New PRT commander arrives in Nangarhar

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brent Grometer of Los Altos, Calif., relinquished command of Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team to U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson of Dallas, during a ceremony here, Nov. 5.

The PRT is a unique military unit, centered on assisting the Afghan government in meeting the needs of its people and stabilizing the country for the benefit of all Afghans.

“It is rewarding to know that much has been accomplished, but very sad to leave the day-to-day friendships and personal relationships we have built with our Afghan friends and partners” said Grometer, reflecting on his time as commander.

During his tenure as the PRT commander, Grometer oversaw a number of ambitious undertakings. His team spent more than $287 million on 235 projects across the region, including graduating 2,500 new members of the Afghan National Police, facilitating the first provincial-level women’s shura in Nangarhar, and creating programs for young Afghan boys and girls modeled after the Boy and Girl Scouts.

The incoming commander, Anderson, is an operations research scientist by trade with 15 years experience in the Air Force. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Anderson has worked extensively in analyzing the political, military, economic, social, infrastructure and information environment of United States Central Command.

Anderson has set an ambitious course for the PRT during his time as commander. He intends to revisit the old projects initiated by past PRTs and ensuring they are accomplishing their intended goal.

“We have spent American tax dollars on a number of development programs in order to increase the Afghan standard of living,” said Anderson. “I want to make sure that money was well spent and is still helping the people of Afghanistan out as we intended.”

In the end, Anderson is ready to get to work with his team. After three intense months of preparation for this deployment, the entire PRT is anxious to start doing what they were trained to do.

“We’re all looking forward to getting out there with the people, listening to their needs, and connecting their government to them,” Anderson said.