Photo By Sgt. Casey Collier | Soldiers from the 293rd MP Company, 97th MP Bn., along with a Royal Canadian Mounted...... read more read more
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KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan -- Being a military policeman in Kandahar City has less to do with traffic stops and roadblocks and more to do with coordinating hasty checkpoints, tactical patrols over difficult terrain, and mentoring.
The Soldiers of 1st Squad, 1st Platoon, 293rd MP Company, will tell you that most- if not all of the squad has more experience with infantry tactics than writing traffic tickets. Their on-the-job training has come predominantly from deployment.
They are called the "Black Sheep", and the area of Kandahar City in which they operate is the volatile District 7, nestled at the foot of the Sur Ghar Mountains between the Panjwai District and the Arghandab Valley in Southern Afghanistan.
At Afghan Police Sub-Station 7, their hub in the district, the "Black Sheep" work around the clock mentoring and patrolling with the Afghan national police squad that lives here.
Staff Sgt. Jeff Schaffer has been working with the ANP at PSS- 7 since August of last year, when 1st Squad left their home station at Fort Stewart, Ga. and began their year-long deployment in Kandahar City, Afghanistan.
"Everything we do here is a training exercise. If it's just cleaning out their supply room, we'll help them go through filing systems, or one-on-one mentoring with the police chief, we will sit down with him and go over his patrol plan for the last 24 hours and the next 24 hours."
"Then, as far as patrolling goes, we go by the 'morning-noon-night' philosophy. We try to get three patrols in, per day," said Schaffer.
In a district where Taliban movement is reportedly regular, PSS-7 has only been attacked once, and it happened just two weeks ago on April 29. Both Afghan and U.S. forces were present at the station that night.
Schaffer and Pfc. Joel Shannon, 1st Squad, 293rd MP Company, were on the roof of the sub-station, assigned to night security detail, when shortly before midnight they began taking small-arms fire from a building about 300 yards from their position.
Shannon said the only way they could tell the fire was directed at them was because the enemy was using tracer rounds. In Kandahar City, explosions and random gunfire are not uncommon.
A few seconds later, the station began taking more small-arms fire from the ridge line of the mountains behind the station. Schaffer and Shannon immediately returned fire, guided solely by the muzzle flashes of the enemy's weapons.
The entire firefight lasted only five minutes and resulted in no coalition casualties, and no reported Taliban casualties.
"It's the first time any of the PSS's [here] have ever been attacked," said Shannon.
In the weeks following the attack, it has been business as usual for the "Black Sheep" and Afghan national police.
They conducted a joint dismounted foot patrol to a neighboring PSS in District 8 the night of May 6. Once the combined force arrived they exchanged information about the districts with the local ANP there.
The next morning, the ANP guided the squad up the mountain to the ridge line from where the station had taken fire the week before. They were searching for a sign of exactly where the rounds came from, and clues to what the enemy may have planned to do next.
Both patrols on May 6 and May 7, were lead by the ANP. The MP's and the ANP
continually communicated during these patrols through the use of interpreters – standard procedure for this team.
"These guys were there when we got ambushed in the past, they were here when the station was attacked, and they face the same hardships we do," said Schaffer, "They are here every single day, just like we are. They are pretty good guys."
Sher Ala, an ANP squad leader, has been with the ANP for more than two years and has been stationed at PSS-7 for the duration of that time.
"From morning until night, we patrol and set up checkpoints," said Sher Ala, "Also, for the next month we will be searching compounds with the police chief, and patrolling with the ANA."
"We have a good relationship with the Americans. They teach us different techniques- how to search, how to conduct checkpoints, and how to patrol."
Sher Ala said if he were not part of the ANP in Kandahar City he would probably just stay home in a northern province of Afghanistan where he was born and raised.
"I am from the Mazar-i-Sharif province," said Sher Ala, "I came here to work for the ANP. I like my job. I like working here in Kandahar City. Everything is good here at PSS-7."
| Date Taken: | 05.11.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.11.2010 07:35 |
| Story ID: | 49471 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR CITY, AF |
| Web Views: | 569 |
| Downloads: | 309 |
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