Rebel attack on US base in Afghanistan
There was a mortar attack on a US base in Afghanistan yesterday:
Rebels fired rockets at a military base in Afghanistan, killing two U.S. service members and wounding eight as they were unloading supplies from a helicopter Wednesday, in one of the bloodiest assaults against American forces since insurgents ramped up their fighting in March.
It was a Big Windy Chinook they were unloading. However, I learned the news in the best possible manner: from my boyfriend.
The first thing you think of when you hear news like this, is of your loved one over there, and you wonder if they were somehow involved in the incident. To hear it from the horse's mouth removes that worry instantly.
He reassured me that the crew manning the helicopter was unhurt. Once again there is that familiar guilty relief.
I can remember how it was back in April, after the crash, when there was the communications moritorium for Big Windy until the families of the pilots and crew of Big Windy 25 were notified of their deaths. Those hours of not knowing were terrible, and I feel for the families of soldiers based at Shkin, those who are scouring the internet for any bit of information that may tell them if their soldier is alright, who jump every time the phone rings. I can remember reading blogs from other units based at Bagram, and trying to read between the lines of their statements saying that everyone in their unit was alright. Wishing there was some hidden information in those posts saying my boyfriend wasn't piloting the helicopter that went down, just how they might be looking for some tidbit that will let them know that their soldier wasn't unloading that helicopter yesterday.
Two soldiers were killed and eight wounded. After my boyfriend told me, I was pretty shocked, and said: "sometimes I forget that you are in a combat zone." He replied: "me too."
Rebels fired rockets at a military base in Afghanistan, killing two U.S. service members and wounding eight as they were unloading supplies from a helicopter Wednesday, in one of the bloodiest assaults against American forces since insurgents ramped up their fighting in March.
It was a Big Windy Chinook they were unloading. However, I learned the news in the best possible manner: from my boyfriend.
The first thing you think of when you hear news like this, is of your loved one over there, and you wonder if they were somehow involved in the incident. To hear it from the horse's mouth removes that worry instantly.
He reassured me that the crew manning the helicopter was unhurt. Once again there is that familiar guilty relief.
I can remember how it was back in April, after the crash, when there was the communications moritorium for Big Windy until the families of the pilots and crew of Big Windy 25 were notified of their deaths. Those hours of not knowing were terrible, and I feel for the families of soldiers based at Shkin, those who are scouring the internet for any bit of information that may tell them if their soldier is alright, who jump every time the phone rings. I can remember reading blogs from other units based at Bagram, and trying to read between the lines of their statements saying that everyone in their unit was alright. Wishing there was some hidden information in those posts saying my boyfriend wasn't piloting the helicopter that went down, just how they might be looking for some tidbit that will let them know that their soldier wasn't unloading that helicopter yesterday.
Two soldiers were killed and eight wounded. After my boyfriend told me, I was pretty shocked, and said: "sometimes I forget that you are in a combat zone." He replied: "me too."
posted by CaliValleyGirl at 9:35 AM
3 Comments:
CVG,
Glad to see the "man" is okay. Since mine called me yesterday I know he's good too.
I now can put together something that I have to be cryptic about for OPSEC reasons thanks to your post. It was a total "AH AH!" moment.
Got an email from my son... it was short - as usual - but he's okay. *sigh*
CVG,
My name is Shawn and I am the older brother of Army Sgt. Michael Jason Kelley. Michael was one of the two killed in the rocket attack on the Chinook helicopter.
If possible, I would like to speak to you (and your boyfriend) via email.
Please contact me
Mournfully,
Shawn
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