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    ANA, Marines search for weapons, IED materials

    PATROL BASE FULOD, HELMAND PROVINCE, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN, AFGHANISTAN

    05.09.2011

    Story by Cpl. Benjamin Crilly 

    II Marine Expeditionary Force   

    PATROL BASE FULOD, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - The Marines of 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, while on patrol with their ANA counterparts, searched the abandoned structure on a routine security patrol to ensure it was not being used to store weapons or IED components.

    Culturally, the ANA served a vital role when the Marines search inhabited compounds since they are able to explain to local homeowners the intent of the search and be accepted as doing their job instead of seen as an outside threat to the Afghan’s privacy and freedom.

    “We know that at times they cannot conduct searches on their own and collect all the necessary intelligence that we see as important,” said Sgt. Kevin W. Zarefoss, a squad leader for 2nd Plt. “It is still important for us to put their face to it. We are putting an Afghan face on an Afghan problem. “

    This also allows the Afghan soldiers to see how to properly search for, collect and document evidence by watching the Marines. If they see the Marines care about respecting the culture and the property, the soldiers might have more trust in the Marines, said Lance Cpl. Patrick C. Hawco, a point man with 2nd Plt.

    The ANA are an invaluable asset to the Marines when searching large abandoned compounds. In Afghanistan multiple families can live in the same part of a compound and that complexity makes it hard for the Marines to distinguish what each room was used for at times. With this particular compound the Marines had been to the multifaceted location before but had never had the chance to search it thoroughly.

    “Despite walking through this compound before briefly, we had not been able to piece together what it had functioned as and therefore did not know what could have been out of place,” said Zarefoss, 25, from Strongsville, Ohio. “Knowing your area and having a good grasp of what goes on in it does not mean going on one patrol.”

    Some of the senior Afghan soldiers have been here in Sangin for a while, said Hawco, 24, from Tivoli, N.Y. They know what part of the house they are in and they know what should and should not be in that part of compounds.

    “For us that is tremendous,” said Hawco. “They see the little things that are out of place and can point it out to us.”

    Their ability to indentify abnormalities also works the other way, said Keith R. Ablard, a law enforcement professional for Co. C, 1/5. By having the Afghan soldiers search with Marines, the soldiers are able to identify, eliminate and pick out the important evidence to be brought back and processed by analysts. This enables Marines to ensure that they are not trying to get some mundane household item processed as intelligence substantiation.

    “It helps the processing of evidence because if you were to bring in information that is not even evidence, you are wasting [the] analyst’s time that could be used to process more important things,” said Ablard, a former Marine with 13 years of law enforcement experience as a Virginia police officer, currently residing in Philomont, Va.

    When Marines search with Afghan soldiers, they are able to work together to maximize the efficiency of the search and find a lot more information about a place, said Hawco. That intelligence allows partnered forces to better employ their assets to improve the security of Sangin.

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    Date Taken: 05.09.2011
    Date Posted: 05.15.2011 08:48
    Story ID: 70410
    Location: PATROL BASE FULOD, HELMAND PROVINCE, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN, AF

    Web Views: 930
    Downloads: 2

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