Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides and Ambassador William Todd, Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs for the Afghan Embassy, visited Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields, March 16, to review progress made in Nangarhar and assess the state of civil-military relationships within the units stationed here.
“We’re just trying to be informed on what you all do here,” Nides said. “Your civ-mil relationship makes me very proud.”
The visit began with a briefing on operations in Nangarhar led by U.S. Army Col. Andrew Poppas, Task Force Bastogne commander from Janesville, Wis.; Kate Byrnes, TF Bastogne senior civilian representative from Sarasota, Fla.; and David Gallalee, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team civilian team lead from Washington, D.C.
The topics of the briefing ranged from standard military operations aimed against insurgent forces to the state of governance and development in the region.
“I think the delegation was very pleased with our operations,” Gallalee said. “We were able to articulate the successes we’ve had here in eastern Afghanistan and received a lot of helpful feedback from the deputy secretary and his team.”
Following a tour of the base, the deputy secretary and his staff gathered the civilian personnel from across Nangarhar to discuss challenges they face in a largely military-run environment.
“As far as I’m concerned, the military and civilians here in Nangarhar work incredible well together,” said Gallalee. “Both of our cultures offer a unique perspective on this fight and bring a different set of tools to the table. Only by working together can our vital mission here in Afghanistan succeed.”
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Nangarhar PRT visits licensed rickshaw factory
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| (From left to right) Dr. Rodney Stubina, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team senior field program officer from Gainesville, Fla.; Mouhsen Habib, Nangarhar PRT provincial governance and development officer from Lake Forest, Calif.; and Laiq Shah, Nangarhar PRT senior deputy field program officer, talk with Halliem Gul, owner of the only licensed rickshaw factory in the Nangarhar Province March 2. |
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| U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team commander from Dallas, watches two of the 30 employees at the rickshaw factory in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province attach an engine onto its frame March 2. |
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| Halliem Gul (left), owner of the only licensed rickshaw factory in the Nangarhar Province of eastern Afghanistan, explains the process to fabricate some of the parts used during assembly to Laiq Shah (right), Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team senior deputy field program officer, and Dr. Rodney Stubina, Nangarhar PRT senior field program officer from Gainesville, Fla., March 2. |
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| During a tour March 2 at the only licensed rickshaw factory in Nangarhar, vehicle bodies are stacked to the ceiling waiting to be placed on a frame. The factory generally produces about 30 rickshaws a month. |
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Nangarhar PRT connects with Zangoui
The Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team conducted a dismounted patrol March 7 to Zangoui to get to know local residents and discuss challenges faced by the village.
“We’re out here trying to connect to the people and show them that we have a vested interest in, not only our security but theirs as well,” said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Kevin Peterson, Nangarhar PRT security advisor from Littleton, Colo.
According to one villager, one of the most prominent issues in Zangoui is a lack of power.
“We don’t have electricity from the government, so we use personal generators, which cost 70 rupees (about 80 cents) per kilowatt,” said Dawo Jan, painter and resident of Zangoui.
Other villagers cited concerns ranging from security to agricultural challenges.
The unit also engaged with the local children. According to Peterson, the PRT often acts as friendly representatives for the coalition in Nangarhar, and Afghan children are normally the first to engage the unit to discuss their lives.
At one point, Peterson found himself surrounded by a crowd of kids near a school. He learned from them how to count to 10 in Pashto and showed the children how to count in English.
“You guys have to tell me if I’m doing it wrong,” Peterson said to the children after struggling to say eight in Pashto. “You guys are my teachers.”
Given the close proximity of Zangoui, the PRT often makes these missions on foot. In addition, dismounted patrols traditionally include multiple groups of personnel interested in talking with the villagers. At one time during the visit, the PRT had four separate conversations going on along a relatively lengthy stretch of road. All the moving pieces and lack of armored vehicles make keeping everyone safe a difficult task, but U.S. Army 1st Lt. Rico Piatelli, Nangarhar PRT infantry platoon leader and resident of Danvers, Mass., thinks it’s worthwhile all the same.
“I love getting out here and talking to kids,” Piatelli said. “A lot of times, you go on missions and everything moves quickly. This gives you a chance to get out here and talk to these kids and the adults. You get to have a good time and relax a little bit, even though it is a heightened security risk.”
“We’re out here trying to connect to the people and show them that we have a vested interest in, not only our security but theirs as well,” said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Kevin Peterson, Nangarhar PRT security advisor from Littleton, Colo.
According to one villager, one of the most prominent issues in Zangoui is a lack of power.
“We don’t have electricity from the government, so we use personal generators, which cost 70 rupees (about 80 cents) per kilowatt,” said Dawo Jan, painter and resident of Zangoui.
Other villagers cited concerns ranging from security to agricultural challenges.
The unit also engaged with the local children. According to Peterson, the PRT often acts as friendly representatives for the coalition in Nangarhar, and Afghan children are normally the first to engage the unit to discuss their lives.
At one point, Peterson found himself surrounded by a crowd of kids near a school. He learned from them how to count to 10 in Pashto and showed the children how to count in English.
“You guys have to tell me if I’m doing it wrong,” Peterson said to the children after struggling to say eight in Pashto. “You guys are my teachers.”
Given the close proximity of Zangoui, the PRT often makes these missions on foot. In addition, dismounted patrols traditionally include multiple groups of personnel interested in talking with the villagers. At one time during the visit, the PRT had four separate conversations going on along a relatively lengthy stretch of road. All the moving pieces and lack of armored vehicles make keeping everyone safe a difficult task, but U.S. Army 1st Lt. Rico Piatelli, Nangarhar PRT infantry platoon leader and resident of Danvers, Mass., thinks it’s worthwhile all the same.
“I love getting out here and talking to kids,” Piatelli said. “A lot of times, you go on missions and everything moves quickly. This gives you a chance to get out here and talk to these kids and the adults. You get to have a good time and relax a little bit, even though it is a heightened security risk.”
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| U.S. Army 1st Lt. Rico Piatelli, Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team infantry platoon leader from Danvers, Mass., plays catch with Afghan children during a mission to Zangoui Village March 7. |
Monday, February 28, 2011
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.”
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.”
Friday, February 25, 2011
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.”
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.”
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| Nangarhar's Provincial Development Council met at the governor's compound Feb. 23 to discuss how to better sustain their facilities. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
Thursday, February 24, 2011
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.”
“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.”
Sunday, February 20, 2011
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
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