At Peace with War

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Harold Ristau. At Peace with War

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At Peace with War

A Chaplain’s Meditations from Afghanistan

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September 16

It is a bizarre feeling to fall onto your stomach on a cafeteria floor along with close to 500 others. When the alarm is sounded and we hear “rocket attack” or “ground attack,” that is precisely the procedure. Wherever you are on KAF, you drop down and cover your face. The voice, blasted over speakers throughout our base, occupied by close to 60 000 troops, reminds me of something out of an Orwellian novel. Out on the FOBs, there are no warnings before a rocket strikes, except for a short whistle about half a second prior. On KAF, it is unlikely that we will get injured or killed because the base is so large, though we have taken casualties from time to time. Often, by the time we hear the alarm, the rocket has already landed somewhere. We tend to get a lot more at the airfield, since the insurgents know well that that is where most of our fuel is kept. Lucky for us, their aim is lousy and they lack equipment. The rockets are usually set on an angle between some rocks. They are constructed of whatever combustible material is available to them, and catapulted from the mountains or fields. They have hit a couple of aircraft and some of our hangars. Immediately after an attack, every member needs to notify their CoC regarding their whereabouts to assure that everyone is accounted for on base.

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