Qala-i-Jangi

Completed my third mission within the last five days here in Afghanistan. Today’s journey took me to Qala-i-Jangi, a fort on the outskirts of Mazar-e-Sharif. Before I left Colorado, aside from returning home, I wanted only one thing during my time here, to visit Qala-i-Jangi. This fort has an important role in history for both America and Afghanistan.

In 2001, after the terrorist attacks in New York, a team of Special Forces was dropped off in the northern regions of Afghanistan with one mission – overthrow the Taliban. Their goal wasn’t to do the task themselves; instead they were to coordinate the efforts of the Northern Alliance – a rag-tag group of Afghan warlords and soldiers, basically a militia.

With the help of airpower, Special Forces helped the Afghans put the Taliban on the run and they eventually freed the city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Shortly after, and through a series of shady-deals, hundreds of Taliban were captured and taken as prisoners to Qala-i-Jangi. Most of the Taliban had not realized they were being held as prisoners and eventually they started an uprising within the walls of the fort.

On the day of the revolt, Mike Spann was within the southern courtyard of the fort. Spann was a former Marine and was currently serving as a CIA operative with the mission of tracking down Taliban leaders, more specifically – Osama bin Laden. News footage from on-scene reporters would later show Spann questioning prisoners, one of which was John Walker Lindh – an American born, California native. Shortly after the footage was taken, a grenade blast launched the uprising into the hell that would continue for several days. Spann was overtaken and killed, making him the first American casualty of the war on Afghan soil.

Qala-i-Jangi had once been a Russian base and stores of weapons and ammo still remained. Heavy-machine guns, rockets, mortars, grenades and rifles soon found their way into hands of the Taliban fighters. A ferocious battle played out within the confines of the fort over the coming days. Airstrikes and a determined Northern Alliance left the remaining Taliban fighters holed-up in the basement of a building known as the Pink House, named because of its pink exterior. For three days, and after shooting through basement windows, lighting oil on fire that had been poured in, and eventually flooding the basement, a defeated enemy finally emerged - beaten and broken. Of those, Lindh survived and was eventually tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

A memorial now stands in front of the Pink House in honor of Spann and his sacrifice that day. Standing in the courtyard, I couldn’t help but think of Spann’s wife and children and the loss they suffered. It has been more than nine years since his journey ended here and I now stand on that same soil facing my own journey - thankfully in a much more secure Afghanistan thanks to Spann and many other brave souls that followed.

Below is a brief glimpse of my trip today with the Afghan Route Clearing Company sent in to clear the fort of unexploded ordinance and other dangers that litter the courtyard.

One of the many weapons that sit rusting in the southern courtyard of the fort.

A metal storage container full of destroyed rifles and heavy-machine guns.

The Pink House with memorial to Mike Spann under the dome in front of the building.

View from one of the rooms inside the Pink House where a weapon of some sort has punctured the roof.

One of the basement windows where Afghan soldiers fired their weapons into and poured oil to ignite and try and force the Taliban fighters out.

Remains of weapons lay at the bottom of the stairway that led to the basement.

In the pitch-black basement of the Pink House, a flashlight illuminates a mortar fuse left behind on the dry, cracked floor that once housed the last surviving Taliban fighters.

Scorched walls reveal the attempts of Northern Alliance soldiers to force the Taliban from their stronghold.

From on top of the Pink House, neighboring buildings show the scarred walls from a fierce battle within the southern courtyard of the fort.

This battle-scarred building stands as a reminder of the Taliban uprising at Qala-i-Jangi.

Mortars excavated from a nearby crater wait for demolition.

A view from inside the ammo supply point that the Northern Alliance tried so desperately to destroy before the Taliban could gather more resources.

Mortar fuses seem to be everywhere you walked in the southern compound but were in abundance in the ammo supply point.

Another view of the mortar fuses in the ammo supply point.

More weapons excavated from a crater next to the ammo supply point.

As I wandered from one empty room to another, I would see many types of explosives, including this mortar, which looked in good condition.

Walking around the courtyard yielded many views of the fragmented mortars that were either fired intentionally or exploded when airstrikes found their mark.

This abandoned rocket looked like it was ready for immediate use.

After viewing the other photos above, the need for clearing teams such as this was self-evident.

The turret from a Russian tank lays on top of an outer wall as a reminder of the fog of war. The tank was being used by the Northern Alliance when a 2,000 lb bomb missed its mark and hit the northern tower of the fort. The turret was blown onto the wall where it still sits. Many Northern Alliance soldiers were killed along with many injured American Special Forces.

Today, several U.S. soldiers made the trip to see this historic place.

A view of the inscription on the memorial built in honor of Mike Spann.

Today was a good day in my life, keep coming back to see what might happen next.