The Holy Month of Ramadan is about half-over.  This is the time of year when Muslims fast during daylight hours.  With few exceptions (pregnant women, the sick, small children, etc.), they take nothing by mouth until the sun sets each day, including food and water.  It’s also the middle of summer, so days can be hot with temperatures approaching 100 degrees F.  As you might imagine, being hungry and thirsty and hot doesn’t inspire one to go out and put in a hard day’s work.  Too bad the Taliban doesn’t take this time off:  rocket attacks tend to increase during Ramadan.

We had a very terrible incident earlier this week.  About 5:30 in the morning, the alert system woke us up with INCOMING-INCOMING-INCOMING.  Then the defensive gun system that detects incoming rockets and mortars activated, shooting the projectiles out of the sky.  A couple hundred people were gathered at one of our event venues getting ready to start a footrace (we always have runs and races in the early morning to beat the heat and avoid interfering with work hours).  The runners were showered with shrapnel, but there were no injuries more severe than a few cuts.  Believe it or not, this sort of thing is pretty ordinary.  But things got really bad a little later.

When the sun was up, a patrol of Czech soldiers (one of our NATO Coalition partners) armored-up and went outside the base to investigate the point of origin for the rocket attack.  The area was populated and busy.  The Czechs were met by Afghan police who were assisting them.  While doing their investigation, a guy on a bicycle or motorbike (accounts vary) rode up and detonated a suicide vest.

The general population here on Bagram Airfield didn’t find this out until much later.  What we did know is that base-wide calls went out over email and loudspeaker asking for persons with particular blood types to report to the hospital immediately to donate.  The call was repeated over a two-hour period.  When the hospital is asking for immediate donations over a period that long, you know something very bad has happened.  We all felt sick with dread.

When a call for blood is made, people stop what they are doing and literally run to the hospital.  I was in a training meeting when the first call came out.  Those with the requested blood types, including a training instructor in the middle of a presentation, just got up and went — no asking permission of the ranking officers in the room, no “please excuse me”.  They just went.  People respond here like they’re saving a family member.  It’s remarkable and humbling to be among so many selfless volunteers.

I heard from another person in Garrison who ran to the hospital at the first call that she was one of the first people to arrive.  A few moments after getting in line, she turned around and saw about 150 people lined up behind her, military and civilian, with more running to the scene every minute.  She got tears in her eyes recalling that sight.  I know the feeling.

Despite heroic efforts by the medical staff, four Czech soldiers died from that attack.  So did ten Afghan civilians (mostly children) and two Afghan policemen.  Unknown numbers of others were injured.  Sixteen dead because the Taliban are determined to terrorize their way into control of this country, even if it means killing their own countrymen.  This madness has no rational explanation.

I saw a brief article about this attack in the Wall Street Journal.  The final line in the piece was this:

“The Taliban frequently make inflated claims about their attacks.”

I find this statement dismissive and offensive, as if the tragedy reported in the article may have been so much Taliban smack-talk.  What an insult to the soldiers who have given their lives to defeat insurgent terrorists and provide the people of Afghanistan with the tools to defend themselves against these tyrants acting in the name of religion.

My thoughts and prayers go out to our Czech brothers and sisters in arms, the families of the brave soldiers lost and injured, everyone who has fought against the Taliban, and the good people of Afghanistan who will soon face murderous Islamic extremists with less support from NATO.  May God be with you all.

Ramadan Kareem,

MM