Ceremony honors fallen civil affairs soldiers

Published Sept. 22, 2006
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Pintagro
Task Force Spartan Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE MEHTAR LAM, Afghanistan -- Around 150 mourners joined the Provincial Reconstruction Team Mehtar Lam family for a solemn memorial ceremony held in honor of two fallen friends September 14.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Merideth L. Howard and Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul, both of whom served as Civil Affairs specialists with the 364th CA Brigade, an integral part of PRT Mehtar Lam, died instantly when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle-born improvised explosive device near their Humvee as they convoyed through Kabul.

The deputy governor and police chief of Loghman Province and mayor of Mehtar Lam as well as key leaders from Combined Joint Task Force 76 and Task Force Spartan joined PRT members from throughout the northeastern provinces of Regional Command East for the somber and often emotional ceremony. Delegations from the Jalalabad and Nuristan PRTs attended the event alongside contractors, interpreters and local nationals from FOB Mehtar Lam.

Air Force Lt. Col. Brad Bredenkamp, the PRT Mehtar Lam commander, preceded a series of speakers including Army Capt. Jerry Johnson, the 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force Spartan chaplain; Air Force Staff Sgt. Jay Zalazinski and close personal friends of the deceased to the podium.

Colonel Bredenkamp, described them as "Soldier's Soldiers, exemplary Americans and true friends to us all.

"We are all better people for having had the privilege of knowing you," he continued. "You enriched our lives, brightening each day with smile and wit, and set an example for all of us to follow with pride. In the days to come, we will remember our time with you fondly and strive to honor your sacrifices."

Colonel Bredenkamp also noted the close rapport between the fallen Civil Affairs Soldiers.

"Bob and Merideth were two peas in a pod," he said. "In the evenings they could usually be found on the back steps of the barracks, Bob having a smoke and ready to educate me about reconstruction and development, and the value of apiculture to this society; and Merideth admiring the stars with a renewed sense of wonder each night at how beautiful the sky is out here."

The chaplain gave an invocation and a benediction during the ceremony. He also offered some thoughts on the losses and the support services available to grieving colleagues. Sergeant Zalazinski read the 62nd Psalm, which characterizes God as "my rock and my salvation" and "the rock of my strength" and encourages faith and hope in times of adversity.

A recorded bagpipe rendition of "Amazing Grace," a ceremonial last roll call and a gun salute to the fallen also punctuated the ceremony. Prior to the event, mourners watched a recording of the ramp ceremony held at Bagram Airfield in honor of the deceased. During a ramp ceremony, pall bearers place the remains of fallen warriors onto the aircraft that will transport them home.

Army 1st Sgt. Robert Browne, the PRT first sergeant and a close friend, described Sergeant Howard, a medium-height woman with brown hair and blue eyes, as "a person" who "could light up a room, and put a smile on anyone's face, even her crusty old first sergeant."

The PRT commander offered a similar assessment.

"Merideth was always upbeat, and the hardest worker on the PRT," he said. "She persevered through blisters, heat and austere conditions in training, always with a smile and a laugh."

"Merideth's smile and wave from the turret also helped to win over the people in the nearby villages where we would visit and shop. She was quite surprised one day in the bazaar when she asked for $2 worth of okra and was handed half a bushel," Colonel Bredenkamp added with a smile.

Colleagues paid tribute to her enthusiasm, determination, dedication and willingness to learn. The Corpus Christi, Texas, native, who subsequently moved to Alameda, Calif., where she lived with her husband, earned a bachelor's degree in Marine Resource Management from Texas A & M University.

Sergeant Browne recounted an event that illustrated Sergeant Howard's tenacity and determination - a "buddy team live fire" conducted during pre-deployment training at Fort Bragg, N.C.

"The team assault covered about five to six hundred meters uphill at about a nine-degree grade," the Augusta, Maine, native recalled. "The event had to be conducted twice, once with blanks, then live. All the instructors commented on how she smoked all the guys with her aggressive three-to-five second rushes and combat rolls. She wanted to do it again, while five male Soldiers and Airmen were sitting in the shade with IVs sticking out of them."

Air Force Tech. Sgt. David Pacheco, head of a police training team attached to the PRT, said Sergeant Howard volunteered to learn every possible weapon system and participated in more convoys than any other PRT member - usually as a gunner. The Massachusetts native also described her as a tremendous Civil Affairs specialist, expertly managing funding of reconstruction projects. He noted that Army Lt. Col. Anthony Feagin, the previous PRT Mehtar Lam commander, called her "the best 'CERP' NCO in the brigade."

Fellow PRT members described Sergeant Paul, who turned 43 less than a month ago, as warm, easy-going and cerebral at the same time. The Dalles, Ore. native, held a master's degree in City Planning. He spoke three dialects of Swahili, some Korean and fluent Thai. Some described his English as more challenging than some foreign tongues. "His e-mails," according to a friend, "had to be read with a dictionary in hand, in order to decipher the incredible vocabulary he used."

Sergeant Paul, a remarkably well-traveled man who spent six years in the Peace Corps, entered the Civil Affairs world in unconventional fashion. Scheduled to deploy to Kosovo in the spring of 2003, a serious head injury sustained while kayaking rendered him non-deployable. Undaunted, the brown haired, brown-eyed Oregonian of medium height requested a transfer to Civil Affairs in order to deploy to Iraq, which he reached by year's end. Paul delighted colleagues with tales of the exotic places he lived, worked, visited and explored.

Air Force Capt. Jason Walker, the PRT executive officer, characterized Sergeant Paul as a "truly selfless" Soldier, who "would give you the shirt off his back." The New Braunfels, Texas, native said the fallen PRT NCO dealt with people in a unique way.

"When he shook your hand or shared a story, you felt like there was a meaning behind it," Captain Walker recalled. "He shared it for you and you alone.

"Everyone here knows that Staff Sgt. Paul was a remarkable Soldier," Captain Walker said. "No job was ever too tough; he never complained; and when he ran a project you knew that you were going to get more than what you asked for and the finished product would continue to pay dividends."

Air Force 1st Lt. Mark Sakai, a civil engineer with the PRT, recounted an anecdote attesting to Sergeant Paul's selflessness and wry sense of humor. When a sewage problem required Sakai to dig a trench in order to divert water from a frequently traveled base road, Paul came to the rescue. As the lieutenant and the staff sergeant dug the trench, "we fell into this rhythm where he would use the pick axe to loosen the dirt and I would scoop it up and throw it on the side.

"Well, every time he hit the wet ground with the pick, the nasty, stink water and some mud would splash up into his face," the Hilo, Hawaii, native continued. "I thought this was hysterical and couldn't' stop laughing every time this would happen. Well, Sergeant Paul, I suppose thinking that it was funny that I thought it was funny, said, 'You just had to catch me on the way back from the shower.'"

Captain Walker remembered Sergeant Paul "getting up early with book in one hand, cigarette in the other, watching the sun come up over the mountains."

"He had this very good outlook on life and everyone around him," Captain Walker added. "He truly made everyone happy."

Ceremony honors fallen civil affairs soldiers

Ceremony honors fallen civil affairs Soldiers