Battlefield Tourist

0700 Saturday, August 14th

I woke up feeling pretty good, considering the past week has been spent driving from Kabul to Herat, via Kandahar. My only problems at this point was the sores on my rear. I was just happy to be in Herat and made a vow that I would never travel that leg from Kandahar again.
Early on it was clear that something was wrong. The ANA officers and the American trainers were talking about fighting that had erupted around the province. I looked out at the tarmac of the airfield behind us and there was the ANA, bright and early, freshening up on infantry assault drills. I looked at Jonas and told him, "There's something big going on..."
Turns out I was right. During the night, the forces of provincial governor, Ismail Kahn were attacked in three places: North, east and south. In the south was the heaviest fighting at an old Soviet airbase in the town of Shindan.
For some reason, it didn't seem as though anyone was taking it too seriously, but II thought for sure something big was happening. On our way to tour the ANA HQ in downtown Herat, that thought was confirmed when we passed and armored personnel carrier (APC) and a tank heading south.
To get to ANA HQ, we passed through the city and into a compound shared by Kahn's forces and the ANA. As we drove it, we passed dozens of militiamen getting ready for battle. Tanks were gearing up as were a dozen APC's, all heading south.
Unfortunately, I was the guest of the ANA and they were eager to show off their advances. I was eager to take the video, but my interest was now focused of the scene unfolding in front of me.
I asked the ANA commander who was with me if we could walk up the road so I could get some shots of the militia. As we did, I was with 20 meters of Ismail Kahn when I first realized who I was looking at.
He's a former Mujahadeen leader of the famous type who wears all white, with a white pakol and a relatively long white beard. He was chattering away on his phone, clearly directing a battle. Our interpreter said that he looked sad. Turns out, the three prong attack came from three former commanders. The main rebel is Assabullah and it was his forces that attacked Shindan and taking Khan's weapons, including probably the dozen or so tanks we saw in Shindan the day the fighting started.
Unfortunately, Kahn was not interested in having me video, and I watched as an incredible picture slipped from my fingers. Eventually though, when we got farther away from Kahn, I was able to take a pretty good shot of him on the phone. To my knowledge, I'm the only one with such video.
We finally got back to the main ANA compound where Jonas and I decided to get on that day's Ariana flight to Kabul. I needed to get the video in, having a major exclusive like this was.
Our hotel manager offered to get our tickets for us. We also had to buy a ticket for the Wakil and Capt. Osman. $220 later and we were assured tickets. A while later the manager comes back and says that the flight for today was booked. Jonas and I decided it would be best that I got out first, so the manager swung a deal for me to get on the plane. He still had our money in his pocket, so I was sure this was on the down low.
At three o'clock, things went bad. Khan ordered the city to shut down and told everyone to go home. Although I can't quote him, it was martial law. That also meant that Arianna decided not to send its daily flight. Both me and AP:TN counted on this flight to get our video to Kabul.
How it works: APTN or us have a stringer in any city, in this case Herat. This stringer gets video of important events and ships it to Kabul via the daily Arianna flight. The pilot hands it off and whala... news ala Afghanistan. This is just a small reason why covering this war is so difficult.
So Arianna cancels and we're both screwed. What to do... Earlier in the day some U.N. people and their State Department friends landed and were still there. I decided I would try to hitch a ride if possible. So I ran across the ANA compound toward the tarmac, but the closer I got the more I realized this wouldn't be an option. There were a bunch of guys in civilian clothes with bullet-proof jackets, beards and sunglasses. All had machine guns.
As my heart sunk a bit, I looked off to my right and coming in from the south was a C-130 from the Texas National Guard coming in. I was shocked. Provided I got on the plane, I would beat APTN. I knew there was no way an Afghan stringer would make his way on this plane, nor think to try.
As the plane unloaded some supplies, I ran up to the crew chief and got permission for the four of us to get out. I ran as fast as possible (which slowed to a trot eventually) and excitedly told everyone the news. Jonas and Wakil decided to stay, Captain Osman and I would get a ride out.
On the plane I expressed to Osman that this was a big deal. I was just shocked it worked out this way. Interestingly enough, the story isn't over.
At Bagram we had no contact at all and am unsure that they even knew we were coming. Over the past week and into this one, I have been completely free to come and go within the military system and it finally felt good. It should be this easy for established journalists here. Since I am one of maybe two or three to want this type of full coverage, it makes sense let the rules slack for certain people. The way I see it is that it's hard enough getting news on Afghanistan out, no need to make it harder.
At Bagram, we walked into the TOC (don't know what it stands for... but it's the place that is similar to a civilian terminal. We got some weird looks because of Capt. Osman, but other than that, no problems.
We checked in and I got the number to the PAO, but it was after six and no one was answering. I knew my way, so Osman and I loaded up and headed for the main street at Bagram. Within just a few seconds, I flagged down a civilian contractor who agreed to take us to the front gate.
I have to say that the front gate at Bagram continues to morph every time I go. Unfortunately we had no taxis waiting at the front gate which has since been pushed back 200 meters farther than usual. That meant an additional 200 yards, plus another 150 to the gate into the town of Bagram where we would get a taxi.
The town itself looks like it's out of the early 1900's with muddy streets and hard-working poor people. The first taxi offer was $50 and unacceptable. The second $40, then finally $30. We took that one for the 50 km drive through the dangerous countryside of Afghanistan.
The plan was to meet Ahmed at the intersection of Jalalabad road. I paid enough to get Osman back to the Corps HQ at Pol-e-Charki so when we met Ahmed, we could part ways.
When we caught up with Ahmed, Osman decided he wanted to stay the night at our house and that it was too late to go to the base. We have an extra bed and I'm the boss, so of course there was no problem.
We finally made it home after nearly a week across east, south and western Afghanistan... an incredible road trip for sure. It took an hour to file the story and send the video (including the internet cafe), which would be the first video to come out on the big fight brewing in the west.
We had some tea and some food, took showers and went to bed, at least for a second. I quickly realized how important the deal in Herat. So I decided to get up and repack in the lucky event that I get another opportunity like the one I just had.

Sunday August 15, 2004 0745

We slept until 8:00 and treated the Captain to a good scrambled omlet. Interestingly enough, it was made with crushed tomatoes which threw me back in time.
It was sometime around 1983 and at a Boy Scout winter campout. We had a cool log lodge-type of cabin and my dad was Scoutmaster. That one morning I remember we were making scrambled eggs. My dad insisted that we put tomatoes in it. I knew for a fact I didn't want the tomatoes and it turned into a near riot of the boy scout sort.
Back in Kabul, we finished breakfast and headed to Pol-e-Charki and dropped off the Captain. There we found out that Karzai got a major troop movement passed in the Afghan Security Council and that 1,000 troops or more were getting ready to head to Herat.
We thanked the Colonel and took off for Kabul where we needed to get a camera and to the airport to try to get pictures of the army leaving for Herat. On the way, I got a hold of Major Bloom and begged him to somehow get me on a plane. Within a half hour, he called back and said he got me approved to go. I had my gear with me just in case, and it was paying off.
To make this clear: This day is unprecedented in Afghanistan war coverage. It is just not possible to make a call and get unescorted permission to get on a mission. I was absolutely in disbelief that it happened so quickly.
At the ISAF side of the airport, we went through the standard security procedures: Bag search, pt down and bomb dog. The usual. After that the wait was on. An hour and several calls to the guy I the booth go by when finally Major Peat comes to the gate and picks me up. Soon I realize I am the only journalist at the departure. I again was shocked. Two days in a row. The rest of the journalists were herded toward an Antinov cargo plane to do stories on ballot boxes going on at the same time.
I shoot a bunch of video and pictures, pack it up and send it back to Kabul CFC HQ with instructions to call Ahmed once he got back. Ahmed picked up the tape and fed my second international scoop in two days.
I had free roam and was only stopped once, by a Brit. I introduced myself and he said, I"I know who you are." He never offered the greeting back. He did want to know what I was doing unescorted on the ISAF tarmac. I told him my instructions were to stay away from the propellers, otherwise, I was welcome. He didn't seem to like that answer and walked away. Later I would hear some PAO called Ahmed complaining about what I was doing there. Ahmed tried to explain I was embedded with the ANA, but apparently the guy wasn't listening. I would also later confirm there was a ruckus,. but not with the Army, which makes me guess the Brits were pissed.
After a few hours I finally got on a Belgian C-130 where we sat and sweated with about 50 smelly Afghan soldiers before we were told the flight was cancelled because the missle detection system was out. This plane had earlier cancelled for other problems, so maybe this was best.
I hopped off the plane and headed straight for another C-130. This one American out of West Virginia's National Guard. "Can I get a ride?" I said as the engine roared. "If you wanna stand." the crew chief yelled back. "I don't give a shit." Typical Dave response.
In I go. This plane crammed to the gill. 70 some soldiers plus Americans. Gear packed 8 feet high and no seats. The two combat camera guys that were also on the Belgian plane tried to get on, but were turned away. They walked to another U.S. plane and were turned away from that before they came back to my plane. We made room for them as well, absolutely nuts. Sgt. Ski and Sgt, Witzke. Two good guys and I'm glad they made it. The ride, just over an hour wasn't too bad. My seat a duffle bag..
On our way there, I'm informed it's going to be a "combat drop" and be ready for a hot LZ. this confused me because I knew there was no fighting in Herat yet. That's when, to my huge surprise, I was told we were landing at the former-Soviet airfield in Shindan, where a day before, more than 30 were killed in the fighting. Wow a break. I'm going to the middle of the fight. Scoop number three in three days.
The landing was very uneventful and it turns out the ANA and Special Forces had already secured most of the airfield and the only thing hot about the LZ was the 40 mph wind that made it hard to stand.
The base is a huge former Soviet base with dozens of jets, helicopter and buildings falling apart where they have stood for 15 years. Great place for a battle. Everywhere was shrapnel, mines and detonators. A place where mine casualties should be expected.
I got all the video possible of the soldiers landing at the airfield and decided to start to concentrate on where I would bed down. Afterall, my presence is known by a relative few, I have no escort and need to step it up.
After some exploring, I ran into a trainer from J-bad (Jalalabad) with whom I worked with before, Tim Kinsman. Seeing a familiar face, I drifted with them and ended up in an old concrete building. Turns out I ended up with medics and group of trainers from the Marion, Indiana armory. The same town my parents now live in.
I have luck streak a mile-long by now.
Over the next few hours I call Heidi and find an empty building to have a cigarette in and think. I end up talking to some of the medics for an hour or so outside in the cool breeze, under a billion stars, before taking off to go to bed.

Monday, August 16, 2004 0645

It was a tough night. My liner sleeping bag and a dusty concrete floor. The building's windows, all gone. Even with the major wind, it was a good 15 degrees hotter in the building than out, making sleep difficult. Once the sun comes up, it's
near impossible to get back to sleep, so I get up.
My plan is to stay as long as I can. Shoot some video, send it with the combat camera guys, shoot some more, than make it back to Kabul. Being the only journalist here, I could dictate the timetable.
After shooting all the wreckage and soldiers I could, I made my way toward the Special Ops soldiers hanging out near the control tower. It didn't take long before the CO, a Lieutenant Colonel (named John), came up and asked, "Who are you?". He looked very surprised to see me. I told him who I was and why I was there. He told me the theater commanding officer would be coming in today as would a planeload of press. I told him that if he wanted to avoid a logistical nightmare, he could radio Kabul and let them know I would have the video anyone would need concerning the fight. HQ thanked him for the info leaving me to change my mind.
With journalists probably coming, I had to get out on the first plane.
I went back and packed my things. I then carried it in two stages to where I thought a plane would park, eventually found an old Russian command trailer and had a cigarette.
I learned in the Marines while waiting for a bus, light a cigarette and the bus will come. As soon as I lit the darned thing, I looked up and the first C-130 of the day was coming in.
The plane landed and out pops about 50 ANA troops with gear, followed by a cameraman for NBC (Mark, an Australian) and an Italian photographer who worked for AP stills. I tell the guys hi and run to the crew chief; it's the Belgians again. Without hesitation, he let's me get my gear and get on. A flight straight to Kabul with my 3rd international scoop in three days in hand. Even more incredible was the string of luck I was having moving about. It felt great. It felt like the days of Vietnam coverage as I've read about.
Once in Kabul, I'm met by Belgian intelligence officers who escort me to an escorted room where they debrief me. I had no problem at all with it considering they just got me home.
They ask about the fighting, what I heard, what I saw. They asked about the runway and asked for a copy of my pictures. They also asked for a copy of the video, which I agreed to, but on my timetable. They escorted me to the gate where Nadir was waiting to pick me up. Here's the unedited story.

STORY: AFGHAN ARMY CONTAINS FIGHTING IN WESTERN AFGHANISTAN
LOCATION: SHINDAN, HERAT PROVINCE
TEXT & VIDEO: DAVID TATE / IHA, KABUL

Since Sunday, more than 1,000 Afghan National soldiers and their American trainers have been flooding into this former Soviet airbase that just two days ago, was the scene of fierce inter-factional fighting.
Early Saturday morning, inn a scene captured exclusively by IHA, Herat Provincial Governor Ismail Kahn is scene reacting to a coordinated three-pronged attack on his private forces inn Herat Province.
At least 25 people have been killed. There's also been civilian casualties when a
gas station in Shindan was hit with artillery fire. Kahn's men also held at least 23 prisoner's just outside the base's main gate.
Early Sunday, a large team of U.S. Special Forces landed at Shindan and reported the airbase as nearly empty. The base was then secured, reportedly with the blessing of Kahn.
Soon after, 10 C-130 cargo planes from the United States, Belgium and Portugal were ferrying hundreds of Afghan Army troops to the scene. By Sunday night, more than 500 were on the ground aided by around 75 American trainers and Special Forces.
The government troops not only took control of the airbase, but also effectively contained the fighting which had moved 10 km north of the base, just 35 kilometers from Herat's main power station. More than 700 government troops already protect the south entrance to Herat city. Those troops have been in place more than three months after fighting erupted earlier this year.
By 10 A.M. Monday morning, more government troops were landing. Throughout Monday morning heavy artillery fire has been echoing in the distance north of the base at Shindan.

Once home, I spent a few hours was spent filing and feeding. A meal, a shower, a smoke. Then finally for the first time since I got back, I sat down, typed this blog entry and wrote Heidi. Tomorrow or Wednesday, it's off to Herat again.