Part Two: The enduring bonds fostered  between those who serve together in military conflicts bring together cultures and friendships to last a lifetime. Brothers in arms is  short series of  stories about a triangulation of  two Jacksonville, Fla. military officers and an Afghani translator ~ ~

The year is 2006. Ajmal Omar has been  an U.S. Armed Forces interpreter since 2003. He speaks and writes Farsi, Urdu, Dari, Pashto and English. At Kabul Military Training Center, he is assigned to Personnel.  Rinaman didn’t work with Omar directly, but knew him as a member in a pool of interpreters.

“As an interpreter,  he has to understand the processes on which we  train Afghan recruits and cadre,”  Rinaman said. “Because of the continuity Omar provides  and his specialized knowledge set, he essentially serves the role that our Non-Commission and Warrant officers do in the U.S. Army.”

The tank ~ Jon and Ajmal

Singleton arrives at Camp Alamo, the administrative headquarters for Kabul Military Training Center. Omar works at KMTC  for whomever is the Personnel mentor at the time.

The entire Afghanistan National  Army is trained at  KMTC.  U.S. Armed and U.N. Coalition Forces are mentors for new recruits  or senior military officers. Singleton and his Afghani counterpart, Lt. Col. Shamsuddin, oversee 1,200 Personnel staff members and a payroll of $10 million – using an old, manual Russian accounting system.  By the end of Singleton’s tour of duty,  the department is fully computerized with 3,000 staff members.

Christamas Day with Lt. Col Shamsuddin

Meanwhile, Singleton’s office co-workers at Watson Realty maintain his business in Jacksonville.  He keeps a blog, usually signing off with “raise a cup for me at Starbuck’s and I’ll hurry home.” Before long, family and friends send Starbucks, assorted coffee pots and an espresso machine . Then the  “security force guys” want cigars. Next is toothpaste, shaving cream and toiletries. The Army commissary at Camp Phoenix is a dangerous 5-miles away.

“If you could avoid going down that road because somebody sent you something, then that’s fantastic,”  Singleton said.

He signs up with Operation Love Box and Anysoldier.com. Just about everyone, including Col. Lyman, shares care packages with Afghani soldiers  at KMTC. They are paid (on average) about $100 per month and usually support  large families.

Refugee Village March 2007

Winter sets in. Villages are desperately poor – food is scarce, winter clothing almost non-existent.  Singleton posts to his blog a picture of a young boy, dressed in shorts and  galoshes carrying his diaper-clad brother.

The picture mobilizes a  Jacksonville Boy Scouts troop  – over 100 boxes of clothing arrive at the camp.

Donations pour in from anywhere and everywhere. A group of 95^th Infantry drill sergeants  receive donations from churches throughout Texas.  Lyman’s Oregon State University classmate sends over 1,000 children’s coats.

U.S Armed and U.N. Coalition Forces -  British, Canadians, French, Mongolians, Romanians, Ghurkas, and New Zealanders -  work with Afghanis and tribal elders identifying villages with desperate needs. Each humanitarian mission requires around 50 or so military personnel. The forces deliver almost two tons of food from the World Food Program.

Singleton’s tour  ends in May 2007 ~ his friendship with Omar does not.

To be continued …

- k. a. gardner

Video:  1000  Backpacks

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