Dear Interested Reader,
Women honored at Herat hospital; Herat video celebrates Women's Day. Top Iowa marksmen train fellow Soldiers at Torkham Gate. Soldier's pursuit of MBA inspires peers to further education. Women's Day celebrated in Kunar. Panjshir construction cos. attend PRT's workshop. Red Bulls Soldiers help protect Afghan/Pak border.
Iraq: Artic warriors provide outside-the-wire security at Ali Air Base. Exercise emphasizes realism for rigorous training experience at JBB.
Joanna
__________________________________
AFGHANISTAN STORIES:
Regional Command-West Public Affairs
Women honored at Herat hospital
Story by AF Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
An Afghan woman folds a bedsheet at Herat Regional Military Hospital (HRMH), Mar. 8, 2011. Later that day, she and 11 other women were recognized at HRMH in honor of the 100th anniversary of Int'l. Women’s’ Day.
(AF photos by Airman 1st Class Lausanne Morgan)
HERAT – ANA leadership and hospital staff presented the women certificates of appreciation and gifts.
"Roughly 160 Afghans encompass the medical staff, 12 of which are female," said ANA Maj. Gen. Ghori, 207th Corps chief of staff. In 2010 his medical staff treated more than 30,000 patients.
The female doctor and medics are the primary staff whom treat female Afghans. Female medics are growing in number, but are still scarce when compared to their male counterparts. “It’s difficult being an Afghan woman,” said Dr. Shemsi Noorazai, the sole female doctor at HRMH. Noorazai studied medicine at Kabul University, in an era where higher education for women was almost unheard of.
“I’m very happy that women are honored today, because I clearly remember the times when we didn’t have rights at all,” said Noorazai. “I hope in the future, the amount of women in govt jobs will be equal to that of our male counterparts. I hope the hiring process progresses to the point where gender is no longer a factor at all.”
A female janitor echoed the doctor’s sentiments. “As time goes on, women get more freedom, and this shows great progress in my country,” said Zahedah Qoreshi, who is one of a few females responsible for cleaning women’s facilities at the hospital.
Qoreshi has 5 daughters and is very hopeful for their future, she said, stating: “Men and women should be equal.”
After the medics were honored at the ceremony, ANA Col. Sayed Azim, HRMH doctor and commander surprised the audience by honoring a few American servicemembers whom work hand-in-hand with their Afghan counterparts.
One U.S. female honored was AF Staff Sgt. Rachel Hawkins, 466th Air Expeditionary Sqdn medic, who works nearby at Camp Stone’s Joint Medical Ops facility. “Being a deployed female, I can partially understand what it must feel like being a female minority,” said Hawkins. “I have a lot of respect for these women.”
Hawkins reflected on what she’s read about the early stages of female involvement in the U.S. AF, and expressed her wishes for the future role of Afghan women in their govt agencies. “Women play an important part not just in war, but in everyday life. I hope they can take on more jobs, and have an equal opportunity to work,” said Hawkins. “I wish someday they at least have the equal opportunity to pursue and be selected for jobs.”
Dr. Shemsi Noorazai, the sole female doctor at HRMH is recognized with 11 other women.
-30-
Blackanthem Military News
Herat Celebrates Women's Day (click to view video)
HERAT - Nearly 1,000 women attended a Women's Day celebration in the city center of Herat, Herat Province, Mar. 8, 2011.
Influential Afghan women and coalition partners discussed progression of Afghan women as well as the challenges they face. Additionally, a women's business and social center was opened. The center is designed to help all Afghan women with social, business and health issues.
The building team was led by the Italian PRT.
-30-
RC-East, Bagram Media Center
Top Iowa marksmen train fellow Red Bulls, Afghans at Torkham Gate
Story and photos by Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Matson, TF Red Bulls
NANGARHAR PROVINCE - Pfc. Scott Suhr (right), a squad designated marksman, and Pfc. Chris Vega (left), a forward observer, simulate reacting to enemy contact from behind cover, during a drill at the range at FOB Torkham Gate, March 3.
NANGARHAR PROVINCE – Two of Iowa’s top guns are working with their fellow Soldiers and Afghan counterparts, to improve their tactical marksmanship abilities. Sgt. Martin Ennor, an inf. team leader and his unit’s dir. of marksmanship, and Staff Sgt. Jacob Downs, a supply sgt. and weapons instructor, have both won the Governor’s 10 Shooting Competition, an annual competition in which military shooters from the Army and Air NG, as well as the Army Reserve, compete to determine the 10 best military shooters in the state.
Now, the 2 Soldiers from Co B, 1st Bn, 133rd Inf Regt, 2nd BCT, 34th ID, TF Red Bulls, are working to spread their shooting skills and expertise to other members of the company. “I like watching the development of each person we train, from where they start out to where they're now,” Downs, 29, said. “To me it makes me feel they’ll be safer when they go outside the wire.”
The Soldiers all volunteered for the training, which is usually conducted on their day off, and said the tips Ennor and Downs have shared with them have paid huge dividends in their personal marksmanship abilities.
“It’s definitely at least doubled my accuracy, and I feel more confident that, if we take contact, I'll know what to do from running the drills,” said Pfc. Richard Reichardt, an infantryman with Co. B. “I’ve learned more in 2 months about shooting from them – the mechanics – than I have in the 4 years I’ve been in the military."
Ennor said he and Downs have both been shooting since childhood, having begun in “the average Iowa family hunter kind of way.” Ennor, 25, said after returning from Iraq, he was at the demobilization station in Fort McCoy, Wis., when a small-arms readiness group (SARG) recruiting team was looking for new members. The team trains marksmanship skills to Soldiers about to mobilize. Ennor, who obviously loved shooting and met the recruiter’s standard of having consistent high qualification marks at the range, jumped at the chance.
“It was the opportunity to learn something new and get better,” Ennor said. "They re-taught me how to shoot, completely revamped everything I had known, and made me a better shooter.” Ennor decided to completely devote his life to marksmanship training, and started his own business as a personal instructor. In the civilian sector, he now earns his living providing instruction for various military, law enforcement, and civilian clients. It's a passion he shares with his wife, Whitney, who's a female firearms instructor and nursing student.
“I’m more of a shooter than an instructor,” Downs said. “So, my training is more ‘do as I do.’ I can show someone an example of how I shoot, and teach them that way.” This has come in handy when the pair has taught Afghan students here, as well. Ennor said that Downs is the more patient of the two, which is why Downs has had exceptional success teaching the Afghan Security Group members, who also man the gate with Co. B. His patience and examples are often able to compensate for a lack of ability to communicate fully.
The instructors said they gear their training here toward combat scenarios. “We cover things like the urban prone position, which is basically laying on your side, switching hands and shooting under or over an object, the supine position (shooting from one’s back behind cover), as well as various movement and box drills,” Downs said. “We also focus a lot on communicating, while moving and clearing malfunctions with concise movements.”
“We don’t do this to teach people to qualify on an Army range and to zero,” he said. “We do this to teach people lifesaving skills for them to survive in combat. It’s almost primal for them now. These things are engrained into their body and their minds. When they're able to perform these skills under stress, under a time-is-life situation, that’s when you know that it’s been trained to proficiency."
When asked who is the better shot, both Soldiers laughed. “We don’t even know,” Ennor said. “We both have our individual strengths and weaknesses.”
Sgt. Martin Ennor moves around Staff Sgt. Jacob Downs, as Downs lays down covering fire during a drill to simulate reacting to enemy contact.
Downs tactically reloads his M4 rifle from behind cover.
Downs, left, drags Ennor during a drill to simulate quickly evacuating a casualty under fire.
-30-
RC-East, Bagram Media Center
Soldier’s pursuit of MBA inspires peers to further education
Story and photo by Army Staff Sgt. Todd Pouliot, TF Falcon
PARWAN PROVINCE – Spc. Ricaud Brown, originally of Montego Bay, Jamaica, a human resources specialist with 10th CAB, TF Falcon, 10th Mtn Div., works at his desk at Bagram Airfield, March 1.
BAGRAM AIRFIELD – At the age of 19, a Montego Bay, Jamaica, native left his homeland for N.Y.C., in search of expanded opportunities, but after a few years of working, he said he realized he wasn’t satisfied with the path his work-life was heading.
“Seeing how much money I made, I looked around the office and saw older workers doing the same thing I was doing,” said Spc. Ricaud Brown. “That’s when I knew I needed to go to college.” Brown’s pursuit of higher education has resulted in him earning a master’s degree in business administration, and a position with a financial firm upon completion of his Army obligation in a few months. Additionally, several Soldiers who were inspired by Brown’s accomplishments pursued their own higher education goals.
“At first I wanted to get a degree in business mgt.,” Brown recalled. “I took an investment class, and I was learning about the stock market. That’s when I decided to change my major to finance.” A few months after graduating from the State University of New York in 2006, with a BS in finance, Brown joined the Army to pay off student loans.
Brown has worked as a human resources specialist, human resources office since 2007, having stayed at Fort Drum his entire Army career. Not satisfied with his bachelor’s degree, Brown began working toward his master’s degree. A deployment to Iraq did not keep him from moving toward that goal; he took 6 classes while serving in Iraq. “Those were the toughest times in my life,” he said. “I was working so many hours.”
It was his leaders who saw to it that he completed what he’d started. Brown said that their apparent desire to see him succeed and reach his goals pushed him through those difficult times. He said, "Staff Sgt. Linda Kremblas would make sure he had time to study. She would stay on me like a mom,” he said. “She would say, ‘Get your work done in 6 hours. You’ll have the remaining 6 hours to study.”
Sgt. Vernon Redd, another TF Falcon human resources NCO, was also committed to Brown reaching his educational goals. “It was important to me for 2 reasons: for himself, and for opening the door for other Soldiers,” said Redd. “There were 6 to 7 Soldiers who had no previous interest, who are furthering their education now.”
Brown earned his MBA through Columbia College between his Iraqi deployment and his current deployment to Afghanistan, and intends to continue further education. “I’m going to pursue my doctorate in finance in Sept. with the G.I. Bill,” he said. “My future goal is to get a senior-level mgt position in an investment firm. I might want to teach at a college in the future. I’m driven to learn everything I can, and earn a lot of money as well,” Brown said.
He said that he's always interested in teaching others how to invest their money. “I hate seeing Soldiers have all these opportunities, and not take advantage of it,” he said. “I convinced a fellow Soldier to pursue a business degree; he just got into the #1 business school in Florida. I just received an e-mail from him thanking me for pushing him.”
-30-
RC-East, Bagram Media Center
PRT, ADT women help celebrate Women’s Day in Kunar
Story and photos by AF 1st Lt. Nicholas Mercurio, Kunar PRT
Women from the Kunar PRT and Iowa NG’s 734th ADT gather alongside Afghan women to celebrate Int'l Women’s Day, at the Ministry of Culture and Info, March 8. More than 100 Afghan women from the surrounding areas attended the event.
KUNAR PROVINCE – One after the other, women flowed into the shura hall at the Kunar Ministry of Culture and Info, their henna-dyed feet scurrying beneath shapeless blue shrouds; a sea of burqas arrayed in silent contrast to the celebration of women’s rights they'd come to attend.
However, the celebration was bittersweet for the women of Kunar who, despite progress, still face many challenges. “Today's a special day for women,” said Nasima Sadat, Kunar dir. of women’s affairs (DoWA), in an interview after the event. “To tell you the truth, it's a good day, but it's also a day for concern. It's a good day, because so many women were able to gather here and celebrate Int'l Women’s Day. I’m concerned because we still haven’t gotten to the point where we have the rights that our religion has given to women, and, as a result, we can’t work outside our homes in our own society without fear. I think we need a lot of time to improve,” Sadat continued. “Our females lack education – they can’t tell what’s good or bad for them – they always follow the rules laid down by men.”
“Knowledge is like oxygen for a society,” said Mohammad Shoaib, Kunar chief prosecutor, during his remarks at the gathering. “Allah created men and women equally, and in Afghanistan, men and women live equally under the law. It's our responsibility to educate the people on the law, so that our Afghan sisters can enjoy the rights promised to them.”
In what is largely viewed as an act of courage, the women of Kunar have been laboring beneath their burqas and behind closed doors, to carve out progress from the bedrock of Pashtunwali, which supports the current status quo. There were, in fact, many achievements to celebrate in Kunar Prov. this Int'l. Women’s Day.
“There are 3 women serving as members of the Provincial Development Council, representing the needs of the people regardless of gender, age or tribe,” said Spc. Shannon Drinken, Kunar PRT civil affairs specialist and FET member. “Women are attending school in record numbers; more than 50 young women graduated from Fatima High School this past Dec., with many electing to continue their education. Women in Kunar serve as doctors, nurses, teachers and govt officials. Each day progress is being made.”
“It’s a beginning,” said Sgt. 1st Class Melissa Brumley, 734th ADT human resources NCO-in-charge and FET member. "Each govt official who spoke, emphasized the importance of education," she said. “It’s a step forward for the women of Afghanistan,” Brumley added.
“Today's a day for restoring hope,” Drinken said. “A day to make sure that children no longer have to accept that some dreams are out of reach.”
Spc. Shannon Drinken (left), gives a speech. She told the women gathered at the Ministry of Culture and Info, the history of Int'l Women’s Day, and recounted the many success stories of women in Kunar Prov.
-30-
RC-East, Bagram Media Center
Panjshir construction companies attend PRT’s workshop
Story and photos by AF 2nd Lt. Ashleigh Peck, Panjshir PRT
Panjshir PRT Engr., AF 2nd Lt. Phil Compton, explains the importance of adding appropriate proportions of materials when mixing concrete, to local contractors during a construction workshop, March 8.
PANJSHIR PROVINCE – Panjshir PRT engrs conducted its first hands-on construction workshop for 13 locally-owned construction companies. “After hearing about our construction workshop on the radio station the night before, locals from 9 different construction companies showed up an hour early, in anticipation that they might be able to join the training, and help build a relationship with the Panjshir PRT,” said AF 2nd Lt. Phil Compton.
Compton said, " the workshop was designed with 4 ideas in mind: to lay out the PRT’s expectations for the upcoming construction season; to help contractors close the gap between engrs., project mgr., and the local unskilled laborers; to create a common reference point for deficiencies discussions; and to allow PRT engrs. and contractors to collaborate and network in a consequence-free environment.
The workshop included classroom instruction and hands-on application, including a lesson on working with concrete. “Everyone here knows these are the basic principles for properly mixing concrete. However, we've seen these mistakes on every project that we monitor in the prov.,” said Scott Davis, USACE construction rep with Panjshir PRT, to the contractors during the class.
“Having this kind of workshop is very useful for construction engrs.,” said Haji Yaqoobi, dir. of Yaqoobi Construction and Road Construction Co., through an interpreter. “It allows us to develop our experience and skills, and will help to improve construction in Panjshir Prov.”
Overall, Compton believes the first 2 days were a success. “The contractors were able to perform some hands-on labor, become familiar with the PRT’s expectations for rebar and concrete working, and do some collaboration and networking with each other,” he said.
Local construction company reps, mix concrete.
Attendees prepare to test a batch of concrete for its workability and water content, before the concrete was placed in ring beams.
Attendees lay concrete in a ring beam during the “practical” portion of the workshop. The concrete will be broken the last day of the workshop to show the different results of using improper techniques, compared to methods taught during the workshop.
-30-
RC-East, Bagram Media Center
Red Bulls Soldiers help protect Afghanistan border
Story and photos by Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Matson, TF Red Bul