The United States isn’t the only country with troops deployed to Afghanistan; NATO has a presence there as well, with Georgian, Italian, and British troops, among others. A Marine with Regimental Combat Team-7 from Twentynine Palms spent the first half of his deployment to Afghanistan in Kabul working with NATO and Afghani troops. Managing editor Tami Roleff says Corporal Luis (lou ees) Martinez has some interesting memories…
Corporal Luis Martinez, 21, has a couple of favorite moments of his time in Kabul. “My whole entire team had to Zumba one day for PT.” Martinez said he really enjoyed the dance fitness program. “Some of us kept going after it ended.” He enjoyed his time with the NATO and Afghani forces; he escorted them all over the country, but the places he saw reminded him of more familiar places. “Kabul looks like Vegas at night.” And Kandahar? “Closer to Twentynine Palms. Desert.” And he was surprised when he was in northern Afghanistan. “It was nice seeing during the wintertime when we’d fly over the mountains and you’d never think they were covered in snow up north.” A moment with the Afghanis that sticks out in his mind was when they were getting ready to leave for their vacations on airplanes. “Right before we took off, a lot of them wanted to take pictures with us, and we only had a certain amount of time to get back, and they took over 100 pictures with us.” And what did he think of the photos? “Didn’t get a single one; they kept them all for themselves.”
