By Army Pfc. Micah E. Clare
4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan — The 82nd Airborne Division's Task Force Fury launched a counterinsurgency operation in late March to provide a more secure environment to tribal communities in a remote province of eastern Afghanistan.
The 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment kicked off "Operation Khels Fury," named for the many districts in the province of Paktika with names ending in "Khel."
The operation, conducted shortly after the 4-73rd's arrival in the area, had a two-fold goal, connecting the local population to their government and separating the population from the enemy, said Army Maj. Jason Smallfield, executive officer for 4-73 Cav.
"We want to transform this environment by allowing the tribes here to provide for their own security and by reducing the Taliban infrastructure." Smallfield explained. "This will improve governance, commerce and security for the people."
Until 2007, Paktika province had been known as an area with instability between its many tribes. This allowed the Taliban freedom of movement, but due to the efforts of the provincial governor in the past six months, many of these tribes have reunified and now support their government.
Now the job of weeding out the remaining dissidents remains.
"We've come out here to find the enemy," said Army 1st Lt. Adam Taliaferro, platoon leader for 3rd Platoon, Troop B.
For several days, Taliaferro's platoon had been patrolling the rural district of Dila, an area that hasn't seen any real military presence in two years.
"There's a shadow government here," he explained. "For every police chief and district commissioner, there's a Taliban equivalent. There isn't much fighting, but because it's so open the enemy has free room to maneuver into other areas."
"Our presence helps to reassure the local populace," said Pfc. Daniel Harvey, a driver in 3rd Platoon who was recently in the nearby Yosof Khail district. "By the time we left, the bazaar there was twice as full as when we got there."
The 4-73rd Cav. hopes to maintain pressure on the enemy by keeping a sustained presence in key districts.
"We want to gain the trust of the people by staying there instead of patrolling an area and not coming back for two weeks," Smallfield said.
When the plans for this operation were on the drawing board, the 4-73rd Cav, which was formed not eight months before deploying, had to address a lack of intelligence on the enemy, lack of unification of the populace, and the need to flex the squadron's muscles for the first time in combat, Smallfield explained.
The operation was designed to solve all of these problems at the same time by generating intelligence through embedded intelligence teams, promoting Shuras, or tribal meetings, forming personal relationships with the locals, and conducting squadron operations, he said.
To protect the reconstruction efforts between Ghazni, Gardez, and Sharana, the 4-73rd Cav planned to interdict any enemy forces coming through the area to Highway One, one of the few paved roads in the country.
The terrain of this area is a series of mountains overlooking valleys and is an ideal place for the cavalry to conduct such a mission, Smallfield said.
The cavalry mission is to go fast, go far, develop the situation, and be the eyes and ears; combined with the mobility of our vehicles and our long range surveillance capabilities, this is a perfect place for the cavalry," he said.
The 4-73rd Cav has also been focusing on working together with the Afghan National Army and Police, who have seen increased peace and stability in the area since arriving.
"The reaction of the people to our presence is positive," said Sgt. Abdullah Hab a soldier of an ANA reconnaissance platoon that is working together with Taliaferro's platoon in Dila district. "They want to help us, because there is peace that comes along with security. They give us information about when and where the Taliban are coming and going."
"The long term key to success is the active and enthusiastic support of the population for what we're trying to do," Smallfield said. "We won't need to be everywhere, because they will take care of the enemy for us."
By unifying the people, earning their support and partnering with ANA and ANP, the conditions are being set for a stable Afghan government, he said.
The operation doesn't have an end point and the 4-73rd Cav will continue to keep a certain percentage of its forces dedicated to keeping the enemy's head down.
"We're keeping constant pressure on the enemy," Smallfield said. "Counterinsurgencies aren't won by hammer strikes."
| Date Taken: |
05.07.2007 |
| Date Posted: |
05.07.2007 13:24 |
| Story ID: |
10264 |
| Location: |
FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, AF |
| Web Views: |
215 |
| Downloads: |
92 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Operation Khels Fury keeps the peace in Paktika, by SPC Micah Clare, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
