3/5/2010 1:02:00 PM GAZETTE EXCLUSIVE: Journey to Afghanistan
Governor Haji Bahlol met with the soldiers twice during the embed. The relationship is that of two forces from vastly different cultures and circumstances working together to achieve a common goal.
There are 34 provinces in Afghanistan. All have PRTs (Provincial Reconstruction Teams), of which 12 are operated by the U.S. military and the remainder by other coalition forces. The PRT team at Panjshir is made up of just over 100 civilian and military members.
The civilian staff at Panjshir consists of three representatives from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Four will soon be added as a result of President Obama's surge. Others include representatives from departments of state and agriculture.
The Army Corps of Engineers has sent two representatives. Private contracting firms provide a number of interpreters and two former police officers to train the Afghan National Police.
The military component is unique and made up of members from the Air Force, Army and Navy. Individuals with specific talents and occupations are selected in lieu of traditional military units. All members have attended a 30-day training session at Camp Atterbury in Indiana prior to being deployed.
The mission statement of the team is to "assist the Panjshir provincial and district governments to extend their authority and legitimacy with the population in order to facilitate and enhance security, stability and prosperity of the province and, therefore, enable the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to assume more independence in reconstruction efforts in the area."
The team has been exceptionally successful in the province primarily because of two important factors; security and cooperation of its governance.
Security is not and has never been an issue. Since 2005 when the team arrived, there has been only one IED discovered and it was not operational. A combination of the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police, and a cooperative citizenry have made this happen. The Taliban never occupied or governed the province having been stopped at its gate by the legendary Ahmed Shah Massoud, his Mujahideen fighters and a Commander Haji Bahlol, now the provincial governor.
The Afghan government is a complex mixture of appointed and elected officials. Those directly affecting the efforts of the PRT are the governor, the sector office line directors and the provincial council. The president appoints the independent directorate of local governance that, in turn, appoints the provincial governor, but only with the president's approval. The sector office, again selected by a series of appointments, consists of directors for a number of departments such as agriculture, women, health, education, security; eight in all.
The Provincial Council has nine elected members. Of the nine at least three must be women regardless of the popular vote count.
We attended their inauguration ceremony and only eight were present.
One was in jail.
The current PRT commander is Lt. Col. Eric Hommel. The colonel began his career as an enlisted Navy submariner. He transferred to the Air Force and spent a portion of his 24-year career as a Capital Hill Liaison officer, an experience that has served him well in his command position.
We visited with Governor Bahlol twice during my embed and the relationship is that of two forces from vastly different cultures and circumstances working together to achieve a common goal. The home of Dr. Abdullah Abdullah is located within the province. The governor supported him in his losing bid against President Hamid Karzai, adding a bit of anxiety to the governor's reappointment.
Col. Hommel has at his disposal CERP (Commander Emergency Relief Program) funds and can approve projects up to $25,000. The task force commander can approve $200,000; the regional commander, $1 million; and amounts above that require the approval of General Petraeus.
Financing has also been provided by various non-government organizations from around the world. These funds in the past flowed directly from the PRT to the contracted firms. To enhance the Afghan position and participation in projects, it will now go to the sector director that will contract the project as well as issue the funds. The PRT will continue to monitor, inspect and accept or reject the work performed.
Two missions I was able to be on concerned these very situations. One was a conflict concerning responsibility of one mile of highway to determine which of two contracts it fell under. We traveled to the worksite and, with the help of the Army Corps of Engineers representative a fair determination was made and will be given to the appropriate contractor.
A communication center under construction was rejected by Lt. Kate Miles of the PRT. During a previous inspection she noted wiring was not encased in conduit. It still was not and she made it quite clear to the on-site contractor that the work would continue to be rejected until corrections were made.
Micro-loans are available to those starting or expanding a business. These are processed through the Massoud Foundation named after the assassinated Afghan Mujhaideen leader. The maximum amount is $500 and repayment by borrowers at a rate of $10 per month has been positive.
The PRT has financed and contracted over 100 miles of paved roads. Education opportunities have improved as the PRT has built or repaired 16 schools in the province.
There is now a hospital and 26 clinics along with many local emergency facilities, several built or financed by the PRT.
A wind farm provides electric power to a nearby village and many micro hydro-electric power installations are completed or under construction. The country has an unemployment rate of over 30 percent.
It is felt that if work opportunities are made available, people are less likely to become troublemakers thus a work for cash program now has 800 day laborers working on civic projects.
The governor presented his list of future provincial needs at one of the meetings. There is no power grid in the province; one must be constructed. Additional roads are needed to the east. They will join the villages but also provide passage of military vehicles should the Taliban attempt to infiltrate Panjshir from Nuristan, an adjoining province. The PRT will take those and other suggestions under consideration.
It is obvious that success of the PRT in other provinces can only be achieved if local government and citizens expel the bad elements that now prevail and take advantage of what these teams offer.
This is the fourth in a series of stories about Art Ricker's trip to Afghanistan. He took with him questions submitted by Gazette readers, and will soon offer the answers he received.
