AFGHANISTAN, - At a kulat in Forward Operating Base Gardez, home to the battalion headquarters of the 3rd Battalion of the 172nd Infantry Regiment, a wooden sign hangs engraved with a play on the old adage, “Home is where the Army sends us.”
Nobody has experienced or embraced this mentality more than the battalion’s Delta Company, who, until recently, had never seen their battalion headquarters.
During their first six months in Afghanistan, the company was serving in three different locations in Paktika Province, only about 30 miles from the rest of the 3-172 but still a world away from the close-knit Vermont National Guard mountain infantry unit.
Recently, the company was ordered to move to a newly constructed joint combat outpost in the village of Rahman Kheyl in Paktya Province and return home to their parent unit.
“It will be like a homecoming of sorts,” said U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Eric Duncan of Northfield, Vt., the senior non-commissioned officer for Demon Company. “The move north has been a major stepping stone in the deployment. I saw an immediate increase in the spirit and morale of the soldiers.”
Although their location changed, their mission remains very similar to the ones they performed in Paktika, working out of small bases and providing security for the outlying villages.
In Rahman Kheyl, this means they will have to build relationships with locals and village elders in an area where coalition forces haven’t operated in about four years.
But with the six months of experience from Paktika under their belt, they enter into the new mission with confidence.
“I have experience with the customs, culture, and how to develop a working relationship with the Afghan village elders,” said U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Dan Silver from Dover, N.H., a platoon leader with the company.
During their mission in Paktika, two of the company’s platoons were at remote district centers and although they were still in daily contact with the company’s command, the distance was a constant strain.
“Not having that daily interaction with the soldiers was mentally trying,” said Duncan, who added that he was glad to have the majority of the company back together but was quick to mention that their second platoon was still serving a separate mission in Khowst Province.
“Having the unit together in one place instead of split up all over western Paktika makes it much easier to support the Afghan National Security Forces,” he added.
Their new JCOP also puts them in a better position because they are physically co-located with a Kandak (a company-sized element) of Afghan National Army soldiers, and a platoon of Macedonian Rangers.
“It doesn’t get more joint than that,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gregg Langevine, the 3-172 battalion operations officer from Gibsonia, Pa.
Their new home at the JCOP, which they have lived at for about two weeks and was only constructed about two month ago, defines "forward" living conditions.
Unlike soldiers at more established forward operating bases, the Demon Company soldiers are truly “roughing it.”
For the time being, the soldiers have no access the Internet or television. Their mail comes whenever the battalion’s support company can drive it out to them; they share a single satellite phone to call home and they work, live and eat in tents.
“Our living conditions are more austere, but it’s worth it to have the unit together as a whole,” said Silver.
With the lack of connection to the outside world, the Soldiers have to rely on each other for entertainment whether it’s their daily flag football games, dinner-time debates, or trips to “The Pit,” where their wrestling matches take place.
“For the first six months we were kind of fractured, so (being secluded at the JCOP) has brought us all together, and with less distraction it helps us keep our mind on the mission. Anything that's a physical activity is good to keep us in shape, and it's also a good outlet to relieve stress,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Paul Jardine, a medic from Fair Haven, Vt., with the company.
Though some might see the companies living conditions as harsh, Duncan, who’s on his sixth deployment, sees it as an advantage and combat multiplier.
“My deployments have given me the opportunity to see that the more connectivity that soldiers have, every one of those comforts, is a distraction from the esprit de corps and the camaraderie that comes naturally in a combat arms unit.
"Having the Soldiers’ undivided attention reinvigorates those human relationships with their teammates and battle buddies,” said Duncan.