Army Spc. Brandi Morales of the 10th Mtn Div’s 1st BSTB, poses for a picture with group of young Afghan girls at the Prozah Habida Balkhi Girls School in the Dehdadi District near Mazar-e-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan. Soldiers of the 1st BSTB are assisting the community in building more classroom facilities for the younger students.
CAMP MIKE SPANN – The event marked the official start of construction on a new 6-room facility that will house students next to the school’s main building. “When we first arrived here at the Dahdadi District, up at Camp Mike Spann, the locals brought us to this school – there was just broken tents,” said Capt. Tim Williams, cmdr of HHC, 1st BSTB, from the 10th Mtn Div’s 1st BCT.
On the playground, outside the main school building there were several tents in various states of disrepair, with gaping holes and tattered guy lines. Many felt these conditions were not the proper environment for the children to receive their education. “A month after we were here, we were able to get them new tents,” Williams said. “Now we’ve started this project to provide them a 6-room school. Williams explained that the new building will have electricity and a permanent roof, providing cover and warmth during the winter months. He said it will also have an indoor garden for the children to enjoy.During the ceremony, prominent members of the community made several traditional dedications to the ground breaking. One of which was placing decoratively wrapped bricks into the building’s foundation to honor special guests that were present at the event.As the ceremony ended, students from the school joined in the celebration and took the opportunity to meet and share a little laughter with several Soldiers from the 1st BSTB.According to Williams, Dehdadi is one of the districts within Afghanistan that exceeds all educational standards. Approx 60% of the population is high school educated, and as a result, the district has a lower crime rate.
AF Staff Sgt. Joshua Arends, a broadcast journalist attached to the 10th Mtn Div’s 1st BCT, shows a group of students at the Girls' School how his video camera works.
Students at the Girls' School pause from their school work, as Soldiers arrive for a ground breaking ceremony.
While Afghan construction workers stand by, a local contractor discusses the site development with Kelley Murray, a member of the USACE. The construction project is a new building at the Prozah Habida Balkhi School that will shelter the students during the winter months.
Army Cpl. Joseph Hinojosa and Spc. Brandi Morales enjoy the company of a crowd of young Afghan boys and girls.
U.S. soldiers provides security after a vehicle was disabled by an IED, as a convoy led by Angel Co, 3rd Bn, 187 Inf, 101st AD from Fort Campbell, Ky., departed FOB Yahya Khel in route to FOB Rushmore, Aug. 23, 2010.
PAKTIKA PROVINCE – For the past several months, TF Iron Soldiers have worked tirelessly throughout Paktika Prov., conducting numerous combat patrols, clearing miles of roadway, and building relationships with local village leaders and elders to pave the way ahead.
Recently the Soldiers moved their new area of responsibility to the Andar District of Ghazni Prov., to join TF White Eagle. Although the bn does not assume official responsibility of the area until mid-Sept., several platoons are already patrolling the district.It didn’t take the Iron Rakkasans long to make their presence known. “Early in the morning on Sept. 2, TF Iron Soldiers identified insurgents attempting to emplace an IED on a well-travelled roadway,” said Army 1st Lt. R. J. Peek, bn spokesman, 3rd Bn. “In order to deal with the threat quickly, the Soldiers requested air support, and within a matter of minutes 2 AH-64 Apache helicopters were on the scene.”
The Air Weapons Team was able to positively identify the heavily-armed insurgents. After receiving clearance to fire, the Apache pilots engaged the enemy forces with Hellfire missiles and 30-millimeter gunfire. After the shooting stopped, 3 insurgents lay dead. About 15 minutes later, a 4th insurgent tried to shoot one of the helicopters down with a RPG. His attempt was unsuccessful, and the Apaches quickly returned fire and killed him. Following the incident, Soldiers from 1st Plt, Co C, were sent to the site. “When we got there we found and recovered the IED that the insurgents were attempting to place,” said Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Hughes, plt sgt for 1st Plt. “It contained about 100-lbs of homemade explosives, and was complete with a command wire and radios.“ Hughes’ plt also found multiple small arms weapons, RPGs and grenades at the site. “Hopefully, this op will show the insurgents that they'll no longer be able to operate freely in East Ghazni Prov.,” said Hughes. “Task TF Iron is moving in, and we intend to work with the ANSF here to bring a stop to the insurgent threat. With their cooperation and lots of hard work, the Afghan people here will be able to live without fear of the Taliban.”
A U.S. Army soldier watches over an area in the Waza Kwah District during dismounted ops. The Iron Rakkasans passed the responsibility for Paktika prov. to TF Currahee, Sept. 9, and will now be HQ in Ghazni prov.
Army Maj. Loren Adams, right, the veterinary officer for the 734th ADT, delivers 300 doses of rabies vaccine to Navy Lt. Kyle Burditt, a physician asst with the Nuristan PRT.
FOB FENTY -- The Nuristan PRT is fighting an outbreak of rabies in the Titin Valley that has claimed the lives of 4 Afghan citizens, but they're not going at it alone. The PRT is getting help from the Iowa NG’s 734th ADT, which provided 300 doses of rabies vaccine. The vaccine will be used to innoculate dogs in the area, and will help avoid the slaughter of Titon Valley’s canines.
“We were going to have to go to the villages in the valley, and if we saw any suspicious animals, we were basically going to have to put them down,” said Navy Lt. Kyle Burditt. “We were going to end up killing a lot of animals that wouldn’t have to die if we didn’t have this vaccine.”-30-
CAMP SHORABAK - Brig. Gen. Farooq, 215th Corps dep. cmdr., thanks the 215th Corps Advisory Team for celebrating Eid al-Fitur with the ANA at Camp Shorabak, Helmand province, Sept. 10, 2010.