c-bag

In the Army, they issue us a lot of gear...and I do mean a lot. After arriving at Camp Shelby last July, I turned in everything I was signed for from Iowa, and kept only $100.00 of my old gear. Some of the items I turned in at Camp Shelby had been in my possession for over 15 years. Yes, it was hard for this Infantryman to say goodbye to some beloved gear that had sustained him for many years in the field and while deployed to Afghanistan before. However, it was time to move on to bigger and better things...although I did gladly accept a $9.00 statement of charges and kept my two favorite one quart canteens that I've had since basic training! (I'm a loser for admitting that I did that, I know)

Soon after turning in everything, I received my new issue of gear. Gone are the days of a Soldier/Sailor walking around toting nothing more than a duffel bag. In just personal clothing items alone, I am now signed for over $4,500.00 in gear, which reflects the Military's replacement cost...don't even ask me what the retail cost is. And oh yea, personal clothing doesn't include weapons, weapons parts/accessories, gas masks, night vision goggles, GPS, etc.

In just BAGS alone, I am signed for a large rucksack, a medium rucksack, a small rucksack (assault pack), three duffel bags and one "roller" duffel bag...all of which are required for carrying all the non-bag items I am issued. Each bag is given a letter designator (A BAG, B BAG, etc.). The Company leadership first directs what gear to place in each bag, and then which bag goes on which differing mode of transportation on which day, etc. (this is why I am not a logistics officer, talk about a headache).

Although it is nice to be a member of an Army that equips its' Soldiers so thoroughly, it is also a burden to try to keep track of it all. We are constantly throwing our bags on everything that moves. For example, since leaving Iowa my bags have traveled on semis, moving vans, buses, cars, trains, civilian air craft, military aircraft, cargo ships and jingle trucks. Amazingly, I have been able to keep track of everything, that is until recently...when I was advised that my C-Bag is "missing." This did not come as a shock. When I loaded my C-Bag (a classic green Army duffel bag) last August, I had a feeling it wouldn't be seen again...given it's daunting itinerary. I'll try to piece together the facts as I understand them.

In August at Camp Shelby, we hand loaded our C-Bags onto an FMTV (Army Truck). I'm not sure where my C-Bag went to next...either it ended up on a train at the Camp Shelby rail yard, or it ended up on a bonded carrier for semi transport. Either way, one of these two modes of travel (train or semi) took my C-Bag to a port on the Gulf Coast, where it was transferred to a cargo ship (or as we call it, the "slow boat"). Next, the slow boat traveled through the Gulf of Mexico, across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Mediterranean Sea, through the Suez Canal, through the Red and Arabian Seas before finally arriving in........Karachi, Pakistan.

This is where things get sketchy (shocking, I know). Next up was my C-Bag's planned journey from Karachi to Bagram via jingle truck. Apparently, no one is quite sure what happened during that 1500 mile journey through some of the most treacherous terrain on Earth (and not to mention a War). It's probably safe to say that no one will ever know for sure. Hundreds of these trucks and their containers go missing along this route each year. One logistics officer from our Brigade secretly suspects that this is America's way of indirectly providing additional aid to Pakistan...in exchange for allowing us to cross the border now and then to conduct drone strikes on enemy camps. Seems a little too conspiracy theory for me. There are also reports the container that my bag was in is actually here on Bagram, but is lost amongst the tens of thousands of containers that are piled up everywhere here.

The likely scenario to me (and everyone else here) is that the truck was intercepted by the enemy. Throughout the history of War, some of the greatest Armies have always been the ones that could stretch their supply lines the furthest. Although we have proven that our supply lines know no boundaries, our supply lines are still susceptible to many things. Loss of some items is acceptable I guess, and the enemy constantly hits our supply line that runs through Pakistan.

Below is the packing list I drafted last August, and recently provided to my Company so I can be re-issued my missing gear. What makes me sick is what was in the bag...not only did I likely provide one enemy fighter with enough cold weather gear to get him comfortably through the upcoming winter...he also ended up with my aforementioned canteens that I have had since basic training in Oklahoma, 1995. Bummer!Also in the bag (but not listed) were many of the books on my reading list. I'll reconcile my reading list once I figure out which books went missing. Come to think of it, most of the books were of Christian genre...I suppose there is a chance that God is up to something? Now there's something to think about. That's one way of spreading the Gospel!