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By Tech. Sgt. Patrick O’Reilly
205th Mobile Public Affairs Advisory Team
PANJWA’I DISTRICT, Afghanistan – Afghan National Army soldiers supported by Coalition troops conducted a series of disruption missions throughout the district of Panjwa’i, in Kandahar province the final week of March.
“Disruption” is the term used for the coalition and Afghan National Security Force’s increased presence and interaction with the local community in order to diminish Taliban influence. These missions were carried out and led by the 6th Kandak, 1st Brigade, 205th ANA ‘Hero’ Corps and with security support from the “Bobcats” of the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment.
“My goal is to bring security to the people of Panjwa’i by clearing out the area of insurgents,” said Lt. Col. Dastigir Khamerdi, 6th Kandak commander. “We will cover this operation by both ground and air support coordinating with each other. After the operation we will continue to talk to the local people and try our best to help them.”
Task Force 1-5 and the 6th Kandak have partnered for numerous missions in the Panjwa’i district. The close relationship between the partners led to the ANA battalion’s decision to adopt the ‘Bobcat’ name.
“Whenever I go out on patrol or mission many people ask about the Bobcat logo painted on the vehicle. I tell them that it is our logo and it represents our battalion” said Sgt. Maj. Jan Ali of the 6th Kandak.
The 6th Kandak is the first ANA unit in the Afghan Army’s history to conduct a completely independent air assault mission. This was done in coordination with the Afghan Air Force’s Kandahar Air Wing which culminated in an ‘insertion and clearance’ operation in the Panjwa’i village of Molla Dust in February 2012.
Sgt. 1st Class Bryan O’Neal and his commanding officer, 2nd Lt. Ross Nolan, 3rd Platoon, “Charger” Company, are partners with the 6th Kandak “Bobcats” at Combat Outpost Khenjakak. They coordinated with each other on their roles in the operation.
“The Taliban use the influence of mosques in rural communities to increase their ability to influence and intimidate the local population,” said Nolan. “The ANA have started occasionally visiting and praying in the mosques here. This establishes a presence that not only shows the Taliban that they are here to stay but also shows the locals that they are both religious and dependable people.”
“Even a few months ago here in Khenjakak there was a strong Taliban influence,” O’Neal said. “With us putting in the new [combat outpost], we’ve been able to mostly eradicate the Taliban influence in the area, although we are still finding IEDs and caches where they were hiding homemade explosives. We found a 107mm rocket a few months ago … so although the Taliban presence has become very minimal in these villages, there is still a threat.”
On March 25, Nolan met with Lt. Fakhrudin of the 6th Kandak Weapons Company to discuss the week’s objective: go to the neighboring villages and make a presence.
“We go on patrol to Regwa’i and Khenjakak to pray with the people as well as share information about the current security situations,” Fakhrudin said.
Fakhrudin and a few of his men have participated in prayer with the locals. The locals express their gratitude for the ANA’s security. One elder, called a Malik, told Fakhrudin he feels much safer with the ANA being around so often.
The ANA and U.S. platoon faced many challenges. During one patrol, a local showed up with possible signs of hydrochloric acid, a common chemical used to make explosive devices, on his hands. His hands had bright yellow stains, which the soldiers swabbed and tested on scene; the test had negative results. The man said that he received the stains by working with peanuts.
Other times they faced questions from the elders about the building of schools and paved roads. Paved roads would significantly ease transportation to neighboring villages and trade with Kandahar and Dand. Nolan told them that they must first eliminate the threat of insurgents because it will be very difficult to pave a road that keeps getting blown up.
“Even then, a project like that unfortunately takes time,” Nolan said.
While ANA soldiers helped conduct a ‘call to prayer’ within the mosque, the U.S. platoon stood guard. During this time they were visited by many small children who were both curious about the Americans and eager to receive some ink pens which are a popular gift given by soldiers. Some of the children even made an effort to speak English by telling their name with a simple greeting ‘hello, my name is…’ Some received lollipops from a few soldiers.
After prayer, the platoon departed back to the COP. A few smiles and prayers were indicators of a successful mission. Just two months ago these very same soldiers had come to the same village and had been fired upon by insurgents. The consistent appearances and participation in prayer at the village mosques had proven to significantly reduce the threat of Taliban activity.
Each patrol to a local village erodes the Taliban’s ability to influence the local population and gives Afghans faith in the ability of their security forces to not only defend them, but to contribute to the overall health and vibrancy of their community. Ultimately, the aim is to communicate to the Afghan people that they do not need to acquiesce to Taliban intimidation to ensure their security. This communication effort is currently a joint effort between coalition and Afghan forces—but in the coming months, the intent is to make Afghan security a thoroughly Afghan affair.
| Date Taken: | 03.27.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.02.2012 10:09 |
| Story ID: | 86109 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR, AF |
| Web Views: | 493 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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