Nuristan PRT makes first contact with remote village

By U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Natassia Cherne

Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Servicemembers from the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team travelled a rugged, mountainous region near Forward Operating Base Kalagush to make their first contact with the remote ville of Kohe Taag, Dec. 19.

Kohe Tagg village is one of Kalagush’s closest and hardest to reach neighbors. This was the first time that the Nuristan PRT had ever visited the village, and only the second time the village had ever been visited by Coalition Forces.

Although the village was only 2 kilometres away, it took the Nuristan PRT two and half hours to climb over the rocky terrain and washes to get to the village.

While in the village, the Nuristan PRT met with Abdual Wahab, a villager closest to what many other villages would consider an elder or Malik. The civil affairs team was able to gather atmospherics on what their political views are, what their economy was like, and what they thought of Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition Forces.

U.S. Army Spc. Jason Dixon, a civil affairs specialist and native of Payson, Utah, explained the interaction between the PRT and the villagers.

“The village was small and the villagers were very opinionated,” he said. “They talked to us about corruption and politics even though the Afghan National Police were there, which is rare, because other villages would never be as honest as they were in front of the ANP.”

Even though Wahab and others had very strong opinions about the government, they were also the first villagers to say they are very proud of their Afghan security forces.

Mohammad Dadd, another villager, explained that they have seen ANP around the village, helping protect their way of life, and still doing their jobs even when they have to go without pay.

After much discussion about the role that the Coalition Forces play, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Russell McCormack, the commander for the Nuristan PRT and native of Hampstead, N.H., asked Wahab what the village needed.

Wahab said the village needed water storage and a clear footpath to get to other villages. As it stands now, it takes the villagers four hours, round-trip, to get to and from Nengarch, which is the nearest village.

The Nuristan PRT agreed to help build a water storage system and possibly create a clear pathway if a few villagers agreed to go to the concert class that the engineers on FOB Kalagush hold to teach locals vocational skills.

After attending a few classes, the villagers can get up to 50 bags of cement for their village. Once the village gets the cement, the Nuristan PRT will cover the rest of the cost for the water storage and possible footpath.

 

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan- A young boy looks on as servicemembers from the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team speak with villagers in the Kohe Tagg village, Dec. 19. The Nuristan PRT traversed a rugged region near Forward Operating Base Kalagush to make its first contact with the remote village. (U.S. Air Force photo/2nd Lt. Natassia Cherne) 

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Tauseef Mastafa, a photojournalist with the Agence-France Presse, embedded with the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team takes a photo of U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Chappell, a corpsman from Bonne Terre, Mo., Dec. 19. The Nuristan PRT traversed a rugged region near Forward Operating Base Kalagush to make its first contact with the remote village Kohe Taag. (U.S. Air Force photo/2nd Lt. Natassia Cherne) 

US Embassy in Kabul connects with Nuristan

By Air Force 2nd Lt. Natassia Cherne

Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan (December 14, 2009) – Anne Frej, a cultural affairs specialist from the U.S. embassy in Kabul, visited the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team to view potential locations for a Lincoln Center, Dec. 13.

Lincoln Centers are a partnership between the public affairs section of the U.S. embassy in Kabul and the Afghan government. The centers provide books, internet, and programming for the Afghan public free of charge. 

The centers hold events and activities such as author readings, film showings, speaker programs, workshops and meetings. Lincoln Centers also hold programs like English conversation clubs, internet courses, and speakers on Muslim life in America. 

Two potential sites were identified for the Nuristan Lincoln Center, a school in the Nengarach village and the Nurgurum District center.

If either site is suitable, the Lincoln Center will be fully funded by the U.S. embassy if the local government or district government will donate the space free of charge.

The local government must also pay the security staff. Once a location is established, the embassy will install all the computer equipment, stock the library and hire a staff to run the center. 

“Lincoln centers have been tremendously successful in both the east and north regions of Afghanistan, because they are a place where students go to gain access to a new world view,” said Kathryn Hoffman, foreign service officer for the Department of State. “The center also allows the PRT to do a lot of programming, like discussions on the meaning of elections and the role of women in society. We are really lucky that our Lincoln Center [will be] fully funded in the coming year.”

Lincoln Centers have been established in the major cities of Afghanistan, like Kabul, Herat and Jalalabad. In Kabul, there is a Lincoln Center at the Kabul University and there are also plans to place one in the women’s garden in Kabul.

“In some of the remote regions in Afghanistan there aren’t any internet cafés or even internet access, so the idea is to get into some of the more remote areas and create a place that provides students with English language programs, other types of programs and internet access,” Frej said. “Again, the program is about reaching out into the community, especially younger generations, and giving them a place to go and congregate to learn about American culture.”

In addition to looking at potential sites for the Lincoln Center and internet café, Frej also attended an educational shura to be held at Kalagush, Dec. 15.

She provided information on education and exchange programs offered by the U.S. State Department to students in Afghanistan including the Youth Exchange and Study program.

The YES program sponsors Afghan students visiting the U.S. who stay with a family and attend high school to learn English and the American culture for up to one academic year.  

Frej identified how this program has benefited Afghanistan.

“Some of the students who have returned from the U.S. on the YES program have actually come together and formed a group in Afghanistan to try to do things to better their local communities,” Frej said.

The U.S. Embassy plans on establishing at least ten more Lincoln Centers around Afghanistan before the end of 2010.

The time frame for the Lincoln Center to be opened in Nuristan would be approximately six months, but if a location is chosen during her visit, the center and café can be opened as soon as February 2010.

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan- Anne Frej, a cultural affairs specialist for the U.S. embassy in Kabul; Kathryn Hoffman, foreign service officer for the Department of State; George Like, field project officer from U.S. Agency of International Development; and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Lukas Haaglund, security force squad leader for the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team, and native of Winnemucca, Nev., walk in the Nurguram District, Dec. 13. Nurguram is a possible location for a proposed Lincoln Center, to be provided by the U.S. Embassy. Lincoln Centers are a partnership between the public affairs section of the embassy in Kabul and the Afghan government that provide books, internet and programming for the Afghan public free of charge. (U.S. Air Force/photo 2nd Lt Natassia Cherne)

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan- U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas Cinkovich, a native of Sparks, Nev., and security force team leader for the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team, secures Nengarach village for the visit of Anne Frej, a cultural affairs specialist for the U.S. embassy, Dec. 13. Lincoln Centers are a partnership between the public affairs section of the embassy in Kabul and the Afghan government that provide books, internet, and programming for the Afghan public free of charge.  (U.S. Air Force/photo 2nd Lt Natassia Cherne)  

Warrior's of the Quater

Name: Travis Mobley

Branch: U.S. Navy

Rank: Petty Officer 3^rd Class

Time in Service: 4 years in June

Military Occupational Specialist: Culinary Specialist

Home Station: San Diego

Hometown: Valdosta, Georgia

Why you earned Warrior of Quarter: I pushed the bar on my working limits.

Responsibilities for PRT Nuristan: Radio Talk Operator, Head Mail Master, Morale, Welfare Recreation representative

Best deployed experience so far for PRT Nuristan: Standing guard at the Observation Post Loyalty, because it was my first time in a camping environment. 

Name: David L. Starkey

Branch: U.S. Army

Rank: Sgt.

Time in Service: 6 years

Military Occupational Specialist: 19 D 2 P.

Home Station: Yerington, Nevada

Hometown: Reno, Nevada

Why you earned Warrior of the Quarter: Because I’m the best of the best.

Responsibilities for PRT Nuristan: SECFOR team leader, Motor Pool NCOIC, and Urine Analysis Assistant

Best deployed experience so far for PRT Nuristan: All the new friends I’ve met.

Nuristan PRT Provides Provincial Veterinary Ministry with vaccines

By Air Force 2nd Lt. Natassia Cherne

Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan (Dec. 15, 2009) - The Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team provided the Afghan Provincial Veterinary Ministry with thousands of veterinarian vaccines for local livestock in the Nurguram District of eastern Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, Dec. 14 and 15.

Ray Lehn, the U.S. Department of Agricultural representative for the Nuristan PRT, , and native of Fairfield, Iowa, provided Abdula Qader, the Director of Veterinary Ministry for Nuristan, with veterinarian vaccines and supplies ordered by the last PRT to distribute among the villages that needed the vaccines the most.  

“There was some request for veterinarian support last spring when the people in Nuristan were having issues with their livestock contracting diseases like sheep pox,” Lehn said. “So, that was one of the reasons why we decided to keep the vaccines and have the Afghan Veterinary Ministry distribute them.” 

In the month of December, Qader will travel throughout the NurguramDistrict to ensure all 45 villages have the opportunity to receive vaccines for their livestock. 

So far, 44 families have been seen in the Nengarach, Malil and Wadow villages. If there are any vaccines left, Qader hopes to distribute them to families in the Do Ab District.

This is the first time that the people of Nuristan have been able to receive vaccinations for the livestock because the lack of road construction had made travelling to their villages too difficult.

“The vaccinations are a huge success and will be just as successful in the future if the PRT continues to support us,” Qader said. “In the past nobody has helped with our veterinarian needs, so we are very grateful.”

One Last Salute for a Fallen Hero

By Air Force 2nd Lt. Natassia Cherne

Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan (December 8, 2009) – One hundred and sixty four servicemembers from Forward Operating Base Kalagush somberly stood side-by-side to render one last salute to their fallen comrade, 26-year-old U.S. Army Spc. Elijah Rao, from Lake Oswego, Ore., Dec. 5, who was killed by an improvised explosive device that day.

Rao was a meteorological specialist, but served as a rifleman and the “eyes and ears” of the intelligence shop while patrolling with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force Steel.

“He had the ability to engage the people and gain the confidence of the people out there, because he was just that kind of guy that people felt comfortable approaching and talking to, even though he was a shy guy himself,” said U.S. 

Army Lt. Col. Michael Forsyth, 2nd Bn., 77th FA Regt. commander and native of Mayfield, Ky. “He took my dictum of treating everyone with dignity and respect very seriously, which he demonstrated on a daily basis.”

Servicemembers from the 2nd Bn., 77 FA Regt.; Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team; Military Police from 3rd Platoon, 984^th Military Police Company, 759^th MP Battalion; and Marine Corps Embedded Training Team 5-5 were among the ones to say goodbye. One by one, each servicemember waited for hours in the cold for an opportunity to render a single salute as fellow Soldiers walked past Rao’s remains. 

“On the battlefield, Rao was super efficient, although his job was that of a weatherman he had a knack for gathering intelligence, which was very helpful to the mission,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Riley, Rao’s platoon sergeant, and native of Clintontownship, Mich. “He was something special...he was an asset. When we were at key leader engagements and I would run out of gas, I would look to him to take the floor.”

Rao, who was boarded onto a UH-60 Black Hawk to start his journey back to the United States, where the dignified transfer of his remains will take place at Dover Air Force Base.

“He was dependable, he was a rock, and with him having previous combat experience, he was able to be a mentor for a lot of Soldiers in our platoon who were on their first deployment,” Riley said.  “He was more than just a peer to his team. He was someone that the lower enlisted looked up to.”

“Rao was the best our nation had to offer, he will be missed in the battalion,” Forsyth said. 

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan- One hundred and sixty four servicemembers from Forward Operating Base Kalagush somberly stood side-by-side to render one last salute to their fallen comrade, U.S. Army Spc. Elijah Rao, from Lake Oswego, Ore., the night of Dec. 5. Rao, was killed in action by an improvised explosive device in Nuristan Province that same day. (U.S. Air Force/photo SrA Ashley Hawkins)  

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan- U.S. Army Spc. Elijah Rao, a native of Lake Oswego, Ore., and meteorological specialist attached to the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery maneuver platoon, “Nightmare”, 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force Steel, (right) and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Riley, the platoon sergeant for the Nightmare maneuver platoon, from Clintontownship, Mich., (left) stand with local villagers from the Parwii village, Aug. 9. Rao, was killed in action Dec. 5, by an improvised explosion device in Nuristan Province. (U.S. Air Force/photo 2nd Lt Natassia Cherne)  

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan- A UH-60 Black Hawk carries the remains of U.S. Army Spc. Elijah Rao, a native of Lake Oswego, Ore., and meteorological specialist attached to the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery maneuver platoon, “Nightmare”, 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force Steel, to Bagram Air Force Base the night of Dec. 5. Rao, was killed in action that day by an improvised explosion device in Nuristan Province. (U.S. Air Force/photo SrA Ashley Hawkins)  

Nuristan PRT Corpsman connects with Dots

Photo by U.S. Air Force 2^nd Lt Natassia Cherne

 
Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs 

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Robert Dailey, a corpsman from Rutherford, N.J., of, shares his box of candy dots with a local village boy, Dec. 2. Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team conducted a key leader’s engagement with the village leaders of the Gambah village to discuss economic development. (U.S. Air Force photo/ 2nd Lt. Natassia Cherne) (RELEASED)

Walking Hand in Hand

Courtesy Photo by: U.S. Army Spc. Michael Hahnebohm from the 3^rd Platoon, 984^th Military Police Company, 759^th MP Battalion

Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team - Public Affairs

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Todd Cellars, Squadron Leader for the 3^rdPlatoon, 984^th Military Police Company, 759^th MP Battalion, from Warren, Ohio, walks hand in hand with a little girl in the Alingar District, Dec. 1. The 759^th MP Battalion was conducting a key leader’s engagement and identifying the personal in the Afghanistan National Police in the local area. (U.S. Army/photo Spc. Michael Hahnebohm) (RELEASED)