PARWAN PROVINCE – Over mountainous terrain, a pair of UH-47 Chinook helicopters glided through the cold air to the remote village of Shaykh Ali in Parwan prov., carrying nearly 45 TF Cyclone team members.
The group unloaded off the helicopters swiftly in the snow-covered fields to meet ANP officers. They then moved to the village center, where they met with the district sub-gov., business owners and townspeople. Leading the team of TF Gladius soldiers, who are in charge of security for all of the areas within Parwan prov., was Army Capt. Booker Wilson, cmdr of B Co, 82nd Div. STB. “The people of Shaykh Ali were hospitable and engaging,” Wilson said. “They were pleased with current CF and past CF actions, and requested more CF and Afghan govt involvement.”
A human terrain team research mgr, Army 1st Lt. Raphael Howard, had similar thoughts on how the people responded to the visit from CF. “The people we interviewed were very happy to speak with us and happy to see that CF were interested in them,” Howard said. “They were particularly happy at just being able to express their concerns. The children in the area were especially behaved, and are a credit to their families and village.”
TF Cyclone’s senior civilian rep, Abigail Friedman of the State Dept, also talked with the people. “This mission was important to me, because it's critical that we connect with the people, and understand what their needs are and how the int'l presence can help the people,” Friedman said. “We were very well received, both by the village elders and in the bazaar by the local merchants and villagers.”
“This mission allowed TF Gladius to assess the effects of current and recently completed projects,” said Wilson. “We work together well in the planning of these kinds of missions, and then, once on the ground, we seem to intuitively know how to help each other out,” Friedman said. “Both the senior U.S. military officers and the senior civilians are active in engaging with the community and elders.”
A couple of hours after arriving, the team converged back into the fields where they were dropped off, armed with new info and a better knowledge of the villagers living there. Hundreds of villagers gathered at the edges to watch them go.
