BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Illinois National Guard Soldiers are bringing humanitarian assistance and medical care to a former insurgent stronghold in Afghanistan.
Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment, based in Kankakee, are assigned to the Security Forces (SECFOR) platoon of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).
Afghanistan provinces Kapisa and Parwan have teamed up with the French Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Team, based out of Forward Operating Base Morales Frazier in Kapisa. As a team, more than 500 supplies were delivered in three days followed by four days of fighting in Alasai Valley March 14 to 17.
The Afghan National Army (ANA), in coordination with its U.S. Marine Embedded Training Team (ETT) and Task Force Tiger, made its push into Alasai Valley to build two combat outposts for a stronger presence in an area that has seen a strengthening insurgency.
Task Force Tiger called upon the CIMIC team and the PRT to bring humanitarian assistance supplies and medical attention in an effort to win the support of the local population. These humanitarian assistance drops were conducted on March 17, 19 and 21, and included blankets, food, clothing, radios, toys and school supplies for the children.
"The local people agree with this operation and hope the situation changes with the presence of Afghan National Army and coalition forces," said Capt. Werner Cerf, CIMIC team leader. "Our job here and the whole point of these humanitarian assistance drops are to gain the confidence of the population for coalition forces."
This operation proved to be a good test for what success will look like in the other troubled valleys in Kapisa province that have seen a strengthening insurgency.
"The Afghan National Army and my [Marines] are on day eight of this operation and right now we have the momentum," said Lt. Col. Sean Wester, ETT commander. "We need to repeat the success here in Afghanya and Tag Ab valleys."
While the ANA and French CIMIC Soldiers distributed the humanitarian assistance to the local population and the SECFOR platoon secured the site, the CIMIC leaders and Master Sgt. Kevin Smith, the U.S. Army Civil Affairs team leader for the PRT, conducted meetings with local leaders and village elders. These meetings were used to gauge what the people of Alasai thought about coalition forces and what improvements they wanted to see in their district.
"An overwhelming majority of the elders mentioned they want a mosque with a caved in roof in the center of their village to be repaired from damage that was caused over time and unrelated to the recent fighting, and new roads built in their district to connect them to the rest of their province," said Smith.
The PRT will use the dialogues started with village elders during these humanitarian assistance missions in deciding which projects to begin in the district once the area sees stable security gains. PRT Kapisa and Parwan works with inter-governmental agencies, local engineers and contractors to build schools, health clinics, roads, government buildings and other infrastructure throughout Kapisa and Parwan provinces in Afghanistan.
The Kankakee unit is deployed as part of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. They will be home late this summer or early fall.