HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The soldiers of Company A, 31st Georgian Light Infantry Battalion are making their mark on Helmand province one patrol at a time.
Alpha Company’s mission is providing security around Patrol Base Eredvi and Route Red, which is the main link from Camp Leatherneck and Marines to the north. It is a major supply route that is traveled frequently.
“We’re 100 percent in control of this road. Everyone can travel safely,” said 1st Sgt. Zura Nioradze, with Company A.
But, they take the mission further than just controlling the road.
“We are helping the local people,” said Nioradze, from Tbilisi, Georgia. “We came here to bring security.”
Nioradze said that travel is important to the local population, as there is no local bazaar or medical facilities. Food supplies can also be an issue.
“They only have a small garden and that’s all. With this road, they can go to the bazaar and they can go to the hospital,” he added.
The support for the Afghans and Afghan National Security Forces is what matters for Nioradze.
“With the Georgians, I’ve seen it since day one. We go out, no matter if the people want to talk or not, they want to help them, they want to be there for them,” said Sgt. Christopher Francis, the 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company team chief at Eredvi.
This is the second tour here for many of the Georgians as well as Francis.
“ANGLICO is designed to provide fire support for units that can’t provide it for themselves,” said Capt. Garick Lue-Chung, team leader. “We provide close air support and mainly artillery for units that don’t have their own air or their own artillery support.”
Unfortunately, Francis has done several medical evacuations for the Georgians, but he’s proud to support them.
“That builds a lot of trust for the Georgians,” said Francis. “When you show that we really care, that is a big thing.”
Nioradze is also glad for the support that ANGLICO has given over the tour.
“We work very well with ANGLICO,” Nioradze said. “They know their job. They really know their job.”
One of the challenges the Georgians face is the language barrier. When Georgians meet with Afghan farmers or local shuras, there is a three-way translation through a Georgian and Afghan interpreter. Each speaker must run from Pashtu to English and then to Georgian, and back again.
“It is absolutely a challenge in that regard,” said Francis. But he added that because the Georgians have been so adamant about helping the Afghans in their area, everyone finds humor in the translations.
“You can see the people’s faces and our faces when we’re sitting there talking to them and you know how much is getting mixed up. Everyone just starts laughing,” said Francis.
The Georgians take their security seriously and part of that is gaining the trust of the Afghans in their area.
“Our soldiers all the time, day and night help all the time,” Nioradze said. Still, that help has not negated the risk that comes with securing this area of Helmand province.
“You always hear a lot of stories about U.S. forces and about British forces. They’re all doing great things. You won’t hear as much about the Georgians, but I can personally attest to the fact that the ground we are on right now is almost in a way holy ground,” said Francis.
“Marines have died to get this ground. Georgians have died to get this ground because they want to support this mission. They want to be here for us. And they want the world to really know who they are.”
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.30.2012 08:24 |
| Story ID: | 87586 |
| Location: | HELMAND PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, One patrol at a time: Security with compassion, by MSG Jeffrey Duran, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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