15 posts tagged “24th meu”
All photos by Ralph Dayton
Also be sure to read his report at The East Hampton Star
All Photos of
24th MEU 1/6 Marines in Helmand Province
Civil-Military
Operations Center Opens in Afghanistan
Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:01:00 -0500
On its first day, the CMOC had 31 visitors and paid 15 claims.
Civil-Military Operations Center Opens in Afghanistan
American Forces
Press Service
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, June 24, 2008 - U.S. Marines and British
forces of Task Force Helmand opened a joint civil-military operations center
yesterday near the British Forward Operating Base Delhi in the Garmsir district
here.
Task Force Helmand will focus on
building an enduring capability to support stabilization, reconstruction and
development, officials said.
The British forces have assigned a
stabilization advisor to Garmsir. He will work with the local government,
military and support agencies to assist and coordinate reconstruction and
development efforts as they apply to governance, law, security and the economy.
The Afghan government has assigned a representative from the Ministry of
Reconstruction and Rural Development.
Local Afghans will be hired for
administration and support roles in the CMOC. Other governmental and
nongovernmental agencies will come online, officials said, as needs arise and
capabilities become available.
"We need to have a measured approach to
the influx of supporting agencies," said Marine Corps Col. Peter Petronzio,
commanding officer, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, NATO International Security
Assistance Force. "If we aren't careful, we will do more than can be sustained
upon our departure. Our guiding principle needs to be the needs and desires of
the people of Garmsir."
The ultimate purpose, aside from assisting the
Afghan citizens, is to make the eventual departure of the Marines as transparent
as possible to the local community, said Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 2
Rene Cote, 24th MEU civil affairs officer. "Our approach is to work with
alliance partners and the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to
build capacity in a manner that is sustainable after the eventual departure of
Marine forces," he said.
Marines are here to secure routes through the
district to enable the extension of the Afghan government, working in support of
ISAF.
(From a 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit news release.)
Related Sites:
Combined Joint Task Force 101
NATO International Security Assistance
Force
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You can see these photos plus more taken by Michael M. Phillips
from the Wall Street Journal on From the Stan
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Here is a link to an article S.A. Marine Killed in Afghanistan
Below is his latest article. To read more on this website go here. You'll be glad you checked it out, it's a great read!
Twana
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Filling the Void
Jun 16 at 7:07am by David
Now that the tide in southern Afghanistan is turning, how will the coalition sustain their gains?
The US Marines fighting to regain control of Garmser have had an, “astonishing effect”, Britian’s Defense Minister Des Browne recently told Reuters. “We don’t intend to give up what we have created.”
To back that up, Britian announced on June 16th that they are prepared to send more troops to Afghanistan in coming months. This on top of the extra maneuver unit they sent to reinforce last year.
Holding Helmand
The key to keeping Helmand Province is to keep control of that provinces’ “green zones”. Afghanistan’s landscape in that area is incredible for a couple of reasons, but one of the main ones that sticks out in my mind is what are now called “green zones”.
You can look across the Afghan desert and see nothing but rocks, sand and mountains providing quite the rustic and inhospitable view. As you drive along, all of a sudden you come to the rim of a bowl… a green bowl, or green zone.
Far different than the “Green Zone” I have visited in Iraq. These green zones are an oasis of life that includes villages, cattle and fields of crops and poppies. Some green zones are small, others, like the Helmand River Valley, are dozens of kilometers across. The point is, beyond these green zones, life is very, very difficult. Control the green zones, you control Helmand.
The siege of Garmser indicates that controlling these green zones is the strategy underway. Strategically, controlling Garmser is the key to cutting the free flow of fighters and weapons into northern Helmand, Oruzgan and beyond. You control Garmser and the Taliban will have a very difficult time reaching these places in numbers, they will no longer have a transportation hub for their drug running and the poppy itself will inevitably have to change as crop of choice.
South of the town, beyond Garmser’s outlying villages (which number more than 100), is nothing but desert, for more than 40km, before running into the Pakistani border, an area known locally in translation as, “The Desert of Death”. To Garmser’s east and west is nothing but hundreds of kilometers of scorching desert. To the north is Nawa-i-Barakzayi, and the Helmand River Valley that snakes it’s way north, nourishing this parched part of the world, that could one day be Afghanistan’s bread basket. You hold Garmser, you hold Helmand.
The Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which has done the bulk of the fighting for Garmser, will not be staying too much longer; a month, maybe two. Regardless, by October, this surge force will be gone and. so far, not replaced from the outside. If there is a move to increase forces to replace the Marines, it would have to be in the form of at least two battalions, something that has yet to be announced.
What has been announced is a number of strategic moves from inside Afghanistan that may alleviate some of the concern about the 24th MEU leaving a security void once their mission is over.
101st Airborne Heading South?
In April, the 101st Airborne Division’s Task Force Gladiator took control of Parwan and Kapisa Provinces (just north and south of Kabul) where 82nd Airborne paratroopers spent 15 months training Afghan Security Forces and building a law enforcement infrastructure. The provinces are largely quiet, with the exception of the Tag Ab Valley in Kapisa. That area has long been an area that is filled with HiG fighters and sympathizers of the Taliban regime. The Afghan National Army also increased its presence here in 2007 from a battalion to a brigade.
Earleir this month France announced it would be sending a battalion of troops to the Kapisa area, particularly Tag Ab, which would free up the US paratroopers who could be shifted south. The paratroopers would be a perfect replacement for Second Battalion, Seventh Marines who are training Afghan Security Forces in Helmand and Farah Provinces. Keep in mind that the mission of 2/7 is district-by-district and meant to be mobile over time, so whoever replaces the task of 2/7, will not be in the same districts that 2/7 operated in.
France also plans to send Embedded Training Teams to central Afghanistan’s Oruzgan Province, where primarily Dutch and Australian forces operate. France also maintains six fighters in Kandahar and roughly 1,700 troops stationed in Kabul.
Italians Moving South and East?
The Italians may prove to be the most effective force to help stabilize the area. In late May, the Italian government announced it would reduce its force in Kabul by up to 300, but also make it’s 2,400 strong mission, based in Herat, more “flexible”.
Their plan is to be able to respond to NATO requests within six-hours versus the current 72 hour standard. While the Italians say they have no plans to move their permenant base from Herat, the ability of Italian forces to go mobile in an offensive manner, opens great possibilities for taking over the role of the 24th MEU.
How Big Will Australia Go?
In Early June, Austrailian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon called on the coalition to come up with 10,000 more soldiers for Afghanistan, at the same time saying his country would not send any more troops. As the largest non-Nato contributer, Australia has 1,000 troops in Oruzgan.
While Australia has troops abroad in various peacekeeping missions in their area of the world, 550 Autrailians were just pulled from Iraq, a force that could make a difference in one of Helmand’s “green zones”.
40,000 Yanks and Counting
In May, President Bush opened the door for an additional 7,000 troops (two Brigade Combat Teams) to be added to the coalition, taking US troop levels to 40,000. While the decision is not set, the order will almost certainly be signed as the last of five “surge” troops, from Iraq, will have made their way home by July, 2008. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates publicly said in May that the US was prepared to boost its force in 2009, but did not get into numbers.
Don’t Count out the Afghans
One of the most important keys to success for the establishment of government authority across southern Afghanistan is a successful police force, a force which bears the brunt of the violence. Nearly 1000 Afghan cops died in 2007.
In the past two years, since the Americans took over the training from the Germans in 2005, the Americans have pumped more than 2.5 billion dollars into new training strategies.
The Focused District Development (FDD) program is a new approach to the training that is hoped will root out the excessive corruption, lack of credibility and brutality the Afghan National Police have exhibited in the past. Unlike the past, the US is focused on individual districts for specialized training, especially districts known for warlordism and corruption.
In a nutshell, the coalition will sustain security in a particular district while the local police get shipped off to an eight-week boot camp. Once the police unit is trained, a coalition (usually American) Police Mentoring Teams (PMT), works with and mentors the unit in the field.
As the program develops, the Americans are using specially trained Afghans who go through 16-weeks of specialized schooling known as Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP). This force will eventually be used by the coalition to take over police duties in districts in which FDD is targetting, until local police can get trained and in place.
The idea is to have the ANCOPs set the example of what the Afghan people should expect once their local police return from training. The hope is that this example, and the American mentors, will help show the Afghan police the proper way to interact with the public (and respond to threats) in a manner that will build the trust neccesary to have successful police force.
Afterall, Afghanistan cannot succeed as a country unless its people have security, whether the world is there to help them or not.
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This edition features a story on Marine operations in Afghanistan that were launched
to deter taliban uprising. Produced by Senior Airman Jason Armstrong.
(By American Forces Network Afghanistan)
This video was put on Youtube 1 Week Ago
Coalition
Air Strikes Kill Militants in Afghanistan
Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:39:00
-0500
Coalition troops searched several compounds in Kajaki district, targeting a
Taliban leader associated with the murder of several Afghan government
officials. During the searches, they identified a militant armed with a
rocket-propelled grenade waiting in ambush, and several others consolidating for
an attack.
Coalition Air Strikes Kill Militants in Afghanistan
American Forces
Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 5, 2008 - Several militants were killed and five others
were detained yesterday as coalition forces disrupted anti-government operations
in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
Continuing their search, the troops discovered AK-47 assault
rifles, ammunition vests, ammunition, grenades and a large cache of narcotics.
The weapons and drugs were destroyed to prevent future use.
In other
news from Afghanistan, Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the
British forces of Task Force Helmand captured a series of enemy strong points
and defensive positions, mostly ridding the area in northern Garmsir of
insurgents.
In the weeks since the Marines started operations in
southern Helmand, the insurgents have resisted the advancement of troops and
held ground in the district, officials said. The Marines have encountered
disorganized resistance in about 150 engagements with insurgents using small
arms, indirect fire, and rocket-propelled grenades.
The last engagement
was June 1, when an insurgent attempted to engage NATO International Security
Assistance Force troops with a grenade, officials said.
The 24th MEU is
continuing clearing operations in the district.
"The area in and around
Garmsir is currently stable, but there remains a great deal of work to be done,"
said Marine Col. Peter Petronzio, 24th MEU commander.
The Marines also
are conducting security and census patrols throughout the villages to determine
the civilian population living in and moving back to the district. During these
patrols, Marines have had many interactions with the Afghan population.
"Many of the people who have approached our patrols have told us how
happy they are that the insurgents have left. They seem genuinely glad to be
home," said Marine Lt. Col. Anthony Henderson, commander of the MEU's reinforced
infantry battalion.
The Marines also have found many weapons caches in
the areas the insurgents have fled. The caches vary in size and contain a range
of items that include bomb-making materials, RPGs, ammunition, mines and
unexploded ordnance. Through patrols or based on tips from local citizens,
Marines already have discovered 13 caches in June, bringing the total to almost
50 since the start of clearing operations, officials said.
(Compiled
from Combined Joint Task Force 101 and 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit news
releases.)
Related Sites:
Combined Joint Task Force 101
NATO International Security Assistance
Force
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit
These are some great photos of our Marines by The New York Times
The photos are by Tyler Hick/New York Times
Article by Carlotta Gull to accompany photos.
"U.S. Reports Gains Against Taliban Fighters"
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