Able Company battles elements, violence bringing hope to Pech Valley

KUNAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

01.23.2008

Courtesy Story

173rd Airborne Brigade

✔ ✗ Subscribe

98

By Army Sgt. Brandon Aird
173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The sound of water dripping through the roof was a constant reminder of the weather outside Forward Operating Base Able Main. A stray cat seeking shelter was making noise as it curled up in the loose roof insulation- enjoying the warmth of the rising heat.

Two paratroopers frantically ran around covered from the waist up in mud- unsuccessfully trying to divert a small pond of water that had built up above their building. Water was seeping through sandbags and was running inside.

Three days of rain had turned the FOB into a field of puddles. Once the puddles were contained and their gear was safe, the Paratroopers went back to work.

These Paratroopers never stop patrolling the newly-constructed Pech Road in Kunar province, Afghanistan. Night and day, through rain and snow, they diligently patrol the $7.5 million Pech Road to bring security to an area known for violence.
They make up Able Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), also known as "The Rock".

Even though Able Company is an infantry company, the company commander stresses their main focus is helping and taking care of the villages in and around the Pech River Valley.

"We're responsible for over a hundred villages," explained Army Capt. Louis Frketic, Able Company commander.

Able Company works side-by-side with the Afghan national police and Afghan national army to help bring security and development to the area.

"We've put a tremendous amount of effort into connecting with the people," Frketic explained.

One of the key ways Able Company is accomplishing that task is through humanitarian-aid type missions and assisting the Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team as they build infrastructure and construct government facilities in the province.

"We literally do one to five humanitarian-aid missions a day between our platoons or facilitating the [Kunar PRT]," said Frketic. "We've done at least 500 since we got here. It's astronomical. We've given out building supplies, food, Qurans, prayer rugs, clothing - pretty much the entire spectrum of HA."

One of the biggest projects in the area has been the construction of the Pech Road, which over the last eight months has opened up the area to new opportunities. The Taliban extremists do not want the region to prosper under the new government. Arriving in country this past May, Able Company has been engaged in over 150 firefights with Taliban, al-Qaida and other anti-coalition militants.

Although the violence has not allowed international aid agencies to operate consistently in the Pech Valley, it has not stopped Able Company or the Kunar PRT from offering humanitarian aid or continuing the development of self-help projects, according to Frketic.

Able Company launches these efforts out of FOBs Able Main, Honaker-Miracle and Michigan - all on the Pech Road. The three bases are strategically placed enabling Able Company to engage more villages and cover a larger area. FOB Michigan is the home of 2nd Platoon and they are on the 'front line' of these efforts on a daily basis.

"Normally, on any given day we have two patrols," said Army 1st Lt. Kareem F. Hernandez, a N.Y.,-area resident and 2nd Platoon Leader. "In the morning we usually go check on our elders. To make sure they're doing alright and see if they need anything."

Hernandez and the ANP have built good working relationships with the village elders and area populace. After three days of rain and six inches of snow, 2nd Plt. and a squad of ANP walked 45 minutes to visit the village of Omar Jan. 11. The patrol was conducted so Hernandez, ANP and the village elders could discuss future projects and security in the area.

While the patrol was intended to conduct business, the rapport built in the meeting allowed for some humor.

"Two weeks ago we were in South Omar and some guy started shooting at us from a house," explained Hernandez to the village elders. "Halfway through the firefight, the house he was in caught on fire from a rocket. The guy actually set his weapon outside against a tree and started throwing buckets of water on the house."

The village elders laughed when Hernandez told him the story saying, "The people up in South Omar are crazy."

After the meeting, village elders walked Hernandez down the mountain and promised to visit him soon at FOB Michigan. During the walk, the sun had finally poked its head through the clouds and the snow had started receding, emulating the relationships between Soldiers and villagers.