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DARAFSHAN VALLEY, Afghanistan – By showing presence within the community, the Afghan National Police are building an effective bond of trust and cooperation.
The ANP went on a recent foot patrol with members of the 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., to continue building trust and security with their neighbors.
“We go out with the ANP to do joint patrols so that we can provide mentorship, try to integrate the ANP with the local population and give legitimacy to the ANP,” said U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Steven J. Haley, platoon leader of Alpha Troop, 1-14th CAV, based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
For the past four months, the 1-14th CAV has been mentoring and providing support for five ANP checkpoints within the Darafshan Valley.
Haley said the 1-14th CAV primary focus is to push out the ANP into the villages to foster trust and reach out to the locals.
“We want the locals to trust and count on the ANP when they need help,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason D. Hasby, platoon sergeant of Alpha Troop, 1-14th CAV.
During the village patrol assessment, Haley and the patrol commander, Abdul Ghafor, spoke with the locals of insurgent activities, upcoming harvest and their relationship with the ANP. Haley emphasized to the locals that they could depend on the ANP.
Haley and Ghafor also handed out crayons and high fives to the local children.
"We are seeing progress as we realize the importance of interacting with ANP and the locals,” said Hasby.
According to Hasby, mutual respect between the ANP and the U.S. forces has been a major component to developing cohesiveness. He stressed the importance of mutual respect among the soldiers mentoring the ANP.
“We tell our soldiers to treat the ANP as they would like to be treated. When the ANP see us now, they get excited and wave to us. That means we've made an impact,” said Hasby. “Hopefully, the way they treat us is the way the Afghan people will in turn treat ANP. It's all about trust and respect,” he said.
In addition to outreaching and establishing trust, the 1-14th CAV have trained the ANP on basic policing tactics.
The overall mission of 1-14th CAV is to guide ANP into becoming an independent entity through mentorship.
ANP have been trained on first aid, sustainment, tactics, search and seizure and other basic skills from the 1-14th CAV.
“We have seen them produce a lot of the skills we’ve taught them such as tactical patience, tactical formations, sustainment and logistics, first aid and policing,” said Haley. “As we patrol, they have started working on those skills,” he said.
Haley indicated that many of the checkpoints do joint patrols, which emphasized the confidence of the ANP conducting their own patrols.
The 1-14th CAV will continue to work with the five checkpoints within the valley and extend their mentoring efforts throughout their deployment.
“The difference I’ve seen within the last four months we have been here has been extraordinary. Having great commanders on these checkpoints make all the difference,” said Haley.
By emphasizing trust between ANP and local nationals, the ANP can emerge as a structured, proficient, independent force.
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2012 05:50 |
| Story ID: | 86075 |
| Location: | DARAFSHAN VALLEY, AF |
| Web Views: | 204 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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