I'm sitting in the dimly-lit belly of a giant Air Force C-17 Starlifter cargo plane headed from Kuwait to Kandahar, Afghanistan. The hold is packed tightly with supplies headed to the war, including two hulking mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles called MRAPs. These may be the most desperately needed items on the manifest, which is probably why they are being shipped in this hideously-expensive fashion. (See pictures below.)
The war in Afghanistan is not going well. The last two months set grisly records for the number of American casualties - the most since the war began. On Monday, commander of U.S. forces in the region, Gen. Stanley McChrystal reported that the situation is "serious," but that success is still a possibility. While he did not specifically request additional troops at this time, it is fairly obvious more will be needed, once the military obtains the material and logistical support it needs for the troops already on the ground.
Next to me on the C-17 sits a young warrant officer from West Virginia. Zachary Dickinson is a 24-year-old guardsman and student at Concord University. He is also a helicopter pilot. Along with a handful of other pilots from his Parkersburg, W. Va.-based guard unit, Dickinson was selected for a top-secret program for which he was cross-trained to fly twin-engine King Air airplanes in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He can't tell me much a out his mission here, but it is obvious that Dickinson's unit is a part of a greater effort that reflects Gen. McChrystal's desire to seek actively unique and out-of-the-box solutions to the task of turning Afghanistan around. The Modified MRAPs swaying against their restraints in the cargo hold are evidence the military has learned the lessons of Iraq well. There the switch to MRAPs caused casualty figures to plunge in the latter half of 2007 and helped the dramatic turnaround seen there after the surge.
But Afghanistan presents it's own unique challenges, and it remains to be seen if the United States is willing to invest the troops and treasure necessary to defeat the Taliban in two years or ten.
And while Cw2 Dickinson is looking forward to the contributions he will make to the war effort, he looks forward to getting home next March to his family in Mineral Wells, W.Va.
"West Virginia has been amazing to me," he said. "They sent me to flight school at nineteen - who else would do that? I definitely love my state."
