FORT BENNING, GA - CSM Darrin Bohn leaves for Afghanistan today to become the senior enlisted adviser to the deputy commander of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, LTG David Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, a former deputy commander of Fort Benning, and Bohn will be heading a new intermediate headquarters under NATO's International Security Assistance Force when it stands up Oct. 18 in Kabul.
The new command will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the war in Afghanistan.
"Our headquarters will be prosecuting the fight in Afghanistan," said Bohn, whose most recent assignment was serving as senior NCO for the 199th Infantry Brigade. "I expect our role to mirror that of Multi-National Corps-Iraq."
This will be Bohn's second tour to Afghanistan, and third deployment since the Global War on Terrorism began.
The appointment to be Rodriguez's enlisted adviser has put Bohn's plans for retirement on hold.
"I was two days away from dropping my retirement paperwork when I got the phone call," said Bohn. "It was quite a twist of fate. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to serve in this capacity."
CSM(R) Douglas Greenway, Bohn's CSM when he served as a first sergeant with the 1st Ranger Battalion, said he expects Bohn will bring a lot to the table during the transition to an intermediate headquarters in Afghanistan.
"He has a lot of combat experience," Greenway said. "He knows how operations work in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's worked with heavy and light forces as well as counter-insurgency operations, so he knows a lot of aspects in working with the Afghan military and police. There's a fine line between training the Afghans to meet the needs of their populace and completing the mission."
Bohn entered the Army in 1982 as an Infantryman. Bohn has held every leadership position from team leader to command sergeant major in 26 years of serving. His assignments include serving with the 502nd, 506th and 508th Parachute Infantry Regiments and the 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
He is a graduate of the Special Operations Training Course and the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.
"He's going to be a key player in getting the Afghan forces trained," said U.S. Army Infantry Center CSM Earl Rice. "He knows what resources we have here at Fort Benning at his fingertips, so he has that reach-back capability. He's creating this position from scratch and growing it while we are in combat. It takes a level-headed, competent leader to pull that together so it speaks volumes for Bohn that he was selected for this job."
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