Deployment Journal: Bala Murghab bubble cannot 'pop'

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
BALA MURGHAB, Afghanistan (Dec. 12, 2010) --  For a year there's been a security bubble protecting Bala Murghab, Afghanistan. Like any bubble, the one in western Badghis province is fragile and each component relies on the next to maintain the bubble's integrity.

I got the opportunity to witness the effectiveness of the bubble first-hand Dec. 8 when my convoy came under attack during a resupply mission to a combat outpost near the northern perimeter of the bubble.

You see, the villages just outside the security bubble are infested with insurgents, who terrorize villagers and launch frequent attacks against coalition forces.

I was in a joint Italian and Afghan National Army convoy taking much-needed Meals, Ready-to-Eat and water out to Combat Outpost Victor, a joint Italian-Afghan National Army combat outpost that is the only of its kind providing security for the extreme northern portions of the bubble.

Just before we reached the COP, the Italian vehicle in front of my truck started spewing oil and water, and then broke down. We stopped to assist as the rest of the convoy pushed on.

Being that we were in a very hostile environment, we immediately began securing the area and taking defensive postures. As the remaineder of our convoy rounded the bend in the road ahead, one of the vehicles hit an improvised explosive device.

Seconds later, insurgents launched an assault along the roadside. We countered their attack and also received support from the heavy guns above at COP Victor. We successfully suppressed the attack and the insurgents broke contact and retreated.

Realizing we were in a very vulnerable area, we used our remaining truck to pull the broken one into a field outside a village ahead. In doing so, we broke another truck.

We maintained security for more than four hours, when a separate Italian convoy arrived with a flat-bed truck to move our broken trucks and then, as one unit, we all returned to a nearby forward operating base.

Before the convoy arrived to help, we intermittingly brought the supplies up to the COP.
During my turn up to the COP, I almost lost touch with reality when I discovered how those Soldiers up in the COP live.

They had enormous trenches dug all around the COP and were fighting from and living in trenches, much like our great grandparents did in World War I. Besides their ballistic body armor and All Purpose Environmental Clothing System jackets they used to keep warm, they really were fighting a war similar to those of long ago.

I felt a bit sorry for those Soldiers who bravely stood guard on that COP day and night so the Afghans in the villages below could live in peace and tranquility.

But realizing that only minutes before, like angels above, these same Soldiers saved our lives, I quickly understood the necessity for them being up on that mountain.

You see, inside the bubble villagers can farm and live a somewhat normal life. When you reach the outskirts of the protective bubble ... well, then you've reached the wild, wild West.

Bala Murghab is protected by 15 combat outposts that circle the valley on the surrounding mountains. Troops from the Afghan National and Italian armies, along with joint-American services, patrol the region, man the COPs, and control access into the valley 24-7.

Under the protection of "Operation Buongiorno," Italian Mountain Troops (Alpini troops from Task Force-North), U.S. forces and the ANA have protected the river valley and afforded the Pashtun, Tajik and Kuchi tribes living in the area a peaceful life, when compared to other regions of Afghanistan.

Progress has been steady in the valley. A new school was recently built by the Spanish Provincial Reconstruction Team in a Tajik village called Quechaq. This school is monumental since the Bala Murghab valley has always been a haven for Taliban forces and a major drug smuggling route.

However, the school shows success and development, and is currently prompting Afghans who reside in the nearby mountains and villages outside the bubble to request relocation within the security area.

Being so important to Afghan life in the region and to the security of coalition troops operating in the area, like me and those who were with me Dec. 8, the bubble must remain intact. This is one bubble that we can never let 'pop.'