Red Bulls complete successful tour at COP Najil

Photo By Capt. Jason Beck | U.S. Army Pfc. Elisha Bottleman, right, a machine gunner from Edgewood, Iowa, with Company A, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Ironman, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, TF Red Bulls, leads a group of Company A soldiers down a hill June 15 in northeastern Afghanistan, outside Combat Outpost Najil, Afghanistan.  

LAGHMAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

06.23.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. Ryan Matson 

Combined Joint Task Force 1 - Afghanistan

LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Army Spc. John Rocha wiped the sweat from his sun-beaten face and then took another step through the river valley. It was June 15, another 100-plus degree day in northeastern Afghanistan.

Rocha and his fellow soldiers combed the rugged terrain along the narrow highway, looking for enemy threats for what they hoped was the last of hundreds of combat patrols through the area.

When Rocha, an infantry team leader from Geneseo, Ill., and the other soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Ironman, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, TF Red Bulls, arrived in Laghman province, Afghanistan, Oct. 31. Eight months ago, traveling the length of this road was a dangerous undertaking, and rarely attempted.

The soldiers deployed to Combat Outpost Najil, a small, remote base in the mountains of the Alishang Valley. The road follows the valley south to the province’s capital city, Mehtar Lam, about 20 miles away. The sphere of influence around COP Najil was only about five square kilometers. Traveling beyond that meant almost certain enemy contact.

“I wanted to expand the security bubble around the COP and ensure freedom of movement on the main supply route,” U.S. Army Capt. Jason Merchant, the commander of Company A, from Dysart, Iowa, said.

Merchant said his philosophy when engaging the enemy was simple.

“Relentless pursuit was my intention,” Merchant said.

However, Merchant said aggressive combat action and patrolling were only half the equation for bringing security to the Alishang Valley.

“I have to have a unit that can deliver overwhelming force, but one that is also compassionate,” Merchant said. “Connecting with the civilian population supports our security bubble.”

To connect with the people, Iowa troops used techniques ranging from simple handshakes and gestures while on patrol, to coordinating meetings among local leaders.

Merchant said gaining the trust of the local people was a challenge, but among the most important accomplishments of his company during the deployment. To do this, Merchant said he focused on a mindset of not simply giving the locals projects or making empty promises, but focusing on self reliance.

This sentiment was echoed by Merchant’s Afghan counterpart at COP Najil, Afghan National Army Capt. Abdul Quader, 1st Company, 201st ANA Infantry Corps.

“The groups that were here before us promised the locals a lot of things, so when we came here they didn’t know us,” Quader said. “When we said something, we’d do it; we wouldn’t promise anything unless we were going to do it.”

“The people saw that Capt. Merchant and his soldiers respected Afghan culture and traditions. For example, they didn’t enter homes without permission or stop people on the street without a reason. If you respect the people, they will respect you.”

Gaining the trust of the people enabled Merchant to gather information about enemy activity from them and respond to it. Whereas Merchant said at the beginning of the deployment, no one would share this information with his men, now it has become the difference in maintaining security in his area.

Merchant paraphrased a Mao Tse Tung quote, “Insurgents are like fish in the ocean and the ocean is the people. They hide amongst the population.”

Company A even used what Merchant referred to as a “dark period” to strengthen ties between the coalition and the local populace. After some civilians were accidentally killed in a military operation, Merchant said his soldiers spent a lot of time and effort to rebuild rapport and trust with the citizens, eventually turning the town into an ally against terrorism.

Merchant said he did this by treating the incident with the same consideration as if had happened in his hometown.

Merchant attributed much of the success in the area to having a strong partnership with the ANA.

“It takes an aggressive leader to succeed in this area; Capt. Quader is that guy,” Merchant said.

The feeling was mutual for Quader.

“We have a common enemy in worldwide terrorism,” Quader said. “When Capt. Merchant and I started working together in Najil, there were a lot of insurgents in the area. Now, there are a lot less insurgents.”

Over the last year, the ANA have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Company A to accomplish the mission. Almost all patrols have featured an even number of Afghan and American soldiers.

Though his company inherited a COP that lacked a lot of basic amenities such as showers and latrines, Merchant said he couldn’t have asked for a better group of soldiers to go through the deployment with.

The soldiers, mostly from northeastern Iowa and surrounding areas, said they are proud of their accomplishments at Najil.

“I like to think that we helped the people here,” U.S. Army Pvt. Carl Roth, a grenadier from East Dubuque, Ill., said. “I think we gave them some peace of mind and made them feel safe to live their lives.”

Rocha, on his second deployment to Afghanistan, said he feels reducing the enemy’s freedom of maneuver was Company A’s biggest achievement.

“Our unit did a good job of finding the middle-ground between aggressiveness and working with the civilian population,” he said.

By the time Company A leaves Najil, Merchant said the company’s area of operation and influence will have expanded from five square kilometers to more than 170.

Although the highway to Mehtar Lam is still potentially dangerous, it is now regularly traveled by both civilians and military convoys without incident.

“The security and training we provided have set the conditions for the ANA to be able to take over so we don’t wind up here again,” Merchant said.

• Date Taken: 06.23.2011
• Date Posted: 06.23.2011 15:23
• Story ID: 72624
• Location: LAGHMAN PROVINCE, AF