Sketching the Drawdown (Part two)

Arrival into theater

Friday, December 7, 2012 @ 0951
KAIA Kabul Airfield, Kabul, Afghanistan
Continued from pt 1

In order for a civilian to get into KAIA, he or she must have an escort; this includes those who have Invitational Travel Orders authorizing entrance into U.S. and NATO bases. I stood patiently outside Abby Gate, trying to engage in small talk with a group of Hungarian Soldiers manning the Entry Control Point (ECP) who, from what I eventually gathered, didn't speak a lick of english.  My PAO, SSG Tejada, arrived at the gate minutes later. Greetings were exchanged, my orders were scanned, then we proceeded past the ECP and into the base for further screening. Tejada took me to a security control point manned by, once again, more Hungarian Soldiers. I went through the entire gamut: retina scan, baggage scan, passport and orders check, etc. Things got wierd for a moment when I was told to empty my ruck sack. Apparently, when looking at the scanner, it appeared as if I was smuggling eggs. I wish I was making this stuff up. One of the sentries kept pointing to by bag saying, "eggs, eggs" and gesturing for me to empty its contents. After pulling everything out, we figured out the misunderstanding. Oval shaped pads line the inside of my helmet. My helmet was stored inside of my ruck sack. Those pads looked like eggs. We laughed, and then we moved on. I kept thinking to myself, "Never mind my sharp ass pencils or the kneaded eraser that could have easily been mistaken for plastic explosives."

Once I was no longer deemed a security threat, Tejada took me around the base in his truck, showing me where my living quarters were, the chow hall, and the airfield that I'll be flying out of. I was then given a rack space in the transient barracks. The barracks were predominantly occupied by, you guessed it, Hungarian Soldiers.

It's the next day and now I sit in the lobby of the transient barracks waiting for my noon flight into Camp Bastian/Camp Leatherneck. From there I'll push out to 3rd Battalion 9th Marines, the unit that I'll be embedding with.

Saturday, December 8, 2012 @ 0350
Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Prov., Afghanistan 

So, my 1200 flight out of Kabul was postponed to 2030 yesterday evening. I ended up stowing my gear on one of the storage shelves next to the airfield, and then I walked over to the Morale, Welfare, Recreation (MWR) center to kill some time. I made every effort to sleep, but time still seemed to drag. In the military, one usually has platoon-mates to keep him/her company. In my case, it was simply just a man and his thoughts. I made my way to the airfield about an hour early where I bumped into Alex and Gene, whom I met earlier while waiting for our flight. Both gentlemen are prior service and are instructors for the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA). We became friends fast. The two of them were hoping to Space-A to Camp Bastion. There were extra seats available on the bird and we were all able to make our flight south aboard a British C-130J.

The flight was brief, and we ended up landing in Bastion right after midnight. We made our way off the flight line and to baggage retrieval where I was met by my PAO, 1st Lt. Lindsay Pirek, who was responsible for piecing together my embed. She was happy that I packed light (one rucksack, one small tactical pack) and told me to stuff my gear in the back of her white government van. While in the vehicle, Lt. Pirek informed me that 3/9 had plans for me and had taken into consideration my previous combat experience as an 0311. I was going to get moved around often with the possibility of getting in on joint patrols with our Afghan partners. Aware that the unofficial fighting season was over with, the chances of me getting to see much combat was minimal. Minutes later, I was dropped off in front of the media tent where I would sleep for the evening.

Page 7 of journal

I push out later this evening at 1930 to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Geronimo. Lt. Pirek will meet me outside of my tent, with all of my gear, at 1600. In the meantime, I'm free to do whatever. Right now, I'm sharing this tent with a reporter from the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC), who I've yet to meet.

 3/9 Marine waiting to fly out of Camp Leatherneck to FOB Geronimo.

Continue pt 3 . . .

Sketching the Drawdown (part one)

Photo courtesy of Cpl. Tim Lenzo, USMC. Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan

On 5 December, I embarked out east on a self-fulfilling journey to record the drawdown of U.S. forces in war-torn Afghanistan. This wasn't your typical embed. Most media who visit the region are seasoned photo journalists, staff writers, and news reporters. I went as a free-lance combat artist. A valid argument can be made that what I do is journalistic; after all, pictures also tell a story. My goal was to document the passing-of-the-torch between U.S. and Afghan troops in such a way rarely done in contemporary reporting. Whenever I was asked about my media badge and purpose in country, I'd respond with "I'm a combat artist". The looks that I garnered were quite interesting, as if a giant throbbing member was protruding from my forehead.

We are a small community of illustrators dedicated to keeping alive the rich tradition of combat art. I've been groomed by some of the best, and had shared gallery space with some of the nation's finest: Michael D. Fay, Kristopher Battles, Victor Juhasz, Richard Johnson, Roman Genn, and Steve Mumford just to name a few.

I'm reporting on behalf of The Story with Dick Gordon, a syndicated radio segment hosted by WUNC and co-hosted by American Public Media. I was a guest on the show twice before [Jul 10 & Dec 12 (20:40 mark)] and, even though my art can't be seen through the airwaves, this will give me the opportunity to debrief my experiences from an artist's perspective on national radio. The art that I create will find nice homes, as I plan to donate portions of my work to the National Museum of the Marine Corps, the Smithsonian Museum of American History's Military and Diplomatic Collection, and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Here is my story, broken up into parts. Much of it mirrors the daily entries made in my moleskine journal in theater.

__________________________________________________________ 

Getting there

Wednesday, December 5, 2012 @0737
Washington-Dulles International Airport, Washington, DC., USA

Just checked into Dulles Airport. I have roughly three hours to kill before I fly out to Dubai, UAE enroute to Kabul, Afghanistan.

I met a number of interesting people earlier this morning. After my wife dropped me off at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, I was lured in conversation with who I assume are a couple headed to Hawaii (the gentleman was much older). Looking at my giant rucksack sitting next to my feet, the lady asked me where I was headed to. When I told her Afghanistan, she began candidly voicing about her brother's tragic death while serving in the Army. She went into great detail about how he had suffered complications from a nerve agent during the push into Baghdad. Then she asked me if I was ever issued "the blue pill". My response was no, as the only pill I ever had to take while deployed was the anti-malaria pill mefloquine and the pill we got for sea sickness. According to her account, her brother was issued speed and was forced to kill a lot of people, even children. 

I wasn't entirely sold on her story but, for the sake of keeping the conversation brief and for the fact that I "wasn't there", I nodded my head in sympathy and wished her well.

Thursday, December 6, 2012 @ 0910
Dubai International Airport, Dubai, UAE

Made it to Dubai, and the time-change is already taking a toll on my body. My boarding pass to Kabul didn't have a gate number so, after asking around for several minutes, I was eventually guided in the right direction. The walk to gate C4 was a long one. I was told to go straight and keep going. Once I get to the end, take the esculator up and continue to go until I reach another esculator and take that one down. Keep going straight and gate C4 will be on my left. Luckly I had a few hours to kill, as the walk took me nearly a half hour. The airport in Dubai is huge. It's also very nice, until you get near terminal 1 concourse C.

Page 3 of journal

With one whiff, I knew I arrived. Several Afghan/Pakistan nationals, outfitted in their man dresses, slept on the ground underneath and behind the benches. As I strolled past the gates enroute to mine, I quickly noticed that I was the only westerner in a 500 foot radius. The smell brought me back to my days as a warfighter. The stench was pungent---a violent concoction of body odor and human excrement mixed into a single fragrance. Despite the horrible aroma, I still took a seat on one of the benches. I did this to A) get a reaction, and B) to do some warm up sketches. I was greeted with stares. They were piercing and uninviting. Not thinking much of it, I took out my small moleskine journal and pencils and began to draw the gentleman sitting to my left (pictured above). He turned to me and shook his head "no". That was my que to leave.

Friday, December 7, 2012 @ 0951
KAIA Kabul Airfield, Kabul, Afghanistan

I arrived into Kabul International Airport at around 1500 yesterday. Before that, I was washed over in panic on whether my checked bag containing my body armor would make it into Kabul. It did.

Before planning for this trip, I never knew one could fly commercially into Afghanistan. I took Safi airlines into Kabul, which was an interesting experience. After flying 12 hours from DC to Dubai, my tolerance for airline food was at an alarming low. I couldn't stomach another meal.

Upon arrival into Kabul, I had to go through Immigrations. After getting my visa stamped, I proceeded over to baggage claim. Once I collected my bag, several Afghans approached me offering to carry my things. I politely refused the help as I was more than capable of carrying my own gear. I was also being careful with how I spent my money, as Victor warned me how the locals tried to take advantage of his generosity while he was there last year. Many simple "no thank you's" sufficed and I was on my way to parking lot C to meet my driver.  

Map 1 courtesy of Mohammad
Map 2 Courtesy of Mohammad

My driver's name is Mohammad, whom I met through Victor, whom he met through Roman, whom he met through . . .

Mohommad and I took into account that it would take an hour after I arrive before I would make it to the rendezvous point. My flight rolled in at 1500, one half hour earlier than expected, and since immigrations and baggage collection went unusually fast, I ended up waiting for Mohammad. Getting to parking lot C was no short walk. Luckly, there were several Afghan Police checkpoints to help me get to where I needed to go. Once I found the place, I noticed there were several other westerners waiting for their rides. Afghan cab drivers saturated the lot, begging for our business. It's been strongly encouraged that westerners do not hop into random cabs, as kidnappings by the Taliban in Kabul are on the rise. Fortunately for me and the others waiting, we had rides. While watching out for our cabbies, I befriended a British contractor (can't remember his name) also waiting for his ride. We ended up bullshitting to pass the time. About 45 minutes later our guys had arrived. We shook hands and parted ways.

Man, was I glad to see Mohammad. Recognizing each other was a cinch (thank you facebook). Once aquainted, I threw my stuff in the cab and slipped a wad of cash underneath his car stereo for his troubles. Mohammad is a former U.S. Army interpreter who, in all actuality, possesses a better command of the english language than most do in the states. What Mohammad does is risky business, as helping Americans isn't the safest of things for a local to do in Afghanistan. Victor had given me $50 to give to him, as he refused to accept payment the last go around. I slipped in a $20 to make it $70. 

As seen in the map above, the base literally neighbors the airport. Given that, we were still forced to detour south and head back east to Abby Gate. Traffic was insane. Lanes and stop lights seemed more suggestive than law. I was perplexed as to how we didn't get into an accident during the 10 minute transit. Once we arrived at the gate, Mohammad loaned me his phone to make a call to my Public Affairs Officer (PAO) so he can come let me in. I exited the vehicle, reminded Mohammad that I needed to be picked up at this spot on the 21st at 1400, shook hands, and then went our separate ways.

Continue pt2 . . . 

Off to war

"Off to War" Gouache on 24"x19" watercolor paper

In just 10 days I will be back to the very place that almost killed me 4 years ago: Afghanistan. I won't be toting a weapon this time. Instead, I'll be tasked with documenting the war with my sketchbook and camera. 

Afghanistan is sort of like my Olympics; I go there every four years. My first trip was in 2004 with 1st Battalion 6th Marines, still early in the war when death wasn't lurking all around you. On the flip side, spartan-like living conditions were the norm and, by this, I mean sleeping on the ground, drinking scolding hot water, eating only 1-2 MRE's a day, trudging up and down mountains with over 100 pounds of gear, and treating nasty blisters and athletes foot that would even make Chuck Norris cry. I came back with some very nice calves to say the least. My second tour was in 2008-2009. I was with 3rd Battalion 8th Marines and we were the bridging force for II MEB for their push into Marjah. Every week for the month of January my squad was getting hit with I.E.D.s. I witnessed several go off, including one in front of me. To be more specific, I even witnessed (and felt) one go off underneth my guntruck.

At any rate, this is number three for me. The embed is only scheduled for 2 weeks and, given that it's winter and the war is winding down (purely from an operational standpoint), there is a great chance that I might not get to cover anything truly exciting. That is, unless, I do some joint patrolling with Afghan Forces. From what I'm hearing, that's where it's at. 

The process just to embed is rediculous, and it's safe to say that I lost a quarter inch off my hairline just from that experience alone. Whether it was getting a letter of accreditation from a bona fide media/news organization, passport, medical coverage, Invitational Travel Orders, money for a round trip plane ticket, or simply an Afghan visa---none of it was simple to obtain. It took the help of some very special people to get me where I am at right now.

The gear in the picture that I painted up top came from Michael D. Fay, a retired Combat Artist. Not only did he wear the gear in country, but another Combat Artist by the name of Victor Juhasz wore it in theater too. That's what I call lineage.

Here's page one of my orders. There are only two sentences on page two, so I didn't bother to include it.

Now that I have pretty much all that I need, I can finally breathe easy. I will blog one last time before I push out. T minus 10 days.

Studio Work

Hello all, it's been a while since my last update. The past couple of weeks have been very hectic, as I had dedicated much of my time hunkered down in my man-room playing catch up on the tidal wave of projects courtesy of my three studio classes. It's safe to say that I am now 100% completely caught up and ready to tackle the next challenge. 

Before I go and drone on about my school work, I want to take a minute to praise those who contributed to my campaign for their relentless support in helping me, not only meet my fundraising goal but, exceed it. I needed $5,000 to help fund my embed in December and, instead, received $5,025. I also want to thank my wife and mother-in-law for their hardwork organizing a fundraising party. Lastly, I can't forget our friend Delinda Giles for selflessly driving 4 hours out of her way to lend a very helping hand with her Scentsy sales; her commission dollars went to my cause.  It was balls-to-the-walls awesome, thanks!

My classes this semester include: Drawing I, 2D Design, Illustration I, Intro to Special Education, and Geology Lab. In addition, I work. You can already see where time can be a problem. As far as projects go, the weekends are it. Below are some of my finished assignments thus far. There's more, but I prefer to upload the better of the bunch instead.

Drawing I

This is a foundation's course that all art students are required to take. So far, we've worked in pencil, charcoal, and ink (fountain pens). IMO, the class doesn't teach technique, but more or less serves as an outlet to experiment with various utensils and media.

Assignment: 3 ink drawings of random objects using india ink and pen nib. (24"x19" combined) 

 Assignment: Charcoal still life. (24"x18")

 Assignment: Charcoal still life. (18"x24")

2D Design

This is another foundation's course that all art students have to take. The first 3 weeks of class were dedicated to line exploration using nothing but pen and marker. We were to cut the drawings out and rubber cement them to a larger piece of bristol board. We do a lot of cutting and pasting.

Assignment: Draw 4 patterns/objects using different line methods. (10"x10" combined)

 Assignment: Use pen line to illustrate a word that best describes you. I chose Driven. Horses are driven. (11"x14")

Illustration I

This is an intro course. Art students must complete all foundation's courses before taking this class. My professor and Buffalo Nickel designer, the great Jamie Franki, unlocked the class for me. The class is designed to give art students a taste for what a concentration in illustration is like. By far my coolest class.

Assignment: Make 5 illustratios of object(s) from observation using pencil blending, ink hatching, ink stippling, ink wash, and ink contour line to create a story. (10"x8") #1

 Assignment: Make 5 illustrations of object(s) from observation using pencil blending, ink hatching, ink stippling, ink wash, and ink contour line to create a story. (10"x8") #2

Assignment: Make 5 illustrations of object(s) from observation using pencil blending, ink hatching, ink stippling, ink wash, and ink contour line to create a story. (10"x8") #3

 Assignment: Create your own photo references and use them to illustrate a theme or story with 3 images all created in different styles. I borrowed an old Marine buddy and had him dress up with my son's toy lemur. (14"x11") #1

Assignment: Create your own photo references and use them to illustrate a theme or story with 3 images all created in different styles. I borrowed an old Marine buddy and had him dress up with my son's toy lemur. (14"x11") #2

Assignment: Create your own photo references and use them to illustrate a theme or story with 3 images all created in different styles. I borrowed an old Marine buddy and had him dress up with my son's toy lemur. (14"x11") #3

Apart from waddling waist deep in school work, I also illustrate and pen a weekly column called Niners in the Crowd for the university newspaper, the Ninertimes. In sum, I either stalk unsuspecting students by taking their photos with my iphone and later recreate a drawing from it, or I conduct interviews and take the photo's with their knowledge. The column is eight weeks old and still going strong, and I'm proud to claim ownership of it.

Since the column isn't online (yet), here are just a few of the sketches already published.

Meanwhile, it's back to work for me. Time to whip up concepts for my next Illustration project.

Planning to Embed

Yes, you read correctly. There is a very good chance that I will go to Afghanistan this December. The nature of the visit will not be the same as my previous two tours in theater; this time I will be reporting it with my sketchpad.

WUNC North Carolina Public Radio has agreed to freelance me to do journalistic work for The Story, a syndicated radio show broadcasted nationally on American Public Media. Step one to securing an embed is to get a letter of accreditation from a bonafide media organization. Check.

Step two is to obtain a passport and overseas medical insurance. I secured an appointment to get my passport Tuesday, September 4th. I also plan on purchasing my policy within the next few days. 

Once I have my hands on the passport, I will be able to finish filling out any remaining paperwork needed to retrieve my Invitational Orders. These orders get me into country.

I started a fundraiser on indiegogo to help cover various expenditures that I am responsible for. This includes my plane flight, gear, passport, insurance, supplies, etc. I will only have it up for 21 days. Every dollar counts and will go directly toward my trip.

It is for a great cause. I intend to embed with a platoon of Marines for two weeks in December. I will be sketching the drawdown in country.

Please support me. Two major collections are willing to accession my work produced in theater. Throwing a few dollars into the pot will give you braging rights and the ability to say, "I helped made this happen". Who knows, you might even get a perk for being so supportive.

To donate, click HERE