Baseball in Afghanistan

Baseball in Afghanistan

Within a few weeks, the village children had a league with two teams and were playing baseball regularly. The village’s quality of life, and its perception of the troops and America, improved. Sergeant Smith met a small need but made a big impact. The Special Forces efforts weren’t limited to baseball. The soldiers distributed a range of other items, including school supplies and toys, to the villagers.

Saving Lives
Through baseball, school supplies and a genuine desire to help the people of Orgun-e, the American troops built close and positive relations with the villagers. Later, one night the soldiers suffered a rocket attack from Al Qaeda that snuck into the village from Pakistan. In response, the people of Orgun-e formed a “community watch.” Every night they patrolled the village area to protect the American soldiers. The rocket attacks stopped. Sergeant Smith says, “Once they saw we had a true blue interest in them, they joined with us. The things we did to help people in Orgun-e literally saved lives. Theirs and ours.”

Baseball scoreboard in Afghanistan

Grass Roots, Private Initiative

No one told the Special Forces soldiers to undertake these activities. They saw the need, and opportunity, to help people in Orgun-e. And, they did something about it. Even coaching baseball was done on their own time. Likewise, American citizens responded to the requests from the troops – raising money, buying needed goods and sending them half way around the world.

SFC Jay Smith

Spirit of America
Spirit of America’s priority is to increase the scale and impact of activities - like those of the Special Forces in Orgun-e - that are already being undertaken by Americans serving in post-conflict areas. Though Sergeant Smith's baseball project was successfully completed and does not require our funding, we have many active projects to support American personnel assisting people in need.