Photo By 1st Lt. Brian Tuthill | Sgt. Mason L. Crawford, a squad leader Guard Platoon, Headquarters and Service...... read more read more
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NAWA, Helmand Province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan — Usually tagging a wall with spray paint is grounds for punishment, but for Marines and sailors of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, it's all in a day's work in Afghanistan
Since February, Marines and Afghan national army soldiers have conducted partnered patrols through Nawa and spray-painted a building numbering system as part of a new efficiency and organization initiative.
The system was requested through Nawa's community council to the Afghan government, and then coordinated and implemented with the help of coalition and Afghan national security forces.
The Pashto numbers and letter combinations are painted on exterior walls of compounds and buildings, providing various benefits for both the citizens of Nawa as well as security forces, said Maj. Michael L. Mayne, operations officer, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
Although there are estimated to be nearly 10,000 total buildings in Nawa District, not all the structures will be individually marked.
"For coalition forces, it will help us better understand where we are doing [construction] projects, and help us better understand the population to know who their leaders are," said Mayne.
For the people of Nawa, it is not only a location reference system, but can be applied to a census for individual villages, tribal associations, knowing an area's elder representative, and current political and economic statuses.
"In the future, this will let us know more about the elders and how many people he speaks for," said Mayne. "For instance, a man representing a village with 2,000 people instead of a handful will have greater credibility in the eyes of the Afghan government."
At Forward Operating Base Geronimo, Marines of Guard Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company, 1/3, regularly conduct security patrols in neighborhoods surrounding the base, and usually bring with them stencils and spray paint to mark buildings.
"We've done about 90 buildings so far just in our area of operations," said Sgt. Mason L. Crawford, a squad leader with Guard Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company. "Each of our bases throughout Nawa are doing this in their areas as well.
"At first there was some hesitation from people, but they quickly came around," said Crawford, from Baton Rouge, La. "It gives them a sense of ownership and legitimacy because their house or compound can now be identified by the government."
One significant advantage for both coalition forces and people in Nawa is the ability for Afghans to report unexploded ordnance or other dangers and for Afghan or coalition security forces to quickly and directly respond to it, said Mayne.
"We get UXO reports often, but usually directions are as vague like 'the third oak tree on the left past the big rock' can be hard to follow," said Mayne. "Now they can say they are at building 1-2-3-4-5-6 and we can go right to building 1-2-3-4-5-6 and help them out."
Crawford said he hopes as the paint begins to fade over time that people in Nawa will maintain the numbers and use them to better organize their communities in the future.
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2010 04:48 |
| Story ID: | 46784 |
| Location: | NAWA, AF |
| Web Views: | 499 |
| Downloads: | 424 |
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