Community-based security groups key to increasing security gains in central Zharay district

KANDAHAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

10.30.2011

Story by Capt. Kevin Sandell 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division

KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Security gains in central Zharay district are increasing in large part to village residents in Siab Jan, Baluchan, and Nalgham joining community-based security groups and turning-in improvised explosive devices, homemade explosive material, and weapons caches to Afghan and coalition security forces.

The leader of the local security group in Siab Jan, Haji Rashid, led a group of volunteer security guards to turn in the contents of a large cache, Oct. 23, to Afghan and coalition security forces located at Combat Outpost Ahmed Khan. The cache consisted of two anti-tank mines, 12 liters of homemade explosive material in jugs, two pressure-plate IEDs, a medium-sized rocket motor, and an artillery shell packed with homemade explosive material.

The commander of coalition forces in the area, Maj. Thomas Overmyer, says the community-based security group has firsthand knowledge of the terrain and people, which helps them maintain awareness of insurgents attempting to infiltrate the village.

The next day, eight men living in Baluchan, graduated from a training course officially designating them as members of the community-based security group, which guards the villages surrounding Baluchan.

The training for the security volunteers consists of basic law enforcement classes such as uniform standards, weapons instruction, Afghan law and penal code, vehicle searches, traffic control points, arrest procedures, and first aid. The guards are all enrolled into a biometrics database prior to their entrance into the training program, which lasts approximately two weeks.

Community-based security expands the Afghan government’s reach into Zharay district by empowering local Afghan people to safeguard themselves while denying areas for insurgents to launch attacks. All the security volunteers are vetted through their local village shura, with support garnered from the elders themselves. When the security guards complete the training program, they receive an identification card and brassard, along with a certificate of completion issued by the Afghan government.

The guards who graduated Oct. 24 are the second class of community guards in the area, which brings the total number there to 16, said Maj. Overmyer. He said the guards in Baluchan are eager to begin security operations, and willing to risk their lives for a future free of Taliban influence and pressure.

• Date Taken: 10.30.2011
• Date Posted: 11.02.2011 06:30
• Story ID: 79408
• Location: KANDAHAR PROVINCE, AF