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.”