Afghan National Security Forces lead the way in providing security for Panjwai district

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Brandenburg | An Afghan National Police officer marks the door to an Afghan home after it was cleared, while conducting a dismounted patrol of the Panjwai district in southern Afghanistan, April 1, 2012. The patrol consisted of clearing more than a half dozen villages and was planned, organized and executed by the ANSF.  

AFGHANISTAN

04.01.2012

Story by Staff Sgt. Joshua Brandenburg 

1-2 SBCT, 7th Infantry Division

PANJWAI, Afghanistan – With hardly a cloud in the sky the Afghan soldiers of 1st Company, 2nd Kandak, 1st Brigade, 205th Corps, Afghan National Army and local police stepped out of Forward Operating Base Spirwan Ghar’s southern gate. This dismounted patrol was like many of the ones before. It had a straightforward objective – search and clear over a half dozen villages in the Spirwan area of the Panjwa’i district in southern Afghanistan.

However, it was one of the largest foot patrols conducted by the 1st Company, 2nd Kandak and was planned and organized without any assistance from International Security Assistance Forces. The patrol’s objectives and implementation were briefed to the leadership of Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division and Company B, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division the day before.

“It was one of the first ANA lead missions we’ve had,” said 1st Lt. Robert Churchill, 3rd platoon leader of B Company 1-5 Inf. Reg. “And what that really entails is that ANA planned, ANA prepared and ANA executed the mission.”

On April 1, 2012, with more than 100 Afghan National Security Forces, 1st Company, 2nd Kandak set off to reach their first objective with 30 U.S. soldiers from both companies in the back of the formation who were there to advise and mentor.

As the formation neared the first village, car horns could be heard and a flock of doves were seen released, both of which are signals to insurgents in the area warning them that ANSF and ISAF forces are near. If these signs of enemy activity fazed the Afghan soldiers or police they did not show it, for they continued on with their mission without hesitation and in good spirits. The single file formation, as the region is littered with land mines and improvised explosive devices, moved slowly down the narrow streets and stopped randomly as the ANSF soldiers in the front entered and cleared the homes of the local villagers.

“As they [ANSF] would go up to compounds, ANA would secure it and ANP would search inside, “said Capt. Len Blaylock III, commander of B Company, 1-5 Inf. Reg.

It had not always been this way before added Blaylock. He went on to say that his company has seen a lot of improvement from their ANA counterparts. At first every mission was planned and executed by ISAF. The ANA soldiers would rely on U.S. soldiers to take the front of any formation and just follow along in the rear. A lot of this was due to the IED threat in the area, as U.S. soldiers would conduct counter IED maneuvers with mine detectors in the lead. Blaylock goes on to say that by the end of their first month in country they were conducting classes on the mine detectors, teaching their ANA counterparts how to identify IEDs and that in a few short weeks they were just as proficient as his own troops. Now the Afghan soldiers always take the lead and clear the front of the formation, finding IEDs before they can do any harm with U.S. troops following along at the rear of the formation.

“My platoon received no casualties from enemy IEDs,” said Churchill, of Flushing, Mich. “That says a lot about the ANA.”
The air was dry and hot; the sun unrelenting with its golden rays, but still the soldiers of 1st Company, 2nd Kandak showed no signs of slowing as they cleared through one village and entered another. Foot after foot, step-by-step Afghan soldiers and police cleared homes, businesses, orchards and fields in search of caches, IEDs and any insurgent activity.

The ANA and ANP forces completed objective after objective and passed phase lines gaining more confidence with each home they cleared. The patrol took about eight hours to complete and covered 90 percent of their operational area, all with little to no help from their U.S. brothers in arms.

“We asked them. What do they want to do? What are their objectives?” added Blaylock, of Nimrod, Ark. “They identified what the problem is in the area and they conducted the clearance.”

The mission did not find much in the terms of caches, IEDs or any insurgent activity but did show that the soldiers of 1st Company, 2nd Kandak and their ANP partners are more than capable of securing the Spirwan area and conducting missions without any assistance from ISAF.

“Our presence here, we might be holding them back,” added Blaylock. “If we were not here, I think not only would they succeed in securing this area, but they would take on roles maybe they haven’t with us being here.”

The ANSF will plan, organize, execute and lead all future missions in the Spirwan area with little to no assistance from ISAF forces. U.S. soldiers will continue to support Afghan patrols but more as advisers and mentors while the Afghans will lead the way.

• Date Taken: 04.01.2012
• Date Posted: 04.28.2012 08:34
• Story ID: 87525
• Location: AF