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    Head of Task Force Helmand’s Police Mentoring and Advisory Group reflects on job well done

    CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN

    04.07.2011

    Story by Cpl. Bryan Nygaard     

    Regional Command Southwest

    CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – British Army Lt. Col. Adam Griffiths has come a long way over the past seven months. After 7,500 miles of driving through the districts of Lashkar Gah, Nad ‘Ali, and Nahr-e Saraj, the road for this deployment has come to an end. Griffiths, commander of 5th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, is transferring his authority as head of Task Force Helmand’s Police Mentoring and Advisory Group to British Army Lt. Col. Fraser Rea, commander of 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles.

    The mission of the advisory group is to train and develop the Afghan Uniformed Police.

    “For me, it’s getting around and seeing every single one of my men and also all those key Afghan [police] commanders,” Griffiths said. “We spend a lot of time on the road, getting around the districts, making sure what we’re trying to develop is actually developing.”

    The group’s headquarters, which coordinates all police activities and training, is at the Lashkar Gah Main Operating Base. Training takes place at Regional Training Center Southwest, which is located two miles east of Lashkar Gah.

    Griffiths has one company of his men from 5 SCOTS working alongside Royal Military Police, Ministry of Defense Police, AUP instructors and U.S. Marines to run an eight-week Basic Patrolman Course as well as training for junior commanders and specialist trades.

    In each district there is an Operation Coordination Center. It is at these centers that soldiers and officers from 5 SCOTS help district police chiefs coordinate police activities and deconflict their operations with International Security Assistance Force activities.

    These centers also have what might be considered the most crucial element in the advisory group: the Police Advisory Team. These teams move around from each district partnering, mentoring and carrying out continuation training with the police.

    Griffiths see these teams’ task as being one of the most important. The teams work to increase the police’s ability rather than simply broadening their reach by putting more boots on the ground. For Griffiths, it’s a matter of quality, not quantity.

    “Over the last seven months, what we’ve tried to focus on is making the police more accountable, self-sustaining and at the same time professionalizing them,” Griffiths said. “It’s about taking them a step further so that they’re not just a second rate infantry – they are a police force.”

    Since arriving, the 5 SCOTS have instituted continuation training that includes administrative, accounting and leadership courses. It is this type of institutional development that has been key in professionalizing the police and has built up respect and reliance from the Afghan people.

    “The satisfying bit is when you get feedback from the population,” said Griffiths. “The view of the police is significantly better than it was seven months ago. There’s a real encouraging perception of the police now. People will go to the AUP for advice if they’ve got issues, not just insurgent related – real crime issues.

    “For me it’s been incredible to watch this organization grow both in confidence and ability. These guys know what they want to do. They just need assistance to develop their capabilities.”

    Griffiths is quick to point out that success does not happen overnight.

    “What you have to realize is that it does take time to develop,” said Griffiths. “You’re not just going to change the way a person works, be it a Brit, American or Afghan. You have to have the patience to know that when you start a project, take time to develop it. Just doing the big bang doesn’t work. You’ve got to encourage, you’ve got to persuade, and you’ve got to influence people to do these tasks.

    “Corralling everyone to go in one direction takes patience, it takes presence and it takes relationships. You must build relationships.”
    The development has not been one-sided. Griffiths believes this unique deployment has cultivated his soldiers as well.

    “For me, it’s been very satisfying watching my young men, some just turned 18, getting in amongst these guys, training them, living with them, working with them and in some cases fighting alongside them,” said Griffiths. “It’s been hugely satisfying watching them develop.”

    His successor, Rea, can see the fruits of Griffiths’ labor.

    “I was here last year and we drove through the same area and the improvement is almost beyond belief,” said Rea. “There were areas where I was patrolling on foot, running into contacts [with insurgents] within 200 meters of the patrol bases.

    “You can see the locals in the fields and using the roads. You can see the police in presence on the road with the locals. It’s hugely positive and just a big change from nine months ago when I left.”

    Rea doesn’t plan on calling any new plays now that he is in command of the group.

    “A lot of good work has been done – we’re just going to build on that,” said Rea. “We’re not going to rush into major changes. We’re just going to continue the good work.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.07.2011
    Date Posted: 04.07.2011 02:38
    Story ID: 68388
    Location: CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF

    Web Views: 296
    Downloads: 1

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