Operation Where's Waldo...

So I’m sure everyone has already heard about this kid who went missing, and then was captured and is now doing video appearances from Pakistan or wherever the fuck he is for the Taliban.

The search for this kid has been affectionately code named: Operation Where's Waldo (By the soldiers, not the official name)

I’ve been asked a few times by people back home what I think about this kid and this whole situation. So I guess I’ll share a few of my thoughts with you.

There are two stories floating around, with a few wrinkles thrown in that make this story into a gigantic clusterfuck.

First story: This kid walked off his FOB with no gear, no weapon, and no explanation. He just wandered out into the Afghani countryside and started to walk around. Then he came to a village asked if there was anyone who spoke english and then the Taliban nabbed him.

Second story: This kid was kidnapped by the Taliban while he lagged behind on a patrol.

The first story is the one that came out first. The first story came from his chain of command. This story also has the wrinkle (unconfirmed) that he left a note saying he was going into the mountains to find himself.

The second story came from his 28 minute video that the Taliban posted on a website and I saw excerpts of on ABC news.

Few things I would like to say first. Could a GI just wander off his FOB with no one noticing? Yeah, I guess so. I don’t really see why not. He knows where the towers are, he knows who is in the towers, and he knows the surrounding area. So I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t just wander off the FOB with no one noticing.

About the whole gear thing. And most people who aren’t in the military may not understand this. Weapons and gear are sensitive items. This is stuff that we constantly have to account for. So for the first story to hold up, this kid’s chain of command would have to produce all his gear, all his weapons and all his ammunition. Otherwise the Army would not have let that story slip out.

Now the story about this kid getting kidnapped on patrol. This one came from the horse’s mouth on the Taliban video that he was in. Well, this one is either complete bullshit or this kid was in on the whole thing. There is no way that someone was kidnapped on a patrol. How did he not get a shot off, or call out to his buddies for help?

Not to mention if this kid was kidnapped on a patrol how is it that he is in such good health in the video. Was there no struggle? Did he try to fight them off? Or did he just roll over and let them take him?

You watch that video of this kid, and just from the little bit that I saw this kid is either really fucking stupid or he is nothing more than a deserter. He is in perfect health, he has no wounds, no marks, a freshly shaved head, and he is sitting there calmly eating his food like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

I don’t mean to be a dick, and I certainly don’t want to disrespect this kid’s family or the pain they are going through right now but there is entirely too much about this whole situation that just doesn’t fit.

Why did he leave? Did his chain of command know anything about this? Did he give any indication that he was going to do something like this?

Another round of questions with no answers. I would like to be able to say that we’ll have to wait for this thing to play out before we pass judgment on this kid. But that isn’t the case. His entire chain of command is going down for this one. Company commander all the way on down to team leader. Probably already been relieved of duty and are awaiting the end of their careers. Not to mention the huge manhunt that is going on all over this country trying to find this kid.

Air assets are being pulled from everywhere to look for him. Entire platoons are being sent down to Paktika to find this mutt. Everyone and their brother is out looking for him. God only knows how many UAV’s we’ve got scouring the country trying to locate this kid.

But this is not going to end well. About the only thing that could happen that could have this thing turning out well is that someone just manages to stumble across this kid and rescue him. But chances of that are slim and none, given that he’s probably in Pakistan.

So what do I think of all this? (Warning: If you are a bleeding heart you will not enjoy what I have to say about this) And I am writing this from the point of view that this kid walked off his FOB. I just can’t believe that he was kidnapped on patrol and things have played out like this.

Fuck this kid. He has put the lives of countless soldiers in danger. And why? I don’t know, but apparently he was having a little trouble dealing with this war. He deserted, plain and simple. I haven’t an ounce of sympathy for anyone who does such a thing.

If you’re suicidal or whatever, there are ways of doing it that doesn’t put anyone else in danger. You’re nothing more than a piece of shit deserter. So enjoy your time with the Taliban because pretty soon they are going to run out of uses for you, and when they do...

I don’t even know for sure yet but I would imagine that at least a few soldiers have been either killed or wounded looking for this guy. And that being the case I hope you make it through all of this so that you can be brought home and court martialed.

I truly hope that I am wrong about this guy. Probably not. But soon, the Taliban will be done with this kid and when they are finished with him. It will be over. I don’t think there will be any big events surrounding this kid unless he converts to Islam and joins the jihad. I figure the Taliban have learned that cutting people’s heads off isn’t winning them any popularity contests, so when they’re done with him, he’ll just disappear. And his family will have to live the rest of their days wondering...

Just like everything else in this war, this kid is just creating more questions than answers.

I hate this fucking war.

Later,

I love you Mom...