KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - While people everywhere were preparing to toast the new year, Soldiers in southern Afghanistan were gearing up for one of their most important missions to date.
On New Year's Eve, service members assigned to Train, Advise, Assist Command - South (TAAC-S), along with their Afghan partners from the Kandahar Mobile Strike Force, the Afghan Uniformed Police, and the Afghan National Army, launched Operation Strong Eagle VI - a concerted effort to move out in force and help forge relationships between the Afghan security forces and the civilians they serve and protect.
"The maliks [local leaders] and the population out in the area were not, previous to this operation, as open to discussing with the Afghanistan Uniformed Police, or not as open with discussing with us, what was going on in the area," said Lt. Col. Chris Hossfeld, commander of the battalion that spearheaded the operation. "During the operation, because there were so many Afghan national security forces that showed up and were participating, they felt comfortable being able to talk."
Hossfeld, a Fort Campbell, Ky., native who commands the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, noted that a major purpose of the operation was to enable the Afghan forces to maintain relationships with the populace.
"[The people's impression was], 'If this is the type of security that is going to be in the area, then I will start working with you and providing information about what's going on in the area,'" he said. "So that's a tremendous success."
TAAC-S is comprised of service members primarily drawn from the 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas; and the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Sgt. 1st Class Angelo Sazio, assigned to Bayonet Co., 2nd Battalion, participated in part of the operation, which was conducted near Kandahar City.
"We linked up with the Mobile Strike Force first, then we proceeded to make contact with the Afghanistan Uniformed Police," he said. "From there, the [Afghans] pretty much took the lead ... it was them out front."
The operation was the largest in recent memory for the area, and the largest thus far for TAAC-S, involving hundreds of U.S. and Afghan troops.
During the operation, the service members met and spoke with numerous local leaders. Afghan forces met the leaders, often inviting their partnered U.S. forces into the engagements.
"They [the Afghans] talked about the issues in the different villages that we would visit. What they were trying to do was to establish and maintain relationships with the local village elders, so at the end of the day if something nefarious were to happen, the local elder would feel comfortable calling and reporting that activity," said Sazio, a native of Cromwell, Ct.
Sazio noted the morale of the Afghan security forces, as well.
"The thing that stuck out in my mind, most of all, was the willingness of all our partners," said Sazio. "They didn't mind walking as long as they did, and we walked all day, from dark in the morning to hot in the afternoon. I'm not going to say it was exhausting, but it was definitely tough. And the terrain - it doesn't lend itself to moving quickly. It kind of takes something out of you," he said.
Despite the size of the operation, however, the real benefit will be felt in the lasting impact it made, said Hossfeld.
"We've got a better linkage between the police and the army in all the areas we've been working," he said. "The police are going to be able to develop more intelligence and be able to action it, and know the army is there [to work with them]."
"We [U.S. forces] were just a vehicle to help that linkage happen. All the pieces have been here, but they've never meshed in a way in this area with such a focus that allowed the people an ability to feel free to talk," he said. " So I think that's really one of the best benefits."
At the end of the day, Hossfeld said a major indicator of success came from the Soldiers on the ground.
"I'm really excited about my soldiers coming back and saying, 'This was great,'" he said. "To me, that's the most exciting thing as a commander -- when you get your subordinate Soldiers and the people who you're working with, and every single one of them saying, 'This was well worth it ... this is what I want to do.'"
Social Sharing