Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs
The 16-member 104th Security Forces
Advise and Assist Team (SFAAT) received a salute from Gov. Scott Walker, Maj.
Gen Don Dunbar, adjutant general of Wisconsin, and other senior Wisconsin
National Guard leaders during a sendoff ceremony Monday (Oct. 1) at Joint Force
Headquarters in Madison.
The unit will serve in an advisory and
mentorship role to the Afghan National Police concerning internal and external
security missions. Lt. Col. David Larson, the 104th SFAAT commander, said the
mission is part of the transition required for the Afghans to assume greater
responsibility for their security.
"This importance is
disproportionate to the size of the group," Larson said. "And it's
disproportionate to the short time of our existence - just about three
weeks."
Wisconsin Army National Guard Command
Sgt. Maj. George Stopper advised the unit to draw on its strengths and make the
most of its time during mobilization training at Camp Shelby, Miss.
"We've grown accustomed to having
12 and 24 months lead time for any of these missions that pop up, and that
really wasn't the case here," Stopper acknowledged. "So to you and
your families, I say 'thank you' for supporting the Wisconsin National Guard.
Thanks for moving forward and taking on this huge mission."
Brig. Gen. Mark Anderson, commander of
the Wisconsin Army National Guard, told family members that few states were
considered to support this mission.
"Wisconsin [was] one of them
because of the type of Soldier that we continuously send downrange,"
Anderson explained. "And when we put together the notice for this SFAAT
team, we had multiple Soldiers volunteer for each and every position. We were
able to pick from the best of the best."
This will be the first deployment for
Staff Sgt. Don Runaas, a combat medic with the 13th Medical Detachment. He had
been preparing to deploy with the 97th Agribusiness Development Team, but the
mission requirements for that unit changed and he found himself among the
Soldiers who would not deploy to Afghanistan.
"I was offered this on the last
drill of the 97th ADT," Runaas said, adding that it took about half an
hour to decide to accept the new mission. "I'm looking forward to the
experience and learning new things."
Dunbar said that this mission
underscores the intrinsic value of the National Guard.
"We're trying to partner with a
nation that really doesn't have well-developed institutions," Dunbar said.
"The U.S. Army said we need to take some of these capabilities that exist
and partner with some of the brand new institutions they're building in
Afghanistan. And where do they turn? To your National Guard. They turn to these
16 Soldiers and say 'We think you can go overseas and educate and you can
mentor some of these brand new Afghanistan soldiers.'
"What a great idea, and what a
great statement of trust and value in the National Guard," Dunbar
continued. "The trust is not misplaced - the trust is exactly where it
should be."
Larson acknowledged after the ceremony
that the increase in "green on blue" attacks - Afghans in uniform
attacking NATO troops in Afghanistan - is a concern, but that each case is
different.
"It's part of our training
program," he said. "The area we're going into, the incidents have
been relatively few. But that doesn't mean we're not going to maintain
situational awareness."
Larson said that it appears to him
Afghanistan has made progress over the past four years.
"I can see some of the components
in effect now that had been talked about when I was there," said Larson,
who augmented the 101st Airborne force protection mission from 2008-09. "I
think we're moving along with the strategy. I think we're going a lot of good
things over there and for the most part it's [going] pretty much according to
plan."
Walker observed that the model for the
eagle on the 101st Airborne shoulder patch - such as the one worn by Larson -
was Old Abe, the Civil War-era mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
Regiment. The governor said that patch illustrates Wisconsin's proud military
heritage.
"You are, as Brig. Gen. Anderson
mentioned, the best of the best," Walker said. "You are part of a
proud tradition - a history - of Soldiers from the state of Wisconsin. We know
you're going to do us proud."
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