TF Cyclone visits road project in Parwan. Corrections experts visit Kunar prison construction. 25th FAR interact with local shopkeepers. Cordon and knock in Kandahar.
Iraq: 37th FA inspect new marketplace. Foxtrot Co inspect wells, visit children. Capt Kacey Grannis invades Iraqi male air space. AF Tech Sgt Kyle Richardson, flight equipment advisor for Iraqi Airmen.
Joanna
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November 7, 2009
CJTF-82 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Center
Task Force Cyclone visits road project in Parwan
By Army Master Sgt. David Elmore
PARWAN PROVINCE – TF Cyclone’s, Army 1st Lt. Daniel Young, 38th ID, and Tait Nelson, lead engr, Provincial Reconstruction BCT, meet with local Afghan contractors discussing the construction of a road connecting 2 provs. in Jabal us Saraj district in Parwan prov., Oct. 18. When completed, this road will be one of the most important east to west transit highways in Afghanistan. TF Cyclone, 38th ID, has been in Afghanistan since July overseeing reconstruction projects in the Eastern section of Afghanistan.
Afghan children play hide-and-seek with the camera during a visit by the 38th.
Army Major John Barton, 82nd Div STB, Civil Affairs Team officer-in-charge, and Army 1st Lt. Daniel Young, TF Cyclone, 38th ID, meet with local Afghan contractors discussing the construction of the road.
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CJTF-82 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Center
Corrections experts visit Kunar prison construction
By AF Capt. Tony Wickman
Dan Dunleavy, USACE rep to the Kunar PRT (right), and Navy Builder Chief Petty Officer David Zahm (center left), discusses construction requirements with the Kunar Prison construction site manager (center), Oct. 29. The site visit was coordinated with TF Mtn Warrior's rule of law office to enhance the cooperation and understanding between the host nation, the U.S. military, and other agencies involved in the development and governance of Afghanistan.
KUNAR PROVINCE – According to Del Moad, CSSP team leader, the purpose of the visit was to do an assessment on the prison construction and provide feedback to the PRT on potential security flaws. “We wanted to look at the construction of the new prison and give insight to the PRT cmdr and engrs,” said Moad, an expert with more than 10 years of experience working in U.S. prisons.
Visiting the site gave Moad and his team an opportunity to examine for any construction problems that could affect the security of the prison. “There were a couple of issues we had concerns with that we think need to be addressed in the design of the prison, but overall I think it will meet the needs of the Afghan people with regard to protecting the civilian population.” The prison is scheduled to be completed in mid-2010.
Del Moad discusses prison security ops and construction requirements with Kunar PRT leaders and engrs.
Kunar PRT leaders and engrs inspect construction.
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CJTF-82 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Center
Artillerymen interact with local shopkeepers
By Army Spc. Matthew Thompson
Army 1st Lt. Charles Anderson, a plt leader with Btry B, 4th Bn, 25th FAR, shakes hands with Afghan children during a patrol through the village of Zaywalat’s bazaar, Oct. 24.
WARDAK PROVINCE – In the village of Zaywalat outside of COP Garda, Btry B Soldiers with 3rd BCT, 10th Mtn Div, spoke to the local shopkeepers and interacted with the villagers. “It helps for them to see us here in a less kinetic fashion, interacting with the shopkeepers, especially with the kids,” said 1st Lt. Charles Anderson. “It shows that we’re here not as a force to oppress them, but as someone here to help them.”
The Soldiers stepped out of their MRAP vehicles, and began the walk through the quarter-mile stretch of shops along the road. Anderson’s main mission was to ask the shopkeepers how and where they store their money. “I’m just trying to get an idea of where the money goes in these bazaars,” Anderson added. “We’re trying to find out what they do with the money here, or if they take it to a bank in Kabul. “We’re just trying to track down and make sure the money stays in Afghanistan and it’s not going to bad people,” Anderson said.
According to Anderson, when the Soldiers arrived in the area in July, the villagers had been hesitant with offering any assistance to them. “We’re trying to push through and let the people know we’re here to help them and partner with their govt,” Anderson said after talking with one of the business owners.
Staff Sgt. Rodney Turner, a cannoneer, added that he’s seen a slow change in the way the villagers react to the Soldiers as they patrol through the village. “We get a lot more done with being kind to these people, rather than being aggressive,” Turner said, as several children ran over to shake his hand. “We came in a little aggressive and nervous. Right now they’re warming up to us.”
Army Pfc. Nicholas Heinrich, a medic with Btry B, and Spc. Thomas Straughn, a cannoneer, provide security during a patrol through the village of Zaywalat’s bazaar.
Army 1st Lt. Charles Anderson, a plt leader with Btry B, jokes around with Afghan children.
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4th BCT PAO, 82nd Abn Div
Cordon and Knock in Kandahar
By Sgt. Stephen Decatur
Staff Sgt. Brett Fowler of Co C, teaches Afghan Soldiers how to use an M24
rifle, Oct. 5 at FOB Sweeney, Zabul prov.
KANDAHAR - Afghan Soldiers in armored humvees led a combined convoy of Afghans and Americans down Highway 1 in the early morning. As dawn broke they passed an ANP checkpoint, and dismounted by an ANA COP. Their objective was Shah Hasan Kheyl, a village about a km off the road.
Starting in August 2009, small eMiTTs dispersed throughout Afghanistan, started getting replaced with combat units from 4th BCT (TF Fury), 82nd Abn Div, to
serve as combat advisors. The bn-sized op involved several companies of the ANA, their combat advisors, the ANP, and a company from 5th Stryker BCT, 2nd ID.
It was the first large-scale mission conducted by the ANA in conjunction with their new combat advisors from 4th BCT, and was aimed at increasing ANA presence in the village and surrounding communities in Zabul province. As the Soldiers made the uphill journey to the village, they spread out across multiple avenues of approach, up terraces and into orchards. Green grass and trees by the Tarnak river made the area look like a completely different country from the broad desert they just came from.
People waking up for their morning chores stopped and watched the group coming. Inside the village Afghan Soldiers knocked on doors, searched houses and interviewed the inhabitants. American combat advisors watched and observed their techniques. The people told the Afghan Soldiers that the Taliban come in the evening and take their food and water. One boy came to an American Paratrooper and told him in English that the Taliban beat him for going to school. After searching outside the village the Paratroopers found fresh camp sites in nearby orchards.
"This is a major opportunity for the ANA to get and prove what they can do," said Capt. Jacob White, cmdr of Co A, 1st Bn, 508th PIR, 4th BCT, 82nd Abn. Div. "It's also a chance to see where we're at and assess what we can improve." Part of the reasoning behind conducting combined ops is to instill confidence in ANA Soldiers, said Lt. Col. David Oclander, cmdr of 1-508th PIR. While on patrol with Americans the ANA have access to medical evacuation helicopters and heavier fire support.
Soldier Najibullah of 3rd Kandak, who has been at his unit for about a year, said that he has participated in numerous patrols and missions alongside Americans. "I've done more than 100. Who can count? If they're with us we can get a medevac. If not there's no medevac. I feel safer because they're with us."
Transitioning from the routine mission of controlling battle space and pursuing the Taliban, to training and assisting the ANSF was not a difficult switch, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lindsay, a plt sgt with A Co. "This mission isn't any different from what we do every day," Lindsay said. "A squad leader's job is to teach Soldiers. A plt sgt's
job is to teach squad leaders." The only difference, Linsay said, is that now not only is he responsible for a 30-man plt, he's also responsible for advising a 200-man co. One thing Lindsay doesn't have to teach his Afghan counterparts is how to fight, he said. "They're very proficient at their weapons and at their combat skills. They're good warriors and fighters. We talk about multiple deployments; there are Soldiers who have been in this prov. for 6 years," Lindsay said.
Many of the issues facing the ANA are directly related to supply, said Lt. Col. Oclander. Lack of winter clothing and other necessities is extremely detrimental to the well being and morale of many Afghan units, he said. "Their greatest challenge is logistics," Oclander said. "If they don't have the supplies they need they'll lose the confidence to sustain the fight and take the fight to the enemy."
White, who also served as a combat advisor for the Iraqi army, sees a lot of potential in the ANA. "These guys are head and shoulders above the IA when I worked with them," White said.
"It's rewarding seeing the Afghans learning," Lindsay said. "They want to go out and do better. They want to help their country. Ultimately, I hope the reward is that in 3 or 4 years we'll not have to be here, or that my 12-year-old son won't have to come here 10 years from now."
1st Lt. Sean Snook, EO for Co A, emerges from an orchard with his fellow Paratroopers.
Pfc. Michael Telles crosses a small chasm during a combined cordon and knock op.
Paratroopers march by the Tarnak river during the unit's first large-scale combined op with the ANA.
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Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq
U.S. Soldiers Inspect New Marketplace Photo by Spc. David Sharp
Mayor Zaid Ibrhem talks to citizens of his community during a U.S. Army inspection to find out if money from a U.S. Govt micro-grant had been spent properly in the town of Muqda Diyah, Oct. 31.
U.S. Soldiers from the 1st Bn, 37th FA, conduct an inspection of a market with Mayor Ibrhem.
U.S. Soldiers conduct an inspection with Mayor Ibrhem of the first fully operational public bathroom built with U.S. govt micro-grant money.
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Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq
Soldiers Inspect Wells, Visit Children (Photos by Petty Officer 1st Class Carmichael Yepez)
Army Pfc. Nathan Williams, 21, assigned to Foxtrot Co, 425th Inf Abn Long Range Surveillance NG Unit, photographs a group of children in the town of Sununi, near the Sinjar mountains in northern Iraq, Oct. 29.
Curious children gather around a U.S. Soldier, while he pulls security during a visit to inspect a water well during a project oversight, in the village of Turbaka.
An Iraqi girl stands outside a mud corral where the village donkey is kept, while U.S. Soldiers inspect a water well.
A linguist assigned to Foxtrot Co, talks with a tribal leader, as they show him a well that needs repair in the village of Tarbaka. U.S. Soldiers and a U.S. Dept of State rep inspected water wells during a project oversight of several villages in the area.
A U.S. Soldier leads the way into the village of Tal Mishraf.
An Iraqi woman and her family sit outside their mud hut, while U.S. Soldiers visit their farm house near the Sinjar mountains in northern Iraq, to inspect a well.
Max Labar, center, a senior advisor for the Dept of State, talks with tribal leaders regarding a water well that needs repair in the village of Turbaka.
Sgt. Roy Loucks, 34, assigned to the 422nd CAB is flanked by tribal leaders and local villagers during his visit to the village of Turbaka.
An Iraqi woman and her children observe as U.S. Soldiers and village tribal leaders, inspect a water well in the village of Tal Mishraf.
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U.S. Air Forces Central, Baghdad Media Outreach Team
Female Advisor Invades Iraqi Air Space
Story by Senior Airman Alyssa Miles
AF Capt. Kacey Grannis, 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Sqdrn Mi-17 pilot, briefs an IqAF pilot prior to a helicopter mission, Oct. 30. U.S. AF instructor pilots assigned to the 721st AEAS train, advise and assist Iraqi helicopter pilots around the clock to develop their own AF.
CAMP TAJI – Kacey Grannis, 721st AEAS, is the IqAF's first female Mi-17 instructor pilot at Camp Taji, a job which she describes as one of a kind. "My primary duty as an air advisor is to train, advise and assist their pilots by expanding their knowledge base," she said. "I'm an American AF pilot, flying in an Iraqi AF bird, built by Ukrainians, with an Iraqi co-pilot in a combat zone. Everything from the challenges we have to deal with, to the rewards that we reap from our relationships with the Iraqi co-pilots, and the sheer 'cool' factor of the flying we get to do is rather unique."
In the Iraqi military female pilots are scarce, and upon notification their new advisor would be female, some Iraqi pilots doubted Grannis' ability to handle the helicopter's large frame. However, the captain decided to let her skills speak for themselves.
Capt. Grannis, who has more than 50 hours in the Mi-17, trains Iraqi pilots who have many more hours in the aircraft than she. "Pilots as a whole tend to be competitive and respect number of hours and skill level," she explained. "The dynamic itself is very interesting – the pilots we fly with have a lot more experience in the aircraft specifically than we do. There're definitely things that we have, as coalition advisors, to learn from these guys. They're definitely the experts on the aircraft systems and the performance handling characteristics. However, we're not necessarily trying to teach them how to fly. We're trying to teach them how to employ the aircraft in ways that are different from what they've done in the past."
Outside of the learning environment, the Iraqis have come to view Grannis as family.
"I get a lot of attention because I'm a female, but it's very respectful attention," she said. "A lot of times these guys kind of treat me like their little sister, which is a great honor to me because I know in Iraqi culture, family is very important. I'm honored that these guys consider me a sister, but I tell them 'outside the aircraft I'm a woman; inside the aircraft, I'm a pilot, and because I'm your instructor pilot, you're going to do what I tell you to do.'"
One student who has responded well to the captain's training is IqAF Capt. Abdul Jabbar, who says he has no qualms working with another female advisor "if they're as talented as Grannis. She is the first female pilot I've worked with," he said. "She's a very good instructor, and she has good experience for training and teaching. She always gives good advice and she never gives up. We're making good progress with our training, and I hope the IqAF is a strong AF for this country," he said. "I wish peace for Iraq, and I wish the Americans a good and happy life, and I hope they wish the same for us."
Capt. Grannis does. "This has been a great experience," she said. "I'm very fortunate to have been able to come here and meet all these great people. I'm honored to work with the officers, warrant officers and airmen of the IqAF. Without exception, every one of them is highly patriotic and dedicated to the job they're doing, and dedicated to the idea of a free peaceful Iraq, and I think that's amazing."
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U.S. Air Forces Central, Baghdad Media Outreach Team
Air Force Advisor Resuscitates Iraqi Life Support Story by Senior Airman Alyssa Miles
AF Tech. Sgt. Kyle Richardson, 721st AEAS air crew flight equipment advisor, discusses night vision goggle (NVG) maintenance with an IqAF airman, Oct. 30, 2009. Richardson ensures the airmen properly maintain survival vests, body armor, crash helmets and NVGs for more than 200 Iraqi helicopter air crew members.
CAMP TAJI, Iraq -- In addition to advising, Tech. Sgt. Kyle Richardson maintains the crucial equipment for CF. Previously, both life support offices were co-located on the Iraqi side of Camp Taji. Forty-five days into his deployment, the sgt recognized the Iraqi's skills and decided they needed independence.
"I'm here for anything they need," he said. "Their previous advisor built the basics – I'm in an over-watch status. Some air crew members will still look in my direction for assistance, but I direct them to my Iraqi counterparts. They can handle it." The sgt's confidence in his advisee's skills came soon after his arrival to the camp. Having only been in the field for 2 years and working with fighter systems, he says he wasn't familiar with the required head gear.
However, Sgt. Richardson retains his advisor title when it comes to NVG maintenance. The system is new to the Iraqi life support crew, and they may not always know exactly what's wrong with the equipment. The sgt says NVG and supply sustainment will be 2 daunting tasks during his year-long deployment. Nonetheless, he has a positive outlook on the future of the Iraqi shop, as they've begun to train their own Airmen.
Iraqi life support Airman Naseer Hameed feels that although there've been several challenges within their field, he and his team are making good progress, and he's hopeful for their future.
Sgt. Richardson concurs. "They've had an AF before, but they haven't necessarily used this same equipment," he said. "What makes it easy is that they're really retaining what they've been taught. They're good people, and I'm here to work with them, and do what I can for them. They're going to succeed – they want to do good."
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