1-32 Infantry 'Vikings' earn 'Mountain' tab

JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN

04.16.2007

Story by Spc. Jon Arguello 

22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

By Spc. Jon H. Arguello,
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Months past their originally scheduled redeployment, Soldiers from Task Force Spartan are demonstrating that they live up to their brigade's namesake and earn every letter in the 10th Mountain Division's "Mountain" tab while establishing lifelong bonds with each other.

After two weeks of patrolling, climbing and searching the mountains and valleys in eastern Afghanistan, infantrymen from 3rd Platoon, "Combat" Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment Soldiers have demonstrated the tenacity and will to pursue the enemy until the very last day of their deployment. The Soldiers, who wear Mountain tabs above crossed bayonets on their shoulder patch, proved undeterred by the hardest terrain, most stifling heat, muddy snow capped mountains or extended deployment.

During "Operation Big Axe," a two-week operation, Soldiers carried equipment sometimes weighing nearly 100 pounds up and down the mountains as they moved from one strategic point to another, ensuring the insurgents could not seek refuge in the remote villages.

These troops displayed the motivation and toughness of Soldiers freshly deployed instead of months into their extension and delayed homecoming.

"It boils down to intestinal fortitude," said Staff Sgt. Matthew Guyatte, a squad leader in 3rd Platoon from Portland, Ore. "I think a lot people couldn't go up and down these ridges. It's not just once a week, sometimes it's two or three times a day. It takes a lot of will to accomplish these missions."

The motivation behind these battle-hardened Soldiers varies but only to a small degree. For the most part they refuse to disappoint their comrades and families by not doing their part.

"It's my wife, my family and the guys next to me," explained Spc. Robert Mojarro, from Moreno Valley, Calif. "If I don't make it up that hill my squad is down an automatic weapon and they have less firepower to suppress and kill the enemy."

Failure, for this unit, is not an option.

"What can you do? You have to get the job done," said Spc. Vincent Kastner, a native of Portland, Ore. "You don't want to let the team down. You can't let the leadership down. We have a lot of respect for them and I know they respect us a lot. You just do your part and make it home alive."

Although these "Vikings," as their platoon members are called, joke about the austere environment during missions, the jokes are indistinguishable from reality.

"Besides, look around," joked Spc. Robert Robinson, a team leader from Atwater, Calif. "In the States you can call the Humvee and they'll come pick you up but here you're 8,000 feet up and you have nowhere to go. You have to make it up the mountain."

The idea of being stranded in the mountains of Afghanistan is far removed from these Soldiers' consideration. The only thing these warriors concern themselves with is each other and their fellow Soldiers. Family seemed to be the best way these Soldiers described their bond.

"Seriously, it's family out here," said Robinson. "This is all you have until you get home and you can't let them down. There are guys you might not like but you're still family. You're still there for each other."

"It's definitely a brotherhood," added Pfc. John Dora, Jr. of Pittsburgh. "We're friends for life. My neighbor told me 'the people you meet in the service are your friends for life' and it's true. You get through this together. You rely on the person next to you."

The reliance these Soldiers have on each other ranges from small to serious, not just for their friends' sake but their own.

"If I'm not with them when they get in contact and something happens to one of them, there's no describing how I would feel," explained Mojarro. "I have to be there to back them up. So I keep doing my job to the best of my ability for my peers' sake, regardless of how long we've been here or what we've gone through."

Although the Soldiers acknowledged the mission and the terrain were challenging they were all proud to have served their country and fought together.

"I'm proud of being here," Mojarro said. "Just being with these guys throughout the year, after everything we've been through, the fire fights, numerous missions, the extension – I can say I've done a lot and I'm proud of it. So I'll keep pushing."

Pride, perseverance and pain go hand-in-hand for these troops, and it's a combination that has paid dividends.

"It's all about pride," said Dora. "I can say I walked the mountains of Afghanistan. We've been through stuff that not a lot people can say 'hey, I did that.'"

"I've never done anything so damn hard in all my life," Robinson said of his experience. "But we're the 10th Mountain. They've put us through a lot of tough stuff. We expect it. This mission isn't the worst."

For these light infantrymen the pride their families have in their work is even more important. Many of them have even experienced changes in their relationships with family.

"I was the black sheep in my family," Dora said. "Now I'm the golden child. My family takes pride in telling their friends their son is in Afghanistan fighting for freedom and that helps my morale."

In many cases it's the participation of their loved ones that brings the importance of the mission in Afghanistan home.

"They're glad I'm here and why I'm here," said Spc. Brent Meyers, from Fairfield, Pa. "We're here for the cause and it's something they can be proud of knowing that I'm here providing security for at least the people here in this area."

"When I told my mom I reenlisted she wouldn't talk to me for two days," Robinson said. "But I know she's proud. Mary, my fiancée, is very proud and I'm very proud of her for being so strong."

In the end, the Soldiers say the biggest way the deployment has changed them is by making them aware of the smaller things in life.

"It's definitely changed me," explained Pfc. Justin Hall from Winter Haven, Fla. "It's made me appreciate the smaller things in life everybody back home takes for granted. That's the biggest thing I've gotten from this deployment."

Beyond the bond, pride and lessons learned, 3rd Platoon Soldiers can say they had a successful impact on the mission. The platoon has discovered more than 20 caches and left the insurgents with few places to hide.

"I think we've taken a lot of (improvised explosive devices) out of the equation in the Pech Valley," said Hall. "Yeah, it sucks being here, but in the long run I think it saves a lot of lives."

"If you go out into the Pech Valley and Kunar Province there is a huge difference because of what we've done," added Robinson.

The platoon's leadership acknowledged the performance of their troops and shares their assessment.

"The year we've been here, we've recovered quite a few weapons and explosives and large caches that could have been used against our forces," said Guyatte. "At this point my guys know what to do without me telling them. They are thorough, do what they are supposed to do and always keep their composure. I may not show it but I am very proud of my Soldiers. They are a good bunch."

"There's no need to dwell on it," said Pfc. Ronald Craig of Albuquerque, N.M. "We're probably going to go through it again tomorrow."

• Date Taken: 04.16.2007
• Date Posted: 04.16.2007 13:41
• Story ID: 9935
• Location: JALALABAD, AF