Just when I think I'm out...I get an assignment to cover Iraq.  But since the assignment is to cover the 1st Infantry Division as part of a project for the Cantigny First Infantry Division Museum, I couldn't say no.

The Headquarters of the 1st Infantry Division--The Big Red One--is running the United States Division--South out of Basra.

I flew from Kabul to Dubai on Kam airlines and stayed the night at the Holiday Inn Express Airport.  I'm becoming an authority on the H.I. Expresses of Dubai, so far I like the Airport one the best.  I flew Emirates Airlines to Kuwait and then took a Blackhawk from the military transit point Contingency Operating Base Basra.

The second largest and most economically powerful city in Iraq, Basra is key terrain in the current stability operations in Iraq.  Basra is Iraq's only port, and for a oil producing nation, ports are essential.

In the 1980s, the Iran/Iraq war was fought,in part, over access to the Persian Gulf.  Iraq's access is limited to a narrow confluence called the Shaat al Arab--more of wide, deep river mouth than anything else.

Being so close to Iran, checking the persian influence is a key component of the work of US Forces and diplomats in Basra.  US Forces also work with Iraqi forces on border security.

Here are some snapshots with my little digicam from the helicopter flight from Kuwait to Basra.

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After a spate of attacks in central Kabul a few months ago, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan supposedly stepped up security in the capital.

The also seemed to hire a PR firm to come up with a catchy phrase for the stepped up security--Ring of Steel.

So at the usual checkpoints staffed by police officers, there are these big metal signs.

 I am sure they will deter the Taliban.

An M-ATV, rolls into a parking lot outside of Camp Dubs.  The remains of the Royal Queen's palace are in the background.

The M-ATV is two analogies and a seriously bad idea.  Using the M-ATV for true combat operations makes about as much sense as its name.

The "M" stands for MRAP which is Mine Resistant Ambush Protected.  The "ATV" stands for All Terrain Vehicle.  The All Terrain part should be in air quotes because there is a lot of terrain in Afghanistan the M-ATV is not rated for.

(Read Part I here)

The Musahe District, southwest of Kabul on the border of Logar province, is dotted with small villages in the valleys low, rocky mountains.  The Directorate of National Security says that the Taliban uses it is as a staging ground for attacks on Kabul.  District police officers report Taliban activity ranging from criminal extortion to planting bombs on the roads to target Afghan security forces and ISAF coalition forces.

As part of the Validation Transition Team's assessment of the 1st Battalion, 111st Afghan National Army Divsion, they wanted to ride along on a mission in Musahe District.

The VTT is NATO/ISAF's internal reviewer of the readiness and operational abilities of Afghan Army units.  When Congress and think-tanks release reports on the state of the Afghan National Army, they are largely based on the work of the VTT.

The upcoming reviews of President Obama's strategic plan for Afghanistan, which relies on increasing the size of the Afghan security forces, will use the work of the VTT.

To properly assess a unit the VTT follows them on a mission from beginning to end--from the planning phase to the after action review.

On the afternoon when the Battalion Commander, Colonel Zalmat Nbard was supposed to review the mission with the VTT it became very obvious that the planning phase had never even been considered.

Col. Nbard, MAJ Gries, MAJ Johnson and Wally

The Musahe District is within Nbard's area of operations.  He is tasked by his higher headquarters with patrolling the area no less than once a week.  Heading out to Musahe is a routine operation and hardly worthy of a full blown process.  Many American units have regular operations and just update the plan with the latest intelligence.  Majors Gries and Johnson understood how this was a regularly scheduled patrol and tried to get the Colonel to walk them through the basics--which should have been pretty easy since he did it every week--it wasn't.

Just back inside  some more civilized wire.  I haven't seen much war out there, but that doesn't surprise me.  The wars always seem worse on CNN than they are in real life because CNN and the rest of the media don't report on things that do not go boom.

For the past few days I've been with the Afghan Army and a couple teams of Americans that have a unique role in the fielding of the Afghan National Army.  There is a lot to report and even more for me to study and research, for now I'll hit some of the high-lights.

Ultimate victory over the Taliban will be won by Afghans, not US Soldiers and Marines.  US/NATO/ISAF military forces can contain the Taliban, but ultimate destruction of the Taliban will be done by Afghans, which is why I've been so interested into digging into the Afghan National Army.

My tour guides were the Validation Transition Team Kabul and VTT 201.  The latter going by the nickname 'Zombie Killers' for their firm belief that the ultimate test of readiness is being ready for the Zombie Apocalypse.

The Afghan National Army as whole is not ready for the Zombie Apocalypse, but Colonel Zalmat Nbard, a former Mujahadeen Commander in the Northern Alliance and now Commanding Officer of an Afghan Army Battalion is as close to being ready to take on the Taliban as any ANA unit gets. 

Colonel Zalmat Nbard and JD

 Colonel Nbard, an ethnic Tajik, fought against the Soviets in the 1980s.  He became an officer in the short-lived post-communist government before going back to the Panjushir valley to rejoin Masood's Northern Alliance in the civil war.  In the late 1990's up to 2001, Col. Nbard fought the Taliban to a stand-still.  After 9/11 Nbard and others swept south with US Special Forces routing the Taliban.  Nbard is a leader of Afghans and the personification of the Afghan way of war which looks nothing like the US way of war.