UPDATE: In June 2010, ISAF added new Regional Command Southwest (RC SW). With the majority of ISAF forces based in southern Afghanistan, this new RC allows commands to focus on geographically smaller areas.

The new Regional Command SW splits up Regional Command South into two areas:

• RC Southwest – Helmand and Nimroz Provinces
• RC South  – Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan, and Daykundi Provinces

Original article written – March 26,2010
You may have read about or heard your soldier mention RC North, RC South, RC East, or RC West. RC refers to Regional Command areas in Afghanistan. There are five regional commands under the operational control of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

There is a lead nation for each Regional Command that has responsibility for coordinating all regional civil-military activities conducted by the military elements of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). A Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) is a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRTs were first established in Afghanistan in late 2001 or early 2002.

Each Regional Commands includes the following:

• Command and Control (C2) Headquarters
• Forward Support Base (FSB) that is an essential logistic installation, created to provide supply, medical and transport hub in each region to assist the PRTs in their mission to extend the Government of Aghanistan’s authority.

The following lists the Regional Commands in Afghanistan. Each listing includes the location (city, province) and lead country (given in parentheses) for each command region. For example, if the listing is: Lashkar-Gah, Helmand (Britain), then the city is Lashkar-Gah, the province is Helmand, and the lead country is Britain.

RC (C) – Regional Command Capital (France)
C2 HQ: Kabul (France)
FSB: Kabul International Airport (KAIA) (Hungary)

RC (S) – Regional Command South (The Netherlands):
C2 HQ: Kandahar (UK)
FSB: Kandahar Airfield
Kandahar, Kandahar (The Netherlands)
Lashkar-Gah, Helmand (Britain)
Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan (Netherlands)
Qalat, Zabol (Romania, USA)

RC (N) – Regional Command North (Germany):
C2 HQ: Mazar-e-Sharif (Germany)
FSB: Mazar-e-Sharif (Germany)
Kunduz, Kunduz Province (Germany)
Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh (Sweden)
Feyzabad, Badakhshan (Germany)
Pol-e Khomri, Baghlan (Hungary)
Meymaneh, Faryab (Norway)

RC (W) – Regional Command West (Italy):
C2 HQ: Herat (Italy)
FSB: Herat (Spain)
Herat, Herat (Italy)
Farah, Farah (USA)
Qala-e Naw, Badghis (Spain)
Chaghcharan, Gowr (Lithuania)

RC (E) – Regional Command East (United States):
C2 HQ: Bagram (US)
FSB: Bagram (US)
Bamyan, Bamyan (New Zealand)
Bagram, Parwan (USA)
Nurestan, Nurestan (USA)
Panjshir, Panjshir (USA)
Gardez, Paktia (USA)
Ghazni, Ghazni (Poland, USA)
Khowst, Khowst (USA)
Sharan, Paktika (USA)
Jalalabad, Nangarhar (USA)
Asadabad, Kunar (USA)
Mihtarlam, Laghman (USA)
Wardak, Wardak (Turkey)
Logar, Logar (Czech Republic)

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) is the evacuation and treatment center for injured U.S. Service Members  and members of 44 coalition forces serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa Command, Central Command, European Command and Pacific Command.

When soldiers are injured while serving in Afghanistan or Iraq, they are first treated at a U.S. Army Combat Hospital at a Forward Operating Base (FOB). If necessary, patients are then transported to a level II military treatment facility (MTF). The closest is Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

LRMC is the largest American hospital outside the U.S. and also provides medical treatments to over 245,000 military personnel and their families within Europe.

C-17 Globemasters and C-130 Hercules aircraft are commonly used to medevac patients to the hospital in Germany from places like Afghanistan (7 hours) and Iraq (5 hours). The medevac aircraft has specialized medical equipment on-board and specialized personnel that care for the patients during the flight to LRMC. They land at Ramstein Air Base, Germany and are bused to Landstuhl in specialized medical buses.

The medical facilities in Germany are transitional facilities. After a short stay (3 days to 3 weeks), the patients either return to Iraq or Afghanistan or are flown to a medical facility in the US for further treatment.

Is Your Passport Up-to-date?
We hate to think of our soldier getting wounded in action (WIA), but out in a war zone, that is reality. It’s a good idea to have make sure your passport is current in case your soldier is injured and transported to Landstuhl. You’ll want to be at your soldier’s side quickly. It can take several weeks to get a passport. Passport information: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Soldiers’ Angels Germany
Soldiers’ Angels in Germany supports patients medevac’d to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center from Iraq and Afghanistan. They are an amazing group that has provided comfort at the side of many injured soldiers from war zones. Soldiers’ Angels also provides backpacks with basic necessities like toiletries and clothing.  Learn more about Soldiers’ Angels Germany: http://soldiersangelsgermany.blogspot.com
Find out more about Soldiers’ Angels: http://soldiersangels.org

Find out more about Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

This video shows a C-17 Critical Care transport from Iraq.

When you become a Military family, there are many new things to learn about, like Military acronyms and terms (who knows what all this stuff means), chain of command, family readiness groups, traditions and protocols, deployment cycles, and the list goes on.

Army One Source compiles important, credible and up-to-date information for Army Soldiers and Family members to access at any time of day, regardless of component or physical location.

Army One Source offers FREE Army Family Team Building (AFTB) e-learning courses that are available to anyone with ties to a soldier. All you need to do to take an e-course is:

• Register on the site.
• Use Internet Explorer as your Internet browser
• Choose a course.

I was so excited to hear about these courses from a friend! Some of the available courses will get you more familiar with Military life in no time!

For example, the AFTB Level I Training teaches you everything from Military acronyms and terms, to Military customs and courtesies. There is also a Level II and III training,

The Battlemind Training for Spouses was developed to help Spouses and their Families face deployments with resilience and strength, allowing easier separations and smoother reunions. Even if you are not a Military spouse, the information you learn here can be applied to you too.

Learn more by visiting Army One Source FREE AFTB e-learning courses.

Visit the main site of Army One Source

War dogs have been around since the Egyptians viciously used them against their enemies in 4,000 BC. War dogs were at the sides of soldiers throughout time. Roman leaders dressed them in armour and used them to throw the enemy off their horses. In the 18th century, Napoleon saw these dogs usefulness as guards and in WWII, war dogs were used to search the fields for wounded soldiers.

Although war dogs have and continue to hold various military jobs, the most unique of those is that of parachuting out of perfectly good airplanes. As early as World War II, the British dropped dogs by parachute to take messages behind enemy lines and the Canadians used parachuting Huskie dogs to help rescue downed pilots.

Back in 2008, the British Army was training German Sheperd dogs to jump out of airplanes (perfectly good ones) at 25,000 feet. These dogs will be trained in tandem type jumps with human parachuters while wearing oxygen masks. After touchdown to dangerous territories, the dogs would be fitted with small cameras attached to their heads so they can gather intelligence. This can alert special forces team about potential ambushes or enemy locations via live footage transmissions. The main objective of this elite canine squad is to reduce casualties.

Fast forward to 2009, when military working dog, Sgt. Maj. Fosco made a successful parachute jump from an altitude of 12,500 with his partner, First Sgt. Christopher LaLonde.

It was Sgt. Maj. Fosco’s second jump during the week-long Military Police Warrior challenge, which featured three-soldier MP teams from around the world going head to head in several competitions. The competition also involved tower climbing, target shooting, and written tests. It ended with a 15-mile march while the MPs carried 60-pound rucksacks.

Fosco’s “real” job is as mine detection dog. Fosco and his partner, LaLonde and Fosco are stationed at Lackland AFB, Texas.

Take a look at this amazing video – history in the making of Sgt. Maj. Fosco making his second successful jump!

There’s a new assault vehicle in town, watch out for the Marine Corp’s Assault Breacher Vehicle (ABV), AKA – “The Shredder.” Cool video below!

The Breacher is a force to be reckoned with that became operational in Dec. 2009. The Marines used it to during Operation Cobra’s Anger, an operation in northern Helmand Province Afghanistan that focused on cutting off enemy supply and communications lines to the north.

That was just the beginning. Marines headed to the Marjah battle in Helmond province with Assault Breacher Vehicles. According to Brig Gen. Larry Nicholson, Marines commander in southern Afghanistan, “This may be the largest IED threat and largest minefield that NATO has ever faced.”

When an Assault Breacher hits and detonates a mine or IED, the Breacher hardly shudders!

“The Shredder” looks similar to bulldozer and tank and weighs in at 72 tons with a length of over 40 feet. It includes a plow and nearly 7,000 pounds (3,175 kilograms) of explosives.

This $3.75 million machine is designed to safely clear minefields and improvised explosive devises (IEDs) that the enemy has planted ahead of time. Breachers have powerful capabilities like firing rockets carrying high grade C-4 explosive up to 150 yards forward, detonating the hidden bombs at a safe distance so that troops and vehicles can pass through safely.

ABVs are operated by combat engineers. Watch out – the Breacher is coming! Watch this amazing video of the latest assault vehicle! I’ve never seen anything like it!

In Afghanistan and Iraq, many U.S. troops live in tents. Tents are usually equipped with bunk beds or standard Army cots and sleep up to 40 per tent. Wall or footlockers are provided.

After the President announced that he will send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, the Military needed somewhere to house them all. They started building additional housing facilities, mostly in southern Afghanistan for new arrivals. They will mostly live in tents with portable toilets.

The Afghanistan countryside sports brilliantly blue skies with weather ranging from summer sand storms and 120-degree temperatures, to freezing, harsh temperatures in winter. The tents are usually heated and air conditioned as weather requires. The tents can get extremely hot inside during the sweltering summer heat.

There is no privacy for troops housed in tents and many use iPods to block out the noise from inside and outside the tents, like the roar of F-16 fighter jets if they are at a major hub airfield like Kandahar.

Tents are a soft-walled shelters made from various fabrics and textiles. The outside of the tent is stacked with sandbags for protection and insulation.

Even the MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) and gym are housed in tents at many bases.
Support our troops!

I receive many questions about Internet access for deployed soldiers to Afghanistan and Iraq and hope this information will be a help.

Keep in mind your soldiers should always find out before deployment what is available at the deployment location.

Internet access in Afghanistan and Iraq is delivered via satellite broadband. The Internet signal is received through a special satellite VSAT modem which is usually set up in a building or tent.

Internet access for soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq is usually available via the following methods.

• Internet cafes - Available at some bases. Soldiers can expect to pay $5 to $10 per hour for use and spend time waiting their turn.
• MWR (moral welfare and recreation) - Most deployment locations have an MWR. There are usually a few computers for free Internet access and sometime wireless is available. Troops are allowed 20 – 30 minutes pers session and there is usually a wait. If they bring your own computer and use the wireless, they may experience the slowest Internet ever because so many people are trying to share the bandwidth.
• Personal Internet access – Soldiers can have Internet access in their living quarters. It is very expensive. The Internet access and expense is shared with other soldiers. I know of one example in Afghanistan where many soldiers share the Internet bandwidth and expense of $60 per month per person. Another situation in Iraq, each person pays $100 per month. It just depends on how many people are sharing and what the cost is per month.
  With personal Internet access, each soldier has their own laptop computer and all access is wireless.The soldiers are typically responsible for getting the equipment up and running.

If your son or daughter is getting ready for deployment, they should find out ahead of time what will be available at their deployment location. Soldiers in remote outposts do not have access to Internet.

Internet access is a morale booster for deployed soldiers! We are fortunate to have Internet access available at all. In previous wars, letter writing was the only form of communication and letters were received every few weeks. I am thankful for Internet for deployed soldiers! HOOAH!

The Army uses abbreviations for most everything. You may have heard the abbreviations: MOS, WOMOS. and AOC thrown around a lot! These are abbreviations for the Army’s three categories of soldiers: Enlisted Soldiers, Warrant Officers, and Commissioned Officers.

The Army uses a complex organizational system to categorize service men and women. Each of these categories has its own specialized training, responsiblity, and expertise.

Here’s a look into the what it all means!

Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) – Enlisted Soldiers
MOS is a specific job within the command structure of the U.S. Army. These jobs range from rigging parachutes for the quartermaster corps to Special Operations Engineer and Radio Operator – Maintainer. The Army has around 190 MOSs available for enlisted Soldiers. Enlisted soldiers get the job done. An Enlisted Soldier’s rank can range from Private to Sergeant Major of the Army.

Warrant Officer Military Occupational Specialty (WOMOS) – Warrant Officers
Warrant Officers are highly specialized experts and trainers in their career fields.They remain single-specialty Officers with career tracks that progress within their field, unlike their Commissioned Officer counterparts who focus on increased levels of command and staff duty positions. When a Warrant Officer reaches the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Two, they are commissioned by the President and have the same status as their traditional commissioned Officer counterparts. An example of a Warrant Officer is a helicopter pilot. A Warrant Officer’s rank can range from Warrant Officer 1 to Chief Warrant Officer 5.

Area of Concentration (AOC) – Commissioned Officers
Commissioned Officers are responsible for completing demanding missions while ensuring the welfare, morale, and professional development of the Soldiers entrusted to them. They are entrusted with serving as a model of the Army values as they perform their leadership duties. Officers give orders. An Officer’s rank can range from Second Lieutenant to General of the Army.

Our service men and women work together to defend our country, our freedoms, and our way of life! HOOAH!

Combat outposts (COPs) in Afghanistan and Iraq refer to something like a patrol base to anything smaller then a Forward Operating Base (FOB). An FOB is any secured forward position that is used to support tactical operations. Troops in combat outposts are based out of larger forward operating bases.

No two COPs are alike. For example, one outpost in Afghanistan is housed in an abandoned former district agricultural building in an Afghan village. This one is comprised of a mud building that started out abandoned and cold with no electricity or water. Like most outposts in Afghanistan, conditions are stark. The troops build up the outposts, securing them before adding comforts like heat.

In contrast, another outpost sits at the edge of a plateau 7,700 feet above sea level. This outpost is surrounded by mountain ridges rising several hundred feet higher.

Troops are usually helicoptered into an outpost because the roads traveled are too dangerous or there is no other way to get there. Helicopters deliver supplies as often as possible but depending on weather conditions, choppers can’t always get there regularly.

Soldiers are usually rotated into outposts for about a month at a time, but it depends on the situation and mission.

Food is usually in the form of MREs (Meal, Ready-to-Eat). MREs are self-contained, individual field rations in lightweight packaging for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available.

This video below features the life of Marines on a combat outpost in Afghanistan. They have no running water and eat heated tray rations or MREs. They make do with water in a bag for a shower, and laundry is a do-it-yourself operation using a bucket. There are no amenities in this outpost as the Marines spend most of their time patrolling the area.

You can bring our troops in outposts some cheer by sending a care package via Operation Hooah! Operation Hooah! helps to get care packages to soldiers out in the isolated outposts.

HOOAH!

Most people like to know what their sons and daughters do for a living. I am no different. Even though my son explained it to me , I wanted to know more detail about what my son does for a living during his deployment to Afghanistan so I did a little research and found this great video, that was produced by the Army in 2008, about the same type of helicopter he flies.

A little help from up above has a huge effect on the ground. OH-58 Kiowa Warrior Helicopters are not your typical eyes in the sky. Instead, the Kiowas are reconnaissance or scout helicopters that fly up to 140 miles per hour and pack thermal imaging and global positioning systems.

I am proud of my son. This is a great video that helped me to better understand what my son does for a living everyday.

HOOAH!