Afghan War Blog

Six members of the Illinois National Guard are being honored in Afghanistan for paying our price for freedom. (Photo by E. Jason Wambsgans)

The Afghan War Blog is written by a Chicago Tribune writer James Janega. He has been recounting their story as he is embedded with the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He is bringing us their story, of our fellow citizens of Illinois who are fighting the War on Terror. It is a story that is well worth following. You can follow his Blog at this link:

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/afghan-war-blog/

I had the honor of being a member of the 33rd Infantry Brigade during the 1980's. I had been assigned as the Scout Platoon Leader for CSC, 1-131st Inf BN, having transferred in from the 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne). The Scouts were a collection of the best soldiers from the battalion. All my NCO's were Viet Nam veterans, many with multiple tours. They were great teachers in making me a good soldier and leader. We rode around in Jeeps mounted with M-60's Machineguns, that was alot of firepower for a small unit. We could drive fast and shoot guns, can it get any better? It reminded me alot of an old World War II tv show called the 'Desert Rats'. What I liked best was that all the members of our unit lived in the Chicagoland area. I made many wonderful friends there and would never have such an experience for the rest of my service. I will follow this Blog closely since these are our friends and neighbors.