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American Morning
Army Staff Sgt. Discusses Enduring Freedom
Aired January 31, 2002 - 08:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Let's turn now to the war in Afghanistan, where territorial clashes between two rival factions in the eastern part of the country continued for the second day today. U.S. planes are circling overhead, monitoring the situation, but U.S. ground forces are not involved.
And the southern part of the country, where U.S. ground forces are stationed, our Martin Savidge has the story of one soldier who brings a pretty unique perspective to his duties -- Martin.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: That he does, Anderson. We are standing in front of the Kandahar Airport here. The military buildup is continuing -- the giant transport aircraft continuing to land, and there are security crews that watch out for both the aircraft themselves and also for the flight crews that are on board. A lot of those people doing that job are members of the Air National Guard.
We want to introduce you to one very special individual. Sgt. Victor Tom -- how do you do, sir -- is with the New Jersey Air National Guard, but he has another job. His day job, you would say, is a New York City Police Officer. For you, it's got to be a remarkable roll to go from ground zero to Afghanistan.
STAFF SGT. VICTOR TOM, U.S. ARMY: Definitely, sir. I'm very happy to be here. To be able to do my part in regards to...
SAVIDGE: Operation Enduring Freedom, which is what it's all about.
TOM: ... Operation Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle. And also to serve my country in combating terrorism around the world.
SAVIDGE: Where were you September 11th?
TOM: Sir, I was -- the city was mobilized, I was on my work to work.
SAVIDGE: You've been down to ground zero. You know firsthand what you saw and what happened.
TOM: Yes, sir. On several occasions, I've been on duty down there. And also on my own time I've been down there assisting.
SAVIDGE: There were so many of us that felt powerless that day; that there was nothing we could do in response. You probably felt the same way, and yet you're here and doing something. It must be a remarkable feeling.
TOM: Yes it is, sir. I feel like I'm a big part of this operation because my primary duty out here is to enforce protection is to protect the personnel on this base; to protect the equipment and the aircraft that land here.
SAVIDGE: I know you're a professional, but does vengeance, revenge, any of those words pass through your mind here?
TOM: No, sir. I just hope that there's justice that comes after this.
SAVIDGE: We want to show the people at home the helmet that you have. It's a very, very prominent reminder. Tell us about it.
TOM: Yes, sir. The front says, "9-11 New York City." It signifies the date of the incident, that attack on the World Trade Center. And, also, it's a 9-11 call for service. I've never forgotten. For all of those individuals who were taken away from us, even though they're gone, they will never be forgotten. And on the other side of my helmet is my show number and also for the department that I work for.
SAVIDGE: All right. Thank you very much. Sgt. Victor Tom, it's a pleasure to talk with you here. A remarkable man now in a remarkable place.
Dust storms have kicked up all over the Kandahar Airport here. It is making conditions very, very difficult. It got warmer today, but with the warmer weather came the wind. And it is blowing all over, reducing visibility, getting into people, getting into machines, getting into equipment, even my laptop. I've got to use a paintbrush every couple of minutes just to continue working. There's an interesting thing about Afghanistan. With every sort of pleasure -- in this case, warmth, which we enjoy -- there seems to be a price you pay -- Anderson.
COOPER: Martin, you spent the last couple of days talking with a lot of the troops from the 101st. And as you say, the conditions are really difficult. What's the morale like in general among the soldiers?
SAVIDGE: You know, morale continues to be extremely high. They're dedicated, they know the job they have to do, and they're very much about it. They keep turning the question around to us. "What are the people at home saying? What are the people feeling? What are they hearing about the news and are they still supporting us?" And we pass along, of course, the information that Americans are still very much behind the Americans that are here -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Martin, thanks a lot. You've been doing great work, and I look forward to your live special tonight. For more on the war, you can tune in tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern. Martin Savidge will be anchoring live from Afghanistan. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
