The first project is to install a generator at the university. Once installed, the generator will provide reliable power crucial for the upcoming project, to provide Internet service to the university’s computer lab, classrooms and offices. The generator contract will include a 5-year maintenance service plan.
“In the long run, this project will create countless new opportunities for the faculty, which will advance the university’s agricultural program,” said Chancellor Payar of Paktya University. “A reliable source of electricity has been something that the university has wrestled with, over the past few years,” he added.
The second project is to teach English to university faculty. This course will provide 12 months of language training. The training will create opportunities for the faculty, and advance the university’s agricultural program, by assisting faculty members in pursuing higher education opportunities, and facilitating exchange programs with other universities around the world. “These projects will enhance the ability of the university to teach,” said Spc. Mandy Kennedy, education specialist for the ADT. “Most of the instructors have some level of knowledge regarding the English language, but they need additional training in order to be proficient.”
More than 20 Afghan contractors attended the conference. The conference’s primary purpose was to cover what was expected for the 2 projects: timeframe for project completion, equipment requirements, training curriculum, length of training, and verification inspections during the length of the contract.
“The ADT will work with the appropriate Afghan govt officials to select the best qualified for each of the contracts,” said Lt. Col. John Altebaumer, agricultural team chief for the ADT. “The ADT’s role is to facilitate a better understanding of what is expected to be submitted in each of the contractors’ bids.”
“Building upon the success of this conference, future bidder conferences will focus on building cool storage facilities, and also animal husbandry projects across the prov.,” said Sgt. Maj. Lorn McKinzie, the senior NCO for the agricultural section of the ADT, and moderator during the bidder’s conference.
The bidder’s conference, while not the first for the ADT, laid additional groundwork for Afghans to take the lead in establishing agricultural projects, that are sustainable and relevant to the needs of farmers in Paktya Prov.
Joint Tactical Air Controllers (JTAC) control air assets in the battle space, said Sgt. Justin Schade, the brigade JFO trainer for 4th BCT, "and since they're in such a limited supply, they can’t go out on every mission." That is where the JFO’s come in. “The class teaches the FOs to integrate close air support, close combat aviation, and surface-to-surface fire support systems into one engagement,” said Schade. “The JFOs are also trained to communicate more specific and precise info to the AF JTAC.
“JFO’s are the eyes and ears of the JTACs on the battlefield, so that one JTAC can manage multiple fights from the Tactical Ops Center (TOC),” said Schade. “The ability to integrate every facet of air and surface support into one fight is crucial. They learned how to work with CCA, CAS, naval fire support, artillery support and operate the Precision Strike Suite-Special Ops Forces system," said Schade.
“The course packs 2 months of school into a 2-week course,” said Schade. “Most of these FOs were pulled straight out of combat to attend the course, and were hit with a lot of new info, new subject matter, and a totally new concept of controlling their battle space.” To help prepare FOs for the JFO course, Jenkins instituted a brigade preparatory course, called Joint Fires Observer-University (JFO-U), in Sept. 2009.
“JFO-U is a 4-day course our brigade’s FOs go through before attending the JFO School,” said Schade. “It's designed to familiarize the Soldiers with the info, and let them practice the simulations on the call-for-fire trainer.” A call-for-fire trainer is a system designed to give students a 2-dimensional view of a battlefield scenario, while practicing calling for fire, and directing CCA, CAS and AWT in a hands-on application. The preparatory course was held both at Fort Campbell, Ky., before the brigade deployed, and here in Paktika Prov., during the deployment. "Now, before any FO goes to JFO School, he goes through JFO-U," said Schade.
“The info and skills I learned in the class will be really useful,” said Spc. Dustin Watson, the Honor Graduate from the 2nd JFO class. “Our missions always have CAS and air weapons teams covering us, and now I know how to utilize them better.”
By Army Spc. Kimberly Menzies
PAKTIKA PROVINCE - "We chose to utilize the 90mm, because we wanted a high-volume fire power weapon that would provide low collateral damage," said Lt. Col. Robert Fouche, EO for 4th BCT. The M67 is a lightweight, portable, crew-served weapon, designed primarily to be fired from the ground using the bipod or monopod, but it may be fired from the shoulder. It's an air-cooled, breech-loaded, single-shot rifle, that fires fixed ammo. It's equipped with a manually-operated breech, and a percussion-type firing mechanism. As a reloadable weapon, it can be used with optics and lasers to fire at night. "The weapon is intended to be used primarily as a self-defense weapon," said Fouche.
"The M67 will be used by mainly infantrymen in a static position," said Staff Sgt. Nathan Hyman, master gunner for 2nd Bn. "This means the weapon will be stationary; it won't move unless necessary. Soldiers at the outlying stations will be able to use this weapons system as a force multiplier, meaning that more can be accomplished with fewer individuals," Hyman said. "Although we plan to use the 90mm in mainly a defensive posture, it also can be extremely effective being used offensively for ambushes."
Not only did the M67 meet the unit's tactical needs, but because it's not a newly developed weapon, Fouche said, "its use is also a cost-effective alternative."
"This weapon is a beneficial choice for 3 important reasons," Hyman said. "The weapon has the capability to eliminate an area target, using a 90mm flechette round. It's easy to use, meaning it does not require extensive training in order to operate. It's also a reliable weapon, and it's easy to maintain in the harsh environments of Afghanistan."
The training consisted of classroom, hands-on and range training. The classroom portion covered weapon safety, function, use and maintenance. During the hands-on portion, soldiers familiarized themselves with various firing positions for the M67, such as prone, seated, kneeling or standing. "Because the rifle is truly recoilless, it can be fired from almost any position," said Hyman.
Photos by Lance Cpl. Joshua Hines
Whitehead was killed by an IED blast during Op Goliath. During the mission the Marines found more than 50 IEDs, and more than 10 weapons caches. Whitehead joined the Marines after graduating from Sassuma High School in 2007. His personal decorations include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal.
“The world was and is a better place because of his optimistic personality,” said Pickerill. “He will be missed by all who have known him. Rest in peace my friend. We all love you, and we won’t forget what you sacrificed to ensure the freedom of future generations.”
One of the topics discussed was a road-expansion plan to decrease incidents that take place, when military convoys travel on the road leading to Pakistan. Another topic was combating terrorist activity along the frontier with Pakistan. “If anything bad happens in Pakistan, it's like it happens to us,” said ABP Brig. Gen. Razziq to the multinational reps. “Whoever is your enemy is our enemy.”
Razziq said that cooperation and info sharing between ANSF and ISAF is vital for improving relationships along the border. Pakistani Army Brig. Gen. Shahzada, Pishin Scouts, and Frontier Corps zone cmdr., said that the meeting proved to be beneficial to all parties in attendance. “I wasn’t aware that the ABP were so eager to share intel,” said Shahzada. “That's news to us; it's a very good meeting; it benefits us all in every possible way.”
Col. Robert Waltemeyer, JBCC dir. said, "the Afghanistan-Pakistan security-zone needs improvement, and that will happen with enhanced coordination through liaison training and intel sharing.
The ANA liaison, Col. Habib, 205th Corps ops chief, spoke about the benefits of the trilateral collaboration. The reps don't meet often, so the gathering was a rare chance to improve relationships face-to-face. “Together, we are one people; a line separates us, but we're one nation,” Habib said of the 2 nations. “Our army and border patrol, with the grace of God, are very proud that the combined effort has made the enemy run away.” The next meeting is scheduled to take place in the upcoming months.
Photos by Sgt. Brandon Bolick
The 25-year-old has built many things for the unit to include a morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) theater that seats 45, a fully-functioning wood shop, wooden sniper shades for the company’s vehicles, display cases, covered walkways, and a podium. Corson is most proud of an Iraqi weapons display case in the bn HQ. “I made something professional out of plywood and wood glue,” he said. “I was always taught quality first, even if it takes extra time.”
Corson loves carpentry, and began his trade at age 9 under the tutelage of his father. Even though his job as the bn carpenter is ending soon, Corson looks forward to expanding his carpentry skills after returning to Fort Carson, Colo. “I’m working on getting a contractor license, and do construction business on the weekends,” said Corson. “My dream is to one day own a custom furniture business.”
Corson isn’t the only soldier who is using this deployment to fulfill a dream. Sgt. Ricki French, a Bradley Fighting Vehicle system maintainer, wants to change his military occupational specialty (MOS) more to his liking. When the company’s MOS-trained welder was transferred, French became the welder by default, and has enjoyed the job. He's been fixing equipment and welding since he was 14, working on the neighbor’s corn and soybean farm. French finds value in being able to weld and create things with metal.
“Stuff costs too much to let someone else fix it. I get to make something out of nothing,” he said with a grin. The 27-year-old is usually found in the bn motor pool fabrication shop, a facility he helped build, bent over a piece of metal, in a pair of soot-stained coveralls. His work for the bn is needed most when the project is either too expensive or unique to buy.
While in Iraq, French has built flagpoles, security doors, gates, equipment racks, fences, BBQ grills, and repaired dozens of damaged vehicles and containers. But French’s real skill as a welder really shines through in some of his more unusual projects. The welder made 12-inch-high copies of the Silver Lion’s Bn crest out of plate steel. The crests were created as gifts for the IP and IA. “I'm most proud of the unit crests,” said French. “I want people to look at them and appreciate how difficult they were to build. It’s something I love to do and surprisingly, I’m good at it.”
While some soldiers were honing skills as a part of their deployed duties, others were spending their down time developing other unique hobbies. Spc. Adam Rivera, a petroleum specialist, didn't mean to develop a new hobby when he was teleconferencing with his 3-year-old son A.J., a few months ago. “My son likes superheroes,” said Rivera, “Superman and Wolverine.”
While teleconferencing, Rivera drew his son a picture of a superhero with an M4 rifle. His son promptly asked his father for that superhero for Christmas. The idea was planted, and Rivera went to work transforming the drawing into workable blueprints. According the Rivera, it took 5 days to design on his computer. Rivera sent the computer renderings to a company in N.Y.C., and had a 6-inch plastic action figure with movable arms and legs built. The entire project cost $35 to mold, cast and paint the action figure.
A.J. opened the present on Christmas Day and received “daddy’s toy.” “He forgot about the rest of his toys,” said Rivera. “My son has a toy nobody else has.” But, this soldier’s work as a toy maker is not complete. “I’m already working on a bad guy for my son. I'm helping my son feel unique and special,” he said.