Local soldier enjoys break from rigors of Afghan war

Wesley Crawford (Geoff Rands/Democrat-News) [Order this photo]

A field artillery firefinder radar operator, Spc. Crawford tracks incoming mortar shells, artillery shells and rockets.

"We have up to 30 seconds (to) get the acquisition out," he said, highlighting the focus on speed in his position.

However, he said, his location in Afghanistan has been lucky enough to see little action of that sort, unlike some others nearby.

"Up north, they're getting hit pretty hard," he said.

All told in his brigade, Crawford estimated 17 men have lost their lives in Afghanistan since his deployment there.

Crawford has been in the army for five years, and though his service is due to be completed in May 2011, he said he's unsure what he will do after that, adding that he may re-enlist.

He joined the military because there was "nothing else to do, really," and said he picked the army because it is "not too aggressive, not too laid back."

He added, "I didn't know what I was getting myself into at the time. I didn't know what situations would be brought at hand or what wouldn't be brought at hand."

And he didn't know what his involvement with the military would entail until three years in.

"I really started enjoying what I was doing at that time. It made me, I guess you'd say, be proud of doing what I'm doing."

Living conditions in Afghanistan, he said, are improving. Although soldiers currently live in tents, buildings are being built that will allow each soldier to have his or her own room with individual control of air conditioning -- and heat.

"It's starting to get cold over there," he said.

Because of the downtime available to Crawford due to the lack of ballistic activity around him, he spends time doing daily maintenance, exercising at the fitness area or playing the X-Box that came to the camp about a month ago.

"It passes time," he said.

Morale Welfare Recreation, where soldiers can call home and use the Internet, is one place on base Crawford favors.

"I'm glad I can call my wife, talk to my son," he said.

Because the Internet connection available to the soldiers at his camp is slow, Crawford is able to see his wife and son on their Webcam, but he himself cannot transmit video, so he sends pictures home to "let the wife know I'm doing okay."

The separation isn't "as hard on the soldiers as it is on the families, because we're over there doing one thing all the time, and the wives are at home. They're the ones that are taking care of the bills, the kids, regular household stuff," he said.

"You'd have to be there to know what's it's like," said Crawford. "Sometimes it's hard for me to come home and talk to the wife, call my dad, grandparents and everybody. They're always worried about me. I keep on telling them, 'Don't worry about me.' If something happens, they'll find out."

He added that he's not particularly worried about his safety, at least not at this time.

First stressing that he does enjoy his current work with the army, Crawford voiced worries about the possibility of experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, which he said a family member experienced only after getting out of combat situations.

"It's not going to affect me as much as it will (my) family," he said.

Because he, like all other soldiers, is required to always carry his firearm, Crawford found himself looking around for it, feeling he had lost it, for the first few days he was on leave.

Shortly before he came home for leave, Crawford got a package. He couldn't tell who it was from, but eventually found it came from friends of his grandparents in Sweet Springs.

"Care packages really help," he said. "Yeah, you might have your iPod or your PSP with your music and your movies, that's not enough, though. The small things, just like word searches or sudoku or just anything, really. Something to pass the time."

"I can't wait for Christmas," he finished.

Contact Geoff Rands at marshallreporter@socket.net