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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team has several individual augmentees assigned to the team in a variety of career fields called ratings and include; Hospital Corpsman, Intelligence Specialist, Yeoman, Master-at-Arms, Construction Mechanic, Engineman, Electricians Mate, Culinary Specialist, and Logistics Specialist are a few examples of the diverse backgrounds that have been brought together to form KPRT. Some are working in their normal fields while others have picked up new skills and are working outside their rate.
The U.S. Navy is often synonymous with large grey ships patrolling vast oceans. From the city-sized aircraft carriers to the ultra advanced submarines, there is little question that the U.S. Navy is very well equipped to handle all things nautical. This mastery of the sea is of little assistances for the sailors of Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team that have been deployed to Afghanistan, a land locked country in every direction for hundreds of miles. These sailors are part of a joint military-civilian team tasked with improving governance and the infrastructure of Kandahar province.
The Navy personnel of KPRT represent only a small portion of the 2,200 Navy Individual Augmentees serving throughout the country of Afghanistan is support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They come from a variety of career fields called ratings and include; Hospital Corpsman, Intelligence Specialist, Yeoman, Master-at-Arms, Construction Mechanic, Engineman, Electricians Mate, Culinary Specialist, and Logistics Specialist are a few examples of the diverse backgrounds that have been brought together to form KPRT. Some are working in their normal fields while others have picked up new skills and are working outside their rate.
CS2 Nicole Campbell is a trained culinary specialist, but with the food services on KPRT’s base being contracted out, Campbell fills an administrative role within the S1 department.
“I like to learn different things so it's exciting to me,” said Campbell. “Working with different branches of the serves is good. I get to see and learn from all different angles and I like it.”
It is not uncommon to find sailors filling all different kinds of tasks for the mission. On any given day you can find Navy personnel manning a perimeter tower for force protection, driving Mine Resistant Armor Protected vehicles on convoys and providing security on missions throughout Kandahar City. These tasks are not considered part of their normal responsibilities, but each service member fills their role without hesitation.
The sailors of KPRT work side-by-side daily with service members from the Air Force and Army, as well as several different civilian agencies. The joint endeavor allows everyone involved to see how the other services operate.
LS3 Conrad Ellerby stated, “This joint force deployment is a great experience.” “There is really no difference in how I do my job, just the environment is a little different. I look forward to this deployment as a unique experience that I will look back upon with and be happy I was able to experience. It will be another great story I can tell my son when he grows up.”
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2012 07:57 |
| Story ID: | 87979 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR, AF |
| Web Views: | 703 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Navy individual augmentees in Afghanistan, by MSgt Timothy Chacon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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