The Long Walk, Mentoring the ANA

Two platoons entered the narrow, mud-bricked canyons in a ratio one-to-one.  The men are from 3rd Platoon of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Anvil Troop, 1/91 Cavalry, U.S. Airborne.  The men are quiet, each man vigilant as they walk forward in a fast-moving deliberate pace.  The first village is probably friendly but for the next 7 kilometers, especially from Qary-i-Gulam to Alada Khel, anything can happen.  IEDs and shootouts have occurred along this road and another attack is looming.

The two platoons are on a “Combined Action” mission, part of the COIN strategy to train the ANA.  The Americans are mentoring the Afghans by working and fighting alongside each other with one goal—bring the Afghan army up to a professional, effective force.

Lt. Bradfield walks with his ANA counterpart, Lt. Ghafar (left).  The day before, when today’s mission was reviewed, Ghafar wondered why late morning was chosen for the mission. Daytime missions give the opportunity to review the streets and landscape for future night operations.

This is Logar Province and the Taliban are prevalent. Shopkeepers have complained of threats and are being intimidated.  It is believed this region of the province is used to not only to move and hide explosive resources but for planning suicide attacks in Kabul.  Logar has a bloody history, an entire division of the Soviet Army was slaughtered here in the 1980’s.

 “If we take direct fire, don’t just start shooting, we need to ID where the shooting is coming from” Capt. Barnhart instructs.

The soldiers look under roads and in culverts for IEDs.  They search the shadows of doorways and for a tense few minutes follow wires into a tunnel where an IED was thought to be hidden (in relief, the wires led to a water pump near an underground spring.) 

Frequently, Ghafar stops and introduces himself to a local Afghan.  As Bradfield listens, the Afghan leader inquires who the village elder may be.  The Afghan gives a name and the Ghafar graciously thanks him.  Bradfield is impressed with his counterpart and says Ghafar needs little encouragement to be friendly to the local population.

In this region of Logar, the people are Tajik and conservative; they are ‘on-the-fence’ with who they support in the insurgency.  Yet, they are getting more open, partly because of interaction and exposure by both the ANA and Anvil Troop.  The enemy is doing their own “hearts and minds.”   When Coalition projects don’t materialize, the Taliban convince the residents the Karzai government has forgotten them.

“In Afghanistan, the terrain is the people” says Lt. Bradfield describing their tactics in looking for the enemy.

As morning slides into afternoon, and heat rises over the village, the men keep walking.

At times, they change course, trekking across wheat fields in an irregular pattern. Intentional to keep the enemy in the dark.  When they see an anxious farmer the flow stops and Lt. Ghafar explains why the platoons are nearby.  

Keeping the ANA in proper formation is a constant struggle but this group of men is better trained than the previous Kandak.  Their initial training in Kabul has been improved and the results are showing.

“We try to execute only what the ANA can do” says Bradfield.

Only 10% of the Logar residents support the Taliban ideologically, the majority only participate in attacks for economical reasons.  Other signs of their support being in flux are the size of the IEDs—still moderate compared to what could be planted.  Larger IEDs require an insurgent to wait in one position for the right time to detonate, when a convoy is passing for instance.  The Taliban don’t feel secure enough for such a long wait, fearful the local population will turn them in. 

With the volatile summer ahead, Capt. Barnhart's strategy is for more ‘Combined Action’ patrols with Anvil Troop mentoring the ANA 3rd Platoon. Combined with CERP development projects, he hopes to win the trust of the Afghans in this region and drive down the insurgency.

- Janet Killeen