CAMP MOREHEAD, Afghanistan - At a Shura hosted by the 1st Commando Brigade, Sept. 26 at Camp Morehead, Afghanistan, the unanimous response by the village elders in attendance was, “we support you.” The message from the 1st CDO Bde: “We are here to serve you and our country.”
The dialogue flowed smoothly and the importance of this face-to-face communication was not lost to either side. Adding to the importance of the event was that this was the first time some of these influential leaders have met.
One hundred and one villages were represented by 21 elders, and the lead representative for the Commandos was Col. Besmellah Wazari, 1st Commando Brigade G3, who implored the elders to support the military and government actively.
“Do not let strangers live in your villages,” said Wazari. “If there is corruption let us know—we will stop it. If there is Taliban let us know—we will handle it. Be brave, encourage the people to be brave and talk to the government.”
The elders all agreed that they would, and then opened the communication lines even further with an exchange of names and phone numbers.
“When you receive information, confirm it with us,” said one of the village elders. “You have our full support and we can help by giving you accurate, timely information. We need to help our Army and police any way we can. Afghanistan is our home; it’s our job to bring security.”
Although security was one of the main topics it wasn’t the only one. Brigade leadership asked what the villages needed and then spoke about way ahead to help with those needs. As various topics were brought forth, it was evident to all that this Shura would be the first of many.
“We will come together again,” said Wazari. “There are future projects to discuss and information to share. We are partners and together we can accomplish anything.’”
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