“Each district can train up to 100 people, and 50% have to be women,” said Army 1st Lt. Matt Machacek, a rangeland specialist. “The program has been going on for about a year now.”
Locals are encouraged to attend by receiving 2 sheep to start their own livestock ops, but they have to take the class. Consequently, the class has become so popular that Dr. Tuba Safi, a female instructor with the co., selected by the ADT, told the team that more people are attending her classes, despite the fact that they'll only receive certificates instead of sheep, as was done in the past. Originally, the classes were designed for 25 people over a 40-hour period.On this particular day, women were in class learning how TB can be transferred from animals to humans, and how it can be transferred between animals when they share eating and drinking locations. Army Maj. Stephanie Normand, an integrated pest mgt officer, thanked the female students for attending the livestock training.
“It takes more than just 2 sheep to change your lives; this is the first step in empowering you, your families and your entire community, and getting Afghanistan back to being the country you're all very proud of,” Normand said. Machacek, after witnessing a class in session, told Safi that he was impressed with the training in Kilan Deh village. “I was glad we could come see you today. I appreciate your work,” he said. “We teach basic livestock husbandry training, but also with the course we incorporate hygiene training for all the students. Safi does a great job teaching the females about some of their basic rights. This class is really more than just livestock lessons.”
CAMP SHAHEEN – Members of the ANBP learned how to maintain and operate the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) Aug. 23 to 25, as part of a training exercise geared to hone their security skills and create a quick reaction force (QRF).
Dubbed Op Northern Shield, the ANBP were partnered with Soldiers from the 10th Mtn Div’s 1st BSTB. “Eventually they'll develop 3 companies of QRF for along the border,” said 2nd Lt. Eric Mangol, the plt leader with Alpha Co’s 2nd plt. The area these ANBP patrol is along the country’s border with Uzbekistan.“The first day was a general overview of the vehicle, safety, PMCS and recovery,” Mangol said. “The next day we let them self-conduct PMCS. They did roll-over drills, fire drills, and basic driving. The third day was basic driving and advanced driving.”Many members of the ANBP receiving the training had no experience driving any type of vehicle. Now they were getting behind the wheel of an up-armored truck weighing more than 12,000-lbs. Although they required a little extra time at the wheel, the instructors said they were able to grasp the training.“Once we taught them the basics of the controls – they picked it all up very quickly,” said Cpl. Thomas Butler, a team leader and driving instructor. “This went pretty well, but next time I’d like to give them more stick time and a little more ground guiding,” said Staff Sgt. William Pitts, a squad leader and instructor.Mangol and his platoon will continue to conduct this driver’s training course each month for the rest of their deployment in Afghanistan.
Members of the ANBP watch as Sgt. Steve Werner, a mechanic, explains the importance of cleaning the HMMWV’s air filter.
By mid-August, Attullah was back, and began rallying insurgents once again. One of his first orders of business was planning a rocket attack on FOB Sharana. Fortunately, nearly 50 ANP with the assistance of Soldiers from 3rd Bn, thwarted the attack by locating and destroying the rockets.
The hunt for Attullah was on again. In the early morning hours of Aug. 31, U.S. forces received several reports of Attullah’s location. Determined to net the slippery leader, TF Iron rapidly initiated an air assault op, and mobilized ground forces and additional assets to ensure their success. As the Afghan and U.S. forces were thoroughly searching the targeted house, they found a clear tube protruding from one of the walls. When they pulled a pile of pillows away from the wall, they found Attullah cowering in a hole hidden in the wall. “It was a great feat to capture this volatile insurgent,” said Afghan Brig. Gen. Yaseem, chief of the Afghan National Directorate of Security. “We'll continue our ops against the remains of his insurgent cell, as well as any insurgent that attempts to replace Attullah.”The Amman portion, which is ongoing, consists of lectures from prominent Islamic culture and religious scholars from the Hashemite Charity Org., the Islamic University of Jordan, U.S. Embassy Amman and the Jordanian Armed Forces Director of iftar.
The experience includes visits to significant culture sites common to Islam, Judaism and Christianity. “Just after they arrived in Amman, King Abdullah II of Jordan paid the attendees a significant honor by hosting them for an evening Ramadan meal,” said Army Maj. Matthew Yandura, bde info ops officer, for the 173rd, who co-planned the event. “The attendees will never forget the respect that was shown to them by King Abdullah.” After conducting the Umra, the participants will return to Logar and Wardak provs. for phase III, during which they will share the experience with their families, friends and colleagues in Afghanistan.Army Col. Jim Johnson, cmdr of the 173rd ABCT, encouraged the participants to get the most out of the experience. “This will be, no doubt, a life changing event for all of you. May you remember all that you will see, and return home and share it with your family and friends, so that they may benefit from what you've learned,” said Johnson. “This is an historic event on so many levels,” said Yandura. “While the insurgents have claimed that CF are here to interfere with Islam, we demonstrate to the Afghan people that we respect their faith, and we respect them. This initiative has the potential to change the dialogue here for years to come – perhaps generations to come.” Shaikh Mohammed Najm, TF Nashmi’s senior cleric said, “There are people who are using Islam and the political and social challenges that we're facing here to bring violence to Afghanistan. This program will counter that effort.” “We believe that this initiative will help Afghans gain a new perspective on their faith and culture and our respect for both,” said John Lister, The TF Bayonet’s senior U.S. State Dept civilian.The mission rehearsal was a welcomed training opportunity for the company’s joint weapons section. Before coming together 6 weeks ago, the majority of the Afghan soldiers training had been with their rifles."They haven’t done much training with crew-served weapons, and the majority of them have never fired high-explosive mortars," said Sgt. Alan Smith, weapons section leader. Smith said that the Marines have the Afghan soldiers run through firing drills almost daily, but the routine can become monotonous. Firing live rounds is a rare opportunity. “It’s a good experience for them to get a dose of motivation,” Smith said.Afghan soldier Din Mohamad especially appreciated the motivation. The last time Din fired mortars was more than a year ago, and before the training, he’d never gotten the chance to shoot high-explosive rounds. “I liked firing the HE rounds,” said Din. “We’ve learned a lot. The training is very good and we’re thankful to work with the Marines.”