Typical PRT missions range from meeting with GoA about ongoing security, development and governance issues, to inspection of current construction and development projects. “We need our vehicles in order to conduct missions, and have had to face some unexpected challenges from IED blasts and other things,” said Allen. “They have come up big for us every time.”
With more than 25 years experience, and 10 deployments under their collective belts, Tech. Sgt. Samuel Pastor, and Staff Sgts. Tim Husketh and Dmitriy Burshteyn have kept the team’s vehicle fleet fully mission capable, since the team arrived at FOB Mehtar Lam early this summer. For Pastor, who hails from Calif., the challenges his team face are small in comparison to the satisfaction of getting the job done under pressure. “There's a lot of pressure, getting vehicles up and running all the time, knowing that the mission won’t happen unless the vehicles are ready to go. We don’t take shortcuts, because we know lives depend on it,” said Pastor, a 13-year AF veteran, who also repairs first responder vehicles at his home station.When they aren’t busy performing routine interval maintenance, they might be called on short notice, sometimes in the middle of the night, to repair vehicles and make sure they're ready for the next morning’s missions. “We’re always in the ‘ready’ mode, to react at a moment’s notice,” Pastor said.Their work ethic is not lost on the people who rely on them most: the soldiers of the 3rd Plt, Co A, 1st Bde, 182nd Inf Regt, deployed from the Rhode Island Army N.G., who plan and conduct the security and movement portion of all PRT missions. “The vehicles are extremely important to us,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brian Lancey of Conn. “As infantrymen, next to our weapons, the trucks are the most important thing for us, in order to operate outside the wire.” Lancey said that he couldn’t give the maintainers enough praise for their knowledge and their dedication to the mission.“I’ve seen them work until 3 a.m. to get ready for the mission, with no complaints,” said Lancey.Perhaps the only quality that matches that dedication is their innovation. A great example of the kind of “out-of-the-box” thinking is an improvement they made that will likely save the U.S. taxpayer thousands of dollars. This maintenance crew developed a new and more cost-effective method by using items they had available to fix a broken side or rear window of an RG-31, which normally costs thousands of dollars to repair. “The first time it happened, it took us 3 weeks to get a replacement window,” said Pastor. After the 3rd time a vehicle came back with a broken window from a rock, the maintainers knew they had to do something. They used an 1/8 inch-thick clear acrylic glass, cut to fit over the side and rear windows and secured them in place.It's beautiful in its simplicity. Now when a rock hits the window, it breaks the acrylic, but not the glass underneath. It has already saved one window and will undoubtedly save more. “It takes us 20 minutes to replace and saves $3,000 each time,” said Pastor, who submitted his improvement to the Army’s suggestion program.They also developed an additional headlight with a no-drill design, that can be attached to any tactical vehicle, that they say increases visibility by as much as 50%. For Burshteyn of Calif., it’s all in a day’s work for the Laghman PRT vehicle maintainers. “This deployment has been nice, because we're always following the regulations, but we have some freedom to look at our specific mission, and our people who are relying on these vehicles, and try to think of ways we can help them out,” said Burshteyn.
HELMAND PROVINCE – “We were able to confiscate large amounts of heroine and morphine, and in the process 2 enemy fighters were killed,” said Afghan Gen. Ahmadi, Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter Narcotics. “This is how the Taliban and Al-Qaeda finance their activities,” Ahmadi added.
The drug find is just one example of a larger overall trend for the CNPA. So far this Sept., Afghan counter narcotics forces have seized 14,881 kg (32,738-lbs) of opium, 12,587 kg (27,691-lbs) of morphine, 430 kg (946-lbs) of heroin, and 15,240 kg (33,528-lbs) of hashish. All, of which, has an estimated street value in Afghanistan of $47 million (U.S.) - a significant amount of money denied to the funding of insurgent ops.
Two Afghan law enforcement agencies have the primary responsibility of targeting the narcotics industry. “The Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan, and the Afghan Special Interdiction Units have increased their operational capability dramatically over this last year,” said British Royal Navy Rear Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt, the ISAF director for Counter Narcotics and International Organized Crime.
“Their intel units are focusing on prosecuting the key players in the principal drug trafficking orgs, criminal patronage networks and Afghan Mafia, rather than fixating on sweeping up the drug trade’s foot soldiers and destroying the opium labs alone.” Along with their success destroying elements of the drug trade, Afghanistan’s all-encompassing National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS) also focuses on providing alternative livelihoods for farmers.
The Afghan govt relies on the Ministry of Counter Narcotics, headed by Minister Osmani, to develop a counter narcotics plan and strategy that is mainstreamed through a variety of govt ministries at the national and provincial level.
“ISAF is providing crucial support to the Afghan govt and the Ministry of Counter Narcotics in training, mentoring and advising at every level to create the stability and security required for them to deliver the drug control strategy,” said Johnstone-Burt. That strategy not only targets all the challenges that the narcotics industry creates as specific issues, but it also brings them together as a coherent and coordinated plan across all the relevant ministries.
Due to the recent success of the MoI’s CNPA and the Special Interdiction Units, insurgents will see significant loss in revenue from the narcotics trade. "Their arrest and seizure rate is already over 3 times that of this time last year,” said Johnstone-Burt. “They're having a dramatic impact on the fight against drugs and crime in Afghanistan.”
“With a conviction rate of over 90%, the justice center convicted over 600 drug traffickers last year, and their average sentence was over 18 years each,” said Johnstone-Burt. The Ministry of Agriculture must find alternate crops farmers can grow instead of poppy.
“Herat prov. has been successful with Saffron,” said Greer. “Kandahar has a long tradition of growing pomegranates, and it has been a successful alternative crop there.” The Ministries of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, and Water and Energy are also hard at work ensuring the farmers have the resources necessary to grow, store and sell these alternative crops in a stable market.
“The farmer needs not only to be able to grow realistic and sustainable crops,” said Johnstone-Burt, “but he also needs the water to irrigate them, the energy for cold storage units, the road access to get them to market and an enduring market economy with which to trade, nationally, regionally and internationally.”
“The Helmand Food Zone is the flagship program, which has taken this approach and benefited over 200,000 farmers since 2008, and over 48,000 so far this year,” said Johnstone-Burt. “Poppy cultivation in Helmand has also reduced by 39% over the last 3 years.”
Leaders from Russia, Pakistan and Tajikistan met with Minister Osmani in Kabul, Sept. 5-6, for the Quadrilateral Counter Narcotics Conference, at which the 4 nations agreed to cooperate regionally to combat the drug trade. “They signed a Joint Statement,” said Johnstone-Burt, “in which they committed to take a regional and combined approach in fighting the narcotics industry in the region.”
NIKAZIA (Sept. 25, 2011) — Providing security in Afghanistan is a coalition effort that centers on the development of ANSF at the local, regional and national levels. Here in Helmand prov., the Afghan Local Police are an intricate part of this security team; their role is to provide security at local villages.
Security starts at the street level, and there's no better way to identify insurgents than by having local citizens point out unknown visitors. Local citizens are the first line of defense in a village, and the cooperation of the locals sets the security tone of an area. The result is the effectiveness of the local police determines the amount of insurgent activity in an area.
“It’s pretty easy for me to figure out who doesn’t belong in my village, when I know everyone living here,” said Master GySgt. Steve Jackson, the senior enlisted NCO for RC-SW’s Stability Ops, C9. “The ALP can ask all the detailed questions, while determining the legitimacy of an outsider visiting the area.” Ensuring tthat he ALP is paid on time is the responsibility of GySgt. Bryan Tanner, Development Chief, C9, Stability Ops, who visits all of the ALP units in Helmand Prov., monthly.” The process for delivering payments to ALP members is a simple one,” said Tanner, who coordinates his visits with ALP mentoring teams, responsible for the day-to-day ops and training of ALP members.“On payday the ALP members show up; we meet with them in a Shura tent, call them in one-by-one, and pay them their monthly salary,” said Tanner. Nothing in Afghanistan is simple. Marines say conducting business with the Afghans is often a challenge, and when paying the ALP, “every imaginable problem comes your way,” said Capt. Richard Willing, British Army, an officer-in-charge of an ALP mentoring Team in Nahr-e-Saraj district. Tanner and Jackson have been handling ALP payments for 6 months now, since taking over the payment program from I Marine Expeditionary Force, and have been through every imaginable pay problem during their tenure. “Don’t be surprised if there are a few upset ones,” said Jackson, before entering the shura tent. "Pay complaints are always present," he explained before beginning to pay the ALP’s. "We're going to teach them how to do payroll themselves, and eventually the ALP will be paid by Afghans with Afghan money.”However several ALP members weren't present today, and the first problem arose when the ALP cmdr. said that he'll collect their pay on their behalf. This is not allowed under the current pay rules that are designed to combat the theft and corruption so prevalent in Afghan govt agencies.“You must be present to be paid,” said Tanner, as Willing dealt with other complaints from the Afghan police. They were complaining about unfair pay, not enough pay, and disagreements about the amount of hours worked. Willing was quickly overrun with complaints, and as the drama unfolded, the interpreter assigned to the Marines was saying, “they are ready to quit.” While Willing and the interpreter struggled to resolve the different pay issues, the local ALP cmdr. provided comments in support of his policeman. “My men are good people and are working so hard,” said Muhomed, who’s in charge of the local 9-man ALP unit. Recently Muhomed said he had to replace several of his men who quit, because they were scared of being attacked by the Taliban.ALP members must sign a 1-year contract of duty, and be 18-45 years of age. Once accepted, they receive a 21-day non-offensive training program consisting of the use of weaponry, rule of law, searches and seizures, battle drill, and communications. They also receive classes on human rights, ethics and the proper use of force. “For now,” said Muhomed, “security in town is OK.”
Most of the complaints were resolved. “Today they all want to quit, but we’ll have another shura tomorrow,” said Willing, adding that disagreements over pay are a common occurrence. Tanner explained that the funding for the ALP program is carried out through the Cmdr’s Emergency Response Program (CERP), which is a discretionary unit fund, scheduled to end soon. Funding and the responsibility to pay the ALP will be transferred to ANSF Funds, and will be delivered by Afghan security officials. The goal is to have the Afghan govt agencies step up and take responsibility for their own portfolios of services.As scheduled, Willing’s shura took place the next day, and the captain’s diplomatic skill and relaxed demeanor brought calmness to the previous day’s chaos. The ALP members then continued to man their posts, and provide security to the village.“They’re able to do everything from mission planning to launching missions, all on their own,” said USAF Tech. Sgt. Steven Guillen, a Texas native, and flight medical advisor with the 441st Air Expeditionary Advisory Sqdn, based at Kandahar.
A successful aerial medical evacuation requires well trained pilots, medical staff, and aircraft maintainers. So, when the Afghans began training for aerial medical evacuations of their own troops, they were still receiving significant support from ISAF troops. NATO mentors were responsible for preparing and checking the patients and flights, explained U.K. Royal AF Sqdn. Ldr. Nicola Dyson, who serves in medical ops at Camp Bastion with RC- SW, and a native of Brackley, England.
Over the past several months, the troops of the AAF have become more proficient. “Now you’ve got Afghan pilot instructors,” said Guillen. “They train themselves, basically.” Guillen said that units such as the 441st are spread throughout Afghanistan, with the collective goal to allow the AAF to operate independently.
Today Afghan pilots command their aircraft across the country, and fly daily providing transportation for those in need of medical aid. Locations include Kabul, Kandahar Airfield, Camp Bastion and Camp Shorabak. AAF Maj. Abdulwodood, an instructor pilot, said he has seen continued growth in Afghanistan’s military evolution with support from NATO troops.
Both Afghan and NATO troops agreed the Afghan forces are not yet fully independent. NATO forces currently and will continue to provide logistical oversight and general support for the AAF, though they’ve successfully lessened their dependence on the coalition.
“We’re so fortunate to have Afghan medics and providers,” said USAF Maj. Charla Morgan, the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group flight surgeon, and a Calif. native. In addition to medical proficiency, the NATO and Afghan troops said there are other challenges that the Afghan forces must overcome on their route to autonomy.
“Aircraft is kind of one of the limiting factors – aircraft availability and aircraft maintenance,” said Guillen. “They don’t yet have a whole lot of aircraft and not a whole lot of maintainers.”
Despite challenges, those directly involved with Afghan’s future are optimistic. “It was a good feeling to see the Afghans do this alone,” said Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class James Briggs, a corpsman and mentor to the 215th Afghan Corps surgeons. “The Afghans being able to do their jobs is our ticket home.”
South
ZABUL PROVINCE -- A coalition SecFor discovered a weapons cache in Qalat district, yesterday. Weapons included 2 AK-47s, 7 RPG rounds, and more than 3,000 rounds of ammo. ----- In Tarnek wa Jaldak district, a combined Afghan and coalition SecFor captured a Taliban leader during a security op. The leader reported to senior Taliban facilitators on the movements of Afghan forces, and provided reports on attacks against forces in the region. EastWARDAK PROVINCE — A combined Afghan and coalition SecFor killed a Taliban leader during a security op in Maidan Shahr district. The leader, Saifullah Rashid, led and participated in numerous attacks against Afghan forces in the Maidan Shahr district. During the op, the SecFor was fired upon by an armed individual. Responding to the immediate threat, the SecFor returned fire killing the individual, later identified as Rashid. The SecFor also detained multiple suspected insurgents.
LAGHMAN PROVINCE -- A combined Afghan and coalition SecFor detained multiple suspected insurgents, during an op in search of a Taliban leader in Mehtar Lam district. The leader is involved in executions and ambushes, as well as the intimidation of the local populace in Mehtar Lam district. KHOST PROVINCE -- In Sabari district, a combined Afghan and coalition SecFor detained 2 suspected insurgents during an op in search of a Haqqani network leader. The leader orders remote-controlled bomb and assassination attacks against Afghan forces. Correction: Haji Mali Khan was not captured in Jani Khel district, Paktiya province, as previously reported. He was captured in Musa Khel district, Khost province.COB TAJI — COB Taji is split into 2 sides. On one side there are U.S. forces, who are preparing to transition their partnership with Iraq, to the U.S. State Dept. On the other side is a thriving IA base filled with the commotion of Iraqi soldiers busy at work.
As part of the transition, U.S. forces have been working with civilian contractors to advise the Iraqis in the training of several technical aspects such as, logistics, weapons repair, vehicle maintenance, and technical systems used for training. The contractors rely on U.S. forces to provide security, so they can complete their task. “We facilitate movement for the contractors, and ensure their safety,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Craig, the sgt. of the guard with HHC. As the sgt. of the guard, Craig visits the various sites where his soldiers work each day, and coordinates with the contractors to provide the security they need. “You have to stay flexible,” said Craig. “They might not need anyone in the morning, but later that day they might need everyone we have.” To ensure that every site is safe, the soldiers stay with the contractors until they return to the U.S. side of COS Taji each day. “The people really getting the job done are the NCOs on the sites,” said Craig. “They're doing a really great job, I couldn’t ask for more.”
Comments