Two Nevada MPs describe new experiences in Afghanistan
When Sgt. Chelsea Cruz and Spc. Jose Gamino arrived at their duty station in Kabul, they were greeted by the grim reality of violence and poverty that continues in war-torn Afghanistan.
“No matter how much you train, it’s a totally new experience, an eye-opener, a complete culture shock,” Cruz, 23, of Las Vegas said in a telephone interview Friday from Resolute Support Mission headquarters, a base for 3,500 soldiers from more than 40 coalition countries across from the U.S. Embassy.
“The first thing when we drove through towns and cities we didn’t realize there were no traffic rules,” she said. “A baby no more than a year-and-a-half was sitting in a two-way street. I could never imagine seeing my son sitting in a street like that.”
The child’s mother was begging for money.
“You see a lot of people without arms and legs, and you can tell they’ve been victims of (improvised explosive devices), an everyday thing in their lives,” said Cruz, a mother of sons ages 3 and 8.
She and Gamino are part of a second wave of 30 Nevada Army National Guard soldiers from the 72nd Military Police Company. They arrived in Afghanistan in mid-July to relieve the first wave of 72nd MPs who are holding their demobilization-homecoming ceremony Friday at the Las Vegas Readiness Center.
The Nevada MPs trained two years for their deployments to provide security at the headquarters post and escort VIPs in convoys around the city and outlying areas.
Gamino, 24, a 2009 graduate of Legacy High School, said the deployment setting “is completely different” than what he expected. “It’s not like in the movies, a desert with only Americans. I’m in Kabul interacting with Georgians, Macedonians, Spaniards, Italians and Afghans, as well.”
One night this summer he was awakened by a huge explosion from a vehicle rigged with explosives off in the distance.
“The whole building shook. I knew I had to respond and provide security and make sure everybody was safe,” Gamino said.
He is a paralegal for a law firm in civilian life and wants to become a Las Vegas police officer and eventually pursue a career in politics with the goal to become one of Nevada’s senators.
Cruz, too, wants to work for the Metropolitan Police Department. She also wants to earn a degree in business management and continue learning to speak Arabic. She is the youngest buck sergeant among the 72nd MPs.
But right now, the two Nevada citizen-soldiers are focused on the task at hand: provide security and bring their comrades home safe.
“The reason why I’m here is to prevent another 9/11 incident,” Cruz said.
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2
