By Maj. William Humes
1-125th Unit Public Affairs Representative
KUNDUZ PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Elements of 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment, Task Force Viking, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, along with Afghan Uniform Police, provided security for a combat multiplier, a human terrain team, in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, during a mission in early June.
An HTT is a group of social scientists who support commanders by filling their cultural knowledge gap in the current operating environment and provide cultural interpretations of events occurring within their area of operations.
Viktor Avdulov and Sandra Assasnik arrived at the vehicles and listened intently to the briefing from patrol leader, Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Young, platoon sergeant with Alpha Company, 1-125th. Knowing his audience included attachments he did not normally have, Young went into great detail explaining how security would be maintained and what to do in the event of different events.
The patrol set out for their first stop in a small village. Before doing any interviews, the soldiers met with Afghan Uniformed Policemen, who assisted with securing the social scientists.
When the final plan was made, the security element and HTT moved into the village to begin the information and atmospherics collection. The HTT conducted a handful of interviews before moving to the next location.
During the second stop, the patrol came across local Afghans playing a volleyball game. The social scientists, preferring to interview in groups of people rather than one person at a time, were able to gather information in a more efficient manner at this stop. After the interviews with the volleyball players, it was time to return to Kunduz.
The HTT went out the following day for more data gathering. They compiled their results in a comprehensive report which was then sent to different interested parties. For TF Viking, the information was critical in deciding how to engage the local populace and to earn their support for the Afghan government, Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Force.