Cleared by Occupation

All Soldiers coming into Afghanistan begin at Bagram, taking mandatory classes and waiting anxiously for a flight time to their final destination. During one classes I learned that the confines of Bagram include 20 active mine fields, a remnant of a cruel, indiscriminant, 10 year Soviet war that targeted populations centers and children. One can be sure that mines sown from thousands of feet aloft, never venture outside prescribed fields, right? The most active area of Bagram, home to the gym, dining facility, head quarters buildings, etc. is known as a mine field cleared by occupation – a nice Army way of saying “well, we’ve been walking about for a while … no one’s been blown up yet … I’m sure we’re fine.”