Indiana ADT Prepares for Overseas Mission

Photo By Ashley Fowler | Spc. Ryan Hooten (left) and Spc. Joseph Turner, members of the 4-19th Indiana Agricultural Team, use a brush to clean the hoof of a donkey during on-site agricultural training at Muscatatuck Urban Training Complex May 10. The 4-19th is preparing for deployment to Khost province, Afghanistan, where they will provide agricultural aid to local farmers.  

CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, UNITED STATES

05.10.2011

Story by Ashley Fowler 

Camp Atterbury Indiana

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - Haze tints the cloudless sky in Jennings County, Ind., as members of the 4-19th Indiana Agricultural Development Team converge upon the farm at Muscatatuck Urban Training Complex May 10 for pre-deployment agricultural training.

The 4-19th ADT is preparing for deployment to Afghanistan’s Khost province, where they will participate in an ongoing mission to provide agricultural support and resources to the people of Afghanistan, which will include improved farming techniques and the creation of an agricultural extension agency similar to the Future Farmers of America program.

According to Lt. Col. Paul South, deputy commander and agricultural section officer in charge, agricultural assistance to the people of Afghanistan cannot come too soon.

“There is a generation or two of farmers that don’t exist in Afghanistan due to conflict, so some of the current generations don’t have anyone to lean on. We want to infuse and re-establish that knowledge base and find a few ways to help them improve.”

Members of the 4-19th Indiana ADT must first undergo various types of training before heading overseas, including language and cultural awareness training and on-site agricultural experience at sites like Muscatatuck Urban Training Complex, where soldiers practiced veterinary techniques with sheep, goats, a donkey, and a horse.

Capt. Marc Blue, a member of the Indiana ADT from Gary, Ind., is looking forward to using his prior agricultural knowledge to the upcoming mission.

“Growing up, I was always around farms,” said Blue. “I even worked on a fish farm when I was younger. I’m excited to share what I know from previous experience, and what I’ve learned during training with people in Afghanistan.”

While some soldiers in the 4-19th have more farming experience than others, all members of the Indiana ADT share the same goal, according to South.

“We want to teach the people in Khost province agricultural practices that are technologically feasible,” said South. “Our goal is getting the Afghans to be the face [in the region] for knowledge so that they can share with each other what they know and improve overall.”

Upon completion of pre-deployment and mobilization training at Muscatatuck Urban Training Complex and Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center later this summer, the 4-19th Indiana ADT will depart in July for yearlong deployment to Afghanistan, replacing an Agricultural Development Team currently overseas.

• Date Taken: 05.10.2011
• Date Posted: 05.16.2011 19:32
• Story ID: 70486
• Location: CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, US