FORWARD OPERATING BASE LAGMAN, Afghanistan - Located in eastern Kandahar, the Daman District is just one area suffering from the ravages that accompany a country that has been at war for hundreds of years.
Like many districts throughout Afghanistan, local villagers focus much of their time tending to their farms, which often suffer from a lack of nourishment as a result of the extremely dry land and the inadequate amount of water. For the people of Daman District, a lack of schools and hospitals adds to the difficulties they face every day.
During a recent mission soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and 25th Infantry Division came to the aid of the suffering district.
While partnering with the local Afghan National Security Forces, soldiers from "Task Force Automatic" assisted in the delivery of much needed schools supplies. Among the supplies delivered were pens, paper, books and book bags.
“It feels great to make a noticeable difference in the lives of the Afghan people,” said Capt. Angela Chipman, 2-8FA unit public affairs representative. “We aren’t just donating and delivering school supplies to the children we are giving the children of the Daman province an opportunity to attend school and learn.”
She continued, “It’s about building a lasting relationship between the U.S. forces and the people of Afghanistan and providing them with long-term solutions to their problems.”
The relationship between the 2-8FA, the Afghan people, and the Afghan security forces has shown significant gains in recent weeks said Chipman.
With support from their local Afghan counterparts the 2-8FA was able to confiscate more than 30 bags of substance known to be key component in homemade explosives used in improvised explosive devices.
First Lt. Theodore Leakas praised the efforts of the Afghan Border Police, stating that they have made a great deal of progress in closing down the trafficking of dangerous substances throughout their area.
Sgt. Nathan Kaiser beamed with pride when the bags of potassium nitrate fertilizer were loaded into secure holding containers.
“Our guys have done great things to get this stuff off the streets and, in my opinion; I believe we’ve saved a lot of lives.”