FOB Sharana

By Vincent J. Curtis

Date: 2 Dec 10

Dateline: Forward Operating Base Sharana

Forward Operating Base Sharana lies outside the city of Sharan at an altitude of 7,200 feet.  Sharan is capital city of the Paktika province of Afghanistan; and the Pakistani provinces of North and South Waziristan lie across the border of the province.  Paktika province has several high mountain ranges running through it, and ground traffic has to run along river valleys.  At this time of the year, the valleys are dry, but in spring and summer the valleys are watered by the melting of snow that fell in winter.

FOB Sharana is large and growing.  There is talk of it becoming a major logistics hub when and if Afghanistan becomes the object of a UN/NATO mission and formal combat operations by outside forces cease.   A contractor told me that the base is actually on land leased from some landowner.  Right now, the FOB is just another dusty place that gets very dark and night.  Life here is rough.

There are not only US troops on this base, but forces from other NATO countries also.  In addition, there are native Afghans who live and work on the base.

Water here is tight.  There is plenty of bottled water, but water for ablutions is tightly controlled, and is not potable.  Chemical toilets and portapotties are used here.

The creepiness of being in a war zone gets to you in the strangest places.  When I went for a shower last night, I found there were two Afghans as the only other people in the tent.  I returned to my bunk and took off everything I could not afford to lose, except for my photo ID card, which I carry in a holder around my neck.  Returning, I took the holder with my precious ID card with me into the shower.

One Afghan eyed me as I dried off and dressed.  He was fully dressed, and primped his hair in the mirror.  His buddy dressed himself in the shower stall, never allowing his naked body to be seen by anyone else.  By now dressed and about to leave, I grunted a “good night” to the primper, which he returned in English.  Perhaps he was shocked at how brazen, immodest, and casual a westerner could be.

At about 3:10 a.m. this morning bursts of machine gun fire erupted from the camp.  At least four bursts were to be heard, and the direction of the fire sounded outgoing.  In about ten minutes, the sound of helicopters could be heard from the same area.  No more machine gun fire was heard, and the helicopters sounded like they were searching the area.  After about half an hour the whole affair seemed to be over and nothing more was heard after 3:45 a.m.  It could have been a jumpy sentry, or maybe a patrol test firing their weapons before leaving the FOB, or it could have been a probe.  We’ll never know.

Morning light reveals just how big Sharana really is.  Low rolling hills hide the base from a full view, but driving around it takes time.  The roads on the base are extremely rough, and there isn’t much that can be done about it.  The dirt wears away under the load of heavy vehicles, and exposes the hard rocks embedded in the soil.  That fine, pulverized dust is everywhere, and a breeze, driving, and even walking through it, kicks up a choking cloud.  There is a good reason for face veils around here.  US troops are living in tough conditions here, but they seem to do so cheerfully.

The military equipment at Sharana is numerous and powerful.  The disparity between US military power and that of the Taliban can scarcely be imagined.  Just last month, a small US recon patrol in Paktika province was attacked in early morning darkness by an estimated company of Taliban.  With the aid of artillery and air power, nearly the entire attacking force was wiped out.  The recon patrol suffered one slightly wounded, and they expended most of their ammunition.  If the US chose to stay, there is nothing the Taliban could do about it in a million years.  Bases are occasionally rocketed, mortared, and probed, but the purpose of these actions is to rattle US public opinion.  They have no impact at all on US military power.

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