Provincial Reconstruction Team Nangarhar had ambitious plans when they arrived at Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields on Oct. 31, and, by all accounts, they’ve moved at a break-neck speed during their first month that portends great accomplishments for their deployment.
In the short amount of time they’ve been at work, the PRT has already met multiple times with the governor of Nangarhar province, Gul Agha Sherzai, and seen two clinics open in the Dari Noor district, both of them worked on by previous PRT rotations.
In essence, the PRT’s mission focuses on advising and mentoring Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials in Nangarhar and helping rebuild the country through various construction jobs, said Army Sgt. John Mulhern, Shrewsbury, Mass., PRT Nangarhar operations NCO.
In the past 30 days, the PRT has run seven quality assurance and quality checks on development projects including schools, dams and prisons, as well as participated in 17 meetings with government officials from all across the province. These missions had been vital in giving the PRT the proper background information required to move forward with their mission.
Currently, the PRT has 26 ongoing construction projects, two projects recently awarded to contractors, and four projects awaiting solicitation, including clinics, schools, roads and other various civic undertakings, said Air Force Capt. Ed Dice, Pittsburgh, PRT Nangarhar civil engineer. Some of the current jobs are of vital importance to the future of Nangarhar; among the more high-visibility projects are the Lal Pur Bridge, which will be the second longest bridge in the country, and the Behsood District Center, which will serve the provincial capital’s district.
These ventures all originated with previous PRT rotations and, due to their bold scale, many will not be completed during this PRT’s rotation. Capt. Dice estimates 16 to 20 projects will be left outstanding at the conclusion of his rotation.
These projects are not built by the PRT, Capt. Dice said. Rather, the PRT’s civil engineers’ main purpose is to solicit contractors for any particular building and then quality check the work done to make sure the final product is safe and reliable.
“The work that they’re doing over here right now, the work that we’re having them do and that we’re holding them to, is better than the work that they’ve done in this country in the past,” Capt. Dice said.
There is a wide gamut of measures used to determine which organization the PRT awards the contract to, one of the most important being how much of a positive influence the company will have on the local Afghans.
“In almost all instances, we hire an Afghan contractor who will hire Afghan employees to help stimulate their economy,” Capt. Dice said. “That’s one of our criteria.”
As far as governance missions are concerned, Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Anderson, Dallas, PRT Nangarhar commander, has met face-to-face with the top government officials in Nangarhar, including Governor Sherzai and Provincial Council Chair Nasratullah Arsalie. Colonel Anderson has been pleased with his interactions thus far.
“The government is saying all the right things and setting the proper course for them to make Nangarhar flourish and that has my entire staff feeling confident in our mission,” Colonel Anderson said.
While Colonel Anderson is working with the big names in Nangarhar, the PRT’s civil affairs team has spent the majority of the first month building working relationships and gaining the trust of district-level officials, said Army Sgt. Oren Struck, St. Peter, Minn., PRT Nangarhar CA sergeant. The PRT has reached out aggressively to the District Development Assemblies, which are essentially councils consisting of village elders and key players from each district who have the ability to make important decision concerning their constituents.
From all of his interactions, Sgt. Struck is confident in the leaders around Nangarhar.
“It seems like they take pride, especially the people in the DDAs and the working groups, who know that they have been appointed as decision makers,” Sgt. Struck said. “They relish the fact that they’re able to help not only themselves but everybody else around them. I have a good feeling so far about how they’re willing to try and press forward; they aren’t just relying on us.”
Of course, while working on high-level projects like building roads and meeting the Governor are vital to the PRT’s mission, any successful counterinsurgency must focus on winning the population according to COIN guidance issued by U.S. Army General David Petraeus, International Security Assistance Force/United States Forces-Afghanistan commander. With that in mind, the PRT has taken every available opportunity to speak with the common people in Nangarhar.
Security is always an issue when dealing with the population, said Army Sgt. Maj. Billy Smith, Piney Creek, N.C., PRT Nangarhar senior enlisted advisor, but the potential rewards the Coalition stands to gain from dealing with the people necessitate taking on an acceptable level of risk. The entire PRT realizes that if they’re going to be successful, they need to get the message out to the people and let them know what it is their government can offer them.
“You’re not going to win every Afghan,” Sergeant Major Smith said, “but if you’re fair and impartial and generally show you’re here to help them take back their country and provide them a better way for their families, they will choose you.”
While most of the governmental meetings and project quality checks are performed by PRT officers and senior enlisted, the unit’s Army security forces, consisting of infantrymen, are the frontline in getting out with the Afghan people and acting as ambassadors for America.
“Growing up, living through 9/11, and knowing that this country is prevalent Taliban, it’s easy to form opinions and to think that all these people hate us, but it’s not like that,” said Spc. Mark Bastien, Spencer, Mass., PRT Nangarhar infantryman. “It seems like, most of the place we’ve been, the people are pretty welcoming. It’s a good thing that we’re doing for them.”
The PRT officers do get to work with the people from time to time, though, often with spectacular results. One notable interaction occurred when the PRT visited two schools under construction in the Surkh Rod district. As the majority of the team looked over the schools to ensure the contractors building them were living up to their commitments, Capt. Dice saw an opportunity to engage with the population in a unique and positive manner. As a group of kids gathered around one of the PRT’s mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, Capt. Dice reached inside and pulled out a Cookie Monster hand puppet. He then proceeded to entertain the children and tell them why the Americans were in their town and how they were helping the Afghan people.
“I just explained to them that he was a Cookie Monster, he likes cookies, he likes candy, he just likes to eat and have fun,” Capt. Dice said. “He’s from America and he’s over here working with the government here, the Americans here, to help all the kids smile and have fun, because that’s what a kid should do: have fun.”
While it still is too early to paint an accurate picture of the situation on the ground, PRT members of all ranks are incredibly pleased with their experiences thus far.
“I am much more optimistic about Nangarhar now than I was when we were preparing for this deployment,” said Colonel Anderson.
“There haven’t been many places we’ve been where people haven’t been waving,” said Specialist Bastien, reflecting on the past month’s operations. “It seems like we’re welcomed.”
