By Army Spc. Monica Smith
Army Sgt. Matthew West, Co A., TF Knighthawk, removes boxes of supplies from the back of a Black Hawk, Jan. 13. The boxes contain school supplies and clothing donated to local schools in and around Bamyan Prov.
BAGRAM AIRFIELD – Sgt. West said he didn’t know what to expect when a rock came flying at him. West, a crew chief, was recently guarding his Black Hawk at a landing zone at Camp Kiwi, Bamyan, when a young man threw a rock at him. “Children throwing rocks isn’t unexpected out here,” West said. “You never know what people really think of you, so I just assumed it was another kid taunting us.”
However, this kind of rock throwing was different; the rock had a note attached to it. The note indicated that the young man taught an English class in Bamyan Prov. The man, who spoke excellent English, was requesting school supplies to help him teach his class.
“His English was really good and I thought ‘why not help someone who wants to educate others?’” said West. “It’s part of the whole ‘winning the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan,’ and what better way to win the minds than by educating them? So, when our flight got back to Bagram I talked it over with some of the guys in my company and we decided we wanted to help them.”
One of the Soldiers West talked to was Army Spc. Sean Noonan, also a crew chief in Co. A. Noonan took the lead on the project, gathering together school supplies, clothing and candy, to donate to the Afghan people in Bamyan. Three weeks later they had enough boxes to fill the back of a Black Hawk and began planning a mission to return to Bamyan.
“When I heard West talking about what happened, I don’t know, I just felt like we should do something to help them,” said Noonan. “I think a lot of the time as Soldiers we get carried away with performing the combat portion of our mission. I think it’s good to remember we’re also here to help the Afghan people – and in this case, we can help their children receive a good education, or at least give them the supplies to continue their education.”
When the 2 Black Hawks landed at Camp Kiwi, Jan. 13, the temperature read minus 10 degrees. With steam flowing from their mouths and noses, the air crews moved the supplies from the back of their aircraft to a connex box belonging to Padre Leon O’Flynn, chaplain with the New Zealand PRT.
“There’s a girls school here that has 2,000 students and a boys school that has more than 3,000 students attending,” said O’Flynn. “These supplies will go far to help them. There’s nothing they don’t need or won’t use. The school supplies and clothing will be gone quickly. We try to get to the more remote villages too. Every little bit we receive helps.”
Though the Soldiers didn’t have the opportunity to hand out the supplies personally, before leaving Camp Kiwi, they took time to talk with the children who live in Bamyan. One teenager, 18-year-old Qugamali, who also teaches English classes in Bamyan, said in school they're learning about Japan, and how after World War II The U.S. helped Japan recover.
“Right now Afghanistan is backwards but maybe we can be like Japan,” said Qugamali. “The Americans come in and help us become secure. The Taliban can’t make Afghanistan secure.” The quality of English that's spoken is surprising said Noonan as he and Qugamali continued to talk. What's more surprising says Noonan, is their comprehension of what's going on in their country.
“I know education here isn’t what it is back in the states, so I was surprised to hear him make the comparison between what we’re doing here to what we did in Japan,” said Noonan. “It’s good to know that the people here, even if they’re young, understand that in the end we’re here to help their country.”
As Noonan and Qugamali continued to talk Qugamali said he wants to be a journalist when he gets older. “To be a journalist in the future you must know 3 languages,” said Qugamali. “If we have the school supplies we can learn, otherwise it's very hard for us to learn. It's good that we have help.”
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jeffrey Stackhouse carries a box of supplies to Padre Leon O’Flynn, chaplain, New Zealand PRT.
Qugamali, an 18-year-old who teaches English classes in Bamyan talks over the concertina wire with U.S. Army Soldiers, explaining what he does and the supplies he needs.
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CJTF-82 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Center
PRT Paktika visit Baki Khel By AF Staff Sgt. Dallas Edwards
BAKI KHEL DISTRICT - Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Glenn Niemitalo, engr, Paktika PRT, walks to a proposed development project construction site in Baki Khel district, Jan. 9.
U.S. military members from the Paktika PRT, visit Baki Khel district, to talk to local officials about ongoing PRT development projects in the area.
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DVIDS
Italian-led PRT Assists Women's Affairs DepartmentKABUL - The Italian-led Herat PRT recently offered a birthing class for nomad women in the area. Afghan and PRT doctors taught the course at Camp Vianini in collaboration with the Women's Affairs Dept. The course covered how to attend to a woman giving birth.
There are an estimated 1.5 million nomads in Herat prov., and a large number of them don't get appropriate medical care. Manija Sadiqi, chief of the dept, other local authorities, and members of the PRT recently attended an inauguration ceremony. "This program is making possible social and economical development for women," said Sadiqi. "Thank you for all you do in favor of Afghan population."
In other projects for Afghan women, the PRT donated about 1,800 kgs of saffron seeds to the Saffron Women Cultivators Assn, and several sewing machines to the Wahdat Women's Union.
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CJTF-82 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Center
Mehtar Lam Media Ops Center opens By Bagram Media Center
LAGHMAN PROVINCE – Pushing 300 watts, and capable of reaching most of the prov., the Mehtar Lam Media Ops Center went on-air, Jan. 14. Radio is the main source of news and entertainment for a large percentage of the Afghan population, and Laghman prov. is no exception. Afghan cultural and media advisors work together to coordinate the news stories with coalition and Afghan entities.
Laghman ADT Conducted Veterinary Training: The Laghman ADT conducted veterinary training with local farmers and ranchers, Jan. 13-14. Laghman ADT spent 2 days working with 4th year students from Nangahar Veterinary College. The first day’s lesson focused on identifying and treating livestock for parasites. On the 2nd day, the 17 students and 15 PRT members provided medical screening and evaluations on more than 350 head of cattle, sheep, goats, and a donkey. Local farmers whose animals were treated were very thankful for the assistance.
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CJTF-82 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Center
PRT Paktika visits Seghanna school By AF Staff Sgt. Dallas Edwards
PAKTIKA PROVINCE - Members of the Paktika PRT visit a school and talk to local officials about making repairs to the facility near Seghanna, Jan. 10.
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DoD Imagery
(DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Dallas Edwards, AF)
Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Glenn Niemitalo, an engr with the Paktika PRT, talks to a village elder with the assistance of an interpreter about upcoming development projects in Jani Khel, Jan. 9, 2010.
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Iraqi Stories:
USF-I
Diyala River bridge to link villages, markets
By 135th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
MUQDADIYAH – U.S. and Iraqi Soldiers are collaborating on a bridge and road project to span the Diyala River, connecting villages to the thriving city markets.
While the nearest market is tantalizingly within view just across the river, farmers here currently have no way to cross. They must travel 24 miles around the river to reach the market, the place to sell crops, livestock and purchase food and supplies for their families.
For farmers on foot herding livestock, roads leading up to the new bridge will be expansive for this purpose. "The bridge and road will allow people in the area villages to come in to the markets, which will help increase our economy," said Hassan, mayor of Muqdadiyah.
Brig. Gen. Pat Donahue, dep. cmdr of US Div-N, visited the bridge location recently to assess what’s needed to complete the project, as his troops with 2nd Bn, 3rd Inf Regt, 3rd Stryker BCT, 2nd ID are spearheading the plans. "By coming out here I can see how important this project is to the community, and report the value of it based on what I'm hearing," said Donahue.
This is also a sign of the great progress being made in the area. "We're building confidence between our forces and the people in the area to build one team," said Lt. Col. Hassan, Iraqi cmdr. "This shows that everything is going well, while we're working hard every day to keep the city secure."
"Iraq passed through a difficult time," said Mayor Hassan. "With the help of community orgs and CF we're able to create things like this bridge that increase our security and our economic stability."
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United States Division-Center
Engineers Deliver Clothes and Food
By Spc. Heather Todd
BAGHDAD – To improve ties with the people of Iraq, Soldiers from 1192nd Engr Co, 101st Engr Bn, delivered clothes and food, Jan. 10 to families living in Area Four, an ISF training base on Victory Base Complex.
Besides canned goods, books, hygiene items and mags for the adults, the Soldiers also handed out stuffed animals, cards, balls, coloring books, pens, pencils, crayons, glue and other school supplies to the children. The importance of the gesture wasn't lost on the young ones.
"The kids were smiling and excited when they saw the truck," said Sgt. 1st Class David Zika. "They knew that there was something there for them. They were appreciative." Among the goods were about 45 packets of candy. The candy and school supplies were donated from Lakota High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and members of 1192nd, and proved to be a favorite draw by some of the Soldiers.
"I liked giving the candy to the kids. It shows them that we're here to help," said Sgt. 1st Class John Botts. "This was one of the better days that I've had in theater."
This was the 1192nd's 2nd time visiting Iraqi children and their families. The Soldiers said they like doing this, because it gives them an opportunity to interact with the families, and provides them with useful supplies. Instead of having excess items from care packages sent during the holidays, the engrs figured the families could use a helping hand.
"There are a couple of little shops, but no grocery store for the families to go and get the things that they need," said Staff Sgt. John Scott. The Soldiers said they plan to go back to Area Four as soon as they can accumulate more items to hand out; especially candy.
"It's fun to see the smiles on their faces when they see us," said Scott; another way that engrs continue to help the people of Iraq.
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United States Division - Center
Army’s unmanned ‘Sky Warrior' put through paces
CAMP TAJI – Quick Reaction Capability-1 (QRC-1), a small unit of 16 Soldiers deployed from Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Bn out of Fort Huachuca, Ariz., has spent the past months putting the new MQ-1C Sky Warrior UAS through numerous tests in a combat environment to help the Army determine the future of the program.
The Sky Warrior, a system larger than the Predator, is operated by Soldiers in Iraq as opposed to being flown remotely from the U.S. It has a wing span of 56 feet and is capable of carrying Hellfire missiles. The Army wanted QRC-1 to be assigned to the Baghdad area of ops, and since the 1st Cav Div was in charge of ops for Baghdad at the time, the unit fell under 1st Air Cav Bde, said Capt. Travis Blaschke, cmdr of QRC-1.
Even though the Sky Warrior is still in a testing phase, it's being used in missions to support units on the ground. Through these missions, QRC-1 is gathering data to determine the direction the program will go. Program of record, or POR, is the final milestone for any new Army asset. This will move the MQ-1C from development and testing into full-rate production and adoption into the Army's common inventory.
If the QRC-1 program is successful, the Army has a plan in place to give every aviation brigade multiple Sky Warriors starting in 2011, said Blaschke. The aircraft would be a division-level asset and would be further dispersed down to the combat units to support the maneuver cmdrs.
Along with the ability to conduct surveillance and fly well beyond a dozen hours, once testing is complete, the Sky Warrior will be armed with Hellfire missiles, which will add another dimension to its combat role. "This is an aircraft that can have different pay loads," said Blaschke. "It has the capability of actually looking out long distances in order to find the enemy in different ways. Whether it's using the image intel, using signal intel, using measuring intel, this platform can't only find the enemy, but will ultimately be able to engage and neutralize the enemy."
The Sky Warrior also has the capability to point out targets for other aircraft, enabling them to hit their target while the Sky Warrior aims, said Blaschke. It can guide in a Hellfire from an AH-64D Apache attack helicopter, or even Joint Direct Attack Munitions from an F/A-18 Super Hornet, F-16 Fighting Falcon or F-22 Raptor, making a hunter-killer team. "The future of MQ-1C ops is only limited by the breadth of our imagination."
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United States Forces - Iraq PAO
GoI invests in border security
BAGHDAD – Iraqi MoI Bolani signed a purchase order Jan. 13, for hundreds of secure communication radios designed to help the border police coordinate more effectively and respond rapidly to external threats.
The purchase order is for 200 Harris high frequency radios, which carry both voice and data securely over long ranges, as well as 260 Cobham LV2 vehicle-mounted intercom radios used during squad-level, tactical ops.
“Iraq continues to develop its capability to protect its borders from outside influences,” said Army Maj. Gen. Richard Rowe, dir. of the Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission. “The purchase of these radios is a significant step towards equipping the border SECFOR and will help them to conduct this very important mission.”
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