File On Soldier’s Laptop Leads Wife To Secret Place In Afghanistan
His Belongings
Emma Weaver_
Before long, they sent his belongings back to his family. Emily accepted them, crying inconsolably. What happened to him? They had no proof he was deceased. Why couldn’t they find him? He couldn’t have simply disappeared!
Emily fought to have his status relisted as MIA and not KIA. She contacted every military agency she could think of until the decision was reversed. Little did she know, the answer was lying right under her nose.
The Laptop
Another month passed before Emily had the courage to go through Mark’s belongings, one of which was his laptop. She opened it up, intending to look over the photos he saved on his hard drive, but instead, something else caught her attention.
When the laptop opened up, Emily spotted a file on his desktop, and it was addressed to her. Her blood ran cold.
A Letter
She paused, staring at the file until she built up enough courage to click on it. Why would he have a file named ‘To: Emily’ on his laptop? Did he leave this for her?
Emily opened the file and saw a letter. Her eyes welled with tears as she realized it was a love letter, but it was full of errors and grammatical mistakes. Mark was an intelligent man. He’d never write like this.
Cryptic Message
Emma Weaver
She read the letter again. She struggled to make sense of it. She could read it, but it didn’t sound like him. Something about the errors and random capitalized letters and numbers made her feel uneasy. She stared at them, trying to understand what he was thinking.
Then suddenly, it clicked. There was a pattern to his errors. This letter held a cryptic message.
Decoding The Message
Emma Weaver
Emily raced to find a pen and wrote down all the capital letters and misplaced numbers. “Send Help. No Military”. Then she stared at the numbers in confusion. Was it a phone number?
She typed the numbers into google, hoping it would identify the phone number. Instead, it gave her a coordinate reference. But it was nowhere near Afghanistan. She reversed the numbers and searched again. Her heart pounded.
A School
Pixabay
The coordinates led to one of the last remaining schools in Kandahar. This made more sense. But what was all this? Was he there? If so, what was he doing there?
Emily was riddled with fear, and she had no idea who to turn to. She repeated the words, ‘Send help. No military’ again and again. Why did he not want the military involved? Who else could help him?
Race Against Time
Emily’s mind raced. Time wasn’t on her side. She feared her husband was injured or gravely hurt. She did the best thing she thought she could under such circumstances and contacted his U.S Army base. But she should have listened.
It was obvious Mark was in some kind of trouble. But why was he reaching out to her? What did he get himself into?
Investigation
Pixabay
The army officials asked Emily to immediately submit his laptop with the file in question and reassured her that they’d investigate the situation straight away.
Emily waited anxiously for news of her husband. She knew he might have asked her not to involve the military but who else could have helped her find him? She thought she did the right thing, but he was hiding from them.
Found
Pixabay
Within a week, Emily heard back from the army. They found him. The school was a cover-up to throw off American forces. It was actually a hidden prison. Their raid freed 12 soldiers who had been detained there – one of which was Mark. But why did Mark ask for help from his wife instead of his team?
The reason was as heroic as it was disobedient.
Preparing For The Worst
Pixabay
Just as Mark was about to leave, he got a last-minute order to leave his mission and go home. They were attempting to find the holding place of MIA soldiers. And just when Mark suspected that he found the site, they were ordered to abandon the mission.
Mark went directly against his orders and planned to infiltrate the suspicious building himself, but he knew it was risky and sensed something might go wrong. He was right.
A Disobeying Orders
Pixabay
Mark observed the school in question a couple of times and noticed it was patrolled by the enemy. He put a bet on his own life by assuming this was a hidden prison.
He didn’t tell anyone as the mission was over. Still, he felt compelled to help and follow his instincts. But why write to Emily and not the military?
Logical Thinking
Pixabay
He knew that he was going against direct orders, so he was hesitant to leave instructions to his colleagues for fear of being punished. He figured if he did get caught and ended up being imprisoned himself, at least he could give his wife the details she needed to find him.
She was the only one who could decipher his message and send help that might save him the punishment he’d surely face for disobeying orders from his commanders.
Lack Of Instructions
Pixabay
But he should have left more directions for his wife. She also didn’t know if he was injured or not and needed urgent help and he had no idea of the struggles she had been through in looking for him, especially after he was listed as KIA.
Once they figured out that the school was a front, they ordered the rescue mission. And Mark faced the consequences.
A Stark Warning
Pixabay
Once Mark’s squad found out he sent a secret note to his wife revealing his location, they sent soldiers out straight away. They had no idea what he was thinking but were amazed when he led them to a hidden jail containing other MIA soldiers.
Because he had rescued other soldiers, his punishment was light, but he was warned against ever acting on his own again before being sent home as planned.
Reunited
Pixabay
Mark finally returned home safely to his loving family with quite a story to tell. He had remained detained in the hidden jail for 3 months before Emily managed to figure out where he was.
He was delighted to be reunited with his girls, and Emily was more than relieved to have him safely back home. But his story is far from over.
The Aftermath
Pexels
Mark’s heroic gesture moved the military to reassess most of the cold trails and dead ends they met while searching for troops.
They considered having overlooked certain areas in the region that could be fronts for prisons, like the school where Mark had spent the last three years. It was clear that they needed to reopen the cold cases.
Harmful Situations
Pexels
Soldiers missing in action has been one of the most significant issues for any military worldwide. Losing one’s soldiers can mean they are facing harsher situations out there.
Such situations can harm these troops and detriment the potency of the military’s operations. Information can be leaked, and more lives can be harmed. But how far back does this go?
