Ghosts of Helmand

Writing has unlocked a lot of memories. Considering that I've been writing a lot of Afghan stuff, well, it makes sense, I guess.

I've been trying to write up some stories for 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines in Nawa, and I'm working on something for an op we did in 2014 with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines.

I'm a huge nerd, so whenever I get into researching stuff, I geek out. I stumbled upon a bunch of documents from both of our Afghan deployments, and man, did it take me back. I learned some wild stuff, like at least 5 enemy having been killed in action in my first firefight.

So, inspired by ghosts of the past, I decided to go treasure hunting. The story for 1/7 that I'm trying to tell takes place in a small village called Char-e-baia, depending on who translated the name. And of course, there's nothing really out there except for a village called Charabiya, which is located exactly where I'm looking for.

I haven't messed around in Google Earth in a long time, but I decided to go there instead of Google Maps. Turns out there's a historical view there, too. You bet your sweet ass I popped the time machine on. Below is what I found.

It's pretty wild looking back on these pictures. I found some locations of firefights in the past on Google Maps. I still have to plug those into Google Earth and see if there's anything interesting. But it's a trip.

It's wild. Below is a zoomed-in picture of the FOB Inkerman gunline in 2012. You can see all three mortar pits and the hooch the mortarmen lived in.

Anyways, thought I'd share. Makes for a cool potential project.

I have two stories in the oven right now. I can't promise they'll be ready any time soon. I want to take my time with them and not rush things. Making sure all the details are right. Be on the lookout.