URUZGAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Throughout February, Afghan National Police and Afghan Uniformed Police demonstrated their roles as peacekeepers, repeatedly preserved security and vigilantly defended the people of Afghanistan in the villages of Daykundi, Uruzgan and Zabul provinces.
Over the course of the month, the ANP and AUP detained six suspected insurgents and discovered and removed two improvised explosive devices. They located and cleared a number of weapons caches, IED components and more than 125 kilograms of ammonium nitrate (a bomb-making material) hidden among the local populace. Their efforts also thwarted a suicide bomber targeting Afghan National Security Forces members and prevented protests from turning violent.
“The actions of the ANP and AUP are the culmination of their professional training and demonstrate their dedication to duty,” said Cmdr. Mike Hayes, Special Operations Task Force South East commander. “Recent ANP and AUP actions indicate their resolve to the rapid and competent development of security in population centers and remote regions of Afghanistan alike.”
ANP and AUP success can also be attributed to the trust and rapport they have built with the villagers of these regions, Hayes said.
“It’s clear the ANP and AUP have the trust of the people. Local villagers seek out the police to provide valuable tips,” Hayes said. “This is what really drives security in the region. Without the cooperation and support of the villagers, security would be very difficult to achieve.”
On Feb. 7, in Arghandab district, Zabul province, members of the ANP found an insurgent weapons cache after a local villager provided a tip.
The villager told ANP members he witnessed individuals burying objects near a compound in a village. The ANP members investigated the area and unearthed AK-47 ammunition and magazines, death-threat letters and batteries.
Upon further inspection, they discovered 25 pounds of ammonium nitrate and questioned and detained five men loitering near the compound.
On Feb. 9, near Tawiz Kheyl village, Arghandab district, a villager notified members of an ANP patrol of a nearby compound being used to store IED material.
The ANP members and the district chief of police inspected the compound and discovered more than 100 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, other materials associated with IED production and several death-threat letters.
On Feb. 28, in Khas Uruzgan district, Uruzgan province, AUP members, acting on a villager’s tip, discovered two IEDs, a five-gallon jug filled with homemade explosives and detained a Pakistani man suspected of emplacing IEDs in the area.
“The villager’s cooperation with the ANP shows they’re resisting and rejecting the insurgent agenda,” said Hayes.
The relationship between villagers, ANP and AUP also prevented a protest from turning violent in Shah Joy district, Zabul province.
On Feb. 24, approximately 500 villagers gathered at the bazaar to protest recent allegations of Quran burnings by coalition forces.
“Some of the protesters started fires and carried Taliban flags,” said a coalition SOF representative. “The AUP members on scene maintained their composure and diffused the situation; they remained at the protest during its entirety and kept the peace. No shots were fired, no protesters were injured and other than the burning of a few tires, no property was damaged.”
The recent success of ANP and AUP can be traced back to the skills and lessons members learn in training.
“We work with our partner forces to ensure they receive the necessary training to properly defend their country and maintain local security and stability,” Hayes said. “We are at a point now where Afghans are instructing Afghans. ANSF have even instituted their own ‘Train the Trainer’ program in order to become self-reliant in training security forces in the region.”
Ten members of the AUP in Kajran district, Daykundi province, for example, graduated from the “Train the Trainer” program, Feb. 20, Hayes said.
Afghan National Army Special Forces soldiers instructed the three-week training program that qualifies AUP members to instruct Afghan Local Police candidates in basic policing procedures, weapons handling and other skills necessary to protect and defend Afghan citizens.
The establishment and success of the “Train the Trainer” program marks an important milestone for ANSF.
“Kajran district now has the ability to train its ALP force without support from ANASF or coalition special operations forces. Training of ALP is now in the hands of the AUP,” Hayes said.
“This is both a force multiplier and a critical method of sustaining a future security force in Kajran district,” he added. “This program is a critical step to transitioning authority and control to Afghan leadership.”
These milestones in training, coupled with recent success working with the local populace, demonstrate ANSF is moving closer to taking full responsibility for security in the region.
A Feb. 4 incident in Deh Rawud district, Uruzgan province, reinforces this positive development. AUP members acted unilaterally to repel a suicide bomber attack on an AUP compound. An insurgent dressed as an AUP officer and armed with an AK-47 approached a senior member of the AUP saying he was directed to speak with Omar Khan, the Deh Rawud district chief of police.
The compound’s senior AUP member did not recognize the individual as an AUP officer and began to question him. Further suspicions arose when the individual’s responses were inconsistent.
AUP members attempted to detain the insurgent. When the suicide bomber attempted to advance, AUP members fired upon him, after which his suicide vest detonated and killed him. No AUP members were injured in the incident.
Aside from operational success, the ANP and AUP are also developing professionally and administratively.
“Since May 2011, the ANP in Zabul province have worked side-by-side with provincial prosecutors to substantially improve the prosecution rates in the province,” said the coalition SOF representative. “This is due to revised and standardized detainee and evidence handling procedures.”
The new procedures made national-Afghan news when Kabul media members covered a recent graduation of an Afghan-instructed ANP class. Media broadcasted video of the ceremony and interviews with the ANP chief of security.
ANP leadership in Zabul organized several administrative conferences in recent months to ensure quality and accountability across the force. Personnel managers recently worked with ANP representatives in all 11 districts to establish an effective procedure for compiling regular provincial personnel reports.
ANP logistical capabilities continue to improve as well.
The Provincial Police Headquarters recently hosted the first-ever ANP Logistics Conference, attended by all district police chiefs, logistics officers and select members of the Provincial Police Headquarters’ staff.
“The event was significant for two primary reasons,” said the coalition SOF representative. “First, the conference was briefed entirely by members of the Ministry of Interior, resulting in excellent participation by all attendees in terms of questions, recommendations and constructive dialogue concerning MOI’s logistics processes. Second, the conference resulted in the signing of all 11 property books, which is a first for ANP in the region.”
The logistics conference agenda has since been used as a model for similar conferences held in other provinces.
The all-around development of the ANP and AUP is encouraging to coalition SOF leadership.
“It’s amazing to see the development of the security forces,” Hayes said. “Security forces are consistently developing and increasing the capacity to protect the populace and sustain themselves. Dependence on coalition forces is steadily decreasing as the Afghans improve their ability to recruit, train and execute increasingly complex operations.”
| Date Taken: |
03.03.2012 |
| Date Posted: |
03.03.2012 06:51 |
| Story ID: |
84679 |
| Location: |
URUZGAN PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: |
331 |
| Downloads: |
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