Captain Jason Ford is on his fourth tour of duty with the U.S. Marines, his first in Afghanistan. I met him in 2003 during the buildup to the invasion of Iraq and again on the march towards Baghdad while he was serving with the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, the same unit I embedded with.
Now he’s the Commanding Officer of Charlie Company with the 1st LAR, based in a Combat Outpost known as South Station in the Helmand River Valley.
We joined him on a four hour foot patrol into a neighboring village where we sat down cross legged on the floor in the open-air living room of a tribal elder’s home. We drank the Chai tea they offered and I listened as the Captain worked to establish a relationship and trust with the elder and the large group of men and boys around him.
“We do these sit downs with them to try and let them know hey yes we’re here, we’re here to help, we’re the good guys and here’s why…” the Captain told me later, “but we’re not going to give you everything because we can’t be here forever. This is your country, your problem, and you guys gotta start addressing those problems.”
“In order to win this war, in order to finally be successful over here, we have to win the people.”
Ford grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the Naval Academy (when I asked how he finished there he laughed and said “I graduated!”) and now lives in Southern California with his new wife.
“Before, the Marine Corps was everything. Now it’s the Marine Corps plus a wife so… “
So this may be his last tour of duty?
“When I do get home it will be time to go and start making babies and do that good stuff.”
“You got a new boss now?” I ask. “Yeah, absolutely!”