The preparation for Op Overlord was months in the making. “Traditionally, insurgents have used Naka as a staging area and bed down location, so they can conduct ops throughout our area of operation (AO), and AOs to the south,” said 1st Lt. Matthew Nunes, the plt leader with 2nd Plt, Co. E. “Throughout the deployment we've been doing shaping ops to cut off their access to the rest of our AO, and basically limit them to only being able to operate in Naka. This was our big push to take Naka away from them too.”
According to Spc. Rex Hann, an infantryman with Co E ‘Easy,’ their mission was to disrupt any enemy that might be in the area, and keep the local populace in Naka safe. “It affects the overall security, because we have pretty much pushed the Taliban and foreign fighters to Naka, the farthest point from our COP, and we're trying to push them completely out of our AO." Not only did the Soldiers face the challenge of clearing unfamiliar hostile territory, they accomplished it in weather conditions that included rain, hail, cold temps and gusty winds, with 110-lbs worth of equipment on their backs to last a minimum of 3 days.During missions to remote villages the Soldiers face other challenges outside of the enemy threat. “There are a lot of challenges, but one of the biggest is the communication barrier,” said Hann. “It's hard to speak to the locals not knowing the language—a lot of times they won’t trust the Americans, because the Taliban has influenced them, or told them false things about us.” To counter the issue, the Soldiers of Easy Co encouraged their ANP counterparts to take the lead when dealing with their countrymen. “We worked with the ANP on this mission,” said Spc. Sean Bedard, a counter-insurgency team leader with E Co. “It really helps to have them with us, because it puts a local face on what we're trying to do." The Currahee Soldiers and their ANP partners occupied the area around Naka for more than 11 days, and they faced an enemy that didn't seem content attacking their combat force head on. “Insurgents had left the villages by the time we got there,” said Nunes. “Their only option was then to operate on the outskirts in the mountains around the towns, because they were unable to operate in the town. That only left them able to attack our blocking positions, our support by fire, and our PBs.” “I think they were expecting some kind of mission to come to Naka, but I don’t think they expected it to be on the level that we did,” said Nunes. “I think they'll be frustrated now, because they won’t be able to use Naka the way that they always have.”“When we got to COP Zerok, we were getting hit with indirect fire (IDF) on a day-to-day basis,” said Nunes. “The co. made the effort to go out and do repetitive, monotonous, horrible patrols in the mountains, and we took the IDF locations away from the enemy. Then, we expanded further to more and more towns, and are having more and more shuras with the villagers. We've put in the work to make sure the insurgents are unable to bypass our presence.” The mission resulted in 4 suspected and 2 confirmed enemy-killed-in action, the discovery of several IEDs. “Naka was known as the ‘place where the bad guys are;’ it was their safe haven; it's said that the Americans can’t really go in there, but all year we've been locking down the AO,” he said. “It's rewarding to finally be able to go in, and say that nobody has been able to go here before, and now we've done it.” Hann said that he's proud of what he and his fellow Currahee Soldiers accomplished. “This was the last stronghold of the Taliban in our AO, and we pushed them out of this area. Now our AO will be pretty much secure, and the local people can go on about their daily lives, and not have to worry about being harmed by the Taliban,” said Hann. “I love my job. I love the fact that I'm helping protect my fellow Americans, and that I'm helping to protect the Afghans. I believe that everybody has a right to be free.”
A TF White Currahee Soldier stands guard on a mountain overlooking the district of Naka, during Op Overlord.
An AUP Officer walks past a camel being led by a local farmer. Op Overlord, a joint effort with ANA, pushed Taliban forces out of Naka and denied them exit through the mountain terrain.
Lt. Col. Darrin Ricketts, dep. cmdr. of 4th BCT; Lt. Col. Don Hill, cmdr. of TF White Currahee; and Brig. Gen. John Uberti, dep. comm. gen. of Afghan Development, 101st AD, speak with an ANA cmdr. for Naka district.
Pfc. Aharon Nelson, the plt radio transmission officer for TF White Currahee, pulls security.
Spc. Sean Bedard, an infantryman and Counter Insurgency team leader, pulls security.
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RC-East, Bagram Media Center
An ANA soldier joins Paktika PRT for a mission to an elementary school in Urgun District, April 14. ANA soldiers travel in un-armored trucks when traveling in convoys with the PRT. The PRT works closely with the GoA at the provincial level to improve security for the people of Paktika.
The SECFOR plt. attached to the PRT is 3rd Plt, Charlie Co, 1st Bn, 181st Inf Regt from the Mass. Army NG. According to Sgt. Bruce Aubry, PRT SECFOR squad leader, he and his fellow Soldiers developed a relationship with ANA leadership early on in the deployment.
“In essence, we went out with ANA a couple times and spent a lot of time observing them,” Aubry said. “So, we came up with a training program.” The training consisted of weapons maintenance and functions checks for the M-16 rifle, as well as the M240B and .50-caliber machine guns. When ANA squads participate in missions with the PRT, the ANA soldiers carry AK-47 rifles, and travel in un-armored trucks with .50-cals mounted on the top. “It got to the point where our guys would go down to the ANA barracks to work with them during any of their free time,” Aubry added.
Another member of the PRT SECFOR in Urgun District, Cpl. Abe Rogers, spends a lot of time working with the ANA. “It was hard to hit the ground running with these guys because their training and background is very different from ours,” Rogers said. “So the training program really helped to bridge that gap to where we would go out on missions, and be on the same page.”
Aubry explained that PRT members noticed a distinctly positive change between the ANA’s performance on missions, after completing the training sessions. “I think by training with the same guys all the time and going out on missions with them, you get to know them,” Aubry said.
“Working one-on-one with these guys, whether it's first aid or weapons, really helped the guys develop a level of mutual respect for one another,” Rogers added. “That wasn't there initially.”
Aubry and Rogers described a recent mission to a local Urgun village, where ANA soldiers received a tip on Taliban in the area. While ANA posted security, they positively identified 2 individuals as Taliban. Upon searching the suspects, ANA found ammo, as well as other equipment, and detained them.
The PRT Soldiers said that a lack of equipment is the biggest hindrance for ANA. When the weather turned cold, Aubry noticed the ANA soldiers were walking around with their hands tucked in their pockets, and their AK-47s hanging loosely.
Aubry said that at his request, his wife purchased gloves for the ANA, and shipped them to Afghanistan. With something as small as a pair of gloves, the ANA soldiers were able to hold their weapons and properly post security despite the cold.
During a recent radio call-in show, Brig. Gen. Khan, Paktika AUP chief, explained the relationship between CF and ANSF. “If you see CF patches on their uniforms, know they're here to help,” Khan answered. “Cooperate with these people. They're needed to help rebuild our schools and clinics. If they're blocking the road, it's for a good reason. They don’t block the road just for nothing. They also help clear the roads of IEDs.”
Khan also legitimized the AUP by describing the standards for becoming a recruit, like background checks and medical checks. The general gave out his cell phone number so citizens of Paktika could call him personally if they had any issues regarding ANSF.
One caller, who chose to remain anonymous, praised the ANSF and the AUP chief. “We're very happy by having Brig. Gen. Khan as AUP chief, and whenever we call him about any problem, he works on it right away and solves it for us,” the caller said. “Before him, Paktika was insecure, but since he got here it's much better.”
Staff Sgt. Johnny Saldana, PRT SECFOR squad leader, conducts most missions with members of the AUP who live, train and work with the PRT. When the AUP aren’t on the mission, Saldana said that he wishes they were. “They’re another set of eyes,” he explained. “They bring the culture, background and knowledge of the environment, and of the area.”
Saldana recounted one of his first missions with the AUP in Sharana, when Hasad, an AUP, used a translator to advise Saldana against allowing so many kids to gather around him. Hasad told him there had been a suicide bomber attack a couple years ago on a crowd of children.
AUP Hasad, squad leader, practices marksmanship skills with Paktika PRT at FOB Sharana, March 18. One AUP squad lives, trains and conducts missions with the PRT in Sharana, the province’s capital city. (Photo by AF Senior Airman Ashley Avecilla)
Habib, a member of the AUP, posts security at a women’s health clinic, during a quality assurance mission with Paktika PRT in Sar Hawza District, April 3.
ANA Sgt. Katawazay, plt leader, carries Afghan story books into an Urgun District elementary school, April 13.
Sgt. Bruce Aubry, Paktika PRT SECFOR squad leader, presents training certificates to ANA soldiers during a graduation in Urgun District, March 22. PRT SECFOR soldiers held training sessions for ANA soldiers to improve skills like weapons maintenance, convoy ops and first aid.
AF Airman 1st. Class Tyler Saulsgiver, a structural engr. specialist with the 577th Prime Base Engr Emergency Force Sqdn (Prime BEEF), drives nails into ceiling sheets of a B-hut building, April 20, at JCOP Xio Haq.
The 8-man team from the Prime BEEF Sqdn headed out to JCOP Xio Haq, which is scheduled to go from housing a co.-sized element, to just less than a bn-sized element, from their deployment HQ at Bagram Airfield. Each Airman is trained in a specific trade. Three of the Airmen are structural specialists, trained in carpentry, masonry, roofs, welding and sheet metal fabrication. Two members are heavy equipment operators - one is a heating, ventilation and a/c specialist, and the team also boasts a plumber and an electrician.
“They send us to the worst-off places to make them better,” Arnold said. “We like getting out of BAF as quickly and often as possible, because out here in the field we get to operate as a small team and just focus on the mission, take care of business.” The sqdn. will hop from base to base or outpost, during their 6-month deployment, doing any and every type of construction work necessary to improve the area, from grading roads and pouring concrete pads or sidewalks, to building gyms and other buildings. “You get a sense of pride in the things you’ve built, because you're the mission once you get out here,” said AF Master Sgt. Kevin Shows, a heating, ventilation and a/c specialist. The crew said they build a lot of B-huts, as these buildings are most commonly used for living quarters, but can be adapted to house anything, from latrines to morale, welfare and recreation facilities. The sqdn. said that they don’t work off a set of plans on the B-huts. They said that the buildings need to fit a set of specifications, but depending on the materials available and the area in which they build the B-huts, the Airmen said that they do have a little bit of room to improvise on the buildings. Arnold said the expeditionary Prime BEEF units are a relatively new org. within the AF, with their sqdn. being the 4th rotation deployed to Afghanistan. While most of the team members work in construction-related fields in the civilian sector, one member, AF Senior Airman Christopher Lange, a structural engr. specialist, is a businessman on the civilian side. “This lets me learn something new, gives me a change of pace,” Lange said. “Usually it would be once a month or a couple weeks a year, but this deployment mission is my big opportunity to go out here and work with these guys, who are the experts. This is my shot to learn my trade in the military, because trying to learn the construction field one weekend a month is really difficult.” The team’s lone active duty member, AF Airman 1st Class Tyler Saulsgiver is just 20-years-old.On April 20, Saulgiver learned to sheet a roof from the team leader, AF Senior Master Sgt. David Sowers. Sowers has been in the AF doing construction work for 31 years, more than a decade longer than the young Airman has been alive.Though the team will travel all over eastern Afghanistan supporting numerous units during their deployment, they said they've particularly enjoyed working with the “Red Bulls” out of Iowa. “It’s a good mix; it’s a good fit," said Saulsgiver. “They’re just down-home folks just like the rest of us. It’s cool to try and make things just a little better here for them.”
AF Senior Master Sgt. David Sowers, front, a heavy equipment operator, and AF Airman 1st. Class Tyler Saulsgiver, sheet the roof of a B-hut building.
AF Master Sgt. Kevin Shows drills a screw into a lighting unit on the ceiling of a B-Hut building.
AF Senior Airman Christopher Lange cuts a sheet of plywood with a circular saw.
Spc. Andrew Johnson, a signal support systems specialist, with HHT, 1st Sqdn, 113th Cav Regt, TF Redhorse, a part of the 2nd BCT, 34th ID, TF Red Bulls, connects network cables to the switching-junction box, at the new Joint Defense Ops Center (JDOC) on Bagram Airfield, March 20.
Capt. Eric Eggers, the 1st Sqdn., 113th Cav. S-6 officer-in-charge, learned about the project when the Cavalry, a part of the 2nd BCT, began their deployment. Eggers, who works as a project mgr. in Iowa, said he used his experience to complete the project as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“Having that experience in project managing helped me to better run the project here,” said Eggers. “The knowledge and experience I gained in Iowa helped me to better assess the project and know what needed to be done; how the project needed to be run for it to work and happen in a timely manner.” The younger enlisted Soldiers benefited from the experience of those appointed above them.Sgt. 1st Class Russell Steffen, the NCO-in-charge of the 1st Sqdn, and a member of the Local 231 Electricians Union, took a lead role in completing the project correctly. “He brought a lot of experience with him, and it is blatantly obvious when he is instructing or teaching, that he has done this before, and everyone really listens to what he has to say,” said Spc. Andrew Johnson, a signal support systems specialist with HHT. “When he was showing us how to lay the terminated ends into the boxes under the workstations, he was showing that you have to go a certain distance into the terminated end to make a good connection; he was very specific and very detailed about it.” The project itself also lent one Soldier skills toward a future career. “I did extensive work with physically laying the cable and working with the patch panels, so it's a trade that I now know and can implement, which opens up several job fields when I get back home,” said Johnson, who is studying computer science at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. "Understanding the infrastructure and layout of buildings, like the ops center, will help Johnson do his job better in the future," said Eggers. “I look at it as an accomplishment. I can take this project and say ‘I did something today,’” said Eggers. “Or, when we go home these guys can say, ‘I built this fantastic JDOC, and the guys that came in after us will be able to use it and know that they have it way better than we had it, and that’s because of me.’”
Sgt. Kyle Plathe (right), a signal support systems sgt., and Spc. Andrew Johnson, a signal support systems specialist, install a TV screen.
PARWAN PROVINCE – Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey asks for a show of hands of who deployed with less than 10 months dwell time, on his visit with Co C, TF Phoenix, 10th CAB, 10th Mtn Div, April 22, at the medical evacuation unit’s hanger. Several medevac Soldiers returned with the unit just 10 months prior to their most recent deployment, and Dempsey presented them with commemorative coins.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Rachel Hall, a medevac pilot with Co. C, is one of several Soldiers of the unit who have deployed with 10 months or less dwell time – in fact, this is her 3rd deployment with 10 months or less dwell time. Hall is on her 5th deployment since she first entered the Army 10 years ago. “It’s nice to know that our mission is respected, and that our time and energy is not wasted or forgotten.”
Compiled from ISAF Joint Command News Releases
