Where is Osama bin Laden?

“That’s just one of the questions retired Brig. Gen. Thomas P. Mancino addressed Friday during a presentation he made to cadets at Thunderbird Youth Academy.

Mancino, who spent a year in Afghanistan while commanding Task Force Phoenix, spoke about the culture and his experiences in a country which he described as “intimidating terrain with a proud people.”

Mancino, who also served as commander of the 45th Infantry Brigade, is prominently known as the first general officer from the National Guard to command troops in a combat zone since Korea. The mission of combined joint Task Force Phoenix was to provide trainers and mentors to help the government of Afghanistan build a professional Afghani National Army (ANA). Mancino served in the mission from September 2003 to September 2004.

“When we got the call, Afghanistan had 5,000 troops. When we left, there were 15,000 troops. Now there are about 35,000,” he said.

During the mission, Mancino said the Afghanistan troops who had to be trained were represented by seven different tribes.

“That was difficult. Imagine training people who couldn’t read and write. Trying to communicate with them took a Russian speaking Afghanistan interpreter,” he said.

“They’re fierce fighters and they’re proud. I remember them receiving clothing and equipment from the Russians and they refused to wear the coats,” he said.

“They said ‘We beat their ___s and we’re not going to wear their clothing,’” he said, laughing about the incident.

“Our ultimate mission of training those troops and our reason for being there was to assure that Afghanistan will never again serve as a safe haven for another terrorist organization from which to attack America,” Mancino said.

He noted one of the cultural differences between Americans and the Afghans are how the women and children are treated.

Most of the marriages are arranged within the tribes, he said.

“Here in America, we ask ‘how’s your wife and children?’ They don’t do that in Afghanistan. Men do not speak about women and children. Women wear a covering which hides their face or ‘burkas’ when they are in public.

“Some of the dwellings belonging to the Afghans do not have windows and if they do, they are covered so no one can see the woman who lives in that home,” he explained.

“There is also a different approach toward children. In Afghanistan, everybody has a gun. The Chinese government sent 5,000 plastic AK-47s for the children.

“Children there are treated as property. For $5,000 parents would sell a child if a person needed a kidney. Money is more important than the children in Afghanistan,” he said.

“I remember an incident where a kid was injured and our soldiers, being American, would not leave the kid lying there. So they took the injured child to a hospital where she later died. The next morning, the mother came to see the soldiers and asked them to pay her money for the kid,” he said.

“The kids there do not have much. I used to have to tell the soldiers not to hand out candy or snacks from the MREs because children would run straight into the trucks and get themselves killed,” he said.

“The worst day in America for a child would still be better than the best day for any child in Afghanistan,” he said.

Mancino retired last July after spending 39 and a half years in the military. He now lives in Broken Arrow and spends most of his time fishing with his grandchildren.

“I’ve enjoyed coming here to Thunderbird. We’ve had cadets who have graduated here and enlisted in the army. We have some who are members of the 180th infantry who will be leaving soon for Iraq,” he said.

“I’ve known Gen. Mancino for many years and he’s made his own little niche in history,” said Maj. Steve Tunnel. “We’re just proud and honored he could be here today.”

Following his presentation, Mancino responded to questions from the audience including the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden which is the he is asked most often, he said.

“He’s in the northwest territory of Afghanistan. There, the country is rampant with illegal drugs and is inhabited by drug lords. He is surrounded by loyal body guards who would give anything including their lives to protect him,” he said.

“The Afghanistan government is not really concerned about bin Laden. It’s believed he’s had a kidney transplant because he had a bad kidney but lately he hasn’t looked that sick,” Mancino said.

“He’s probably in a cave somewhere. They will never give him up. Even if he dies, we won’t know about it.”