Bulletin From The Borderlands

30 July 2022

In This Issue:

The Volunteers Part II : A Special Piece by Northern Provisions

Northern Provisions recently returned from a volunteer effort in Eastern Europe to support the Ukrainian defense against Russian aggression. His experiences have been recorded and are published here

The Americas : Covered in this issue by Good Political

Protests rock Panama. Brazilian police go to war with local gangs using death squad tactics. In Mexico, Rafael Caro Quintero is recaptured, and avowed communist Gustavo Petro is elected to the Columbian presidency on promises to seize property from the wealthy and the powerful. America and Canada continue their support of Ukraine through increased arms sales and massive financial support packages.

Europe : Covered in this issue by Croatoan Report

Ukrainian forces begin their counter offensive against the Russian Army at Kherson. Following Ukrainian successes in the field, calls have come out for the creation of a demilitarized zone (DMZ) between Russia and Ukraine. Moldova raises concerns about its Russian backed breakaway region, and Ukrainian refugees struggle to find a place in a Europe that resents being brought to the brink of war.

East Asia and Oceania : Covered in this issue by Alcon S2

The world continues to watch China creep towards war with Taiwan. Chinese rhetoric has become increasingly shrill, following a planned visit by the US Speaker of the House, and continued stated support by Taiwan’s Pacific partners. In South Asia, the civil war in Myanmar begins to draw in external partners, fueling a potential proxy war between China and the rest of the world.

Central Asia and the Mid East: Covered in this issue by S2 Forward

Kazakhstan breaks with Russia to seek political and military integration with the West. Iraq continues to spiral, but this month remains a mercifully quiet one, with the big players focused on conflicts abroad.

Africa : Covered in this issue by Meridian News

A new Nigerian terror group makes a name for themselves in Sub Saharan Africa. Russian paramilitary operations across the continent continue to increase instability and violence. In response to rising violence, protestors in Congo attack the country’s UN mission, with multiple deaths reported. Debt plagues developing countries like Kenya, one of the few functioning states on the continent.

The Big Points:

The Highlight: Global Resource Shortages

As reported last issue, shortages continue to be the driver for conflict across Africa, South America, and the Mid East. Chinese and Russian involvement in Africa is fueling a rapid deterioration of political stability, a deterioration which will enable them to seize resources across the continent to fuel their war economies and displace hundreds of thousands. The cost of this instability will be paid by the West and the rest of the developed world. In Europe, Russia continues to violate signed agreements by attacking grain storage facilities it had agreed were safe from attack in the port city of Odessa. By keeping Ukrainian grain off the global market, Russia is manipulating global food supply to its advantage.

The Long Term Concern: Inflation and Political Division

We are now seeing the results of shortage instigated inflation. The US is now openly in a recession, Europe is struggling under a massive gas price spike and a stream of refugees from across Africa, the Mid East, and Ukraine, and Africa is in a rapid downward spiral. Expect this to continue to get worse until some stability can be brought to global food and resource markets.

See Also:

1. Instability in Africa feeds into the political narrative of organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

2. Nancy Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan has caused Chinese authorities to openly threaten war with the United States.

3. 2000 Russian troops have been surrounded and cut off by Ukrainian troops near Kherson. Larger Russian units have also been cut off within the city by the destruction of the Antonovsky bridge. Expect the first mass surrender of the war in the coming days.

4. Muqtada al Sadr failed to establish a parliament in Iraq, and unleashed his supporters into Baghdad’s green zone in response. Pro Iran officials were beaten. This is the most public conflict between Shia groups in Iraq since the United States withdrew from the country.

The Volunteers Part II- Northern Provisions

The car bumped down the road, buzzing past two way traffic, zig zagging between cars and trucks. We sped past people fleeing the country, both on foot and in vehicles. Women and children were the only ones crossing the border into Poland. Abandoned cars randomly placed on the sides of the road. The Flag of Ukraine at every checkpoint, many also flying the Ukrainian Nationalist Flag. Headed to a meeting with people I’ve never met before, in a country I’ve never visited with people I hadn’t met until 48 hours before. Russian missiles had just struck a Ukrainian military base near the border the night before, while we were situated on the border in a quiet Polish town. As the emergency vehicle entered the city, air raid sirens were actively going off but the people walked about without concern. This was my first time back in a war zone since I was deployed as a Marine 5 years before. The difference was, I had a rifle last time and a camera this time. Sitting next to me in the car was a civilian doctor and a civilian EMT, neither had prior military service. In the other vehicle, there were two prior 82nd Airborne Soldiers, one was a Combat Medic, the other an Infantryman and a prior medical contractor who worked in Syria and Israel. Amongst the group was a wealth of knowledge and experience. Though some hadn’t served in the military, their time as a first responder rendered just as much if not more exposure to real world trauma. Though this war was different. Instead of gunshots in America, Katyusha rockets in Iraq or Barrel Bombs in Syria, these were ballistic missiles being fired by a near-peer rival.

I know, “near-peer”, fucking buzzwords. What did that phrase mean anymore? Prior to the Invasion of Ukraine, we had put so much emphasis on that phrase yet three weeks into a war with a nation we by no means would consider a “near-peer”, the “near-peer” we feared had not achieved a single objective. Is near-peer valued only by technology and vast amounts of it? Or is it also measured by fighting spirit, allies, endurance and infantry capabilities? I digress, you’ll have to bear with me as this will be an unconventionally written story. These individuals who I was with and had the pleasure of documenting their story were all American volunteers. Four men and a woman who felt so compelled by the visuals of the War in Ukraine that they halt their lives in the United States to purchase a plane ticket and go abroad. Mind you, none of them had purchased a return flight. This was for more reasons than one. They were volunteers. American men and women had been volunteering for foreign wars for a long time, the concept gaining traction in World War I, as America embraced isolationism, hundreds of American men volunteered to fight in France, women volunteered as nurses on the grim battlefields of World War II, men and women alike volunteering to fight alongside the various Kurdish factions in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State. Thus, as Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border, from the South, East and North, as missiles struck cities across the country, and the capital of Kyiv was quickly encircled, a call for volunteers rang once more - and the call was answered. When we landed in Poland, you could throw a rock and hit a Western volunteer, many American and British. They had either come to enlist in the Ukrainian International Legion, the Ukrainian military officially, or to work as a non-combatant volunteer. They were everywhere. 

The Volunteers I was with worked in varying capacities. One of their primary objectives was to bring critically needed supplies into the country. This meant bandages of every kind, tourniquets, fluids, anything and everything you’d expect to find in a combat aid station or triage center. A secondary objective was to teach classes on a course known to many American service members as “TCCC” - Tactical Combat Casualty Care which is usually an in-depth, official training course dubbed schoolhouse that you professionally attend. These courses were being sped up and broken down to push knowledge out to those who needed it. A third objective, was if necessary, help provide first contact aid to those directly or indirectly wounded/injured from the war. When the team arrived first in Lviv, they coordinated with another American from a group known as “Task Force Yankee” also operating in a similar capacity and taught their first TCCC class to a collective of International Legion fighters, Ukrainian doctors and Ukrainian civilians. The youngest individuals were a few teenage girls who were attending the course. All hands on deck. Everyone quickly learned how to stop the bleed and keep people alive in order to get them to higher care. This was critical training. The volunteer team I was with conducted these classes and continued to bring either medical supplies in or basic necessity supplies to refugees and those in need. The team would not stay entirely intact though. We split temporarily for separate missions in separate cities, one of us going to Chernihiv. We would only see them once more when they returned and began their trip home. 

The reality is, I came across countless volunteers in both Ukraine and Poland who had essentially set up a network of connections used and shared by many to facilitate help and set up a logistical train. People from all over the world, coming and going in and out of the border, operating on both sides of the fence. Everything from large organizations such as Global Surgical Medical Support Group, whose special operations veterans and team of surgeons and nurses are operating in the East at undisclosed locations with a very similar mission, or, your average Joe, bringing in supplies. A network created by volunteers, for volunteers, utilizing both Ukrainian and Polish contacts. A network, I would come to find once returning home, that is trying to be understood and uncovered by the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency. Upon arrival in the States, I was taken to a rear room for follow on security vetting. The first question out of the Federal Officer’s mouth after asking where I was coming from was; “Did you have any contact with extremists while you were there?” Although I would go to enjoy my conversing with the officer as he was a prior Marine, I couldn’t help but in that moment think, “What kind of stupid fucking question is that?” It was a reflection of this Administration’s ideologies. The fight against extremism - since they had lost that war in Afghanistan. The irony in it was deafening. While supplying the Ukrainian military and people with military grade weapons, they questioned and vetted returning Americans who helped those same people for extremism. A dangerous cocktail of aesthetic politics garnished with “do as I say, not as I do” mentality. President Biden was President Obama 2.0. Bush’s War in Iraq deserved protests and shoes thrown, but President Obama’s War in Libya, Syria, Yemen and surge in Afghanistan deserved praise and a peace prize. On the flip side, the Conservatives and Republicans who had been the “Russia bad” people for a consecutive seven decades now ground to a sudden halt now that the movement was run and pushed by a liberal man. America truly is the International House of Pancakes. I digress again.

They said “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”Sometimes volunteers may have goodness in their heart, but they’re not ready for the positions in which they hold. During a TCCC practical application portion, a Ukrainian man was practicing applying a tourniquet on an American volunteer with the International Legion (which fell under the Ukrainian Territorial Defense, what many would liken to the United States National Guard). The man began synching down the tourniquet when the American started shouting to take it off. At first, I assumed he was engaging in role play, shouting, creating a stressful environment for better training. This was not the case. His voice grew louder, “Take it the FUCK off of me right now!” The American screamed at the Ukrainian man who began taking it off. The irony in this moment was painful. Here was an American who traveled thousands of miles to help the very people he was now yelling at. A grown man threw a temper tantrum in front of Ukrainian men, women and children who were all well composed during this training. I suspected he saw this war from Twitter or Reddit, thought this would be the opportunity for him to rise above. “Sorry about that,” his friend, another American volunteer, said to the Ukrainian man, “He’s had a rough week. He’s just stressed out.” Just stressed out. Rough week. Well these people have had a rough 8 years, and a rough several decades before that. He was stressed because of the recent missile attack. It targeted a military base on the border of Lviv and Poland - a base where hundreds to thousands of volunteers went through. The Russian missile strike was effective not only physically but also mentally. It killed an unknown number of individuals, no final number was ever released but it ranged from several dozen to a few hundred, many of them international volunteers. This had a splintering effect on the minds of some international volunteers. This was the taste of a near-peer conflict. Not a few WIA or KIA from a foot patrol with on-call CASEVAC, but hundreds WIA and KIA from a missile you never saw coming fired from a ship far away by a Russian sailor with five minutes left on his shift.

Is this what the insurgents in Iraq, ISIS in Syria and Taliban in Afghanistan felt fighting us? 

Many international legion volunteers jumped ship after that, as well as many fleeing after the encirclement of Mariupol. Despite the events that took place, it didn’t deter my companions from progressing forward. There were also the LARPers. Live Action Role Players. Volunteers, either as individuals or enlisting in the Ukrainian military who truthfully were there for clout. They wandered around relatively safe parts of Ukraine doing minimal work, often posting pictures of themselves wearing gear they didn't need, posing with weapons they didn't use. They would remain in Lviv or Kyiv (only after the Russian withdrew from the area). These two groups of volunteers are not only in over their head, but also a liability for the Ukrainians as they seek serious professionals who want to help. This being said, I came across far more professionals than I did unprofessionals. Our team encountered a British volunteer who had just come from Mariupol (prior to the fall), his hand shaped heavily as he drew in smoke from a cigarette. He was on his way home. I recall another Canadian Volunteer who the team met in Poland prior to departure. He too smoked heavily, and was in Poland picking up supplies before heading back to Kyiv. Though I will not disclose names here, I met directly or indirectly individuals who worked in various capacities around the country. American fighting volunteers on the Eastern Front, direct trauma support in Kherson, Kharkiv and Odessa, training and supply runs in Kremenchuk and many more. The good far outweighs the bad. Though our time in Ukraine would not result in what we had expected or wanted, it was a learning experience and nonetheless productive. We had seen the country and traveled about, but it wasn’t what I felt I would call an absolute success. Classes taught, training provided, and supplies received. Combined it resulted in thousands of dollars of gear brought by five individuals. Three of us now remain stateside, a fourth has deployed elsewhere in the world to another conflict zone and a fifth has returned to Ukraine, operating in an undisclosed location and the sixth, with whom we have not had contact with, had intentions of returning to the front with a different organization. The calling continues. I feel unfinished business.

Why?

During the trip, I returned to Poland to grab supplies that were being donated by a local man in Poland who reached out through Instagram. He has asked to remain anonymous and I will respect his wishes. I met him in a hotel parking lot and we went through the supplies in the lobby. Ukrainian refugees were occupying many of the hotels in Poland. They had nowhere else to go. A woman with blonde hair sat at a lobby desk on her laptop near us. She watched us a little before asking about it. She had come from Kharkiv, her young daughter was with her. She wept as we explained we were taking supplies in - and that one of our escorts was taking them to Kharkiv.

It’s a simple reason really. I may not be on board with what I would deem unnecessary NATO expansion, or political influence from the west in Ukraine, but I do believe in helping people. That’s the altruistic stance, but realistically not the stance that pushed me the most. No, I think part of myself, and maybe them, was driven by a selfish desire to feel alive once more. Surrounded by like minded people, tired, or hungry, worn out, stressed and working together for a greater cause - a purpose and I wanted to be there to document that. Not just their cause - but the cause and stories of the Ukrainian people, as they held a priority in my mind but the boys held a priority in my heart. I’d say most people who have served in a capacity of sorts will understand this. We will continue to see volunteers from America, especially American veterans, make peace with death and embark on a journey once more across the ocean for a cause they deem worthy, whether or not you deem it worthy. Their stories are interesting and unique. Regardless of whether you agree with their decision, they chose to abandon their lives of comfort, leaving behind their family and friends as many of them had done before, in hopes of helping in any way possible. That is a story worth documenting. While I wish long and healthy lives for my brothers - I can’t help but also wish to see them in a dangerous place again.

A Special Thank-You
Through social media, we were able to gather through generous donations thousands of dollars worth of medical supplies after our return home, these supplies were sent on a second wave of volunteers. Much needed supplies that have properly made their way to the front where they will be used. This was extraordinary. I cannot express enough gratitude to the men and women who donated supplies. You are the people who keep the missions alive and you have played a role in history.