Women-led U.S. Teams Work With Afghan Women

By Jian DeLeon

Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2010 – Following the counterinsurgency tenet of supporting civilians, the Army and Marines have deployed women-focused teams to gain insight into Afghanistan’s mostly silent female population.

Female engagement teams are deployed to support battlefield operations and meet with Afghan women to gain understanding and insight into the country’s culture, Army Col. Chadwick W. Clark, director of the Counterinsurgency Training Center-Afghanistan, said during a Dec. 7 “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable.

Team members are trained “to conduct female engagements in a culturally respectful manner,” Clark said. They bring to the war effort comprehensive understanding of the operational environment and contribute to civil-military operations, medical visits, and educational programs, he said.

“All the females that are on these engagement teams have volunteered to do it,” Clark said. “They're taken from different specialties, and they go through varying degrees of training, depending on how they're going to be employed.”

The coalition has 40 female engagement teams with at least two women per team, Clark said. Team members possess different disciplines and military specialties, he added, and they have very high morale.

“I haven't talked to one woman that's on a female engagement team that isn't motivated and happy about what she’s doing,” Clark said.

Clark hopes to increase the number of teams.

"The demand far outweighs the supply that we have,” he said, “which is one of the reasons why we're trying to look at the program, [to] expand [and standardize] it."

Marine Corps Col. Sheila Scanlon, a U.S. adviser on gender issues and female engagement teams at the Afghan Ministry of Interior, also participated in the call.

Team members must possess a variety of skills, including the ability “to move, shoot and communicate while they’re out [in the field],” Scanlon said. Yet, she said, one of the most important values the teams exhibit is cultural sensitivity.

“All of us try not to insult the Afghans and to try to abide by their rules,” Scanlon said.

In addition to engaging women in Afghan communities, she said, the teams also are used to support Afghan army and police women in hospitals in Bagram. With this in mind, she added, leaders are just beginning to realize the various uses of the teams.

“We're working very hard over here on how to best deploy the FETs,” Scanlon said. “We're learning as we go along. We are using lessons learned. As Colonel Clark said, we're trying to standardize it across the services. It's exciting."

Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Michael E. Geary, 20, of Derry, N.H., died Dec. 8 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the 2nd Marine Division public affairs office at 910-449-9925 or http://www.marines.mil/unit/2ndmardiv/Pages/Media/default.aspx.

Combined Strategies, Technologies Help IED Fight

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2010 – As the number of improvised explosive device attacks rises in Afghanistan, a combination of strategies and technologies are being used to halt the harm they cause to troops and civilians, Army Lt. Gen. Michael L. Oates said this week.

Oates, director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization, known as JIEDDO, spoke with reporters during a Dec. 6 briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington.

“We are essentially attempting to find a fertilizer-based bomb, so it has very low or no metallic content, and it is buried in an unimproved road, in the dirt,” Oates said.

Military-grade munitions are harder to come by in Afghanistan than they are in Iraq, he said, and an abundance of fertilizer is available for use in homemade explosives.

“It's easier and it works,” Oates said, “so there's no particular reason to change that model.”

But detecting fertilizer-based devices “requires a very sophisticated combination of factors,” he added.

Metal detectors don’t work against these crude but efficient devices, which have risen from only a few in the first seven years of the war in Afghanistan to 1,300 to 1,400 events a month over the past 18 months, as the number of coalition troops has surged there.

Instead, Oates said, coalition forces have had some success in detecting the residue of homemade explosives before they are buried underground.

“Dogs are very successful at locating most forms of explosives, and so we have increased the number of explosive-detection dogs in theater,” he said.

There are more unmanned aerial vehicles in Afghanistan now than there ever were in Iraq, Oates said, noting the “significant volume of UAVs” in the air there with remote-sensing capability.

Airborne platforms also can help detect disturbances in the earth that may give clues about the locations of IEDs, he said. For example, if a command wire is used in the IED detonator, that may be detected from the air.

Ground-penetrating radar also offers an ability to see things buried beneath the surface.

“We still have more work to go on that technology,” Oates said, “but it is providing some useful help.”

A range of other radars also are being explored to look for devices buried underground.

“What was new in Afghanistan this year was the introduction of what we call persistent ground surveillance, PGS, and persistent threat detection [system], PTDS,” Oates said.

Persistent surveillance includes a range of functions, but the newest capabilities, he said, include a blimp that can rise to a height of about 3,000 feet with a long-range camera that watches the roads day and night through most weather conditions.

Cameras mounted on towers do the same thing.

“We've put almost 50 of these systems into theater and we have more coming,” Oates said.

“All of these things are either currently in theater or moving there as soon as we can get them there,” he added.

But Oates said he doesn’t want to oversell the ability of technology alone to detect IEDs.

“This is a very difficult bomb to detect using technology. We find that well-trained soldiers armed with dogs tend to be the most effective in finding IEDs, but they are facilitated with other forms of technology,” he said.

“The airborne platforms allow you to understand what is going on within the enemy network and that's helpful to understanding where to look for the bomb. Our other intelligence capabilities allow us to do the same,” he said.

“But unless you employ all of these capabilities, it is very, very difficult to find these explosives,” Oates said.

Soldiers in Kandahar Draw Praise, Gratitude From Gates

By John D. Banusiewicz

American Forces Press Service

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HOWZ-E MADAD, Afghanistan, Dec. 8, 2010 – The soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province are serving at “the tip of the spear” in the war effort, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.

Gates continued a series of troop visits across Afghanistan, as he presented awards, and met with and thanked military members for their service.

“I want to thank you for signing up to be in the military at a time when you knew you’d be at war,” the secretary told the hundreds of soldiers on hand to greet him here.

Military service always entails sacrifices, Gates noted, adding that those sacrifices are tougher during the holiday season. As he has in three other troop visits he has made in Afghanistan over the last two days, Gates asked the soldiers here to extend his personal gratitude to their families for the sacrifices they’re making.

“You guys here are at the tip of the spear of the campaign of the last several months,” Gates said. “It is a campaign in which you have taken new territory, cleared it, secured it and held it, and you are tying together the battle spaces in southeastern and southwestern Afghanistan.

“This is a critical part of our strategy and of the current campaign,” he continued, “and you have been enormously successful.”

Gates said getting servicemembers what they need to accomplish their missions and come home safely has been his top priority since taking office, and that he feels personally responsible for each one of them.

“The sacrifice, the hardship and the losses that you take affect me more than you can possibly imagine,” he said, “and I just wanted, again, to thank you for your service.”

The 2nd Brigade soldiers have been here for more than six months as the lead surge element in the International Security Assistance Force’s Regional Command South. As Gates posed for pictures with all of the soldiers on hand to greet him and presented them with his commemorative secretary of defense coin, Army Gen. David M. Rodriguez, commander of International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, met with reporters along with Army Col. Art Kandarian, the brigade’s commander.

Kandarian said his soldiers have been working closely with Afghan soldiers and police in Kandahar’s Maywand and Zhari districts. In September, he said, they began Operation Dragon Strike, a series of partnered attacks on insurgent safe havens in the Zhari district.

“The challenge that we had here, of course, was last year. There was only one brigade of coalition troops in this area, and all the surrounding areas and environs around Kandahar City were infested with the enemy,” Rodriguez explained. “[Kandarian] talked about one part of the job that he has done, but there’s been four districts around Kandahar City that have been cleaned out. We continue to do some clearing, but already the ‘build’ [phase] is starting to happen.”

With a great deal of help from Afghan police and soldiers, the environment around Kandahar City has changed completely in the past year, and security has improved inside the city, Rodriguez added.

Cooperation Will Endure, Gates Tells Embassy Employees

By John D. Banusiewicz

American Forces Press Service

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 9, 2010 – Cooperation between the U.S. military and diplomatic missions in Afghanistan will endure beyond the end of combat, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told embassy workers here today.

After spending two days in Afghanistan visiting troops and meeting with U.S. and Afghan leaders, the secretary stopped by to speak to employees at what has become the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in the world.

“This embassy has accomplished extraordinary things over the past two years,” Gates said. “You’ve more than tripled the number of U.S. civilians in the country while dramatically expanding your operations. As we say over at Defense, you’ve built the plane while flying it.”

Gates told the embassy employees their work is the linchpin of President Barack Obama’s strategy in Afghanistan.

“We must implement the president’s pledge that the U.S. is committed to a long-term, enduring partnership that will help the Afghan people build the peaceful, prosperous, strong and independent country they want,” he said. “This mission will continue even after our military effort transitions from combat to a more conventional training and assistance mission.”

U.S. military and civilian efforts must continue to grow and evolve together, the secretary said. He explained that the military and civilian instruments of U.S. power were set up in a different era for a very different set of threats from those the nation faces today.

“Our military was set up to defeat other armies, navies and air forces – not advise, train and assist them,” he said. “Likewise, our civilian agencies were designed primarily to manage relationships between states from the capital, rather than to get out in the field and help from the ground level.” Today, Gates said, the most likely and lethal threats likely will emanate from fractured or failing states.

The U.S. military and civilian teamwork in Afghanistan not only will be the key to succeeding in the current conflict, the secretary said, but also will be critical in helping the agencies learn how best to collaborate to protect the United States in the future.

Gates noted that George Marshall -- the only person who has served as both secretary of state and secretary of defense and the mastermind of the Marshall Plan for post-World War II Europe – understood how the different instruments of U.S. power can and should work together.

“He said something that I think has great resonance for your work here: ‘Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos,’” Gates told the embassy employees. “And that ultimately, ‘Military power wins battles, but spiritual power wins wars.’”

Partnership Brings Better Governance to Helmand

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2010 – Residents of Afghanistan’s Helmand province have more usable roads, more food, and better health care and education than they did even six months ago, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills said yesterday.

Mills commands Regional Command Southwest, which encompasses Helmand province. Mills and Helmand Gov. Gulab Mangal briefed Pentagon reporters yesterday via video uplink from Camp Leatherneck, the command’s base near the southern province’s capitol of Lashkar Gah.

Mills commands a force of U.S. Marines and other combat and support troops from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia and Bahrain. The troops and their Afghan army and police counterparts have improved security and are enabling development through much of the province, he said.

Mills also credits Mangal for Helmand’s success.

“He is responsible, really, for all of the progress we have made here within the province over the past seven or eight months, and he has left his imprint on the people here through better governance, better development and better security,” Mills said.

Mangal served as a colonel in the Afghan army, and also worked in the country’s Ministry of the Interior. He held the governorship in two other provinces, Paktika and then Laghman, before accepting appointment as Helmand’s governor in 2008.

Mangal’s initiatives in Helmand include the Afghan Social Outreach Program, which works to foster stronger relationships between the provincial government and district residents, and the Provincial Counter-Narcotics Strategy, which includes a “food-zone” program aimed at helping farmers move from poppy cultivation to growing food crops.

Under the food program, Mangal’s administration offers seed, fertilizer and saplings to farmers who agree to grow wheat, other grains, vines or fruit trees instead of poppies.

Mills and Mangal described from the governmental and military perspectives the changes they’ve seen in Helmand.

Mills said his forces have built on the previous efforts of United Kingdom troops since the International Security Assistance Force established the southwest regional command in June.

Coalition and Afghan forces have driven the enemy out of Marjah and are expanding their hold in Sangin, the province’s final insurgent center, Mills said.

The command’s current effort is to hold the center districts and maintain improved security there, Mills said, adding, “I’m putting a lot of time and troops into deepening that hold.”

Coalition civilian-military cooperation in the province is very good, he said.

“All of it is linked very carefully with the direction the governor gives us as we move along,” the general said.

“From the international community, of course, we have the provincial reconstruction team, which has been on the ground here for several years. It’s U.K.-led [and] it deals with the development and the governance piece of our lines of operation.”

The team is based in Lashkar Gah and includes U.S. civilian and military representatives who work daily with the governor on civil projects, education and health issues, he said.

A State Department presence established at Camp Leatherneck bolsters the command’s efforts to address developmental, economic and gender issues among Helmand residents, Mills said.

Civilian contributions also are key in the district support teams working in the population centers to “help raise the caliber and the capability of the local government,” he said.

Mills said civilian-military cooperation is led by a team that includes the governor, the leader of the provincial reconstruction team, the leader of the State Department element, and himself as the military commander.

The team ensures unity of effort in providing Helmand's people with “not simply feel-good projects, but enduring projects that will last for years and will raise the caliber of their lives,” he said.

Projects underway include canal and road work, food programs, gender initiatives, and about 300 community improvement projects, at a cost of $57 million, he said.

Mangal, speaking through an interpreter, said coalition forces and the Afghan national army and police forces’ improved capabilities have paved the way for better living conditions throughout Helmand.

In 2008, only six of the province’s 13 districts had an Afghan central government presence, and only within the district centers. Government offices that did exist in the districts lacked the capability to furnish basic services, Mangal said.

Now, provincial government offices are active in 10 of the districts, Mangal said, providing local residents with agricultural and educational services, as well as improving the irrigation system.

Provincial-district coordination improves daily, the governor said. “At five districts in Helmand province we have community councils, which [are] a very important part of the social outreach program,” he said. “The members of these community councils [represent] the local residents of those districts, and they are working shoulder to shoulder with our representatives down at the district level.”

Infrastructure improvements in the province include a doubling of power production, a new airport, and new roads leading from the capitol to districts throughout the province, he said.

Expanding the crop base and reducing poppy cultivation is not only key to developing the region’s primarily agrarian economy, but will curb corruption and deny a major source of enemy funding, Mangal said.

During Taliban control of the province from 2004 to 2008, he said, land under poppy cultivation expanded from 29,000 hectares to 103,000 hectares.

Mangal said his food-zone program has reduced the percentage of poppy cultivation since 2008 by 40 percent.

In 2008, the province didn’t produce enough wheat to feed its own population. Through the food-zone program, this year’s production in the province provided a surplus of 60 to 70 thousand metric tons of wheat exported to other areas of Afghanistan, the governor said.

Mangal said he is hopeful the decrease in poppy cultivation will reach 50 percent of 2008 levels by May 2011.

British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Helmand on Dec. 6, and commented on the improvements he saw there.

At the Helmand Police Training Center outside Lashkar Gah, Cameron presented graduation certificates to newly qualified Afghan policemen. There, he announced the United Kingdom’s $52 million plan to build or refurbish 48 Afghan police stations, including seven to be opened by spring.

Cameron also announced that the United Kingdom will double the number of its Reaper aircraft in the area, giving increased support to ground operations. The aircraft provides live, detailed images of the area in which troops are operating, 24 hours a day, allowing commanders to make more informed and effective decisions to defeat the enemy, he said. The Reaper also is armed, and has proved successful in helping to detect and destroy enemy targets and bomb-making networks in Afghanistan.

After six visits to Helmand, Cameron said, he sees grounds for cautious optimism.

“The amount of ground that’s covered by the forces is up, the amount of markets that are open, the number of provincial and district governors that are in place, the number of schools that are open, the level of security –- there are lots of signs of positive improvement,” the British prime minister said.

(Editor’s Note: Some information for this article was provided from an International Security Assistance Force news release.)

Afghanistan Strategy is Working, Gates Says

By John D. Banusiewicz

American Forces Press Service

KABUL, Dec. 8, 2010 – Noting that more progress than expected has taken place in Afghanistan over the past year, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today expressed confidence that Afghan forces will be able to take the lead for security throughout the country by the end of 2014.

Speaking at a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace here, Gates noted that when he returns to Washington, work will be finishing on a U.S. government evaluation of the situation in Afghanistan.

“I will go back convinced that our strategy is working,” he said.

Gates added that he believes Afghan forces -- who already are responsible for security in and around the Afghan capital of Kabul -- can begin taking the lead for more and more areas in the coming year, achieving the goal set last year by President Barack Obama that the Afghan government will be ready to take the lead for the entire nation’s security by the end of 2014, a goal Karzai was the first to advance.

NATO heads of state embraced those targets at the alliance’s recent summit meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, Gates noted.

The secretary said the 65,000 additional Afghan forces, 30,000 new U.S. forces and 10,000 more forces from coalition nations added to the mix over the past year have paid dividends.

“The bottom line is that in the last 12 months, we have come a long way,” he said. “Frankly, progress -- even just in the last few months -- has exceeded my expectations.”

The Taliban control far less territory than they did a year ago, Gates said, and more and more Afghan people can live without being terrorized and are focused instead on building a better life for themselves and their families.

Gates said he has spent the past two days in Afghanistan getting a ground-level view of how U.S. and coalition forces are working with their Afghan partners. The forces, he said, are working together at “an extraordinary pace” in areas where Afghan and coalition forces had little or no presence a year ago, as Afghan forces are increasingly in the lead.

“In fact, where I visited today in the south, Afghan soldiers make up 60 percent of fighting forces and are performing admirably,” he said.

Though, as expected, Afghan and coalition forces are suffering more casualties, “there is no denying that the security is improving and that the sacrifices of Afghan and coalition troops are achieving greater safety and security for both our nations,” the secretary said.

As the Taliban influence continues to weaken, Gates said, so too does the chance that al-Qaida will return to Afghanistan to plot attacks against the United States and other nations.

The secretary acknowledged that despite the progress so far, much more needs to be done, especially in improving governance and economic development. In their meeting before the news conference, the secretary said, he and Karzai discussed the need for international efforts to reflect more consistently the needs, desires and priorities of the Afghan people, with input from Afghans.

“I want to emphasize that as President Obama has stated, the commitment of the United States to the people of Afghanistan is resolute and enduring,” Gates said. “We are working together on Joint Vision 2015 to set the framework for this long-term partnership.

“We share our partner President Karzai’s vision for a strong and secure Afghanistan,” he continued, “and believe our joint success will be critical in the future of the Afghan people, for the stability of the region, and for the long-term security interests of America and its allies.”

Karzai said he and Gates had a constructive discussion today that focused on transition of security responsibility and on reconstruction and rebuilding in Afghanistan. The two men continued their discussion over dinner after the news conference.

Earlier today, Gates visited U.S. Marines at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province and U.S. soldiers at Forward Operating Base Howz-E Madad in Kandahar province. Yesterday, he visited troops at two bases in eastern Afghanistan. Earlier this week, the secretary spent a day and a night aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of Oman.

Commanders Re-balance Strategy in Afghanistan

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2010 – Commanders in Afghanistan are re-balancing the strategy to confront the realities on the ground, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.

NATO International Security Assistance Force leaders have been making adjustments to what has primarily been a counterinsurgency campaign, Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright told attendees at the Government Executive 2010 Leadership Briefings held at the National Press Club.

“The COIN strategy is balanced by a counterterrorism strategy,” Cartwright said. “When we started, we probably were more aligned with counterinsurgency. The emphasis is shifting.”

The existence of enemy safe havens necessitates the shift, the general said. Taliban and foreign terrorists can launch attacks in Afghanistan, then escape over the border into the Tribal Areas of Pakistan. There, the enemy is able to rest, refit and plan further attacks with their lines of communication intact.

“We need to reduce those lines of communication and reduce that flow to the best of our abilities,” Cartwright said. “So the balance of the force that was really weighted more toward counterinsurgency is starting to shift to have an element of counterterrorism larger than we thought we were going to need when we started.”

The effort will aim to cut enemy lines of communication, Cartwright said. It also will target enemy supply lines, he added, and disrupt enemy attempts to replace personnel.

“The shift has started to take effect,” the general said. “If you look at Iraq or other conflicts, you will see that as we started, we had this strategy. Then we get battlefield reporting and intelligence assessments. Early on, they will almost always diverge and then they start to come back together if you are doing the correction.”

This has tactical and strategic ramifications, Cartwright said, noting that all leaders need to be on the same page.

“Are you winning the battles and losing the war or are you, in fact, understanding the strategic side of this equation and trying to bring the strategic and tactical in line with this equation?” he said. “That way, your objectives can be reinforced [by] each other.”

FBI Stops Attack on Maryland Recruiting Center

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2010 – A Baltimore man has been arrested and charged in an alleged plot to bomb a military recruiting center in suburban Maryland, federal officials said.

Antonio Martinez, also known as Muhammad Hussain, 21, was charged with attempting to murder federal officers and employees and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction against federal property in a scheme to attack an Armed Forces recruiting station in Catonsville, Md., a Baltimore suburb, U.S. District Attorney for Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, and Richard A. McFeely, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore division, said in a joint statement.

Martinez was taken into custody after he was observed inspecting the bomb’s components in the back of a vehicle just prior to his attempt to detonate the device by remote in the recruiting center’s parking lot, the statement said.

The device was inert and was supplied to the would-be bomber by an undercover FBI informant, the statement said.

Martinez was scheduled to be advised of the formal charges against him at 2 p.m. today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore before U.S. Magistrate Judge James K. Bredar for the alleged bombing attempt. Martinez is an American citizen.

Rosenstein said the public was never in harm’s way “because the people Mr. Martinez asked to help carry out his attack actually were working with the FBI.”

“Every person Mr. Martinez asked to join in his scheme either declined to participate, tried to talk him out of it or reported him to the FBI, and there is no evidence that Mr. Martinez received direction or support from any other person,” Rosenstein said.

Still, McFeely said the “danger posed by the defendant in this case was very real.” The work of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which led to the discovery of the alleged crime, “showed us Martinez was absolutely committed to carrying out an attack which would have cost lives,” McFeely added.

Martinez allegedly began plotting the bombing with undercover agents in September, after authorities were alerted to Martinez’s Facebook page, on which he had posted a message that said he hates people who oppose Allah and his prophet.

Martinez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for attempting to murder federal officers and employees and life in prison for attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction against federal property, officials said.

Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Vincent W. Ashlock, 45, of Seaside, Calif., died Dec. 4 in Khost province, Afghanistan, in a non-combat related incident.  He was assigned to the 890th Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade, Lucedale, Miss.

For more information, please contact the Mississippi Army National Guard public affairs office at 601-313-6184.

Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Jason D. Peto, 31, of Vancouver, Wash., died Dec. 7 from wounds received Nov. 24 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the 1st Marine Division public affairs office at 760-725-8766.

NMCB 3's DET 4 Strengthens Afghanistan Partnership

By Builder 2nd Class (SCW) Laura Miles, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 Public Affairs

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (NNS) -- A five-man team of Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3's Det. 4 from Bagram Air Base re-deployed Nov. 16 in support of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A)'s partnership with Afghan National Army Special Forces.

The Seabees' mission is to plan, estimate and prepare for construction projects to be executed at Afghani Village Stability Platforms (VSPs).

These platforms are central tenets to General Petraeus' counterinsurgency strategy in that they focus the responsibilities of village security and stability on the villagers themselves, in partnership with and supported by CJSOTF-A.

The five-man team, led by Equipment Operator 2nd Class (SCW) Abel Wright, ensures that the construction crew that follows them to the VSPs will know the requirements and have the necessary tools, material and equipment to drastically improve the facilities on board the platforms.

When Wright's team arrived, they immediately began to work on quality of life projects for the Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) and greatly improved camp morale.

"We are really making a difference," said Wright. "I cannot remember the last time I felt this good about my job."

The team made small improvements to the camp, such as installing a new sewer line so the SOTF team members were not overusing their single latrine.

"It is amazing what the little things are that we take for granted," said Utilitiesman 3rd Class Benjamin Sanders. "It's those things out here that go a long way."

In addition to the sewer lines, the Seabees have installed more than a hundred light bulbs, constructed new desks and installed privacy walls within the MWR phone center.

As they provide the first look of future projects for the mission commanders, the Seabees will continue to provide camp improvement and boost morale for the SOTF team members through the spring and into the summer.

"It feels good to contribute to the big picture," said Builder 3rd Class (SCW) Nicholas Emmons, NMCB 3.

NMCB 3 is part of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command's warfighting support elements, providing construction operations and security in support of overseas contingency operations.

Helmand Governor, U.S. Commander Honor Fallen, Families

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2010 – Afghan and U.S. leaders in Afghanistan’s Helmand province ended a detailed assessment of progress in the region on a somber note today.

“On December 7, Pearl Harbor day, I’d like to remember all the families back home. I know what we do out here comes at a great cost, and comes with great sorrow for many families,” Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills, the Regional Command Southwest commander, told Pentagon reporters from Camp Leatherneck, in Helmand province.

Regional Command Southwest was established June 14 to oversee coalition operations in Helmand and Nimruz provinces. Joining Mills in today’s briefing was Gulab Mangal, Helmand provincial governor since March 2008.

“It’s easy sometimes to sit here and to move forces around, and to not understand sometimes the human cost involved,” Mills said. “I do understand it. I do commiserate. I do send my highest sympathies to the families, the friends, the spouses, the children of the many Marines and soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country over here.”

Mills said Afghan and coalition forces also have paid a high price for the gains achieved.

“The sacrifice made by the Afghan security forces toward their own security is tremendous, and they do that very, very willingly, and they fight alongside us very, very hard,” the general said.

Mills said the United Kingdom, Denmark and Estonia, all of which contribute troops to Regional Command Southwest, “have sent their very best forward. Their youngsters, who absolutely represent the best our countries have to offer.”

His multinational force of Marines and soldiers go forward to battle knowing the risks, Mills said.

“On a daily basis, they pick up their equipment, they pick up their weapon, they strap it on and they go outside the wire into an environment that is extraordinarily lethal, extraordinarily dangerous,” the general said. “The wounds inflicted are often horrific. Yet they go forward with a sense of courage and a sense of commitment that is absolutely awesome. I salute each and every one of them.”

“I would like to send my best wishes to their families -- and my deepest, deepest sympathies to all the families who have lost people in this war, of any nationality,” he added.

Mangal, speaking through an interpreter, also expressed his sorrow to the families of those who have died in the war.

“I … appreciate the sacrifices that [United States] and NATO forces have made in Afghanistan, specifically in Helmand province, as a result of which the residents … are enjoying good security, and they see significant positive changes in their lives,” Mangal said.

“I would like to share my condolences with the people of the United States for sustaining these losses, and also ... to the people of England, and the families of those soldiers who have lost their lives in Afghanistan,” the governor continued. “Also for those Danish soldiers and Estonian soldiers who have lost their lives.

“I would like to say thank you … [for] all the efforts that all the nations have made in order to bring these changes in Afghanistan,” Mangal added.

Coalition Turns Corner in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2010 – The coalition’s struggle against insurgents in Afghanistan’s Helmand province is essentially over in Marjah and it now comes down to Sangin district, the regional commander there said today.

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills commands Regional Command Southwest, encompassing Helmand and Nimruz provinces. Mills and Helmand Gov. Gulab Mangal talked about progress there to Pentagon reporters today via video uplink from the command’s headquarters at Camp Leatherneck, north of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.

“We’ve seen steady and unwavering progress in improving the security situation,” Mills said, “[and] a steady withdrawal of the insurgents from key locations within the province.”

Regional Command Southwest stood up in June when the International Security Assistance Force divided the former Regional Command South in half. Mills’ nearly 30,000-strong force brings together the First Marine Expeditionary Force, which he commands, and troops from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia and Bahrain.

Mills said these troops, working with increasingly capable and confident Afghan army and police forces, have established security in the former hotspot of Marjah and are enabling development through much of the province.

“We now see limited Afghan-led operations against the enemy by the army, and independent operations by the police against insurgents and criminal networks,” Mills said. “Because of that, we have witnessed a steady decline in the capability of the insurgency to affect the daily life of the Afghan people here in the province.”

Mills said in much of Helmand bazaars are booming, schools are open, road-paving projects are underway or pending and access to medical care is improving.

Marjah, which last spring was considered by the coalition as the battleground for Afghans’ trust, is an example of just such progress, Mills said.

“The enemy has been pushed to the very outskirts … and the district center has been cleared of insurgent activity for some weeks,” he said.

Afghan police now bear much of the daily security responsibility for Marjah’s population center, with three police stations open and more than 300 uniformed officers on duty, Mills said.

“Coalition forces for the most part now are active on the outskirts, along the perimeter, near the deserts –- where the insurgent remains,” Mills said. “[Insurgents] have lost the ability to impact much on the people of Marjah.

“The battle for Sangin, however, continues,” Mills added. “It’s the final piece of key terrain that the insurgent can contest, and he’s fought hard to stand his ground.”

U.S. and U.K. units worked hard all summer to expand the “security bubble” around the Sangin district center, Mills said, and in recent weeks his Marines have pushed hard and witnessed a “consistent retreat” by insurgents.

“Our [special operations forces] have played a significant role as we’ve maintained a ruthless and a deadly pressure on the insurgent leadership,” Mills said.

Coalition actions have caused insurgent leaders to spend more time outside the province, with enemy fighters so lacking in resources they reload their own ammunition because they can’t afford to buy it, he said.

“Our intent is not to throttle back,” Mills said, adding the command plans a winter campaign that will maintain pressure on the enemy through the traditional off-season.

“We’ll move into areas he thought unreachable by coalition forces,” the general said. “We’ll give him no rest. We’ll interdict his supply lines. We’ll continue to build on success … and move to our victory.”

Mills said the enemy is desperate to hold on to Sangin because it represents the final piece of key terrain available in which insurgents exert any control, as well as the primary remaining center of significant narcotics production, which funds the insurgency.

“Once he loses there, he has, in fact, lost Helmand province,” Mills said. “And I think he realizes that.”

As coalition and Afghan forces increase security in towns and villages, local residents are more willing to support their efforts and defend themselves, he said.

Neighborhood watch-style arrangements see Afghans guarding their own neighborhoods after nightfall, and reporting of suicide bombers and bomb makers is on the rise, Mills said.

“Our tip lines are red-hot” with information on enemy activity from provincial residents, he said.

Mills said he will adjust his strategy in Helmand to take advantage of every tool at his disposal, from the tanks he recently requested to a possible future implementation of nonlethal weapons. Both, he said, can reduce civilian casualties.

Nonlethal weapons could offer coalition forces a means to control an uncertain situation without immediately putting lives at risk, he said, adding that the tanks will be used to carefully target an enemy that often hides among the population.

A tank’s optics, stand-off distance and battle armor give coalition forces a tool to “bring very precise fires on the insurgents, and ensure civilian casualties don’t rise -– an issue that we are very concerned about here,” Mills said.

He and the governor confer on every civilian casualty reported, Mills said, and arrive at a mutually-agreed-upon conclusion, so both can report accurately to their superiors.

“We have found that most instances of civilian casualties … are simply allegations made by the enemy … to drive a wedge between coalition forces and the Afghan people” he said.

Mangal said when he took office in 2008, Helmand was an enemy stronghold, but over the past year the province has seen “massive security achievements.”

Now that most of the province’s population centers are secure, his provincial government employees have established an effective presence in 10 of 13 districts, he said.

“The district offices … are adding to their capabilities, and they are providing the residents of those areas with agricultural services, educational services, and more development of the irrigation system,” he said.

Gates Salutes Sailors, Marines at Afghanistan Base

By Marine Corps Cpl. Shannon McMillan

1st Marine Logistics Group

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, Dec. 8, 2010 – Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates today visited with servicemembers assigned to the 1st Marine Logistics Group here.

Gates praised the Marines’ and sailors’ accomplishments and thanked them for their service to the nation.

“I just want to underscore how much I thank you and how much the American people support what you are doing here … how much they care about you and about your families,” he said.

“You all have volunteered in a time of war, and we know this is a tough fight.”

Gates said the servicemembers’ hard work supports the ongoing counterinsurgency mission in Afghanistan.

Their provision of supplies, maintenance, construction, and other logistical support to warfighters gives them the means to win the battle against insurgents, Gates said.

Afterward, Gates shook hands with nearly 200 troops and handed each a secretary of defense coin while thanking them for their service.

The Marines and sailors in attendance were appreciative of Gates’ visit.

“I think it is awesome that he took the time to take pictures with the Marines and sailors,” said Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Derrick Christovale, the sergeant major of Headquarters and Service Company, 1st MLG.

“I feel honored to have received the coin personally from the [secretary of defense] himself,” added Marine Corps Sgt. Alejandro Montoyamunoz, noncommissioned officer in charge of Disbursing, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st MLG.

Troops Re-doubling Advise, Assist Efforts in Iraq

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 7, 2010 – U.S. troops are re-doubling their efforts to advise, assist and equip Iraqi security forces in advance of the December 2011 deadline for all American troops to leave the country, Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan said here today.

Buchanan, the director of strategic effects in Baghdad, said the advise and assist mission in Iraq has gone well since the end of the American combat mission in August.

But more needs to be done, he said.

“We’ve got a lot to accomplish and we are very much geared to getting everything we can do before American forces depart,” Buchanan said.

U.S. Forces Iraq officials are looking at many different options for the next year, he said.

“The big idea is we want to get as much done as we can,” Buchanan said. “We don’t want to start withdrawing forces and closing bases now because that’s going to limit what we do.”

American forces will probably stay at the current strength through early summer, Buchanan said. The troops are working to transition the police training capability, for example, to the State Department in advance of the withdrawal.

Buchanan said the just-under 50,000 American forces now in Iraq also have two other missions to fulfill: conducting partnered counterterrorism operations and working the transition of the mission in the country to a State Department lead.

Terrorism is still a problem in Iraq, with al-Qaida trying to stage a comeback, he said.

“They have no support among the people,” the general said. “Their attacks continue. Al-Qaida is determined and they have never changed. But they have been degraded through the combined efforts of the Iraqi and American security forces.”

Al-Qaida cannot attract money, Iraqis or foreign fighters to their cause, Buchanan said. Iraqi security forces have the security lead in the country and daily attack levels are at their lowest since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. “The ISF continues to do a good job and they continue to improve,” Buchanan said.

Two agreements govern the relationship between the United States and Iraq, the general said. The first is the security agreement signed in 2008. Under that, all American troops will leave Iraq by the end of next year.

“U.S. Forces Iraq’s mission will be completed and our troop presence will go to zero,” Buchanan said. “But this isn’t really an end, it’s a transition point based on the other agreement we signed: the Strategic Framework Agreement.”

That agreement looks at the long-term relationship between the United States and Iraq in agriculture, economic development, governance, education, science and technology and security. The general called the effort a chance to build an “enduring partnership” that will outlast the presence of American forces in the nation.

Morale of American forces in Iraq “is pretty high,” the general said. “They are making a difference, and you can see the effects of that difference day-to-day.” Servicemembers who served in Iraq earlier -– especially in 2006 and 2007 -– see an amazing change in the country, he said.

“I feel very optimistic about where the Iraqis are headed, because I know where they’re coming from,” Buchanan said. “I’ve seen their growth in quality and quantity over the years. They are getting better and better. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’re not done.”

NOW AND THE FUTURE: The Joint Terrorism Task Force at 30

By Retired Supervisory Special Agent Joe Valiquette and Public Affairs Specialist J. Peter Donald, FBI New York

As the JTTF entered its third decade of service, the worst terrorist attack in the history of the country would occur just blocks from FBI offices. On September 11, 2001, the towers of the World Trade Center fell at the hands of al Qaeda. The JTTF was at the forefront of the investigation, given its long experience with and knowledge of the terrorist organization. Just a year earlier, a number of its investigators had been in Yemen investigating the attack on the USS Cole. As a result of the 9/11 attack, the size and scope of the New York JTTF continued to grow. Approximately 500 investigators and analysts from more than 50 federal, state, and local government agencies now participate. Although its offices have now moved to Chelsea, the task force still serves the original mission: preventing terrorism from homegrown extremists and foreign nationals and investigating such incidents when they occur.

In a post September 11 world, the number of JTTFs has grown from 35 to more than 100. Although many other agencies participate, the FBI funds the entire operation, including all JTTF task force member vehicles and equipment. The JTTF serves as both a proactive and reactive group for all terrorism-related matters that happen in New York and in our jurisdiction abroad, looking to garner intelligence and develop information to prevent future attacks.

Members of the JTTF include the FBI, the Amtrak Police, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the New York Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Secret Service, the State Department Diplomatic Security Service, and many, many others.

No successful terrorist attacks have occurred on U.S. soil since 2001, but the threat remains to New Yorkers and to all Americans. Recently thwarted and failed terror plots like the plan to blow up jet fuel lines to Kennedy Airport, last year’s arrests by the JTTF of Najibullah Zazi and others plotting to attack the New York City subway system, and the unsuccessful Times Square car bomb are proof that New York City remains at the top of the terrorist target list.

The New York Office and JTTF also have extraterritorial responsibilities to investigate criminal and terrorist attacks targeting U.S. citizens and our interests abroad in cooperation with the host countries. In July 2010, an attack during the final match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup occurred in Kampala, Uganda. The FBI New York JTTF led the largest international response since the 2000 USS Cole attack, investigating several bombs that killed scores of people. Al Shabaab later claimed responsibility for the attack.

“New York was the first office to create a JTTF,” said Assistant Director in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk. “This year, on the 30th anniversary, we renew our commitment to proactively investigate all forms of terrorism, solidifying our role as a leader for JTTFs across the nation. We have learned much over the past three decades, and we will take these lessons with us as we work towards our 40th year of service.”

As threats continue to change, there is no doubt that the Joint Terrorism Task Force will adapt quickly and judiciously to face emerging threats and patterns. “From one of the first investigations of a domestic terrorist group’s armored car robbery in 1981 to the 2010 attempted Times Square bombing,” said Counterterrorism Special Agent in Charge Gregory A. Fowler, “the JTTF continues to adapt to new threats both here and abroad.”

“The cases handled by the JTTF are intelligence-driven, and our team of analysts and agents are critical partners with the JTTF,” said Special Agent in Charge for the Intelligence Division James Trainor. “We sit and work together to gather, analyze, and disseminate threat and case-related intelligence.”

As President Obama told members of the JTTF in October 2009 when he visited their offices to congratulate them in the wake of the Zazi arrest, “You’re setting the standard…and you’re showing us what focused and integrated counterterrorism work really looks like. And the record of your service is written in the attacks that never occur—because you thwarted them; and because of the countless Americans who are alive today as a consequence of that work.”

Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Nicholas J. Aleman, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y., died Dec. 5 while supporting combat operations in Paktia province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the Deployment Processing Command-East, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the Marine Forces Reserve public affairs office at 504-678-4002.

Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt, 25, of Akron, Ohio, died Dec. 6 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the 1st Marine Division public affairs office at 760-725-8766

Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Pfc. Colton W. Rusk, 20, of Orange Grove, Texas, died Dec. 6 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the 1st Marine Division public affairs office at 760-725-8766.