vietnam. Its opening pages list the ridiculous amounts of gear that must be carried on foot through the jungle. We will be moving across the battlefield in special designed wheeled vehicles called MRAPs, but we still carry a very heavy load.

I am a mixed bag of emotions. I am nervous and excited, ready for the challenges that I face, but I understand it’s going to be a slow grueling process, and I am going to have to be patient. I want the mission in Afghanistan to succeed so badly so that no more guys have to go there and risk their lives. In fact I would be fine with Afghanistan being whatever it wants to be culturally, no education for women, stoning people to death, whatever... as long as they keep it to themselves. We can't change their culture and we should never think that our ideals are the best for a different people. It is when that territory is used to plot attacks on nations around the world that I guess we are reluctantly forced to intervene militarily.

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