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Afghanistan Journal: A reporter at war
March 9-May 29, 2003
Afghanistan Journal: A reporter at war
Keith Kluwe of Ormond Beach is a former Daytona Beach police officer and now a combat correspondent and media liaison with the National Guard’s 109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, based at Kandahar Air Base. He escorts reporters covering ground battles against Taliban and al-Qaida forces and rebuilding efforts among Afghan citizens. Kluwe also writes and photographs for the base newspaper, "Desert Devil Dispatch."
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Kluwe’s journal will appear occasionally in The News-Journal and include personal observations, daily routines and impressions of a country both rebuilding and at war. The stories are approved and sometimes edited by Kluwe’s National Guard supervisors. Some details of operations cannot be reported by Kluwe for security reasons.
Journal Entry #1: A reporter at war
I had to pack everything I might need for a combat zone where it snows in the mountains and gets to be 130 degrees on the desert floor during the day.
Journal Entry #2: In the other war, a soldier mourns
I think about Iraq every day, but I have my own worries here. We have plenty of war here in Afghanistan, so I don’t need to worry about their war.
Journal Entry #3: Valor lives in guys like ‘Jedi’
I get worried every time I see a pair of green helicopters taking off. It means that friends of mine are headed out into harm’s way.
Journal Entry #4: ‘Taking bullets for me’
Two service members were killed and one seriously wounded in an ambush March 29 in southern Afghanistan.
Journal Entry #5: Life and death near Pakistan
I’ve been living rather primitive for the last month or so. I was at one of the forward bases -- safe houses -- near the Pakistani border where the only way to call home is by (satellite) phone, there is no such thing as the Internet and rocket attacks are a nightly occurrence.
Journal Entry #6: American teamwork helps injured Afghans
The people I’ve met here in Afghanistan are amazing. I’ve gone on combat missions with some, talked about marriage and families with others and just sat around with many, sharing war stories.
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