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PRT repairs past while bridging to Afghanistan's future

  • Published
  • By Maj. David Kurle
  • 455 AEW public affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  "Meeting and helping new people in a foreign country with lots of travel" may sound like a help-wanted ad but it almost describes the job of a member of one of the U.S. military's provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan.

Except this job takes place in a combat zone and a PRT is one of the most effective
"non-kinetic" solutions to Operation Enduring Freedom.

The teams were created by the U.S. Army in 2002 with the mission to help secure
and re-build Afghanistan following more than 30 years of almost continuous warfare
here. The aim is to keep Afghanistan from being a safe haven to the Taliban extremists who once ruled here.

The Air Force became involved this year when the Army asked for help in the form of
request for forces assignments. This meant Airmen would lead the PRT mission for the U.S. Army. In the case of the PRT assigned here, the effort is combined, as well as joint, meaning that forces from South Korea are also working alongside their U.S. counterparts conducting operations in the local Parwan and Kapisa provinces.

"Each time we go to a grand opening (of a bridge, road or school), I feel better and
better," said Senior Airman Brandon Eakins, assigned as a driver to the Bagram PRT.
"It's one step closer to (the Afghans) being able to stand up on their own two feet,"
he said at the dedication ceremony for a bridge that now connects 600 to 700 Afghan
families to schools for their children and markets for their produce.

Airman Eakins volunteered to serve for a year here, leaving his job as a communications specialist at Altus Air Force Base, Okla.

"I work on computers at Altus. Here I don't even touch them," he said. "It's a complete
180."

Army Sgt. Michael Sottile's job is to keep the team safe while it performs its reconstruction efforts. He is from the Connecticut National Guard and provides security for the team, manning an M-249 machine gun on top of an armored HUMVEE.

"We're here for the protection of the civil affairs guys," he said, using the Army term for the PRTs. "I find it very rewarding, especially when we're driving down the road and the kids are giving us the thumbs up.

"We're doing a good job and making a difference," Sgt. Sottile said. "From what I've seen, the locals definitely appreciate what we're doing for them."

In addition to security personnel, Army civil affairs specialists also work with the Parwan team, all of whom were called up from the Individual Ready Reserve to take yearlong assignments here.

"This job is particularly suited for reservists," said Army Capt. Don Johnson, a civil affairs specialist who was called to active-duty from the civilian world, where he taught at Cornell University. "That civilian PRT repairs past while bridging to Afghanistan's future experience really does cross over into this civil affairs job."

By working in a civilian jobs at home, reservists understand the needs of civilians
in Afghanistan, he said. Captain Johnson left the active-duty Army six years ago.

"If I have to come over here, this is rewarding," he said referring to his PRT assignment. "You're building instead of destroying.

"You're building a legacy for this country," he said.

Capt. Byung-wook Moon, an engineer in the South Korean Army, is one of the PRT's international members. On the day of the bridge dedication he took the time to
explain to Afghan children where his home country was and why he is serving here.

"As a Coalition forces member, I am really proud of what I am doing here," Captain Moon said. "The process of building this bridge means that Afghanistan is advancing.

"I believe that Afghans are making great progress toward building a better future," he said.

The success of the PRT's operations was evidenced by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice last fall as she addressed the U.S. Senate's Foreign Relations Committee.

"To execute our strategy we will restructure a portion of the U.S. mission in Iraq," Secretary Rice said. "Learning from successful precedents used in Afghanistan, we will deploy Provincial Reconstruction Teams in key parts of the country."