Email From Afghanistan—

Army Specialist Reflects On Life Half A World Away

By Laurie Borst

“I didn’t think five years ago, on the morning of 9/11, when I was sitting in Spanish class at Newtown High School, that I would be sitting here in Afghanistan fighting the war on terrorism,” Army Specialist Carl Bergquist, Jr wrote in a recent email.

SPC Bergquist, NHS Class of 2005, is a member of the Connecticut National Guard 102nd Infantry Charlie Company based out of Bristol. After 9/11, he decided to join the Guard, which he did as a high school junior.

During the summer between his junior and senior years, SPC Bergquist completed basic training at Fort Benning, Ga. He returned to NHS for his senior year, and after graduation in June 2005, he returned to Fort Benning for AIT (Advanced Individual Training) as a grenadier. He did well on the range, earning expert marksman.

After AIT, SPC Bergquist returned to Connecticut and began attending Western Connecticut State University studying criminal justice. In October, word arrived that his unit was being called up. He completed the fall semester.

“We got deployed January 4 and were at Fort Bragg for three months to train up,” SPC Bergquist reported. “Lots of weapons training, some language skills, and information that related to Afghanistan, especially about all of the roadside bombs or IEDs which end up killing a lot of soldiers.”

Charlie Company arrived at Bagram Airbase, north of Kabul, on April 15. They have been in country for 7½ months. The unit should be returning to the States late April or early May 2007.

“We have most definitely seen a good part of this country. It is an absolutely beautiful country,” SPC Bergquist wrote. “I can walk right out of the backside of my tent here in our little base in a remote part of Afghanistan on the Pakistan border and we are surrounded by 10,000- to 14,000-foot mountains that are at the base of the Hindu Kush Mountain range.”

He described the culture shock he experienced when they got into the country and started getting out into the villages and interacting with the people.

“Growing up, I pretty much had anything I could have wanted and now I am in a country where these people have nothing,” SPC Bergquist explained. “They appreciate the fact that we are here but there is only so much that we can do.”

In some parts of the country, kids don’t even have shoes, proper school supplies, or even a school to go to, he wrote. They congregate under a tree with an elder from the town.

Afghan society is definitely a patriarchal one. The government and tribes of Afghanistan are run by the men of the country, he wrote. Women are not even allowed out of their house unless escorted by a man and wearing the burqa.

“[The burqa] makes them look like a ghost,” he explained. “To be honest, it actually looks pretty creepy to me because you don’t know what they are wearing under those clothes. They could have a suicide vest on and you won’t even know it.”

The women are not allowed to come near the soldiers, but it is still unnerving.

SPC Bergquist says he has been studying the language, called Pashto, which is derived from Arabic. He finds it interesting.

“It is fun to be able to interact with locals and try to learn to speak their language,” he says. “They are blown away when a 19-year-old kid from America starts speaking their language.

“The Afghani people as a whole are some of the most hospitable people I have ever seen,” he continued. “They will offer you food and their traditional chai tea every chance they get, even though they might not have enough for themselves.”

Everything is very simple in the country. Houses are built out of mud and brick, roads are dirt. There are no TVs.

“They stack rocks for fun,” SPC Bergquist added. “It’s almost as if they are still living in the 1800s.”

Not all of Afghanistan is like this, though. Kabul, the capital, is a modern city with Internet, paved roads and other amenities, but “the countryside is still living behind the times.”

Asked about a “normal day” over there, he replied, “Not every day is the same. A day might consist of getting up to do guard duty in towers just like you see on the movies, sitting behind a machine gun or going out on a mission in town to do patrols. Every day is different.

“As for our down time out here, I think we have watched every movie known to man, played lots of cards, video games, cigar clubs, shoot our weapons, an even play some football,” SPC Bergquist added.

He was home on leave in August. “I have more of an appreciation for the little things in life,” he said. “I can’t even describe how good it felt just to drive my car around Newtown with the windows down on a regular paved road and listen to my radio.

“I guess what I want people to understand is that there is still a war going on out here,” he said. “A lot of people tend to forget about Afghanistan and the soldiers that are here fighting and dying for their country.”

“One last thing – about the vehicles in the parade,” SPC Bergquist added. “Since the Newtown Lions Club is nice enough to send The Bee to my address here, I read it every time I get. I couldn’t believe the uproar people were causing about the vehicles being in the parade. I know one thing that I can’t wait to do is march next year with the VFW right along side those vehicles and be proud of what I did here.”

Mom’s Point of View

Specialist Bergquist follows a long line of family members dedicated to public service. His grandfathers served in the Army during World War II and the Korean War. His father, Carl, Sr, is a law enforcement officer in Connecticut. His mother, Karen, has worked for the Connecticut Department of Social Services for almost 30 years.

His older sister, Jennifer Walker, served in the Army Reserve. And his younger brother, Matt, has also joined the Connecticut National Guard. Matt is currently attending Eastern Connecticut State University.

Matt has attained the rank of Private First Class and his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) is Blackhawk mechanic. He is attached to the 126th Aviation Unit at Bradley Airport.

Mrs Bergquist reported that both of her sons joined the Guard for two reasons. First was the call to duty, to serve one’s country. Second was the tuition benefits provided by the military.

“Matt graduated from AIT in August,” she said. “I was happy Carl was home on leave and able to attend his brother’s graduation.”

Mrs Bergquist was quite pleased with the big send-off ceremony that was held in January at Yale when SPC Bergquist and the approximately 500 members of the 102nd Infantry shipped out to Fort Bragg.

After the soldiers completed pre-mobilization training in April, Mrs Bergquist flew down to Fayetteville, N.C., to spend Easter weekend with her son before he shipped out.

“We had a good time around the pool at the Marriott with a few of his buddies,” she explained. “The next day, I had to take them back to the base. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

Unlike during wars in decades past, there is much more communication between soldiers and their families back home. Even in the 70s, letters between Vietnam and the states took weeks to arrive. Mrs Bergquist is pleased to receive frequent emails and, if the timing is right, she can converse with her son via instant messages.

With the holidays approaching, she has received suggestions for Christmas gifts. “I can’t believe I’m online looking for rifle sights and grenadier pouches for my 19 year old son!” she said. “And the guys love getting touches of home: cookies, brownies. Carl loves getting The Bee.”

She added that if people are looking for items to send overseas to the troops, individual Kool-Aid packages are a favorite because they can be added to bottles of water. And Amazon.com gift cards can be used for a variety of items.

“When Carl went back in August, I said just come back to us. God bless you,” she said.