You Could Die Any Day - Andreas Meyer

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the tower looked everything but stable. The first thing drawing my attention were the rays of sun right above the tower and the remains of two destroyed combat helicopters left by the Russians when they withdrew 1989.

      We were picked up with some jeeps and Mungos (an ugly tiny military transportation vehicle which was actually concepted as a street cleaning vehicle) and brought to the main base. My first impressions of the country were overwhelming. I sat next to the driver of the Mungo and watched how the life in and around KUNDUZ began the day.

      Then suddenly I was hit by a negative feeling. I saw all those children with their small barrows carrying those yellow canisters. Immediately the words of that officer came to my mind when he warned us about these canisters. Could these little children really be assassins? Those with their yellow canisters? But not only they had those canisters. There were yellow canisters everywhere! In each corner. In front of every store. Beside every single road.

      The next thing I recognized where all those children working on the fields along the road. Considering that awful crazy heat it was hard to watch. Later I found out that almost all children have to get up very early in the morning to work on the fields together with their parents. Afterwards they go to school and return to the fields in the evening to work again. Like in Germany back then children had to help their parents with their work to assure the families survival, but nowadays this would be far from every imagination. Over here it is still everyday life.

      The PRT at the northern afghan provincial capital KUNDUZ was founded by the US forces and was taken over by the Bundeswehr in October 2003. The official tasks of the german-run PRT were:

      Support of the official structures of the central afghan government in the provinces of KUNDUZ and TAKHAR in all kinds of aspects.

      Different from the time when the PRT was led by the US forces there were also civil officials from Germany present, such as the ministry of foreign affairs, the ministry of interior as well as the ministry of economical cooperation and development who worked very close together with the German military. The camp was guarded and secured by afghan security forces.

      Arriving at the camp we were met by our predecessors at the so-called market, which is the central place of the camp and then brought to our quarters where we would stay for the next eight days of our introduction.

      The next morning we placed our luggage, which actually consisted only of our combat back pack, on the field beds and went for breakfast. In front of the canteen tent there was a hand washing installation. Hygiene was elementary in the camp. In a country with almost no sanitary infrastructure, the dust of feces is permanently present in the air. At noon it was the worst. No one who was not deployed there can even imagine the smell. A good protection those days was the Kufiya, the typical head scarf which I used to spray with orange perfume and wrapped it around my mouth and nose to avoid breathing in that sickening feces dust. Of course, you were not 100 percent save using this but it helped to make it through the day.

      Afghan security forces at work

      Entering the canteen, we were just amazed by the variety of all the tasty looking foods that were on offer. It was even more and so much better than in the facilities back home! Fresh fruits, fresh baked bread, cheese, ham, scrambled eggs and even freshly brewed coffee. After having breakfast, the COY commander showed us the most important stations in the camp such as the location of the sections J1 to J6 of which J6 for example was responsible for the whole IT infrastructure of the camp and its forces. After that we visited the security COY. Later that day I got to meet with a SGT 1st class of the COY. His name was Christian S. and his task was to show us around and teach us about the way of life in the camp. We got along with each other quite well from the very first day and spend a lot of time together during my stay.

      The following days passed by fast, filled with talks and briefings with leading personnel and endless reports and evaluations. Especially the procedures of ordering and distributing of material, the supply chains and the detailed capacities of the air delivery had our main focus due to the intention to bring in much more material from Germany. Time just flew by and on the last evening before heading back home Christian and me went to the moral welfare (MW) tent to have a drink and some last words until we meet again on the 27th of June for the start of my actual mission deployment. The next morning we said goodbye at the airport where my team and I entered an CH-53 transport helicopter who brought us to TERMEZ and from where we flew back to Cologne.

      flight to termez with the CH-53 helicopter

       4. June 2005, Mission

      In the company there was still quite some work to be done before my deployment. My additional duties were delegated to the chosen personnel that had to replace me. There was the upcoming inspection of all first aid kits as well as the checking of all defibrillators which had to be ensured while I was gone.

      Normally a soldier gets about a week off before the deployment to spend time with his family and loved ones. A so called "cuddle week". In my case it was a little bit different. Even in that particular week I had to work in the company and didn´t have time off to take care of my family like all my fellow soldiers. Of course, we used the evenings after work to spend some time together. At the end my son helped me with packing my deployment box that had to be filled with all the military stuff as well as all the private things like pictures and books. As a guy from the reserve I was lucky to be allowed to fly with all my luggage, in contrast to the regular soldiers who had their additional belongings shipped weeks in advance. Their luggage was collected and flown in with mixed material and personnel air transportation mostly by Luftwaffe assets to the air logistics point in TERMEZ, Uzbekistan. From there the luggage was flown to the mission location by our C-160 Transall; the workhorse of the German Airforce. Heavier loads were flown in by chartered Ukrainian jets like the Ilyshin IL-76 or even with Antonov AN-124 which is the world`s largest cargo plane.

      The time to deploy came closer incredibly fast with every day. This time we were departing not from Cologne but from Frankfurt because most of the soldiers of the 8th german mission contingent were from the south of Germany. My wife and my son accompanied me to the airport and stayed with me until I had to check in. Regardless of our farewell we all were in a good mood although we knew that we will not see each other for more than 4 months. Marco, being 7 years old that time, liked being around so many soldiers in their cool uniforms. Amazed by the moment he was more than happy to pose for photos with me and other soldiers. He played and ran around with my very close comrades Thomas K. and Rainer M. who would be my supporting staff in the J4 environment.

      It was a strange feeling to leave my family all alone. The next months I´d be far away and wouldn´t be able to be there for them. But due to the new impressions and experiences the life back home shifted to the back row. The mission became our primary focus. Then in the nights the thoughts about my loved ones came back to my mind and left me sleepless for quite some time. Despite all the risks and danger, I chose the mission because I considered it to be my holy duty for my country to help a threatened land and especially its people. I don´t know if my comrades felt the same way or different those days.

      Shortly before the check-in I said goodbye to my wife and son. Until that moment everything felt as if I was just about to go on a vacation with my pals which I actually never did before. Which is weird somehow…I didn´t have the impression that I was going on a mission and that there might be the possibility of never coming back.

      I brought my duffel bag and my box to the counter to have it checked in. The friendly guy from the ground crew offered me a nice seat in the jet and gave me my ticket. From the windows of the waiting room you could see to the runway. It was pouring with rain outside but that didn´t bother us at all.

      Then it was time. The boarding began. We all drove with a shuttle bus directly to the plane. In the Airbus I sat down and immediately stretched out my legs to check if would feel comfortable with my long legs. Being 1,95 meters tall can become quite a torture on a long flight. On that seat it felt just great. The ground crew guy kept his word. When I looked

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