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By Lt. Col. Don Korpi
USFOR-A Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan, Feb.5, 2016 — Soldiers from the 764th Explosive Ordnance Company, Fort Carson, Colo., and members of the Afghan National Police (ANP) stationed in Parwan Province, came together today to dispose of explosives turned in by local citizens or discovered by local security forces in and around Parwan.
Capt. Robert W. Deppi, commander of the 764th EOC, coordinated the meeting and planned disposal of the explosives with the ANP after a joint security and advise meeting with the local, district and provincial leadership last week at the Provincial Governor’s Office. The meetings provide an opportunity for Coalition partners to meet with Afghan civil and military leaders and discuss security and intelligence planning, sharing and implantation around Bagram Airfield (BAF) and the surrounding communities.
The American officer in charge of the mission was 1st Lt. Brady A. Kinnings, a platoon leader assigned to the company.
“Today was a great example of how the partnership between Coalition Forces and the Afghan Security Forces directly helped saves lives in the local community and for the people assigned on the base,” said Kinnings. “When the Afghan people report and turn in IEDs (improvised explosive devices) or weapon caches, this directly impacts the ability of the insurgents to plan attacks or plant IEDs where security forces and local civilians often use the same roads.”
According to Deppi, almost 85% of all civilian causalities are directly caused by IEDs or direct attacks by insurgents against the local population. Both Deppi and Kinnings, expressed their surprise by the low number of IED explosions within Parwan since their unit’s arrival three months ago. They credit that to the improved capability of the National Police and Army and the increased confidence people are showing in their local government by reporting suspecting caches and IEDs.
Sgt. Christopher Quail, a Soldier assigned to Kinnings platoon, described today’s controlled detonation as a success. “We were able to bring together the explosives from the ANP, along with some of our left over residue from recent missions, and safety dispose of it together.”
The representatives from the police and from 764th placed all the explosives in a pre-dug hole and cleared the area prior to the detonation.
“Additionally this provided an opportunity for the ANP to turn over some residue from previous explosions in the area over the last few months,” said Quail. “As long as we keep working together, we can help keep the people here and BAF safe.”
“It is our hope that as the size and capability of the Afghan security forces continues to improve to the point that the limited support we provide will no longer be needed,” said Kinnings, when asked about the future role of EOD in and around BAF. “I was truly impressed by the knowledge of the ANP and in their wiliness to take the lead today.”
As the U.S. presence is expected to right size and continue to decrease across Afghanistan over the next few years it is necessary for the Afghan security forces to continue to grow in capability as well as strength, according to Deppi. “The best way to help them is to support them whenever possible and to continue to share valuable lessons learned and best practices across all areas of EOD support.”
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.07.2016 07:51 |
| Story ID: | 188135 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 281 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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