Afghanistan's Zones of Conflict

Range War in the Land of One Hump Camels

2010-04-10T09:27:00.000+04:30

Another war is simmering beneath the rangeland of Afghanistan. As farmers begin to see green from millions of dollars offered through agriculture projects, a counterinsurgency tool (COIN), the question that begs an answer... Who owns the rangeland? It depends... who is standing in the field that day and how much cash are we talking? The Ag advisor from the corrupt Karzai government

Hunting for Grass in Taliban Country

2010-04-08T09:49:00.000+04:30

Rangeland in Taliban Country - Images by Janet Killeen I never imagined I would ever strap on a Kevlar vest and travel through Taliban country just to take a soil sample. It was not part of my training as an Agronomist back at Kansas State University. Yet, here I am, all armored up in a Blackhawk zooming over the rangeland of Afghanistan. Seated next to me are Lt. Col. Rice and Sgt. Maj.

Candy, Children, and Counterinsurgency

2010-03-21T13:10:00.000+04:30

On January 7, 2010, in a heavily populated area of Rodat district in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, an explosive device was handed to a child by an unknown person. The child carried the device into a crowd who had gathered to watch ISAF personnel inspecting a reconstruction project. The explosive device blew up killing the child, along with another child and a policeman. Up to 15 others

Sky Soldiers Give Aid at Road Accident

2010-03-18T10:47:00.000+04:30

Sky Soldiers Give Roadside Aid - Images by Janet Killeen On March 16th a panicky Afghan driver took an unexpected swim in an irrigation canal after losing control of his turquoise tuk-tuk, a three-wheel taxi. The driver took the leap into the ditch as a convoy of American armored vehicles crept by carrying soldiers from Anvil Troop, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade

The Long Walk, Mentoring the ANA

2010-03-14T19:35:00.001+04:30

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,

PFC Gruber Re-enlists for Three More Years

2010-03-14T19:39:00.000+04:30

PFC Gruber Re-enlists - Images by Janet Killeen PFC Michael Gruber re-enlisted for three more years at a ceremony at the base of Bravo-2 Whiskey Outpost in Logar Province. Gruber has already served his country 18 months. Afterwards the team hiked up the steep mountain to resupply the outpost.

Share Intel & Build a Bond

2010-03-13T07:21:00.001+04:30

In the world of security, robust Intelligence can only occur if information is shared. Seems easy enough, until one thinks back to 9/11 when our own intelligence services, considered the best in the world, did not share pertinent information about an imminent attack. Since the Afghan Presidential elections in August of 2009, suicide attacks of increasing complexity have been occurring at an

A Heroine for Afghan Women

2010-03-11T21:52:00.002+04:30

Blue is the color of the female in Afghanistan. Shrouded in burka, head to ankle, azure blue is a woman’s identity, all individuality submerged. The woman standing before the crowd is not dressed in the color of oppression. She wears olive, red and gold. The colors of the warrior.

An ANP Slumber Party

2010-02-07T11:56:00.015+04:30

Sgt. 1st Class Hawk, mission commander for tonight, has jumped into our armored truck and yells out to the four occupants what his feelings are regarding the police mentoring program in Afghanistan. “I support, I support, as long as you put BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT in very large letters at the end.” Hawk is tired. He is at the end of his year-long deployment in Afghanistan serving as a mentor

Creating a New Template for Counterinsurgency

2010-02-01T05:00:00.000+04:30

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan—(Jan 27, 2010) If a template could be made on how to fight the insurgency in Afghanistan, it would look something like this; three men from different backgrounds and culture, working together for one purpose—keeping young soldiers alive. The Anti-Taliban Pact is precise, harsh and direct: if any tribal member provides shelter or support of any kind to the Taliban

The Anti-Taliban Pact

2010-01-31T07:13:00.000+04:30

Last week the Shinwari tribe signed a pact to fight the Taliban. The pact was conceptualized by Lt. Col. Randall V. Simmons, Squadron Commander of the 1st Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiments, 48th Brigade, Georgia Army National Guard and Ed Vowell, military liaison for governance, and Afghan Border Police (ABP) Colonel Niazy, Commander of the 6th Kandak. Below are the details of the pact. The

Maliks Rewarded for Fighting the Taliban

2010-01-28T02:03:00.000+04:30

“If you want to make a Malik angry, ask him how we can help him defend his village” states Ed Vowell, military liaison for the State Department in Nangarhar Province. Maliks are selected for many traits but courage and heroism ranks as the highest. There has been much debate about the Community Defense Initiative (CDI), the plan to give military support and training to village elders to

In Remote Afghan Valley, U.S. Slowly Builds Support with Farmers

2010-01-24T12:29:00.000+04:30

Soldiers from the 40th ID ADT, a National Guard unit from California, are conducting a ‘hearts and minds’ events for rural Afghan farmers throughout Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistan. VETCAPs may end up being one of the influential tools used by the U.S. military in new counterinsurgency strategy to build security by gaining support with rural populations who distrust the corrupt central

2010-01-20T15:47:00.000+04:30

Paradise of Silt, Sand and Rock - Images by Janet Killeen

A Paradise of Silt, Sand and Rock

2010-01-20T15:45:00.000+04:30

Old hippies love Afghanistan. Following the Grand Trunk Road, they traveled through this country in the 1970’s on their way to enlightenment in India. Others stayed longer getting lost in clouds of hashish while indulging in Kabul’s mini-skirted scene. Today these dusty travelers sit at Kabul’s rare bars, look into the distance and reminisce of the trees and flowers that once blanketed the

Ask, Don't Tell.

2010-01-05T14:11:00.000+04:30

Captain Dickey with the Missouri ADT III with the District Development Chief at a meeting in Northern Nangarhar, Afghanistan Major Elfrink is trying a new approach today. He wants to help the Afghan farmers and as a result keep the Taliban out. His new approach is simple. Ask. Don’t tell. Major Elfrink, along with Captains Clark and Dickey are from the Missouri ADT III. They are meeting

200 Chickens and the Taliban

2009-12-14T20:02:00.014+04:30

Agribusiness Development Teams (ADTs) are an unusual group of soldiers. They wake up in the morning, gleefully strap on 100 lbs of body armor and gear, and rumble out to remote and volatile places, where they hike miles over rock strewn, sandy, cobra infested terrain looking for places to start grandiose projects like water wells and irrigation ditches. For three days the California ADT led by

A Strategy for Civil War?

2009-12-16T15:30:00.004+04:30

Ceremony for ANA graduation in summer 2004. Left to right, former warlord Sherzai now Governor of Nangarhar Province; Defense Minister Fahim now Karzai's current Vice-President; Rahim Wardak, Karzai's current Defense Minister; General Besmellah Khan, Deputy Minister of Defense; Ebrahim, Advisor for the Ministry of Defense. Over the past five years, one showpiece held up by US and Coalition

Four Assassins Captured

2009-12-31T16:08:00.002+04:30