Combat Outpost Shahabuddin finds path to a secure future

AFGHANISTAN

10.31.2010

Story by Sgt. Katryn McCalment 

NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan

By Sgt. Katryn McCalment

The combat outpost in Shahabuddin is barely bigger than a football field end zone, yet it is currently one of the largest spots on the map. The historically quiet area has turned into a hotspot of fighting for the former fighters who have become insurgent targets and for the coalition forces who aid in defending them.

In recent months, Taliban insurgents have overrun and abandoned the COP, killing several of the former fighters as they went. But now, with a permanent presence by Soldiers from the German Task Force Mazar-e Sharif, the 10th Mountain Division and U.S. Special Forces, Shahabuddin has not only seen less fighting, its residents and former fighters have become more optimistic.

“Since the presence (of coalition forces), this area is secured,” said a middle-aged Afghan man who swore to cease fighting against Afghan National Security and Coalition forces. “There is a big difference in the country, area and village.”

“We are here to provide security for the former fighters who seek a new way of life,” said a Special Forces officer who partners with the Afghans to secure the area. “Some of the villagers have been forced to participate in insurgent activities for a lack of a better option. Our presence allows them to no longer be insurgents, but still offer protection to their families.”

Though each has a different reason, most of the former fighters echo a belief that the insurgency is no longer to the benefit of the Afghan people, their original reason for joining.

A former Hizb-i-Islami-Gulbuddin senior leader who will become the commander of COP Shahabuddin says others wanting him to threaten the reconstruction projects and the local doctors and schoolteachers is what finally made him decide to align with the government.

“I joined because of my country,” said the commander, who is proud to lead former fighters. “I said you can’t kill the engineers, destroy the schools. It is a bad thing.”

In mid September, when Coalition forces came to Shahabuddin to live amongst the villagers, the fields had been abandoned and the harvest left to rot.

Since the security has stabilized, the farmers have returned to their fields, the wheat piled two-stories high on tractors; and each week handfuls of fighters come in wishing to join their former comrades in peace.

Also, the U.S. Agency for International Development re-education program, one of the incentives for former fighters to reintegrate into society, had stopped due to the level of danger for the non-governmental organizations participating. The program has since recommenced, the first class being a conflict resolution jirga.

The program will soon offer vocational training to those who no longer wish to carry a gun.

“They have more options,” said the USSF officer. “They can get training in welding, agriculture, carpentry and animal husbandry.”

Participants are also given classes on the Afghan constitution and penal codes to educate them on the government they are supporting.

The new COP commander believes that the government now represents all the people equally, not just one political party or tribe.

“The government is good now. It’s different than it was before because everyone is treated equally,” he said. He also mentions that he has now voted in two elections, something he didn’t do as an insurgent.

With the new security in Shahabuddin, Special Forces are expanding four kilometers north to the village of Gaji, where a large group of the former fighters had congregated. The COP forces are determined to root out the insurgents that may have fled there.

The partnered-force is building a security bubble that runs the length of the river-valley of Pol-e Khumri district, said a USSF noncommissioned officer.

The area will eventually transition to being protected by local security alone. But, until that happens, Coalition forces are determined to the take decision making power away from the Taliban and give it back to the local elders. USSF soldiers discuss ways to secure the area with village elders, using their input to plan future security expansions.

“The people of this area are tired of the Taliban,” said the former insurgent senior leader. “This is my home, my village. I am not leaving. As soon as I leave my home for the enemy – they win. In the (coming months) all the people in this area will be secure.”

• Date Taken: 10.31.2010
• Date Posted: 10.31.2010 14:04
• Story ID: 59183
• Location: AF