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KAPISA PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Air Force Capt. Jay Scott, a Snyder, Texas, native, is deployed to Afghanistan with a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kapisa Province.
Scott is stationed with the 7th Intelligence Squadron at Fort Meade, Md., but will serve a six-month tour with the PRT.
The Kapisa PRT covers an area of approximately 1,840 square kilometers of mountainous terrain, home to nearly 365,000 Afghans. Located just North of Kabul, Kapisa is the smallest province in the country, but has the one of the highest populations per capita spread throughout seven districts.
The PRT has been conducting counterinsurgency and stability operations in the province for more than six years. Scott, PRT Information Operations officer, and the team will be the last PRT in Kapisa.
The team’s mission is to work with leaders of Kapisa, at the provincial and district level, to bolster the capacity and credibility of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, or GIRoA.
With the help of an Army security force, PRT Kapisa traverses not only its own province but also the surrounding provinces of Parwan and Kabul participating in key leader engagements, scouting areas for new projects and performing quality checks and site visits on existing projects. They work closely with the Afghans, mentoring them on how GIRoA can work for them.
Scott is the subject matter expert for information operations conducted by the PRT, where his mission is placement and management of information in the battlespace to achieve desired effects.
Day to day, Scott is responsible for communication with the battlespace owners, French Task Force Lafayette, to ensure the PRT’s actions are in line with the big picture goals for the area.
Scott is also a liaison for PRT efforts in the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program, or APRP, an Afghan government peace program which aims to bring former fighters who renounce violence, break ties with terrorists, and agree to abide by the Afghan Constitution peacefully back into their communities.
“The majority of the Taliban are not die-hard extremist, they are the 10 percent who were starving or their brother was killed, so they decided to go fight. Now after ten years they are sick of it and want to give up, but don’t want to be arrested or the Taliban to come after them,” Scott said. “So they can come forward, get a background investigation and training for a new job the GIRoA pays them for, so they are not tempted to return to enemy forces.”
The program is completely Afghan run, with the U.S. forces acting in a mentor-capacity only.
“The village elders in the community have to vote those in the program back in before they are accepted back to their community,” Scott said. “There, they can serve and protect their fellow Afghans, instead of fighting them.”
Scott also helps with Guardians of Peace, a program used by Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces to receive information about insurgent activity.
“Local villagers get information from flyers and cards providing instructions on how to contact ANSF and coalition forces if insurgent activity is observed,” Scott said. “When an individual participates, the information is delivered without personally identifying information that may put that person at risk of repercussions by insurgent forces.”
Both programs further the PRT counterinsurgency mission in the area and help to foster a stable and secure environment that is ready for transition to GIRoA control and administration.
The future of the province will reflect the legacy that the current team leaves and only time will tell. One thing that is for sure is the current successful operations in Kapisa reflect the hard work that has been done by Scott and the PRT throughout the years.
| Date Taken: | 05.25.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.25.2012 21:55 |
| Story ID: | 88993 |
| Location: | KAPISA PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 98 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Texas native deploys, conducts counterinsurgency, stability operations in Afghanistan, by MSgt Beth Del Vecchio, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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