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The Power of Communication; Afghan Air Force delivers radios to Balkh province

  • Published
  • By MC3 Jared E. Walker
  • 438th AEW PA
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan --  Members of the Afghan Air Force, Afghan National Army and NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan advisors distributed solar powered, hand-cranked radios, provided by Radio Azadi, to the surrounding villages of Meymaneh, in Balkh province Nov.27. The villagers are without television or radio contact with the rest of Afghanistan. Bringing the news to these villages will provide the local populace with the efforts their government and coalition is providing them.

Lt. Col. Nhat-Thomas D. Tran, NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan and 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group deputy commander, and ANA Gen. Weza worked together to set up the mission to Meymaneh. Colonel Tran said that Gen. Weza's demeanor was very positive throughout their time together which lead to a successful mission.

Colonel Tran is scheduling for the remaining 1,000 Radio Azadi radios to be delivered within the next two weeks with support of AAF, ANA, and NATC-A personnel. The colonel is planning to distribute more radios to Feyzabad, Fakhar, Taloquan and the surrounding area in the near future.

Radio Adazi is located in Kabul, Afghanistan, and provides broadcasts 12 hours a day in both Pashtun and Dari with distribution being on FM, AM and the internet. More than 7.9 million Afghans listen to Radio Azadi weekly.

The purpose of the radio distribution is to help the Afghan population, especially in rural and isolated villages, become more informed. Another objective is to show Afghan citizens that the Afghan authorities and the international community care about their welfare