What happens when the next soldiers come in? -Assistance to Afghans

(Sgt. David Lopez, Lt. Richard Hill and Sgt. Eugene Lackey waiting for a mission- photo Sgt. David Camarillo.)

"I had a nightmare last night," a soldier from 2nd Platoon Able Co. told me, "that I was in Afghanistan."

He said it with a smile, the kind that comes from actually waking up in the dark and for the first few seconds thinking you might be somewhere other than your dirt bunker or plywood shack.  But no, you're in Afghanistan, and the best thing to do is shake the cob webs, maybe take a Baby Wipes shower, chug a Rip It, get up and keep busy, whether it's burning trash, burning sh--, or meeting, once again, with elders over their proposed district project budgets.

 (Lt. Hill explaining the project process to the sub-governor in Narang.)

"We need different bids, these are way too high," Lt. Richard Hill, 24, said to the sub-governor of Narang district, Gulam Nabi. "We need to have what's called bidding.  That's contractors coming in and giving the best price, so we don't spend all the budget on a few projects."

The sub-governor and elders have a circular way of agreeing and disagreeing with the Americans.  They kept insisting that the contractors should be from the area, and that if you want quality, you need to have a high price.  Lt. Hill didn't disagree, but he shook his head several times because the leaders kept insisting they'd gone through the motions, now he could give them the money.

"They have it in their heads.  If you talk about it, it's been promised," Lt. Hill said. "Tons of organizations and NGOs have come in and promised them money.  What we want to do now is help them set up a quarterly budget, so they can account for their own expenses... What's happening is they're trying to get the bulk of the money as soon as they can, so they can distribute it in their own tribal way.  I'm trying to get them to institute reoccurring items, like a school budget."

Of the two high schools 2nd Platoon visited, neither had electricity, computers, a budget for teacher salaries or books.  All of the funding seemed to have come piecemeal from Unicef, the World Food Project and the Provincial Reconstruction teams (PRT).  "Last year the WFP gave us food for teachers and students," said the headmaster of Narang High School, "This year we want to increase teacher's salaries with money from Unicef... The PRT said it would help with school maintenance and construction, but it hasn't stared.  We had to get a collection from the students."

"We think we are not a part of the government," the Headmaster of Chowkai high school said, "because we get no money for our schools."

"Anybody can make promises," Lt. Hill said, "but the biggest thing is making schools a part of the quarterly budget."


(Local headmaster explaining how they were promised a computer for their science lab.)

(The Headmaster said the literacy rate for males in Narang village, which lies along the paved highway to Asadabad, was 80 percent, but up in the mountain valleys the literacy rate drops to 20 percent.  Literacy levels for females remains at 35 percent through out the district.  Although, he claimed construction was planned for two female high schools, they seemed to come second to the boy's schools.)

"Before all the sub-governor had to do was relay the money.  Now it's pushing them into local government, town planning, budgeting, without much training of our own," Lt. Hill said.

"If Afghans followed a system, there would be no Americans here," Abdullah, an interpreter with 2nd Platoon Able Co., said with a smile.

Taking the fight in a different direction
2nd Platoon's sergeants are used to taking the fight to the enemy.  Those that were stationed in the Pesh Valley of Kunar in '08, would ride into bad areas to provoke firefights with the enemy.  Their mission is still in Kunar, but much different two years later.  And for infantrymen, the frustrations are apparent.

"We're supposed to be geared towards COIN (counterinsurgency operations), only we're half trained in kinetic (combat training), half COIN, and we're not really accomplishing either," said Sgt. Trevor Petsch, 28.

"We don't get enough training on COIN, building infrastructure," said Ssgt. Seth Taylor, 33, "I mean I don't have a college degree.  I don't know how to implement enough of it."

Smuggled wood
Then there are the battles that aren't COIN or combat, but seem more futile, like combating wood smuggling.  Lt. Hill followed up with the Sub-governor on the huge wood cache's they found in the village of Subagar, shortly before the platoon started getting shot at.  Taking wood out of Afghanistan has been declared illegal to protect the rapid loss of forests, but the smuggling has created a cottage industry for the Taliban. (Read this WSJ article on wood smuggling in Kunar.)

"There's no reason for them to hide or smuggle the wood," Lt. Hill said. "It turns into supplies for the Taliban.  If it's legitimate, it can be used for the district and kept in the district center."  He compared it to taxing cash crops.  Now the wood is being unofficially taxed. "We want to make it official so the gov't. takes a percentage.  Everthing we have in the U.S., soldiers' salaries and even projects in Narang are funded by U.S. taxes," Lt. Hill said to the sub-governor, as if it was a revelation.

The sub-governor tacitly agreed, and proposed talking to the elders of two towns about the wood, where Lt. Hill made his speech to gatherings of wizened bearded men as younger men listened in the background.  One couldn't help think they were more curious of the spectacle than of stopping the donkey trains of wood, many run by children so as to avoid the repercussions.

"From now on you smuggle wood, you'll get killed," Gulam Nabi proclaimed  The villagers reply was typical- No one's smuggling wood, it's from somewhere else.  

Motivating the Afghan Army
Another source of continual frustration for 2nd Platoon is working with the 25 or so Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers stationed on the same fortified hill.  2nd Platoon accuses them of throwing their trash anywhere and of firing wildly and excessively when provoked.  The ANA say 2nd Platoon is stingy with their water and supplies.  Lt. Hill says all they have to do is fill out a form to get supplies, but until yesterday, the ANA lieutenant was hesitant.  He seems to always say he has to wait for his command's approval.

(2nd Platoon tossing sandbags in the heat.)

This waiting included Afghan soldiers watching as American soldiers moved sand bags and Hesco barriers in the 100-degree sun, for a watch tower the Afghans would man.  The ANA Lieutentant complained that the sandbags were no good.  Lt. Hill took off his hat and glasses, pointing to the top of the hill. "You see that flag.  This is an Afghan flag on this base, it's an Afghan base.  My soldiers man the base 24 hours.  They're working on the Hesco barriers.  You guys man the base 12 hours and are not working."

Finally the ANA began moving the sand bags to fortify their tower. "Instead of a common solution, they come up with a common problem," Lt. Hill said.

The Afghans eventually finished fortifying their tower, but it wasn't certain whether they had any soldiers manning it, as promised.

"There's no Non-commissioned officer core," Sgt. 1st. Class Delagarza said. "A sergeant with them just has more time, it's like a mob mentality."

Routine is a good thing- not to focus on people shooting at you
The younger guys of 2nd Platoon, always seem to be moving.  They're either going from a guard shift or on a policing call (picking up trash) or rushing to the assembly area for a pre-mission meeting.  There's no stop to the routine, and usually get only four hours or so of sleep a night.

(PFC. Manguino burning the outhouse pot.)

"I got woken up 1:45 for a guard, pulled guard two to four a.m., went straight to radio change.  I slept from six to seven and got woken up to clean my hooch.  I'm pretty sure I got guard next," said PFC Gino Manguino, 18, of Houston, TX.

Big Picture
Lt. Hill understands how the Afghans don't trust American promises, and still hold their hands out to get the money while it's there.  In villages such as neighboring Qala Wana, the elders are so tired of promises, when they see the interpreters with the Americans, they say- don't even promise.  So far Qala Wana has received a well from coalition forces, despite probably seeing 10 U.S. lieutenants and 4 captains over the last three years.

Lt. Hill undertands. It doesn't make it easier. "It's not my job to promise," he says, "my job is security and small projects.  It's not a promise until it's finished."

 (PFC. Lewis, of Florida, scanning the mountains at dusk, when the attacks normally come.)

And the young, already veteran soldiers have an ounce of hope. "Four years in the military, two in Afghanistan," said Spc. Benjamin Powell, 20, of Evergreen, CO. "I don't like to think that two years of my life have been worthless.  I think that we're losing plenty of troops over here, I've lost good friends here.  I believe what we're doing, we need to do it.  If we don't who is?"