POWERGRAMS

5 "Have you killed somebody?" It is a question I think all adults want to ask, but only children do. That's what war is all about, right? Killing the enemy until your side wins. The first 20 years I spent in the Alabama Army National Guard – first as an enlisted soldier and then as an officer – I trained to deliver artillery fire on an imagined enemy to kill, neutralize, suppress or destroy the bad guys. But for my first deployment to Afghanistan in 2007- 2008, the focus was not on destruction, but on building. In my case, I was part of an embedded training team, or "ETT," tasked with building the capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces. I lived with Afghans in Camp Vulcan, a small U.S. outpost within an Afghan National Army base in the city of Ghazni south of the capital in Kabul. I worked hand in hand with the Afghan National Police to teach them proper military tactics, planning, logistics and other necessities. I joined my ANP counterparts on joint military operations with U.S. and coalition forces to seek, capture and kill Taliban and other insurgents. But the large-scale military operations were few and far between. Most days were spent mentoring Afghans who truly wanted to make a better, safer Afghanistan for their families. I traveled to many villages and districts throughout the Ghazni province and came to care deeply for the peaceful Afghans, especially the children. We adopted a local orphanage and women's center. Being a journalist, I started a blog named "Yellowhammering Afghanistan" and through my stories and photos, others came to care for the Afghan people as well. Individuals, organizations and companies like Alabama Power sent packages of everything from food to clothing to toys and stuffed animals. Some of the care packages were meant for me and my fellow soldiers. Others were meant to distribute to the Afghan people. We allowed the ANP to distribute the goodies to their fellow Afghans, helping to build the credibility of the police and brightening the hearts of the policemen themselves as they felt what it was like to be able to help others. We planned and executed these humanitarian assistance operations to different villages as if they were any other military operation. With a hidden enemy who uses cowardly weapons like IEDs and car bombs, security was always an issue any time we were "outside the wire." We had our share of scrapes. Too many ANP were killed by the enemy. Some of our soldiers and the Afghan interpreters who worked with us suffered serious injury. But we also were able to do a lot of good for a lot of people. After my first tour, as I would talk to school and civic groups, I could tell the adults wanted to ask "the question" but never did. However, if it wasn't the first question the children asked, it was the second. "Did you kill someone?" It's a fair question. The answer is not an easy one. Did I ever raise my rifle, put an enemy in its sights and pull the trigger? No. Counterinsurgency warfare doesn't present many opportunities for that kind of engagement with the enemy. But on at least one occasion, the humanitarian assistance visit we made to a village generated intelligence for U.S. Special Forces. That led directly to the capture of a Taliban recruitment and operations cell. Since Taliban died as a result of an operation I helped plan, I suppose I did kill somebody indirectly. But, like my other work during that deployment, I prefer to think of it as helping to make Afghanistan a little bit better. When I agreed to go back for a second deployment in 2012-2103, I did so with the expectation that this time I would be actively seeking out insurgents, bringing artillery fire and calling in air support to do more direct killing of the "bad guys." I became the fire support officer for the 1st Battalion of the 167th Infantry Battalion, the famed Alabama Army National Guard unit that traces its heritage to before the Civil War when it was the "Fourth Alabama" Infantry Regiment. But the mission changed prior to our deployment and we went to Afghanistan to safely move and provide security for trainers, contractors and dignitaries. With soldiers spread out in 14 locations throughout Afghanistan, the emphasis was on making sure they had all they needed to be successful in their missions and operations. This required frequent travel on my part and the part of the rest of the battalion leadership. I saw nearly every area of Afghanistan and came closer to death than during my first deployment when an IED exploded in our convoy. Luckily, the enemy wasn't very smart and mistimed the detonation to where it went off between the vehicles, allowing us all to avoid serious injury. We brought everyone home safely, which was the ultimate goal, and once again I believe we helped make Afghanistan a little better than it was when we got there. The asymmetrical battlefield of today made many of us long for the days when the enemy was clearly identifiable and the battle lines were clearly defined. In some ways, we envy our fellow veterans from World War II or even Desert Storm. Like them, we all shared a commitment to the mission and each other, and every day was full of uncertainty and the possibility of death. For anyone who has gone to war, survival becomes a guiding principle. I still get the question when I talk to children. I expect it. The two deployments taught me that war is not all about killing the enemy. Warfare today is much more nuanced than that. I would rather talk about the good people of Afghanistan and the opportunity they now have after more than three decades of war to finally live a life with more freedoms and less fear. But my favorite thing to talk about is my fellow soldiers. Only 1 percent of the U.S. population serves in the nation's armed forces. I feel blessed to be among that 1 percent. The National Guard men and women I served with during both of my deployments are among the best you will find in any of our stellar U.S. armed forces. They stand ready to respond to natural disasters in Alabama and neighboring states. They also train to be ready to serve our country anywhere in the world in times of war. They do so while also holding down civilian jobs, many at Alabama Power. Take some time this Veterans Day – or any other day for that matter – to let the 1 percent know they are appreciated. While you're at it, thank the family members of those veterans because even though they never signed up for military service, they still served. By Mike Tomberlin One soldier's opinion: War today is not all about death and destruction SALUTING VETERANS Communications Specialist Mike Tomberlin's first-person account of his two deployments to Afghanistan and decades serving in the Alabama Army National Guard. Tomberlin in Afghanistan. Mother and child during Afghanistan War.

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