Missouri Guard holds deployment ceremony for ADT

By Silas Allen
Missouri National Guard

Members of the Agribusiness Development Team bow their heads during the benediction by state chaplain Col. Gary Gilmore. (Photo by Silas Allen, Missouri National Guard)
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., (9/4/09) - The Missouri National Guard recognized the Soldiers and Airmen of the deploying Agribusiness Development Team III at a departure ceremony today at Ike Skelton Training Site in Jefferson City.

Among those in attendance were Gov. Jay Nixon, Sen. Kit Bond and Brig. Gen. Stephen Danner, the adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard.

Calling the team “the best antidote to IEDs,” referring to the improvised explosive devices commonly used by insurgents, Danner said the team is prepared to build on the successes of the past teams.

“We’re really proud of you and what you’re about to do,” he said. “We’re going to support you one thousand percent.”

Bond, who was instrumental in the creation of the program, said the team’s mission in Afghanistan helps prevent the region from reverting to Taliban control. The military’s strategy in the country demands a combination of military and civilian specialties, he said.

National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are uniquely equipped to handle the mission, he said, because they generally have practical experiences in both the civilian and military worlds. This combination of specialties is an example of the National Guard’s ability to use “smart power” to solve problems, Bond said.

“Smart power recognizes that, before a person chooses his politics, he has to be able to eat,” he said.

Bond said he saw the difference the team has made firsthand during a visit with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. During the visit, Bond said Karzai proudly served broccoli that had been grown in Nangharhar Province, where Missouri’s teams have been working. Because of its high level of success, Bond said he believes the Agribusiness Development Team initiative should be adopted by the entire Department of Defense.

Nixon said, he was impressed at the level of professionalism he saw in Missouri Soldiers and Airmen, including members of the Missouri National Guard, during a recent visit to Afghanistan. He also said that he saw the “real, measurable strides” that U.S. forces had made in the region.

“I met with many courageous and prepared Soldiers, including your predecessors in ADT II,” Nixon said. “Make no mistake, Missouri is leading the way in this vital effort.”

The 60-member team is made up of Missouri Army and Air National Guard members from all across the state. The team consists of security force personnel and agriculture specialists including an agronomist, pest management specialist, agriculture marketing specialist, hydrologist, soil science specialist and large animal veterinarian.

Unlike the previous two Agribusiness Development Teams, the third team includes judge advocate general and contracting officers.

While in Afghanistan, the team will work to undo years of damage to the agricultural and livestock infrastructure in Nangharhar Province. The region’s agricultural capabilities took a heavy blow during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. In more recent years, opium poppies have represented most of the area’s economy.

In recent weeks, several members of the team met with Safi Mohammed Hussein, the director of agriculture, irrigation and livestock for Nangarhar Province during Safi’s visit to Missouri. They discussed the current agricultural situation in Afghanistan and what the province needs to improve in the future.

Since the inception of the Agribusiness Development Team program, Safi said, Afghanistan has seen a 25 percent increase in production. In addition, the United Nations recently declared the province poppy-free.

Following the ceremony, the team moved to Camp Atterbury, where it will complete its pre-mobilization training. It will then deploy to the Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan, where it will replace the second Agribusiness Development Team.

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