Wisconsin National Guard
KUNAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN -- The
Wisconsin National Guard’s 82nd Agribusiness Development Team conducted its
final mission as an ADT in Asadabad’s Agriculture Compound May 9, but the
Soldiers and Airmen will remain in country to serve in other capacities.
Approximately 25 of the 58 Soldiers and
Airmen will head to Kunar Province to join a provincial reconstruction team -
which aids Afghani leaders and civilians improve security, rebuild
infrastructure and bolster efficiency of the Afghan central government.
Nearly all of the remaining ADT members
will join a task force in Kabul to serve a variety of roles with a police
advisory team there.
“We are ready for what is next,” said
Army Col. Darrel Feucht, commander of the Wisconsin-based unit. “The Soldiers
and Airmen of this unit are some of the best Wisconsin has to offer.”
The 82nd ADT has been in-country for
about two months and has conducted a variety of missions including providing
guidance to a Key Leader Engagement with the Department of Women’s Affairs
(DOWA).
There are limited opportunities for
women to work outside the home in Kunar, according to Wisconsin Army National
Guard Capt. Sarah Bammel, who served as the ADT’s hydrologist.
In one of the ADT’s final missions, the
team helped DOWA to find ways that woman can work in the home and still help to
provide for their families.
“[They have] a whole department for
this,” Bammel said. “They are moving in the right direction.”
While larger cities, such as Jalalabad
and Kabul, are fairly progressive by Afghan standards, Asadabad and Kunar
Province are still very much traditional -- a big part of this being the rural
culture of the region, she said.
The National Guard has successfully used
the agribusiness development team concept in Central America for the past two
decades, drawing on the rich farming experience of many Guard members. The
Guard brought the concept to Afghanistan in 2007. The initiative capitalizes on
the skills of its Citizen Soldiers to give a developing democracy a safer and
more productive way to feed its people.
The Wisconsin National Guard began
forming its team in 2010, and the unit trained for 12 months before reporting
for active duty in February and completing mobilization training at Camp
Atterbury, Ind.
Their preparation and training will
continue to be of use as they serve with the PRT, as well as in other
capacities.
“We have been able to reap the rewards
of having conducted ourselves as the 82nd ADT for a time in Kunar Province and
can now be proud that we are part of Afghan and Wisconsin history,” Feucht
said.
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