A weekends-off war, at least in terms of press statements detailing what's going on.
Every morning in Washington, along with Battleland’s second cup of coffee, an email arrives in our inbox highlighting the important work that took place on the ground in Afghanistan earlier that day.
Unlike the sad announcements of U.S. troops deaths – which come in fits and starts, and thankfully, are on the decline – these press statements arrive pretty much like clockwork, usually by 9 a.m.
After awhile, you begin to discern patterns:
— The headline tends to begin “Combined Forces…” That’s milspeak for Afghan troops conducting offensive operations with their allies. It’s not the same as “coalition forces,” which generally means everyone except the Afghans, or “joint forces,” which tends to mean U.S. military personnel from different services working together.
— Sometimes, apparently just for variety’s sake, the headline begins “Afghan, Coalition Forces…”, which means the same thing. (See Point 1, above.)
— The headlines are generally active verbs, just like your high-school English teacher encouraged you to use: kill, wound, arrest.
— They carry a subhead: “From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release,” written up in Kabul, and then summarized and issued by the American Forces Press Service, the Pentagon’s Washington-based info shop.
— They’re uniformly optimistic. Too optimistic. If all you did was read these things, you’d wonder why we’ve spent nearly 12 years fighting in Afghanistan. They’ve become mere white noise. Kind of makes you wonder who thinks this is a worthwhile effort. And why. How about using a headline along these lines once in awhile, just to make sure we’re paying attention: MRAP Gets Flat Tire, Sergeants Change It In Time for Mission?
— While ISAF issues these “operational updates” pretty much daily, the American Forces Press Service boils them down and distributes them only on weekdays.
Sometimes, to judge from May’s output, it skips a Friday, and a holiday weekend — Memorial Day, in the month just ended — as well.
Weekday warriors, apparently. Which is kind of bizarre, when you think about it.
Here’s May’s roster. You can read them, and judge for yourself.
May 1: Combined Force Makes Arrests in Helmand Province
May 2: Combined Force Kills Haqqani Network Leader in Paktia Province
May 3: Combined Security Force Kills Senior Insurgent Leader
May 6: Combined Force Kills Insurgent During Search Operation
May 7: Combined Force Arrests Taliban Leader in Helmand Province
May 8: Combined Force Arrests Taliban Leader in Kandahar Province
May 9: Combined Force Arrests Haqqani Facilitator in Logar Province
May 13: Combined Force in Kandahar Province Arrests Taliban Leader
May 14: Combined Force Kills Taliban Leader in Kunduz Province
May 15: Afghan, Coalition Forces Wound Taliban Leader, Kill Insurgents
May 16: Combined Force Kills Insurgent in Paktiya Province
May 17: Combined Force Arrests Taliban Leader in Baghlan Province
May 20: Afghan, Coalition Forces Arrest Insurgents in Khost Province
May 21: Combined Force Wounds Taliban Leader, Arrests Insurgent
May 22: Combined Force Arrests Taliban Leader in Helmand Province
May 23: Afghan, Coalition Forces Arrest Insurgents in Baghlan Province
May 24: Combined Force Arrests Taliban Facilitator in Kandahar
May 28: Combined Security Force Arrests Haqqani Network Leader
May 29: Combined Force Arrests Insurgent in Kandahar
May 30: Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill Insurgents in Kunduz
May 31: Combined Force Arrests Taliban Facilitator in Balkh Province