KABUL, Afghanistan – By being good neighbors and building strong relationships with locals in Bati Kot District, Nangarhar province, soldiers of Company A, 1st Special Troops Battalion, Task Force Spartan are helping to foster growth and development in the eastern Afghanistan province.
“We ask the villagers about what we can do to help the economic future of places like Bati Kot, and they tell us about local development projects and how they will benefit the villagers and also the district’s economic stability,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ruben A. Picon, a civil affairs specialist assigned to Task Force Spartan.
Local elder Malik Mouhammad updated Picon on an existing waterway project.
“They completed the waterway ahead of schedule, so I had them start working on a small crack in a village road,” Mouhammad said. “We are not wasting any time.”
Funding is tight and the soldiers must ensure that every dollar is being used effectively, said U.S. Army Capt. Paul D. Sipe, commander of Company A, 1st Special Troops Battalion, Task Force Spartan.
“We honestly just want to help,” Sipe explained to Mouhammad. “We have limited resources at times, but what we do have is a lot of soldiers who want to help.”
Sipe and his soldiers work at being good neighbors. They coordinate with the local elders and government officials almost daily.
“We try to get out here and talk with them and find out what they need, and they let us know how things are going with them and their families,” Sipe said.
U.S. soldiers plan to become even closer neighbors with the people of Bati Kot, according to Pican. Before that can happen though, these soldiers and the people of Bati Kot have to work together to improve the area.
“What we are working on right now is putting another gate here in the district center, because now they only have one gate to enter and exit and that isn’t enough,” Picon said.
The soldiers hope their efforts with the people of Bati Kot will open more than just this one gate; they hope it will open the gate to the future of this small, but bustling, village, he added.