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PATROL BASE BURY, Afghanistan (2/29/2012) — Their humble home is
exceptionally primitive, but it's all the deployed infantrymen need.
U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Short, a 24-year-old
corpsman with 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine
Regiment, and native of Aurora, Colo., tends to Afghan National
Police patrolman Mir Wali's head wound here, Feb. 26, 2012, after
Wali was injured in a motorcycle accident. Photo by USMC Cpl. Reece
Lodder |
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Patrol Base Bury, a tiny base contained by concertina wire and giant
Hesco barriers, is the humble home of Marines with 3rd Platoon, Kilo
Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment during their seven-month
deployment to Helmand province's Garmsir district.
This
deployment has brought them far from home in both distance and
circumstance.
At Bury, the 3rd Platoon Marines live and work
with the Afghan National Police. They mentor the ANP in a partnered
combat operations center, and patrol with them in and around the
nearby Safar Bazaar, Garmsir's busiest commercial center.
Every moment of every day, Marines protect the base by standing
security posts. Their duties are challenging, repetitive and
tedious. When they complete a day's work, they can't return home to
their families, a home-cooked meal or a hot shower. They return to
Bury. |
“When our work is done, we look forward to coming back
here and enjoying each other's company,” said Lance Cpl.
Jeremy Landers, a 21-year-old rifleman with 3rd Platoon, and
native of Tucson, Ariz. “We've been here for a while ... it's
home now.”
Safe within their slice of heaven, the
grunts unwind.
“Things get repetitive at this point
in the deployment, but we find things to kill time and stay
levelheaded,” Landers said. “Refreshing helps us stay
concentrated and focused on getting everyone home safely.”
Several Marines filter into a ragtag gym, pumping iron
to the sweet sounds of a fast-paced melody which they claim
as rock music. A group of four stands in the makeshift
kitchen, joking and reminiscing about their last deployment.
“We spend a lot of our down time just standing around
talking,” said Lance Cpl. Tom Morton, a 23-year-old team
leader with 3rd Platoon, and native of Nashville, Tenn. “You
think we'd run out of things to talk about after spending
four months with the same people, but somehow we always find
something new.”
Though Bury's combat kitchen is a
popular place for the Kilo Company Marines to converse, it's
also the grounds for one of their favorite down time
activities. Here they concoct creative cuisine using items
they've drawn from Meals, Ready to Eat and care packages.
“I grew up having only a little; a lot of us did,” said
Lance Cpl. Michael Hogan, a 20-year-old rifleman with 3rd
Platoon, and native of Columbus, Ohio. “We're used to doing
the best with what we've been given.”
Seated on his
green fold-up cot in an unheated tent, Hogan relaxes by
disappearing into his sketchpad, penciling down an idea for
his next tattoo. Three of his friends huddle around a
glowing laptop on a cot behind him, chuckling at a cheesy
comedy show.
Even though they don't have the comforts
of showers, internet, phones or even a port-a-potty, the
Marines are happy. They don't whine about what they don't
have; they take pride in their humble circumstances.
“Life may be simple here, but it's fulfilling,” Morton said.
“We learn to adapt and solve problems; to use whatever we've
got to make the best life we can.”
They are masters
in contentment, cleaning themselves with only water bottles
and baby wipes, handwriting letters to their loved ones and
using the rare opportunity to call home from a nearby combat
outpost.
“Things like not being able to take a real
shower become of a part of life here,” Hogan said. “I don't
take things like this for granted any more.”
The 3rd
Platoon Marines may have little in tangible form, but they
are rich in shared experience. Without fail, they have the
men to their left and right.
“I've got the best
friends I've ever had with me here at Bury,” Hogan said.
“Living like this sometimes sucks, but at the same time, it
makes us smile. We're building memories.”
At night,
they lay their heads to rest in their dusty tents. They
sleep, rise and repeat the grind of an infantryman—
together.
“The kind of bond you develop on deployment
is hard to express to someone who hasn't experienced
something like this ... nothing can compare to the camaraderie
we build here,” Morton said. “We spend so much time together
on a consecutive basis that we learn each other's
tendencies, habits and preferences to the degree. No matter
what situation I'm in, I know my fellow Marines have my
back.”
In this challenging cycle, the Marines of PB
Bury — a mishmash of races, cultures, experiences and
personalities — have formed an unbreakable bond.
“When we move on, we're going to scatter to the wind all
over the country and many of us will lose contact ... but
we'll still remember the times we had here,” Morton said.
More photos available in frame below
By USMC Cpl. Reece Lodder
Regimental Combat Team-5, 1st Marine Division
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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