Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Kyle Wise

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) | 221st Military Intelligence Battalion

Kyle Wise discusses the interplay between various Afghan warlords and how the American forces tried to deal with the difficult and chaotic scenario. His intelligence gathering team was responsible for a whopping forty percent of all information collected in the entire theater. This got them noticed. (7:54)
It was much more difficult and dangerous working with warlords and tribes than with government entities. Counterintelligence agent Kyle Wise had a huge area of operation that encompassed several provinces. Developing sources was a big part of his work and he sometimes provided them with cameras and recorders. His team managed to bring down one of the most most notorious warlords in Afghanistan. (6:52)
Before he left Afghanistan, Kyle Wise was subjected to one more blast when the building he was searching was hit by a rocket attack. When he was back stateside, his wife noticed some changes in him. Eventually, he was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, a condition that was occurring more and more in that conflict. (5:01)
Kyle Wise had already been to Iraq and Afghanistan with his National Guard Military Intelligence unit. When another deployment was imminent, he went to Fort Dix for more training where he noticed something odd. Hardly any of the instructors had any patches that indicated combat experience. (5:17)
While he was training up for his second big deployment, Kyle Wise began having some trouble on the gun range with blurred vision. This was just the beginning of some strange health problems that would cause his unit to leave without him. (7:33)
It was called Logistical Support Area Anaconda and it was huge. Kyle Wise couldn't believe it. On his previous tour in Iraq, he had been stationed in small facilities. This place had neighborhoods. One thing was the same, the heat. But this time around, there was at least a little more air conditioning. (3:29)
When he finally joined his intelligence unit in Iraq, the teams had been reworked and sent to the units they were supporting. Kyle Wise was then sent to a brand new team where, although he was only the assistant NCOIC, he was clearly the most experienced agent. (7:43)
His first night at FOB Warhorse, counterintelligence agent Kyle Wise was looking for where he was supposed to bunk. He had his laptop bag and his M-16 slung over his shoulder and was walking along, minding his own business, when he heard the challenge word. What? Why here in the middle of the base? Then he heard a .50 cal charged. (7:14)
It was during a firefight in Afghanistan that his head had a chance meeting with the grill of his truck. Kyle Wise was knocked out for a minute but he gathered himself and returned to the business at hand. When he was being retired, he found out that the injury was Purple Heart eligible. (3:26)
After his second tour was done, so was he. Kyle Wise was pretty torn up. He had a traumatic brain injury, bad migraines and significant problems with his legs that required surgery. He has gotten some relief with acupuncture that has reduced his need for some of the many medications he has to take each day. (4:09)