Photo By Master Sgt. Brock Jones | Col. Tom Washington, Regional Command-South liaison officer to Kandahar Provincial...... read more read more
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – All 40 or so village elders who had come to see Kandahar Provincial Governor Tooryalai Wesa refused to shake hands with U.S. Army Col. Tom Washington, who happened to be at the governor’s mansion on a regular visit in his role as Regional Command-South liaison officer to the governor. The elders had come to protest an overnight air strike by International Security Assistance Forces in their village and had no intention of shaking hands with, or even acknowledging the presence of, a U.S. Soldier. Wesa welcomed the men in and allowed them to voice their concerns, frustrations and questions, and then assured them that he and Washington would provide them with answers they sought. Having been allowed to voice their anger, the men left peacefully, taking with them a box of human remains they’d intended to leave on the governor’s desk as a symbol of their displeasure.
For U.S. and coalition members of Security Forces Advise and Assist Teams and other advisory units whose assignments have them working closely with Afghan policemen, soldiers, and government officials, even the most mundane meetings have an inherent element of risk. Though by no means indicative of what every day entails for Washington in his job, the example of the elders with the box provides a look into the range of possibilities he and other Soldiers deal with in the challenging advisory and assistance roles in RC-South and across Afghanistan.
Washington, an eighth generation Virginia native, is an individually mobilized engineer officer from the D.C. National Guard on his second tour to RC-South. He came to Afghanistan as an advisor more than a year ago with 2nd Cavalry Regiment as part of SFAAT 220, advising police officers at Kandahar police headquarters. He was assigned to work with Col. Jalani, chief of support, who was in charge of five colonels who work in areas of administration, personnel, training, support and sustainment.
One of Jalani’s responsibilities was signing for bases that were being transferred from U.S. and coalition control back to Afghan ownership. Washington assisted both Jalani and the U.S. side of that process to ensure everything went as smoothly as possible. It was during this time that Washington became acquainted with Governor Wesa, Kandahar provincial governor, through the various functions associated with base handovers. Col. Dave Shaw, an individually mobilized Soldier from the California National Guard, was the liaison to the governor at the time and about to finish his tour. Shaw recommended to RC-South leadership that Washington replace him in the role of liaison to Wesa, and after consideration, Washington was given the assignment. Shaw’s recommendation held a lot of sway with Wesa, given that he’d already established a relationship with the governor, Washington said.
The most successful SFAATs and advisors understand that everything they do in Afghanistan is about relationships, said Lt. Col. Mark Boone, team leader of Commander International Security Assistance Force Advisory and Assistance Team-South.
“Relationships have to be built before anything else can get done,” he said. Upon getting the assignment in late October, Washington said it was “mid-December before I could get a trusting kind of rapport built with the governor.” A couple incidents early in their professional relationship, one of which was the men with the box of human remains, helped Washington earn the governor’s trust, he said.
Building the kind of relationship that leads to successful advising can take months, according to Capt. Jaymie Brower, an intelligence officer who serves as an intelligence advisor with SFAAT 7, and who has, like Washington, worked with at least two different Afghan partners in his time in RC-South. “Trust is everything here,” he said. “Without trust you can’t get anywhere.”
By the first of the year, that relationship of trust was well established between Washington and Wesa, and they were meeting four or five times a week. Washington believes the governor saw in him someone who was willing to offer support through even the most difficult times.
“Whether it was a project initiative or some nongovernmental organization that was working with him, he’d ask me my opinion,” Washington said.
Washington, whose first deployment to RC-South was as division engineer and protection chief with the 82nd Airborne Division, said that working with the governor has been a both a challenging and an enlightening experience.
“Sometimes I kid with the governor about who’s mentoring who,” he said.
Washington said he’s learned quite a bit from the governor about how he runs meetings, how he poses and responds to questions. He’s also learned much from the governor’s persistence and resilience.
“He’s almost been here six years, and that says a lot too,” Washington said. Six years in office is no small accomplishment for a government official to serve, especially in Kandahar province, known as the birthplace of the Taliban. In fact, Wesa survived a 10th assassination attempt on July 9, 2014, with Washington and other RC-South leaders present.
That day, armed insurgents made coordinated attacks on Kandahar’s police headquarters and the governor’s palace compound. Washington and other U.S. leaders were at the governor’s palace for the weekly provincial security meeting, a gathering of Afghan National Security Forces, local civilian and RC-South leaders to discuss regional security concerns. Minutes before the meeting concluded, Afghan National Police Brig. Gen. Rahmatullah Atrafi, chief of security and second in command at Kandahar police headquarters, started agitatedly looking at texts coming through on his phone. Washington said he could tell something was out of the ordinary. The meeting ended and Rahmatullah left abruptly. Washington asked the governor what was going on and Wesa told him that there was an attack at police headquarters and that it looked like some kind of vehicle-borne explosive device was used, but that no one knew for sure.
Washington and other U.S. and ANSF leaders moved into the governor’s office for a scheduled private meeting with Wesa.
“It wasn’t two or three minutes later when the first small arms fire was heard and a couple explosions,” Washington said, adding that he counted five smaller explosions about 8-10 minutes apart. “And then there was one huge explosion which was a VBIED, out there by the front gate,” Washington said, adding the explosion was large enough to break most of the glass in the large back windows of the palace.
“That was a dangerous scenario because that glass is really thick and very tall—must be 25 feet tall—and all that glass was just falling,” Washington said. “That was the biggest concern I had.” Being in the central part of the palace where it was a little more secure, the group and their security detail remained where they were.
The Afghan policemen and the palace guards “really took care of things very quickly,” Washington said. “It was a little over an hour by the time they had basically secured and cleared the entire area.” News reports of the days attacks on the governors compound and the police headquarters reported that four policemen, five civilians and more than 20 enemy fighters had been killed.
The week following the incident, Washington and the security forces team he rides with from Kandahar Airfield to the governor’s palace, were right back for a visit with the governor. It was almost as if nothing had happened at all, he said.
“I went the following Tuesday and everything was all well, just like it hadn’t happened…Afghans are very intelligent and are resilient survivors and we all can learn a thing or two from that.”
Washington, who is currently assigned to SFAAT 7, commanded by Col. Nick Crosby, has had more than 200 combined “touches,” as advisers call their visits, with Jalani and Wesa since July 2013. Few of those visits rise to the adrenaline levels of the July 9 attack or the story of the men with the box of human remains. It’s in the often mundane, day-to-day effort as an adviser where the hard and important work of advising and assisting, through mutual trust, gets done. It’s in setting conditions of trust and building a relationship that blurs the line between adviser and advisee. After all, advising is all about trust and “trust is coming through on expectations,” said Crosby.
“Advising is a unique and dynamic experience and role,” said Washington. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity.”
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 08.08.2014 10:05 |
| Story ID: | 138708 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR, AF |
| Hometown: | FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 417 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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