"The old ANP used to steal from the people, and most of them got fired for testing positive for opium on drug tests," said Jenkins. "The new ANP are a lot more professional in the peoples eyes now, and they take their job a little more serious."The patrols have light-hearted moments when the ANP and PMT come to rough terrain, explains Jenkins as he recounts a previous patrol with the ANP. "We came to a wide canal that was very hard to cross on foot," Jenkins recalled. "One ANP tried to cross but fell in. He laughed and dropped his rifle; instead of getting out on the other side he tried again, and he made it that time."
April 18, internationally known as World Heritage Day, was a good day for the Ministry of Urban Development, and the Ministry of Info and Culture from Kabul, to meet with local Ghazni business leaders and the Ghazni PRT for a round-table discussion.
“Today is a celebration around the world for World Heritage Day,” said Navy Cmdr. Jeremy van Frank, Ghazni PRT EO. “The PRT is here to assist with the efforts of both the govt of Kabul, and the govt of Ghazni to work together for the 2013 Islamic Culture celebration.”
World Heritage Day encourages public awareness of the world’s diversity of cultural heritage. Ghazni city has a rich past and is peppered with historical sites. Ghazni city was selected as the Asian capital of Islamic civilization for 2013, by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Org., at a conference in Tripoli, Libya, in 2007.
At the provincial level, there are 13 projects that have been recognized to highlight the cultural significance of Ghazni. Of those 13 projects, the group plans to create an informational website for the event and a newspaper that publishes poetry by Ghazni writers.
Another big project on the list is to reopen the Ghazni Museum, which has been closed for 20 years. The museum will house many artifacts that have been kept in Kabul since the Soviet occupation.
Sgt. Douglas Miller, an air traffic controller with CAB, 1st ID, and 1st Lt. Murtada, an air traffic controller with the IqAF, monitor one of the tracking systems in Taji Army Airfield’s control tower, April 21, 2010.
CAMP TAJI – Working with Soldiers from Co F, 2nd GSAB, 1st Aviation Regt, the Iraqi personnel are learning how to effectively manage the air traffic control tower on Taji Army Airfield. “We’re trying to move ourselves, the IqAF, forward,” said Lt. Yassen, an Iraqi air traffic controller. “The IqAF used old rules for air traffic control; the Americans are teaching us the modern, new ways to do it.”
The job requires intensive training and an intermediate understanding of the English language – the universal language of air traffic control. So, in addition to working with the CAB Soldiers, the Iraqis also attend basic aviation mgt courses and aviation-specific English classes.
“It’s a big team op up, now between us, the Iraqis and the U.S. Soldiers,” said Patsy Thomas, a civilian trainer from Washington Consulting Group. Thomas, and several other civilians, are responsible for the certification of the Iraqi air traffic controllers.Under supervision, the Iraqis are currently operating a large portion of the systems in the tower. However, there is still a need for the presence of the CAB Soldiers, said Staff Sgt. Mark Flater, with Co. F. “We help them out, and are also required to monitor equipment systems, that they aren’t yet authorized to operate,” said Flater. As the 2 forces work side by side in the tower, they face the biggest challenge posed to any Iraqi-American partnership: the language barrier. “It’s probably the biggest difficulty we’ve had so far, but we practice with them all day, and you see that they catch on,” said Flater. “I’ve seen a big improvement in their capabilities just in the time I’ve been here.”In addition to making progress in the tower, Flater says the Soldiers of Co. F have made personal ties with the Iraqis. During their down-time, they sit and talk about things – from differences in culture, to the similarities of their military careers.
Iraqi Commandos and U.S. Army Scouts from HHC, 4th Bn, 6th Inf Regt, conduct joint pre-combat checks before a recent mission in Maysan prov.
COB GARY OWEN – IA Commandos continue to train and conduct successful ops with the Scout Plt. Over a 7-month period, the Iraqi Commandos have grown in their technical and tactical proficiency, building a more professional and independent fighting force.
Using the traditional coach, teach and mentor approach, the Commandos now control much of their own training, and even started teaching classes to the Army Scout Plt.
"It’s amazing how far they've come. I feel comfortable when they're teaching me a class and running missions with them," said Staff Sgt. James Tsosie, a section sgt, during one Commando training exercise.
Iraqi Maj Abood, greets Capt. Guy Girouard, cmdr of Co C, 4th Bn, 9th Inf Regt, 4th Stryker BCT, 2nd ID, in Anbar prov., April 15, 2010. Girouard recently devised a plan to build stronger bonds and levels of communication between IA units, to help them better fight pockets of insurgency across the Anbar and Baghdad provs.
“Every division has their own sectors, so there're some gaps, and we’re trying to close them right now,” said Maj. Abood, 1st IA Div.
The ultimate goal is to create a bond from the div cmdrs, all the way down to the company level, said Girouard. Then the company cmdrs can work out border issues on the ground and start sharing intel, resources, and conducting joint patrols.“I’m looking forward to doing a lot of things together,” said Abood. “We're holding a lot of meetings, and we hope in the future things will come together.” Progress may take a while to be clearly seen. However, Girouard said that within a few weeks, cohesion between the IA divs should be moving along smoothly.