Joint team unites PRT Airmen, Soldiers for common cause

Published April 19, 2009
By By Staff Sgt. Zachary Wilson
AFCENT Combat Camera Team

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LION, Afghanistan -- One year ago, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. David Nielsen was fixing military vehicles at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.

U.S. Army Sgt. Daniel Kelley was an Army Reserve Soldier serving with the 426th Civil Affairs Battalion in Upland, Calif.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Stratton was serving with Joint Headquarters at the Pentagon.

Today, the three servicemembers join a team of nearly 80 individuals - including 25 Airmen and 12 Soldiers -- coming together to perform a critical mission in Afghanistan's Panjshir Province while working with the local government officials, U.S. State and Agriculture Department civilians, U.S. AID representatives and a 25-member mujahedeen security detail.

"This has been an amazing experience," said Colonel Stratton, a RC-135 Cobra Ball navigator and Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team commander. "Not knowing what to expect every day, I have to work face-to-face with a lot of people. Flying over an area (at altitude) can make you feel a little detached. Being down here on the ground is very rewarding and I am proud to be working with the other professionals here."

Made up of a blend of Airmen and Soldiers, the military members trained for three months at a combat skills training site at Ft. Bragg, N.C., while preparing for their 270-day deployment. While there, they learned the skills they would need, not only to operate in a wartime environment, but also work together as a team, as they are solely responsible for their own convoy operations while traveling through Afghanistan.

"This PRT's convoy operations are performed as proficiently as my combat engineer platoon in Iraq," said U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Jason Fritz, who serves as the organization's senior enlisted leader.

According to team members, their PRT is unique from the teams in Afghanistan's 33 other provinces due to the fact that they are the only inhabitants of their base - Forward Operating Base Lion - and are responsible for the upkeep and day-to-day operations of the base that often takes the unit's Airmen and Soldiers out of their military specialties.

On one three-hour hike along one of the Panjshir Valley's rivers and through snow-covered mountains, a contingent of the team's members accompanied Air Force engineer Capt. Patrick Kolesiak on a mission to survey a potential roadway that will connect the inhabitants in the Darah district with the rest of the province. Some members, like Sergeant Nielsen, took a direct role in the tasking, plotting GPS points based on inputs given from Captain Kolesiak.

"I'm a vehicle mechanic at my home unit at Cannon" Sergeant Nielson said. "While I'm here, I do a lot of different things beyond just working on the vehicles like driving on convoys, helping other people with their missions and repairing the FOB's generators."

Even for the PRT members whose duties require them to perform exclusively on FOB Lion, they play a significant role in the overall mission, said Colonel Stratton.

Senior Airman Lucas Tate, a food service specialist deployed from Little Rock AFB, Ark., is the sole military member in charge of the FOB's dining facility and supervises a staff of 12 workers to provide food to the other members of the team.

"It's a challenge, but we all work together," he said. "I really enjoy making this a better place for the people who live here."

Other missions outside of FOB Lion within the Panjshir Valley could include anything from working side-by-side with local officials, developing roadways, constructing clinics and schools, mentoring civil service workers, delivering humanitarian aid or helping the impoverished province expand their agricultural capabilities.

"Agriculture is a priority of what we do here," said Sergeant Kelley, who serves with Civil Affairs section working in humanitarian aid requisition, distribution and storage. "It is very fulfilling to me to help people in their time of need and during emergencies."

According to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Lancaster, the Civil Affairs section's team chief, the region is 95 percent dependant on agriculture to meet their economic needs and need assistance from some of the PRT's programs designed to maximize the agricultural output.

"The governor (Haji Bahlol)'s main focus for this year was agriculture," Colonel Lancaster said. "We are hoping that we will be able to teach them to grow enough crops to not only sell to neighboring countries for money, but also be able to keep some of what they grow for their own uses."

The team does this through a variety of programs such as small-business micro-loans through a local non-profit organization, a tree-growing experiment run in conjunction with the group's U.S. Department of Agriculture representative as well as chicken-raising initiative to not only provide eggs and food, but also empower the region's women with an opportunity to take part in business outside of their homes, the colonel said.

In addition to the agricultural work, the team also works with the government and the affiliated government civilian organizations within FOB Lion to develop roadways and electricity-producing micro-hydro plants to better the lives of the region's residents.

However, according to Colonel Stratton, just giving money and aid to the people is not the answer - real progress is measured through the team's interaction with the government and its people.

"Just giving is not a solution," he said. "They need to become self-sufficient - it's the key to their future."

The significance of the team's work is not lost on the local officials and Panjshir Valley residents.

Mr. Zardat, a police chief in the Province's Anaba district noted "we never say 'no' - the PRT gets whatever they need because they help the people here."