Navy @ MindSay

By Navy Lt. Neil Myers

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

July 7, 2008 - As the security situation becomes more stable in five of this Afghan province's southern districts, coalition civil affairs teams are helping improve governance and infrastructure. Army Capt. Roman Skaskiw, 451st Civil Affairs Battalion, is responsible for the five southern Konar districts. Although these districts differ in the quality of governance and development, they all suffer from a lack of security, power and infrastructure.

 

"The overall security situation is becoming more stable," Skaskiw said. "The reason for the fighting is local animosities influenced by people who feel they are not getting their share of the redevelopment. However, development dampens the insurgency, as evidenced in the improving police, the roads connecting the people to the government, and the burgeoning health care system."

 

The civil affairs team works with the Afghan government and international humanitarian organizations to rebuild infrastructure and restore stability in areas stricken by war or natural disasters. Joint civil-military efforts are key components in winning the hearts and minds of Afghans, buttressing the authority of the government in Kabul, and providing a central effort in the U.S.-led counterinsurgency campaign, Skaskiw said. The teams work in partnership with representatives from U.S. government agencies such as the State and Agriculture departments and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

 

Provincial reconstruction teams were established to facilitate infrastructure development necessary for the Afghan people to succeed in a post-conflict environment. Most PRTs are run by Navy and Air Force officers and are the face of the U.S. redevelopment aid for millions of Afghans.

 

"PRTs fill specific needs and challenges, such as security and stability, which is apparent in Afghanistan's rebuilding process," said Navy Cmdr. Daniel Dwyer, the Konar PRT commander. "Development without security is unsustainable, and security without development is meaningless."

 

(Navy Lt. Neil Myers serves with the Konar Provincial Reconstruction Team.)

By Army Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio

American Forces Press Service

 

July 6, 2008 - More than 50 U.S. sailors rendered a salute as their nation's colors were raised over Camp Eggers in honor of America's Independence Day. What made the ceremony so special was the American flag had only 48 stars. The flag was flown courtesy of retired Navy Cmdr. Joseph Agra III, who works at the Kabul International Airport as a logistics mentor for the Afghan National Army Air Corps.

 

Agra acquired the flag from a Filipino fisherman while living in the Philippines in 2000. The fisherman retrieved it from his net while fishing off the coast of the Bataan Peninsula.

 

"I saw the flag on a pole and asked the fisherman where he got it," Agra said. "After he told me, I asked if I could have it. He sold it to me for ten dollars."

 

Agra said after taking the flag home and washing it, his son realized it only had 48 stars. Upon this discovery, Agra started researching flags for a hint of its origin.

 

Because the 48-star flag was only flown between 1912 and 1959, Agra theorized that it came from one of five U.S. Navy ships that were sunk by the Imperial Japanese Forces in the opening months of World War Two.

 

"I researched the ships that were sunk in hostile fire, instead of being scuttled," Agra said. "When you're scuttled, you take everything you can off the ship. I think this flag went down with a ship."

 

For eight years, Agra carried the flag with him to several locations. He has flown the flag over camps in the Philippines, Kuwait, Iraq and now, Afghanistan.

 

After the flag was raised, Navy Capt. Shawno May, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan command surgeon directorate, spoke to the formation of sailors.

 

"The men that served under this flag more than 50 years ago gave their last full measure of devotion," May said. "These men were fighting in the Philippines to help freedom ring in a land where it wasn't. Again, America finds itself in a country where freedom is just beginning to ring."

 

Master Chief Bennie Gloria, CSTC-A Equal Opportunity advisor, said the ceremony was a perfect way to start the Independence Day celebration.

 

"It's very important that we remember our shipmates that came before us and lost their lives," Gloria said. "We are their legacy."

 

When the ceremony ended, the sailors took turns touching the flag and taking in a little part of history.

 

"I wanted to share it with others," Agra said. "I could have kept it and hung it in my living room, but then I would only see it."

 

Agra retired from active duty last year and will return to his home in the Philippines after his tour in Afghanistan. When he returns, he plans to donate the flag to a World War Two museum and American cemetery near the location it was found.

 

"It's their flag," Agra said, speaking of the veterans who lost their life in World War Two. "It's a symbol. These men lost their lives fighting for their country, they are buried there. That is where the flag should be."

 

(Army Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio is assigned to Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan)

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

 

July 2, 2008 - Defense Department officials are very concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today. "Violence is up significantly from a year ago," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said during a Pentagon news conference. For the second month in a row, more coalition servicemembers died in Afghanistan than died in Iraq.

 

Given the country's harsh winters and unforgiving terrain, summer historically is the fighting season in Afghanistan, but the Taliban have become more organized and efficient, Mullen said. But part of the increase in violence is because there are more coalition and Afghan troops in the country. They are going into more areas, and the Taliban are responding, the admiral said.

 

Another factor, he said, is a combination of Afghanistan's porous border with Pakistan and the Taliban using areas in Pakistan's federally administered tribal area as safe havens. "There is much more freedom this year to move across the border," the chairman said.

 

The NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan is at 52,700 personnel, and the effort in the country remains in what's known as an economy-of-force mission, Mullen said. "What we're going through now is an ability to win in the combat standpoint, but we don't have the troops to hold the areas," he explained.

 

Mullen said a recent statement by Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on the terrorist problem in the country is encouraging. He praised Gilani's appreciation of the terrorist threat and the decision to place Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani in command of Pakistan's frontier corps in addition to the army.

 

Pakistani security forces launched attacks against the Taliban in and around Peshawar. "It's important that this be sustained and pressure placed on insurgents," Mullen said. "I'm encouraged by what I've seen, but I think we must be patient."

 

U.S. assistance must be as robust as it can possibly be, and the Pakistani government and military must move as rapidly as they can against this problem, the chairman said.

 

U.S. and NATO leaders are focused on the challenges in Afghanistan, particularly in the east and the south. "We are exploring a number of options and opportunities to get a better understanding of the scope of the threat and the best means with which to counter it," Mullen said. "I've made no secret of my desire to flow more U.S. forces to Afghanistan just as soon as I can. Nor have I been shy about saying those forces will not be available unless or until the situation in Iraq allows us to do so."

 

The United States does not have the forces available to flow into Afghanistan without a reduced requirement in Iraq. "We're on an increasingly positive path in Iraq, and ... I'm hopeful that towards the end of the year, opportunities like that will be created," Mullen said.

 

No easy solution or quick fix is available in Afghanistan, the admiral said, and more troops will be necessary. Some NATO allies have committed to sending more troops, but not until the end of the summer and into the fall.

 

"We need and are pursuing a broader interagency international approach -- one that includes infrastructure improvement, foreign investment and economic incentives," Mullen said. "I'm hopeful these efforts will pay off in the future."

 

But everyone needs patience, the chairman said. "As we have seen in Iraq, counterinsurgency warfare takes time and a level of commitment and flexibility," he said. "We remain committed to a stable future for Afghanistan and her people, and I'm just as convinced as ever that we will achieve it."

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

 

July 1, 2008 - As U.S. Africa Command prepares to go fully operational, one of its big challenges will be communicating not only what it aims to achieve, but also what it doesn't, senior officials at the Pentagon and at the new command agree. AfriCom, which began initial operations Oct. 1, is slated to become an independent unified command three months from today. This will make it a full-fledged geographic combatant command on par with U.S. European Command, Pacific Command, Southern Command and Central Command, focusing on the African continent.

 

AfriCom will be responsible for all U.S. military activity in Africa. The one exception will be Egypt, which will remain under U.S. Central Command.

 

The goal, as described by Army Gen. William "Kip" Ward, AfriCom's commander, is to work in tandem with other U.S. government agencies and international partners to help African nations deal with a full range of challenges. AfriCom will support this effort through military-to-military programs, military-sponsored activities and other operations, all aimed at promoting a stable, secure Africa, the general said.

 

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters while visiting the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies here last week that the United States recognizes the "hugely important issues to be addressed in Africa."

 

"That's one of the reasons we stood up AfriCom, because it's such an important continent for us," he said.

 

Mullen cited Africa's tremendous resources, but said it faces great challenges as well, from poverty and disease to threats including terrorists seeking safe haven.

 

"It's a place where there are opportunities for terrorists to evolve," he told the AfriCom staff while visiting their headquarters. "We have to address those things, because if we don't, they are coming our way. Either we have to engage them or they are coming to us as a country, and actually, as a world."

 

The AfriCom headquarters will become fully operational a decade after the near-simultaneous Aug. 7, 1998, terrorist attacks on the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. The 10 years since then have witnessed additional terrorist activity, including the double car-bombing of a United Nations building in Algiers in December. Mullen told the AfriCom staff that the Pan-Sahel region and Horn of Africa are particular concerns.

 

Americans historically have looked east and west to face off threats, but Mullen said AfriCom and SouthCom show increasing recognition that the focus needs to go beyond that. "America doesn't look north and south to its own detriment," he said.

 

Despite widespread recognition of the challenges facing Africa, Mullen acknowledged last week that AfriCom has suffered from misconceptions about its intent. He told reporters at the Marshall Center that the command's standup has met with "some pretty stiff resistance" from Nigeria, South Africa and some other countries in the region or with ties to it.

 

"I think some of it is tied to the newness of it," Mullen told reporters after a town hall meeting at the AfriCom headquarters. "We have not been ... heavily engaged in Africa historically, so there are questions from people on the continent. There are questions from those who have been engaged historically, some of the former countries who were colonial powers in that part of the world."

 

Mullen said the United States needs to constantly repeat the intent behind AfriCom to clear up those questions and dispel misconceptions. But ultimately, he said, actions will speak louder than words. "I fundamentally believe we communicate most effectively through our actions," he told the AfriCom town hall session.

 

The United States has no interest in a big troop presence in Africa, the chairman said. AfriCom's headquarters will remain in Stuttgart -- also home to EuCom, which has had primary responsibility for Africa -- for at least the next several years.

 

"It is my view that it is much more important to emphasize projects and engagement than it is footprint," Mullen said.

 

Navy Vice Adm. Robert T. Moeller, AfriCom's deputy commander for military operations, emphasized during an address at the Brookings Institute earlier this month that the command also has no intention of stepping on the toes of other organizations' work there. He said the command will support -- not disrupt or confuse -- ongoing U.S. government, international and nongovernmental efforts in Africa.

 

Ward described military engagement the United States already has with Africa during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee in March. U.S. soldiers and Marines provide military training to African peacekeepers and professional development at the individual and unit level. The Air Force contributes airlift and logistical support. U.S. forces provide special operations counterterrorism training teams to strengthen national capabilities and enhance multinational cooperation. The Navy and Coast Guard are helping African nations increase maritime safety and security.

 

"Our intent is to enable them to provide for their own security," Ward told the committee.

 

He cited other U.S. agencies that also contribute toward this effort. The State Department's Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance program has helped prepare thousands of African troops for international peacekeeping missions. In addition, U.S. forces work hand in hand with the U.S. Agency for International Development to support numerous humanitarian missions in Africa, he noted.

 

Moeller stressed that AfriCom isn't trying to move into the foreign policy realm or militarize U.S. foreign policy. Rather, he said, the command will support the State Department and other U.S. agencies working in Africa.

 

Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, AfriCom's deputy for civil-military affairs and former ambassador to Ghana and Burundi, said the command's mix of "hard" and "soft" power elements in a single organization will bring added value to ongoing operations in Africa. While helping to bring capacity to the Africans, she said, it will support other programs by the United States and others.

 

Ward took that message to Lisbon earlier this month for a meeting with the Commonwealth of Portuguese Speaking Nations. The group conducts peacekeeping operations and disaster response exercises with five African nations: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe.

 

"Every nation around the world benefits from a stable and secure Africa, but each has limited resources to apply toward security capacity-building efforts," Ward told the Commonwealth of Portuguese Speaking Nations representatives. "Together we can cooperate to bring coherent programs to the African continent."

 

Like others, Ward said has heard the "Why now?" questions about AfriCom's standup. As he escorted Mullen around the command's headquarters facilities last week, he said the more significant question should be: "Why not now?"

By Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Douglas Mappin

Special to American Forces Press Service

 

July 1, 2008 - The first class of the Afghan National Police's "Jump Start" program graduated at the Central Training Center here June 26. The 229 men and four women in the class were trained by instructors from DynCorp International, a private military contracting company.

 

Jump Start is a police training program modeled after the focused district development police-reform program, in which Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan is working to develop a professional, well-trained, fully equipped police force throughout the country. Jump Start focuses solely on the Afghan capital of Kabul and its 16 police districts.

 

"Jump Start is a process of reforming the way local police officers are trained," said Canadian Superintendant Ray Noble, Jump Start coordinator. "Jump Start picked the best aspects of FDD and utilizes those elements to train police forces in Kabul."

 

According to U.S. Army Master Sgt. Frank Miranda, Kabul Capital Police Command logistics coordinator for Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, these new police officers are better-trained than their predecessors.

 

"From Day One, they are taught police ethics. This type of training is also meant to remove the stigma of the police," Miranda said.

 

Noble, a native of Fort Francis, Ontario, Canada, and officer in charge of Prince Rupert Detachment, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said applicants for the program must meet strict criteria before being permitted to enroll.

 

"These students are getting the message," Noble said. "They have been taught how corruption will not benefit them, and that it can even lead to increased violence against them. More importantly, we teach them if they follow their training and the rules, they will have the people's respect."

 

Jump Start students receive training in the use of firearms, combat tactics, first aid, self-defense, improvised explosive devices, human rights, and the tenets of the Afghan constitution.

 

"Our students are trained in all aspects of police work. They learn to handle civil disturbances as well as domestic violence," said Col. Hashim, Afghan National Police training deputy. "Our students learn to maintain checkpoints, conduct personal searches and manage crime scenes. They recognize this

is an important job."

 

Hashim said he is most proud of the four women in the graduating class.

 

"When Afghans see women in uniform, others will be encouraged to join," he said. "I am sure we will see many more women enrolling in the future."

 

Hashim, who oversees the training of various ANP programs including Jump Start and the Trauma Assistance Program, said all cities need a secure environment, and Jump Start will provide a valuable service to Kabul's citizens.

 

"Kabul is our capital city. With the capital buildings, the ministries of Defense and Interior and the embassies all here in Kabul, we need security," Hashim said. "If we have no police, we are not secure."

 

(Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Douglas Mappin serves in the Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan Public Affairs Office.)