Police training, base building and satellite sightings

By Brandon QuesterAugust 4, 2009

Police training, base building and satellite sightings
A firefight breaks out along the west wall of Forward Operating Base Todd at Bala Morghab, Afghanistan on Aug. 27, 2008. The wall was repeatedly repaired by restacking sandbags after the Taliban would knock holes in it using RPGs. (Courtesy Photo/Rel... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

By Staff Sgt. Aaron Rognstad,

Colorado National Guard Public Affairs

Afghanistan is a land of extremes.

Extreme heat, extreme cold, extreme poverty, extreme danger.

The members of the Colorado Army National Guard's 327th Embedded Training Team, while attached to the 1st Army Division out of Fort Riley, Kan., experienced all of this in their deployment to the country from April 2008 to January 2009.

Their mission was to train Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police. Nineteen-year Army veteran Sgt. 1st Class Travis Leland was one of 15 troops sent to numerous forward operating bases in Afghan Regional Security Integration Command-West, the western sector of Afghanistan under Spanish and Italian International Security Force Command coalition control.

Working as a combat advisor and a field artillery advisor, Leland endured attacks from mortar and small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, long days, squalid living conditions, a plethora of dust and mud, and the constant frustration of training and instilling discipline and pride in the forming of the ANA and ANP.

Aca,!A"The first few weeks we had riots amongst the recruits,Aca,!A? Leland said. Aca,!A"Members of the different tribes werenAca,!a,,ct meshing. A big challenge was to indoctrinate U.S. military values into the Afghan military. As a new military and police organization, the emphasis on moral treatment of people in general was one of the most important lessons. After a few months the recruits began to mold as a unit, but [as of January] there is still a lot of work to be done.Aca,!A?

Leland said Colorado Army National Guard State Chaplain (Col.) Andy Meverden created much of the coursework on the teachings of human rights and the law of war for the Afghan recruits. While this may seem like an afterthought for U.S. soldiers, it isnAca,!a,,ct for the average ANA or ANP recruit, who have grown up hardened to the horrors of more than 30 years of constant war, Leland said.

LelandAca,!a,,cs team was scattered throughout ARSIC-West, and he spent a month-to-two months at three different forward operating bases in western Afghanistan. One particular FOB, at a city called Bala Morghab, had to be built from scratch from the remains of an old Soviet cotton factory. Work began on the FOB in August of last year with 13 Soldiers and still goes on to this day.

FOB Todd was literally thrown together using makeshift pieces of the old cotton factory.

The base is named after Sgt. 1st Class David James Todd Jr., a fellow soldier and friend of LelandAca,!a,,cs from Louisiana who perished in an engagement Aug. 20, 2008.

Aca,!A"David organized the [quick reaction force] after the original Spanish QRF were unable to get us out,Aca,!A? Leland said. Aca,!A"Twelve soldiers owe David their lives. He had five children. His oldest just enlisted in the infantry.Aca,!A?

Work immediately began on the FOB, but not before Leland and his team exchanged fire with the Taliban.

Aca,!A"Upon arriving to the cotton factory, we were engaged in a four-hour ambush and had about 18 feet of ground to maneuver our vehicles back and forth,Aca,!A? Leland said. Aca,!A"Once a mortar round would impact we would drive over the impact hoping that the next round would be off. Master Sgt. Steve Heineke and I were able to suppress the enemy mortar teams by use of M203 grenade launchers.

Aca,!A"IAca,!a,,cve worked with Master Sgt. Heineke for many years and he is as calm in a fight as he is in front of a formation. I was terrified on every patrol and every firefight, but we had a smart, mature team and good equipment, so I knew we would be alright. As well, our ARSIC-West commander was outstanding. We had great officers, but IAca,!a,,cd follow Col. Bessler anywhere.Aca,!A?

Col. John Bessler, ARSIC-West commander, was very open with the Soldiers he led Leland said. He made frequent visits to the FOB, instructing the Soldiers on the challenges of the mission and emphasizing that the troops outside the wire were the highest priority.

And sometimes Aca,!A"outside the wireAca,!A? didnAca,!a,,ct even consist of wire at FOB Todd.

Makeshift doesnAca,!a,,ct begin to describe the methods used in construction of the FOB in the early phases. The front gate was fortified with pieces of old factory machinery. On one side of the cotton factory the Afghan soldiers filled a hole in a mud wall with thorn bushes as a deterrent to keep out the Taliban, Leland said.

After the FOB was deemed secure enough for everyday living, Leland and his fellow Soldiers began recruitment in the surrounding area for the ANA and ANP. After selection, recruits were given a 10-week training class and learned everything from battle tactics to weapons training to effective measures of gaining intelligence, Leland said. Just as important to him though, was teaching the recruits moral values so Aca,!A"Americans werenAca,!a,,ct just empowering a new group of warlords that would create distrust in the villages that they work in, rather than creating confidence and rapport with the locals.Aca,!A?

After graduation from training, the recruits Aca,!" especially the police recruits Aca,!" become members of what is essentially one of the most dangerous professions on the planet.

Whereas no official numbers could be found on ANA or ANP casualties released by the Department of Defense, the Military Health System (www.health.mil) states that the ANP will receive four times the casualties as the ANA.

In a country known by the West for its violence, radical militants and poverty, Leland still managed to find beauty in the landscape and countryside, especially the night sky.

Aca,!A"There were definitely some serene moments,Aca,!A? he said. Aca,!A"The stars at night were so bright and the sky was so clear that you could see satellites going over.Aca,!A?

There was also a lot of fun and camaraderie with fellow coalition troops. The Italians invited U.S. Soldiers for pasta dinners frequently. On FOB Stone in Herat, Leland and his team denied British soldiers from entering the American side of the base on the Fourth of July. The Brits, in good humor, went along with the joke.

Leland said his time spent in-country was worthwhile and he took a lot from the tour.

Aca,!A"Back home we hear that we have no more frontiers to conquer,Aca,!A? Leland said. Aca,!A"Afghanistan is a frontier of loss that no civilization has been able to completely succeed in yet. We go out on patrol and constantly find reminders of past civilizations that have come and gone. Outside FOB Stone in Herat, there were ruins from Alexander the Great. The entrance to the FOB has two British cannons that were captured in the mid-1800s. On patrols, I would constantly find Russian coat buttons from the 1980s. It feels like a cemetery for fallen civilizations.Aca,!A?

While Leland is not scheduled to go back to Afghanistan, he realizes the importance of the mission there and hopes that if he does have to go back, it will be with the Soldiers he toed the line with at FOB Todd.

Aca,!A"It was a million-dollar experience that I wouldnAca,!a,,ct pay a nickel to relive. Master Sgt. Heineke and Maj. Reyher got the FOB built and we trained our patrolmen to above-standard ratings, but thereAca,!a,,cs still a lot of work to be done,Aca,!A? Leland reflected. Aca,!A"Everyone on our team did an outstanding job. There were no real problems with anyone. Everyone contributed above and beyond what they were put here to do. If I ever go back, I would hope to serve with these guys again.Aca,!A?