CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind., - Leadership of the Arkansas Army and Air
National Guard visited with troops from the Arkansas Agricultural
Development Team (ADT) as they trained in preparation for deployment to
Afghanistan Feb. 26.
Brig. Gen. Roger McClellan, the joint force land component commander of the
Arkansas Guard, and Brig. Gen. Riley Porter, joint force air component
commander of the Arkansas Air Guard, mixed with the Soldiers and Airmen of
the ADT in the early morning hours as the team prepared for a training
mission to perform an agricultural assessment of a village several miles
across the installation.
The generals watched as the Soldiers and Airmen loaded the column of Humvees
with weapons, ammunition, tools, supplies and equipment for the three-hour
mission. The troops talked about the training they had been provided, the
weather conditions during their training period and reflected on Family and
friends they left in Arkansas.
"It is good to see Soldiers so motivated in spite of the weather
conditions," said McClellan, alluding to the early morning temperatures
which were noted to be at 19 degrees with occasional snow flurries.
The generals moved from vehicle to vehicle talking to the troops and asking
questions about their mission, their individual role and how the training
was helping them prepare for Afghanistan.
"Working with the Afghan nationals here in the village scenarios is some of
the best training," said 1st Lt. Addison Taylor, a member of the agriculture
specialty section. "It has really helped us learn Afghan culture and how to
interact with the people."
Camp Atterbury, like many Army training centers, has contracted with a
number of Afghans living near the post to work with the troops as
role-players and teach cultural and language programs. The fact that these
programs are taught by actual Afghans gives the program credibility and
realism.
"I think we learned more in just a couple of days of direct interaction with
the Afghans here than we would have in a full week of classroom training,"
said Taylor.
As the team prepared to move out on their mission, the platoon leader
assembled the group for a safety briefing and an update on driving route and
road conditions. The generals took the opportunity to tell the group how
proud they were of the unit - being that the roughly 60-member unit was made
up completely of volunteers, and how historically significant the unit and
mission are to the people of Afghanistan as well as the people of Arkansas.
Arkansas is one of 10 states, which have fielded one or more agriculture
development teams to assist in the redevelopment of agriculture in
Afghanistan. The Arkansas ADT will complete their training here in the next
few weeks and will depart for their yearlong mission to Afghanistan later in
March.