Illinois National Guardsmen learn to rebuild Afghanistan's government

By Army Spc. Chasity Johnson
139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

John Davis, director of power generations for City, Water, Light and Power explains the functions of a turbine to 1st Lt. Calvin Young, a state partnership program officer with Joint Forces Headquarters, during governance 101 training Dec. 11 at the CWLP water plant in Springfield, Ill. The purpose of governance 101 is to learn how to aid in the transition of Afghanistan as it rebuilds the country's government infrastructure. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Chasity Johnson) (Released)
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (12/13/2010) -- Illinois National Guardsmen attended governance 101 training hosted by the city of Springfield, the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University Dec. 10 thru 12 in Springfield to learn how to aid in rebuilding Afghanistan's government infrastructure.

"Afghanistan is not developed so it's not about rebuilding in Afghanistan, it's about development and giving them the capacity to build," said Col. Gary Schmitt, logistics director for Joint Forces Headquarters in Springfield.

The Bilateral Embedded Staff Team A7, a specialized team consisting of Soldiers from the Illinois Army National Guard and Polish Land Forces, is scheduled to train in Poland beginning in January before deploying to Afghanistan for six months.

The team will assist the Afghan government to extend its authority across the country, perform security operations and help stabilize the war-torn nation. The Soldiers will also mentor and support the Afghan National Army and support Afghan government programs to disarm illegally armed groups.

The weekend-long training included lectures on community health issues, school systems and many other topics. The Soldiers also received training on waste disposal, electric generation and water purification.

"It's not that hard to treat the amount of water you need to drink to stay healthy," said Ted Meckes, general superintendent of water treatment for City, Water, Light and Power in Springfield. "I think it will be great if we can help the troops help the Afghans by providing them with this knowledge."

In addition to receiving lectures catered specifically to their mission in Afghanistan, the Soldiers were taken on a tour of the City, Water, Light and Power facilities to gain an in-depth knowledge on strategies for purifying water and the logistics of electric generation.

First-time deployer, Master Sgt. Sharon Hultquist of Delavan, the battle captain for BEST A7, said she found the information provided during the training very beneficial.

"It gave me a broader range of knowledge regarding governance and a basic knowledge on what it takes to build community infrastructures," said Hultquist.

After participating in the training, Schmitt said his confidence in the successful execution of the mission has grown.

"They made our team better than any team that's ever gone overseas before because of the level of information they gave in a very short period of time."

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