Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Whitney Houston | First Lt. Anthony Dennis, an Edinboro, Pa., native who serves as 3rd Platoon leader,...... read more read more
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KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The Afghan Border Police of Zone 3, Kandak 4, found illegal explosives while spearheading a search of several compounds in the Nawa Valley of Kandahar province, Afghanistan, May 24.
The ABP were assisted by Soldiers from Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Their role was to advise and assist from afar and provide the ABP with operational autonomy.
“We’re going to provide support by setting up some blocking points to stop all inbound and outbound traffic, provide security, and provide support by fire and isolation, so the ABP can do these missions on their own,” said 1st Lt. Anthony Dennis, an Edinboro, Pennsylvania, native who serves as 3rd Platoon leader, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division.
These operations are not new to the area; their central focus is to disrupt the flow of weapons into Kandahar Province and from getting them further into Afghanistan.
“This mission is one of many that have been conducted in Kandahar Province to disrupt weapons trafficking within the country,” said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Yurk, a San Diego native serving as 2nd Platoon leader, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division.
These kinds of operations build confidence in the ABP, and encourage good relationships between the Afghan people and the Afghan National Security Forces.
“We’ve been training them to do everything on their own for a long time now,” said 1st Lt. Travis Sowders, an Elk Valley, Tennessee, native who serves as 1st Platoon leader, Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division. “We need to let them do whatever they can do, to build confidence in their abilities and build the public’s confidence in their ability to protect them.”
The ABP put a good step forward in the Nawa Valley by finding an improvised explosive device. They also spent time meeting with locals in the area.
“They found an IED dug into a river bank that serves as a route to one of the compounds in the area,” said Dennis. “Other than that they were building relationships with the local populace. They did well today.”
Dennis explained that after the IED was found, airmen with the 466B Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team 9, U.S. Air Force, properly disposed of it on site.
The ABP finding IEDs and showing a desire to create relationships with locals demonstrates a certain level of development. Some Soldiers have watched this progress occur through multiple tours to Afghanistan.
Yurk explained that he deployed with the same unit back in 2005, and he has seen a spectrum of growth and development amongst many of Afghanistan’s security forces.
“There are groups [of ANSF] that have improved in leaps and bounds,” he said. “They’re starting to understand tactics and commands. There are still groups within in each organization that need training, but there’s definitely a huge improvement over the years as a whole.”
| Date Taken: | 05.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 05.29.2014 06:11 |
| Story ID: | 131414 |
| Location: | AF |
| Hometown: | EDINBORO, PA, US |
| Hometown: | ELK VALLEY, TN, US |
| Hometown: | SAN DIEGO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 1,728 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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