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FARAH, Afghanistan – Afghan National Army soldiers in Farah province worked with Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Platoon 815 to hand over and dispose of more than 250 pieces of confiscated unexploded ordnance, improvised explosive device materials, mines and ammunition here Dec. 27.
The weapons totaled more than 1300 pounds of explosive material and more than 50 types of ordnance. The items were carefully transported from a secure location in Farah City and safely destroyed by EOD technicians on Forward Operating Base Farah.
“Most of these items were emplaced [as weapons]. The NDS got reports… and [we] came and got them,” said ANA Col. Abdul Razak, who organized the handover of the weapons.
Razak, the director of the Disarmament of Illegally Armed Groups program in Farah province, said that the items were accumulated through ANA cooperation with officials from Farah’s National Directorate of Security. The weapons were gathered through insurgent reintegration programs, during ANSF patrols and sometimes, after reports from local citizens.
According to Col. Razak, the weapons were a danger to the public and to ANSF and coalition forces.
“Insurgents want to use these [weapons] against NATO, ANA and ANP,” said Razak.
The weapons were collected throughout the vast Farah province over the course of the last six months. The UXOs, IEDs and other materials were stored in a secure location until the hand over was arranged.
PRT Farah leadership enlisted the support of the explosive ordnance disposal team due to their expertise with these scenarios. The situation, while dangerous, was kept under control by EOD’s methodical approach to handling the items.
“The amount of things that were in moderate to unstable configuration was significant, so it was definitely a ‘take it slow’ approach and triage the explosive threats and make sure that we have a safe workspace,” said Chief Petty Officer Sam Crumbaugh, EOD Platoon 815’s team leader. “With regard to… moving it to a range … you still want to ensure that during transport you’re safe and that’s what we did.”
PRT Farah Commander, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Shane Voudren, said the ANA leadership and EOD experts were in the lead throughout the mission.
“This was an ANA and EOD show. As the PRT, we act as enablers a lot of the time. We ask ourselves, ‘How can we enable better security or governance,’ and this was a way to do that,” said Voudren.
That the ANA and ANSF were able to remove these items from the battlefield illustrates their improved capacity, said Voudren.
“They’ve got some solid leadership. They’re a formidable security force. And most importantly, they’re keeping Farah City secure and making some strides in some key districts in the province,” said Voudren.
Voudren added that the PRT and other coalition forces at FOB Farah have developed a rapport with provincial government officials and security forces that led to this event.
“He [Col. Razak] approached us recently and asked for our assistance. Because we’ve developed a strong relationship over the course of the PRT’s history, things like this are possible,” said Voudren.
| Date Taken: | 12.27.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 12.29.2011 05:55 |
| Story ID: | 81843 |
| Location: | FARAH PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 137 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ANA, coalition forces work together to destroy explosives in Farah, by Maj. Mark Graff, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
