U.S. Soldiers In Afghanistan Trade Tobacco For Gun Truck

When the 1st Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment landed at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, they didn't have much military equipment. Support equipment such as heavy vehicles and machine guns were not there yet, according to Lt. Col. Andy Harris, who was the battalion's commander. The scene was pretty volatile.

Close Proximity

The Taliban sat right outside the airport, sometimes within 30 meters of the U.S. troops. While the U.S. troops did not have any heavy machinery, the Afghan forces did.

One piece of equipment was an Afghan National Army truck with a Russian 14.5mm ZPU-2 anti-aircraft gun mounted to it.

The Afghan soldiers gave the Toyota Land Cruiser to the paratroopers for two cans of dip. U.S. soldiers are not trained on operating the ZPU-2, but one paratrooper had spent six months in the Iraqi military before coming to the U.S.

Perfect Timing

In his six months there, Pfc. Alsajjad Al Lami, 25, learned how to use the weapon. The Iraqi-born soldier's father worked as a translator for the U.S. in Iraq and always wanted to serve in the U.S. Army.

Al Lami said, "I always wanted to join, and it felt really good." He specifically picked a MOS where he would deploy. Al Lami wanted to "do something."

On August 17, he got his chance. With the keys in hand for the Toyota, he went to work teaching his fellow soldiers exactly how to use the ZPU-2.

Harris said, "So he gave a class to all my paratroopers in Bravo Company on how to use it, how to do barrel changes, how to load it, so all of those individuals that would take turn on the line providing security, they understood hot to use the weapons system."

A Part Of History

Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the 82nd Airborne Division commander, heard the story of how they came into possession of the vehicle and said he wanted it to come back if there was room, even making a formal request that it come to live at Fort Bragg.

"This truck will sit at the 82nd Airborne Museum so that our Paratroopers, their families and future generations to come will know that when faced with a mission of unprecedented scope and complexity, the Paratroopers rose to meet this challenge."

Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue

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14 comments on “U.S. Soldiers In Afghanistan Trade Tobacco For Gun Truck”

  1. Too bad we didn't build in a way to blow all our equipment up if gotten into enemy hands. Demented bumbling old Biden gave it all away & now our troops & allies are in even more danger. Pres Trump PLEASE come back ASAP!!

    1. There is no value in a Democrat. Kind of like a pig. Greedy, overfeeding, bloated, rolls around in mud and crap, squeals just to squeal. Lazy, ugly, will eat almost anything and destructive if not confinedxto a pen. . .

      1. Oh wow I haven't laughed so hard in a long time..!!!!!!!.. Thank you.... 👍👌
        FYI your descriptions couldn't be any better, seriously.... Not to mention they are so true.... Again thanks for the laugh it felt amazing..!!..

    2. Ha ha ha classic. And SOOOOOOOO TRUE..."Even a rock will count as something of value", man I couldn't of said it any better.. Well said that's for sure..‼️‼️👍👌🤗

  2. They should put Stupid Biden in a plane along with Kamala Harris, Jen Psaki, Nancy Pelosi, Cindy McCain, Anthony Bliken, Loyde Austin, and General Milley an fly them over the Kalbu airport then throw them out.

  3. I read where the Army MG ordered refugees out of the aircraft to make room for this gun truck? First, I doubt most of the "refugees" are legitimate. It would have have been nearly impossible to determine whether the Afghans had actually worked with Americans.

    Second, if any innocent Afghan civilian was sacrificed for a war trophy, that is would be disgusting.

  4. That is an AWESOME story....It's amazing that someone even thought of haggling in that type of high stress situation. What a great idea, kuddos 2 the person who thought to do this...lol Think of the dinner conversations all of these guys can have around the dinner table, freaking classic..👍👌🤙🤗..‼️‼️..‼️‼️.

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