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Units: 1st Brigade, 8th Infantry Division; 213th Area Support Group, Pennsylvania Army National Guard
Branch of Service: Army
War / Conflict: Afghan War, 2001-2021
"After 9/11 just about everyone who wore a uniform wanted to do something, anything in order to have a part in what was going on." (Memoir, page 2)
Dean Baratta first joined the Army as an intelligence analyst in 1986, and was stationed in Germany at the tail end of the Cold War. After his initial four-year enlistment, he then spent four years out of the military, during which time he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. Baratta joined the National Guard in 1995 when he realized that—much to his surprise—he missed the Army. After the attacks of September 11, 2001 he was determined to contribute, and volunteered to help guard airports.
In June 2003 his unit from the Pennsylvania National Guard was deployed to Afghanistan, where they were responsible for base operations at Bagram Air Base. After more than a decade in the Army, Baratta was eager for the chance to put his training and expertise to use in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In his oral history interview, Baratta reflected on how, during his deployment, he and his colleagues felt they were taking part in a momentous historical event. The significance that he placed upon his time in Afghanistan is reflected by the fact that all of the photos he submitted with his Veterans History Project collection were taken while he was there. While in Afghanistan, Baratta endured the loss of a close friend, and experienced the frustrations of trying to ensure security at Bagram while simultaneously navigating local politics.
Coming from a staff non-commissioned officer in the intelligence field, Baratta's collection offers a unique and insightful perspective on the beauty of Afghanistan and its people, the camaraderie felt by American service members, and the challenges faced in conducting security operations there.
Dean Baratta was a member of the 213th Area Support Group of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard when he deployed to Afghanistan in June 2003. His unit was responsible for base operations at Bagram Air Base, and many of his photographs depict the base and those who worked there.
While their work at Bagram was serious, the servicemembers deployed there still found ways to relax and enjoy themselves, as can be seen in these photos from a Christmas parade they staged on base.
Baratta's memoir (PDF, 10 MB) in his VHP collection is a compilation of updates he wrote for his own family as well as the family members of soldiers in his unit. In it, he provides an insightful and often humorous perspective on his and his comrades' lives at Bagram.
In his oral history interview, Baratta described conditions around Bagram while he was there as "relatively calm." He and his colleagues still had to contend with occasional rocket attacks, and the associated difficulties of trying to figure out who was responsible and how to put a stop to them. They had to be wary of complex local politics, not to mention the vast amount of unexploded ordnance and landmines that infested the landscape outside of base.
Baratta and his fellow soldiers were a constant source of fascination for the local children, who would often swarm around them when they were out on patrol.
Through his photographs, Baratta displays a keen awareness of the stark contrasts of life in Afghanistan. While surrounded by natural beauty, those living there had to contend with the human realities of political instability and the legacy of decades of war. Destroyed and abandoned Soviet military equipment from the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989) appear grotesquely out of place in a landscape of stunning mountain views.
