Idaho Guard fights Taliban, cares for civilians, in Afghanistan

Idaho Guard aviation unit takes part in major combat operation against Taliban

By Task Force Falcon
Public Affairs Office

AH-64 Apache helicopters from the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade (Task Force Falcon) take off in Afghanistan. The unit is in the midst of yet another major offensive against Taliban insurgents. It’s providing aerial support for Operation Mountain Fury, which took place Sept. 16.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (9/29/2006) - The 10th Combat Aviation Brigade (Task Force Falcon) is in the midst of yet another major offensive against Taliban insurgents. The unit is providing aerial support for Operation Mountain Fury, which took place Sept. 16.

The operation focuses on the eastern Afghanistan provinces of Paktika, Paktya, Khost, Ghazni and Logar (P2KGL) near the Pakistan border, and aims to stop the resurgence of Taliban in those areas.

Operation Mountain Fury is the latest in a series of coalition offensives the 10th CAB has supported since deploying here in January.

Task Force Falcon Commander Lt. Col. Collier Lipple, of the 1st Battalion, 183rd Aviation Regiment, said operations have gone well for his National Guard unit, which provides aviation support for the eastern region. Thus far, his unit has flown 180 missions and compiled some 1,200 flight hours in support of Operation Mountain Fury.

“Aviation operations for Mountain Fury and the P2KGL region have gone superbly,” Lipple said. “The coordination between units and the products produced by the units, Brigade Aviation Element, and the task force have been outstanding.”

“We need to continue this same level of dedication and mission focus, and we cannot afford to take any pressure off the enemy,” he added. “Task Force Falcon is definitely making a difference in RC-E (Regional Command-East), Afghanistan, and the War on Terrorism.”

With the start of deliberate operations, the 10th CAB’s fleet of CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Blackhawks and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters has been busy supporting approximately 7,000 coalition and Afghan National Army forces taking part in the offensive. 

The sound of aircraft reverberates throughout the valley here day and night, as dozens of aircraft take off from Forward Operating Base Salerno and Bagram Airfield loaded with re-supplies of food, water, and ammunition for forces fighting in dangerous regions.

The brigade’s AH-64 Apache aircraft are seeing action as well, having been called on in several instances during the early stages of operations to provide reconnaissance and close air support during fighting with insurgents.

“From the positioning of assets, be it artillery, intelligence, ground forces, or surveillance and reconnaissance, the 10th CAB has been vital to the success of Operation Mountain Fury,” said Capt. Lee Eines, Task Force Falcon assistant S-3 and battle captain. “Our Task Force has the unique ability to operate across all boundary lines, in everyone’s area of operation. No other force within Combined Joint Task Force-76 has the ability to move as fast and as seamlessly across multiple AO’s. Aviation operations are the asymmetrical advantage that makes the U.S. Army the force that it is.”

Although the primary operation is set in the east, aircraft from Bagram have been called on for support as well, said Lt. Col. William Metheny, commander of 10th CAB’s 3rd Battalion, 10th General Support Aviation Battalion (Task Force Centaur). While 1-183rd was conducting deliberate ops against the enemy, he said, Centaur took over many of the unit’s missions in that region. 

 “We were doing a lot of their re-supply throughout the area they were operating in, so they could focus on their mission of keeping the enemy in their area pinned down,” he explained.

Metheny added that while the ground forces are working hard and deserve a lot of credit for what they do, “our aviators are working hard too, and logging a lot of hours, and they deserve credit as well.”

Centaur aviators flew more than 600 hours in the first week of the operation.

Earlier this month, the10th CAB’s 2nd Battalion, 10th Aviation Support Brigade (Task Force Knighthawk) conducted aerial support of NATO forces during Operation Medusa. The aviation brigade also provided air assault of troops and supplies during Operation Mountain Lion in February and Mountain Thrust in May.

Idaho medic tends to war’s most innocent victims

By Task Force Talon
Public Affairs Office

Spc. Jessica Guzzetti, a Task Force Talon medic from the 1-183rd Aviation Battalion from Boise, Idaho, tends to the needs of a local at a free clinic in Afghanistan.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO (9/29/2006) - Seeing the sad faces of sick and hurting Afghan children waiting for care at the local national clinic here melts the heart of Spc. Jessica Guzzetti, a Task Force Talon medic who admits a soft spot for little ones.

“I love kids, and it’s hard seeing them when they are sick or hurt,” Guzzetti explained after treating a young boy whose body was heavily bandaged from head to toe. “And it’s especially hard sometimes when you can’t fix them up or do anything for them.”

Although that is rarely the case, in the nine months she has worked at the free clinic that cares for dozens of Afghan children each day, two have died - one in the first week her unit, the 1-183rd Aviation Regiment from Boise, Idaho, arrived here in January.

The child’s death was a wake-up call for Guzzetti, who deployed expecting to take care of Soldiers with routine illnesses at morning sick call. She found a different call to duty.

“It’s hard when things don’t go right,” she said. “That’s always the hardest part, when things go wrong when you do your best but you can’t always save them…but it’s a lesson learned. You get through it; you get up the next day and keep going.”

Which is why the 20-year-old medic returns here each day: working at the clinic and caring for Afghan children is what motivates her. When she is not caring for U.S. Soldiers at the Task Force aid station, she can be found here, decked out in green scrubs and purple gloves helping make children well. Guzzetti is one of seven Talon medics who volunteer at the clinic. 

“We have patients seven days a week,” she explained. “Most of the patients we see are children, most of them have broken bones, and we treat a lot of burns and other ailments.”

Guzzetti noted that sometimes the children’s injuries and ailments have progressed “because of lack of or access to medical care.”

“They either don’t know that we are here for them, or they don’t feel comfortable seeing us,” she explained.

Those Afghans who do have trust are extremely grateful, she added, often reflecting that gratitude any way they can.

“Sometimes they bring us small gifts, like jewelry and other stuff. It’s not much, but it’s their way of showing they appreciate what we do,” she said. “And they always want to take pictures with you, or want you to sit down with them and have tea, or they want to shake your hand…they definitely make sure that you know they are thankful for what you do.”

The appreciation of the Afghan people has made her deployment here satisfying.  Guzzetti volunteered for the deployment a few months after completing Advance Individual Training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. She said she didn’t know what she was getting herself into then, but her experiences here have made her not regret the decision.

“A lot of Soldiers sometimes feel miserable on a deployment because they don’t feel like their job is very important,” she said. “Here, not only am I gaining a lot of valuable experience that will help me in the civilian world, but I’m also helping the Afghan people, and it’s good to see there are people who really appreciate us being here, and what we are doing. A lot of Soldiers don’t get to see that.”

But what Guzzetti wants to see most is that her efforts made a difference in the minds of Afghan children.

“Hopefully the children will remember what we’ve done here. Right now all of their beliefs, dislikes, and hatreds are passed down through generations, from what their parents teach them,” she said. “But I think those people who realize we are here to help them will teach their children differently, and that will make a difference in the world.”

Guzzetti shares those messages with family back home who are very proud of the work she is doing.

Capt. Terry Hashey, the Task Force flight surgeon and Guzzetti’s supervisor, said, “(Guzzetti) is wise beyond her years. She’s very motivated and enthusiastic about her work. She’s a super Soldier who always rises to the occasion, and she is definitely the right soldier for this particular mission.”

Still, her mother worries, and with good reason.

Guzzetti’s father, a 20-year veteran now serving in the National Guard, is also serving in theater. He is stationed in Kandahar, although the two have yet to link up. In addition, her brother and uncle, both National Guardsmen, recently returned from duty in Iraq.

“My mom worries a lot, so I can’t tell her everything that is going on. I don’t want to stress her out too much. My dad is in country as well, so she worries about both of us and that really drives her crazy sometimes.”

Those worries will end, however when the 1-183rd unit returns home. Guzzetti plans to finish her college degree then, something she started here in theater.

“I want to become a nurse,” she said. “And I want to specialize in pediatric care. It’s one field that’s very rewarding.”