Kuz Kunar, Nangarhar PRT discuss dispute resolution

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Members of Kuz Kunar’s district government met with Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team leadership to discuss their unique, effective method of dispute resolution at their district center Feb. 24.


Noor Sitar, Kuz Kunar’s Afghan Social Outreach Program chairman, noted the ASOP shura, a district-wide elected committee, served as a conflict resolution body for 44 cases in the past eight months.

“Our shura involves a lot of judiciary activities,” Sitar said. “We’re an informal judicial system that provides for the people. If there’s a case, we try and solve them through a judicial jirga before it goes to court and a prosecutor.”

Jirgas, a Pashto concept similar to shuras, are a traditional Afghan means of conflict resolution, said Shane Kelbley, Nangarhar PRT senior rule of law advisor from Philadelphia. They involve both sides of an argument coming together and discussing their issues before a select committee of elders. While Kuz Kunar has a functioning justice system, it is common for disputes to be resolved by jirgas rather than official courts.

Some of the cases heard by the district’s ASOP shura have involved serious issues and could have created bloodshed if not addressed by the jirga, said Sitar.

One notable case was over a land dispute, a pivotal issue for Afghanistan’s largely agriculture-based society, he continued. Two families in a Kuz Kunar village had a feud over where their property line was drawn. One of the families left the village and went to a nearby mountainside to arm themselves in preparation to attack their rivals.

“We found out about it and the district governor found out about it,” Sitar said. “We thought if we were to hand the case over to the formal judicial system, it would take too long to resolve. We thought a jirga would be the quickest, easiest way to resolve the issue. The jirga got involved and was able to convince the people to come down off the mountain and talk. We created a safe environment and talked and talked and talked, and now both families live in peace. Now, everybody’s happy and there are no hard feelings.”

The PRT has recently taken an interest in helping Kuz Kunar’s development along, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar PRT commander from Dallas.

“When we go to some of the other districts in Nangarhar, we spend all of our time trying to help them resolve their disputes,” Anderson said. “With Kuz Kunar, they’ve already got the processes in place necessary to mediate disagreements. Because of this, we’re able to focus on strategic planning and budgeting with them. With their advanced state of governance, they’ll start getting schools and clinics and other services out to their constituents, consolidating the stability they’ve already achieved and constantly improving conditions in their district.”

Nangarhar leaders stress the importance of maintenance

The Nangarhar Provincial Development Council met at the governor’s compound Feb. 23 to discuss the importance of maintaining their structures to increase the government’s service delivery capability.

Deputy Gov. Mohammad Alam Ishaqzai appointed a special delegation consisting of representatives from the departments of economics, urban development, health and women’s affairs, as well as the Provincial Council, to present a report at next month’s PDC illustrating how the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan can better sustain their current facilities.

Coalition forces in Nangarhar have recently begun stressing the importance of operations and maintenance budgets to GIRoA, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team commander from Dallas. Today’s meeting represented a positive step towards them embracing that mentality.

Ishaqzai listed a number of areas the government controls that have fallen into disrepair, including roads, parks, schools, courthouses and clinics.

“There are so many things we have built, but we don’t maintain them,” Ishaqzai said. “We have schools with broken windows. We have clinics that cost American tax dollars we don’t use.”

Ishaqzai noted that GIRoA often forgets the buildings they already have once they’re constructed, preferring to look forward to the next project rather than safeguarding the one they just completed. He said he was “ashamed” of the state some of the government’s buildings.

“We need to start improvements ourselves,” he said. “We need to take practical steps or this country will go nowhere.” 

The Provincial Council representative at the meeting, Lal Mohammad Durni, echoed Ishaqzai’s words, asserting that the council was equally disappointed with the current state of affairs.

“The PC wants quality, we do not want quantity,” Durni said. “We will only invest in quality projects in the future.”

Ishaqzai stressed to the council that by not treating their facilities with respect, the government as a whole was failing the citizens of Afghanistan.

“This government was earned with the blood of the people,” said Ishaqzai. “We cannot waste that.”



Nangarhar's Provincial Development Council met at the governor's compound Feb. 23 to discuss how to better sustain their facilities.




Mohammad Alam Ishaqzai, Nangarhar's deputy governor, appointed a delegation to travel the province and determine how to better sustain their buildings during the Provincial Development Council meeting Feb. 23 at the governor's compound.



Nangarhar Provincial Council member Lal Mohammad Durni briefed the Provincial Development Council at the governor's compound Feb. 23. Durni asserted the PC would demand quality over quantity for all future projects in the province. 

Training, teamwork prove vital during overnight mission

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – It started off like any other mission. Members of Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team were heading out to perform quality assurance checks on four sites in the Khogyani District Feb. 16. They finished three objectives and were heading for the fourth when the trip quickly took an unexpected turn.

“One of the trucks got stuck at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” said U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. James Elliott, Nangarhar PRT civil engineer and mission commander from Richburg, S.C.

While attempting to back up the mine resistant ambush-protected vehicle, the truck’s front left wheel went off the road and hung suspended over a steep slope.

“You could step on the side of the road and the loose dirt would crumble under the weight of your own feet,” said Elliott. “We figured a 35,000 pound MRAP would not fare well on that.”

What followed was an overnight stay outside the wire, a situation few units care for. Fortunately, Nangarhar PRT received training prior to the deployment that helped prepare them for the situation.

Prior to their deployment, the PRT underwent two months of combat skills training at Camp Atterbury, Ind.

The first action the team took was clearing everyone from the vehicle before it had a chance to slip, said U.S. Army Sgt. David Tyo, Nangarhar PRT infantryman from Pepperell, Mass.

While at Camp Atterbury, everyone attended MRAP egress training. The training demonstrates how to evacuate a vehicle on its side or upside down. Luckily for the team, their MRAP hadn’t flipped.

Once everyone was out of the danger zone, the unit’s infantrymen began setting up security, said U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Billy Smith, Nangarhar PRT senior enlisted advisor from Blythewood, S.C.

“Hell, they dug in like ticks on a dog up on the hills,” Smith commented. “They took rocks and pretty much made their own little fighting positions out of the resources they had.”

After calling for reinforcements to help get them out, the team settled in for the long haul, said Elliott. Unfortunately, the extra unit wouldn’t arrive until the middle of the night leaving the PRT to fend for itself for the better part of a day.

The team was prepared for this contingency as well, once again thanks to training received at Camp Atterbury. During training, they participated in an exercise that involved setting their trucks up in the middle of a field and repelling attacks from mock insurgents. This forced the team to consider concepts often overlooked, such as how to institute a rest plan while maintaining 24-hour operations.

“During the patrol base exercise we did, a lot of us, including myself, were complaining about it, saying ‘This isn’t really realistic, when will we ever do this,’” Elliott said. “Well, it happened last night. We got in a situation where we had to use it. We automatically fell back to the training at Atterbury where everyone has to throw on their night vision goggles, work shifts and pull security for an area during night time to hold security until we could continue with the mission.”

“Our Soldiers reverted to training, to scan their sector and just keep an eye out for anything suspicious and really just did their jobs,” said Tyo.

Smith was particularly pleased with the outside-the-box thinking some of his junior service members provided.

“The guys were helping out the leadership,” said Smith. “‘Before we move that vehicle, maybe we should prepare a nine-line medical evacuation card.’ That came from a pfc. ‘Hey, maybe we should have (the Nangarhar PRT medic) down here just in case the truck flips.’ That came from a private. ‘The guys are freezing on top of the hill. Maybe we should use the space blankets from the hypothermia kits, because we don’t have anything else.’ That came from a senior airman.”

Around midnight, a team from Task Force Panther arrived on scene to assist the PRT, said U.S. Army 1st Lt. John Palmer, 3rd Platoon, Bayonet Troop platoon leader from Berkley, Mich. The team integrated with the PRT’s security force while they helped free the truck.

The truck was recovered at about 2:45 a.m., said Palmer. To avoid trying to move in the night and possibly getting the truck stuck again, the combined PRT/task force team bedded down for the night. They left for their respective home bases at 6:30 a.m. without further incident.

“This incident highlights the team mentality of members of TF Panther and other coalition forces in western Nangarhar,” Palmer said. “The Nangarhar PRT patrol was helping to build schools and other projects in our area of operations that are very important to continuing to win the support of the local nationals and improving their quality of life.”

For PRT Nangarhar’s S-6 shop, flexibility is the key to success

By U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Casey Osborne

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Napoleon Bonaparte is often quoted as saying “The secret of war lies in the communications.” U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Justin Miller, Provincial Reconstruction Team Nangarhar tactical communications crew chief from Chicago, shares Napoleons sentiment: “I don’t want to sound cocky, but pretty much everything revolves around comm. People don’t know what you do until you don’t do it.”

In today’s high-tech world, computers and electronics dominate our lives to an astonishing extent, especially in the military. It is nearly impossible to accomplish anything for the U.S. military without functioning communications equipment. Reports units send to their headquarters, radio transmissions Soldiers outside the wire send back to their home base, even correspondence service members send home to their loved ones all rely on communications equipment, and all of PRT Nangarhar’s communications equipment relies on their seven-man comm., or S-6, office.

The S-6 shop has two main sections, said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Christopher Rich, PRT Nangarhar chief of communications systems from Lebam, Wash: radio and network. The radio side’s function is fairly self-evident: they keep the unit’s personal and vehicle radios up and running. The network side keeps the team’s multitude of computer equipment functioning. While both of these aspects of comm. sound relatively straightforward and simple, they actually represent some of the most challenging and critical aspects of the PRT’s mission.

The radio personnel accompany the PRT on every mission as radio transmission operators, said Miller. While they’re out, they ensure the PRT can communicate within its ranks and with the tactical operations center back on Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields.

 

“When we go on certain missions and we dismount and the different dismounted personnel are not within yelling distant or eyesight of another individual, they can just hop on that (multiband inter/intra team radio) and just get in contact with that person without even seeing them,” Miller said. “Or, if anything goes down, you can use (tactical satellite) to call in a bird if you need (medical evacuation) or anything.”

The network shops main duties revolve around simply keeping the three different computer systems operating, said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jennifer Aranas, PRT Nangarhar communications network crew chief from San Antonio. This involves generating user accounts, installing software the team needs to accomplish its goals and troubleshooting computer issues whenever they occur.

These summaries of S-6 duties belie one pertinent mitigating factor: the PRT’s communications staff is working in positions or with equipment they’ve had practically no experience with. For the network shop, only one of the three service members is a client systems administrator, said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Mathieu Bargas, PRT Nangarhar communications network crew chief from Roseville, Calif. A CSA is trained at “putting out fires;” in other words, they solve individual users’ problems as they arise. The vast majority of the network shop’s current workload is centered on CSA work; as such, two of the three network Airmen have had to get up to snuff rather quickly.

As bad as the network shop’s ratio of one-to-two trained personnel sounds, the radio shop has it even worse: none of their service members are radio technicians by trade.

“With the lack of a radio troop, we had to learn almost from scratch how to use these radios, how to program them, how to fill them and how to troubleshoot them,” Bargas said.

Despite these considerable challenges, the S-6 office has performed admirably. Their response time to user complaints is near-instantaneous and radio issues on missions are almost unheard of.

When discussing his Airmen, Rich is justifiably proud of their accomplishments.

“I think they’ve done a wonderful job being able to adapt,” he said. “They’re not going to let anything stop them. They’re just going to push through to figure something out and I think that’s the reason why they’ve been so successful: their mentality and their approach to the whole thing.”

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Justin Miller, Provincial Reconstruction Team Nangarhar tactical communications crew chief from Chicago, sets up a tactical satellite radio on Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields Feb. 13. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Scottie T. McCord, PRT Nangarhar public affairs)

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jennifer Aranas, Provincial Reconstruction Team Nangarhar communications network crew chief from San Antonio, installs new network cable at Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields Feb. 14. (Photo by U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Casey Osborne, PRT Nangarhar public affairs)

PRT Nangarhar public affairs

Nangarhar PRT discusses accomplishments, sets goals

By U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Casey Osborne

PRT Nangarhar public affairs

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – After over three months in Afghanistan, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team commander from Dallas, and U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Billy Smith, Nangarhar PRT senior enlisted advisor from Blythewood, S.C., took time at Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields Feb. 13 to reflect on the successes they’ve had and the long road ahead of them before they can declare “mission accomplished.”

Both men agree that the largest hurdle they’ve faced so far, and the focus of future operations for the unit, is the transition of the PRT from focusing on building infrastructure for the Afghans to advising officials in the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

“We’ve kind of taken a step back from the development side of the house and been pushing forward in the foxhole where it comes to governance,” said Smith. “I think that that has been the real focus of this team: governance.”

The PRT adopted a two-pronged approach to increasing governance capacity, said Anderson.

The first prong is centered around district-level officials. A district, roughly equivalent to an American county, represents the lowest level of GIRoA representation in an Afghan’s life, with the district subgovernor being their main avenue to air frustrations with the government.

One district that has seen major success is Kuz Kunar, said Anderson. The PRT has taken a special interest in helping the Kuz Kunar GIRoA officials expand their capacity.

“Kuz Kunar’s plan is moving ahead well. Just last week, they gave us a series of goals, and a lot of those goals are not infrastructure projects. They’re associated with service delivery,” said Anderson. “They want more kids in school, better water management to prevent floods and drought, improved quality and availability of seeds and fertilizer, an expanded cheese production economy, expanding fish markets, other expanded economic opportunities for their people. They are really focusing on service delivery, which was one of our goals when we set out to work with them.”

The second prong focuses on provincial line directorates. The line directorates are agencies that deal with a particular subject, like education or healthcare. They have significant control over where to allocate funds in the province and, as such, are influential players on the provincial level.

However, the concept of long-term planning and budgeting is largely foreign to Afghan culture. The PRT has made it a top priority to educate GIRoA officials on how to successfully budget.

“With the change in the way the budget is being worked, we’re probably at the crawl phase if you put things in the perspective of crawl, walk, run,” Smith said. “We’re at the crawl phase with the Afghans and how a budget works and how they get money from Kabul. By the time we leave here, I’d like to see us at least walking. I think we’ll make it.”

Of course, mentoring the Afghans on how to properly provide for their constituents presents a number of problems. One obstacle to success is the corruption common in Afghan politics. However, Nangarhar has made significant progress combating rampant corruption recently, and signs point toward future success on that front.

“You’ve got pockets of individuals in the government who are idealistic in moving forward, and you’ve got pockets of people that are largely sinless, but we recognize have their flaws,” said Anderson. “We’re trying to give government room to expand while the rule of law or transparency or some of the bureaucratic processes mature. We’re trying to empower those people that are doing the right thing.”

“We just have to keep after it and keep after it with the corruption,” Smith added. “That may be the key that’s slowing everything down.”

Closer to home, the plodding progress associated with governance capacity building can potentially breed exasperation in the result-driven culture of the U.S. military. Anderson and Smith both recognize these concerns, but are pleased in their team’s performance thus far and confident the PRT’s hard work is making headway for the Afghan people.

“We’re not going to be the ones that are in place to solve all the problems,” said Anderson. “That can be frustrating for the people on the ground who see the children who need clothes or need medicine and knowing that we’ve got money that we can spend that way. As soon as we spend it, there’s no money behind it,”

“It’s only giving somebody that short-term handout without a long-term solution,” Anderson continued. “That really energizes us to work more on the governance side, so we’re taking pictures and stories as tangible motivation for GIRoA to have more urgency in what they’re doing, to put aside the corruption, to put aside the selfishness and the bickering and focus on the needs of the Afghan people. Hopefully, that will work and we can move this forward.”

Rather than stagnate and become bored and complacent with the day-to-day routine of the PRT’s mission, Smith sees his service members stepping out of their traditional roles and working to serve multiple functions while they’re out on mission.

“There’s a few of our security force Soldiers I saw during our first missions that really, really like to talk to the people and still talk to the people and are a really good tool as far as (civil affairs) goes,” he said.

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Billy Smith (front), Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team senior enlisted advisor from Blythewood, S.C., and U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar PRT commander from Dallas, preside over the unit's daily update brief Feb. 14 at Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields. (Photo by U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Casey Osborne, PRT Nangarhar public affairs)