By Maj. Haydn Barlow
TARIN KOT, Afghanistan - Law enforcement in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province has reached a state of independence, according to a senior coalition police adviser.
Lieutenant Colonel Jon R. Siepmann of the 184th Security Force Assistance Team (California National Guard) says the southern Afghan province is now controlled by local security forces, led by the police.
“They are the clear center of gravity for providing security in the province,” Siepmann said.
“The police are on the front lines of this fight; manning the check points and interacting with the population on a daily basis.
The 184th SFAT joined Combined Team Uruzgan in July at the height of the Afghan National Security Forces’ first summer fighting season while in the lead.
They will return home around Christmas time, having successfully overseen the transition to full police independence in Uruzgan.
“It is certainly a big achievement, and the progress in this province in recent years has been particularly impressive,” Siepmann said.
“The security forces are denying the enemy access to the district centers, and the ability to move freely in the province”
“This is police ground now.
“There are still valleys and remote areas with Taliban influence, but at the end of the day they don’t matter because they are not where the resources are, not on lines of communication, and not where the people live.”
Partnered in recent years by a cosmopolitan mix of Australian, U.S., Dutch, French and Slovakian troops, Uruzgan’s security forces have steadily increased their reach as they have taken on more responsibility.
They have graduated from the days of living and fighting side by side with a partnered coalition unit and are now executing independent operations.
Combined Team Uruzgan will soon leave the province altogether.
Siepmann attributes Uruzgan’s success in part to a local figure head, Matiullah Khan, who has grown into one of the country’s most effective Provincial Chiefs of Police.
“In a place like this you need strong leadership. Without it you lose direction and consistency, and consistent behavior from the police is vitally important in a counter-insurgency fight,” Siepmann said.
“The most important thing they have done is gain the support and trust of the population.
“Brigadier General Khan is from this province; this is his home.”
“He is responsible not just to the Ministry of Interior, but also to the community, and that makes a difference.”
The 184th SFAT is comprised of guardsman from across California, including three who work in law enforcement back home.
Siepmann says this has lent his team credibility.
“Things like evidence based operations would be difficult to teach if we did not have those skills already in the team.
“But more than that, the Afghan police feel more comfortable when they know they have fellow officers from agencies like the LAPD advising them on police work.”
One of the SFAT’s unlikely contributions to the developing police force has been to help them overcome Uruzgan’s physical isolation.
“We brought them the internet,” he said. “It was not easy, but the team persisted and we got there.”
“This has taken them from a system that relied on hand delivery over hundreds of kilometers, to one that can send and receive information from Kabul and Kandahar instantly.”
“It seems like a small thing, but in this part of the world, opening lines of communication can have an incredible impact.”
With advisers focused on improving the functionality of the police headquarters in the provincial capital Tarin Kot, other members of the team contributed to training.
“Our principle achievement was to facilitate formal instruction for nearly 300 police in areas like logistics, bomb detection, medical treatment and evidence collection,” Siepmann said.
“These more refined skills are still lacking throughout their force, but they have made significant gains in a number of critical areas.”
“For the first time ever they took evidence from a bomb blast, processed it effectively and transported it to the crime lab in Kabul. This had never happened before.”
At the end of his tour, Siepmann sees hope for the people of Uruzgan.
“Tarin Kot is a clean city. I rarely see garbage. But I do see constant productivity.
“There a paved roads where only a few years ago there were none. The markets are vibrant. And so are the people.”
| Date Taken: | 11.30.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 11.30.2013 02:51 |
| Story ID: | 117561 |
| Location: | TARIN KOWT, AF |
| Web Views: | 244 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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