I know it’s off football topic, but I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day. Please keep in mind and remember the ultimate sacrifice paid by our nation’s true heroes.

Sergeant Ashly Moyer
United States Army
Baghdad, Iraq
Taps; 3 March 2007

Master Sergeant Wilberto Sabalu
United States Army
Kabul, Afghanistan
Taps; 6 May 2007

Staff Sergeant Michael Disciocia
United States Army, Retired
Ghazni, Afghanistan
Taps; 26 July 2010

Ashly Moyer was one of my privates I trained as a drill sergeant. Such a wonderful kid with an infectious smile. Small in stature but huge in heart, I never had a soldier that trained so hard. She was on patrol as a military police soldier in Baghdad when her vehicle was struck by an IED. The vehicle was engulfed in flames and there were no survivors. To add additional tragedy, her fiancé was on the quick reaction force that responded to the scene. I cannot imagine the utter heartache of being on the scene and the woman you’re going to marry is in a vehicle on fire and you’re utterly helpless to do anything.

Michael Disciocia and I were on the New Equipment Training team, training the Afghan National Army in basic M16 marksmanship. I put Mike in for promotion to a team leader position in Ghazni, a position he was well deserving. On the day of his death, one of his counterparts was sick and wasn’t able to conduct training that day. Mike being the wonderful person he is told him “don’t worry Papi, I got it…too easy”. Sadly that day a rogue Afghan soldier shot and killed Mikey and another instructor on the range before he himself was shot and killed by US forces.

Wilberto Sabalu and I went WAY back. He and I first served together back in 1991 when he was just a “young punk” of a kid from Chicago. But underneath that facade was a genuinely warm caring human being who was a devoted husband to his wife Amy and a loving caring father to his two children Josh and Nadia. We had various assignments together over the years, and I even linked up with him in Kabul training the Afghan National Army in detainee operations. 30 days after I returned stateside…and 30 days before he was to come home, Wil and COL Harrison were ambushed and killed by yet another rogue ANA soldier while preparing to depart Pol-e-Charki prison just outside of Kabul.

All gave some…some gave all. Lest we never forget those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so we may live in peace.

:flag:

 

Thanks Key, I appreciate it. No, I hung it up and called it a career in October 2005...after 20, 6 months and 23 days...not that I was counting :lol:

 

Trying to keep this post apolitical…

The rogue ANA soldiers were not that uncommon. Afghanistan as a country is merely a line drawn on a map. It is a very tribal nation with its population varying from the Poshuns, the Hazarrins, the Tajiks (spelling may be off) et al. There are 13 major tribes within the nation and it’s the tribal elders that have more influence over their people than the actual government.

There were countless incidents in which we would strike a deal with a village ie; funds to have them grow agricultural products rather than poppy and the taliban would come in afterwards, take the money we have them, execute the tribal elder and we were back to square one.

As for the ANA, there were taliban infiltrators in the ranks as well as soldiers who were threatened by the taliban…do our bidding or were going to execute (fill in the blank).

Afghanistan is the epitome of a 3rd world country that lacks the education, opportunity nor freedom to be able to pursue a better life for themselves nor their country as a whole.

Wil and Mikey’s deaths were utterly senseless. We were there to help them and they were killed by the very people we were trying to help. After Mikey’s death, I never worked another contract training a foreign nation’s military again. They didn’t want our help…and I didn’t want to help them any longer.

Jaded view? Yea…probably so but I earned that right to be jaded