NATO advisers expand security assistance in Helmand

Photo By Maj. Kay Nissen | Two soldiers from Task Force Forge provide security near Bost airfield in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2017. A NATO Resolute Support unit, Task Force Forge, has sent approximately 20 advisers as part of an expeditionary advisory package in Bost to assist in expanding security operations in the region. (NATO photo by Kay M. Nissen)  

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

03.16.2017

Story by OF-2 Kay Nissen 

Resolute Support Headquarters

KABUL, Afghanistan - The top military leaders in Helmand province met with Afghan Ministry of Defense and NATO Resolute Support officials in Afghanistan's capital this week.

Afghan National Army Brig. Gen. Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai, 215th Corps Commander, and U.S. Army Brig. Gen. D. A. Sims, commanding general of Task Force Forge, attended the corps commander's conference at the MoD from March 15-16.

"I expect to see harder fighting in the region," said Sims during a visit to an advising operation near Bost airfield this past Sunday. "But our security efforts continue to build momentum and energize progress."

Ahmadzai briefed campaign plans for the 215th Corps, which include expanded security assistance from Task Force Forge advisers who currently form an expeditionary advisory package in Bost.

The package includes more than 20 advisors assisting the 505th Afghan National Police zone, which includes critical provincial population centers in Helmand like Nad Ali and Lashkar Gah.

"The population centers need robust governance," said 1st Lt. Ian Emory, Task Force Forge Aide-de-Camp. "The point of the security plan is to enable that governance."

The advisers, made up of mostly Army National Guard soldiers from the 38th Infantry Division, assist Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in intelligence, operations, communications, logistics and finance.

"The end goal is you see these guys learning and developing at the organizational level," said Capt. Samuel Boulet, an adviser in the Combined Joint Operations Center in Bost. "You see little changes as collective over time."

The CJOC is one example of the expanding security assistance, where Resolute Support members, Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army members coordinate their efforts to execute security operations in the region. From Task Force Forge, a total of eight soldiers provide CJOC support on location to the ANDSF 24-hours a day.

"We're here to increase capacity and capability to the ANDSF," said Sgt. 1st Class John Stickler, one of the advisers posted at the Bost location. "We're here to help the people of Helmand...to provide to the people a good institution worthy of their support."

• Date Taken: 03.16.2017
• Date Posted: 03.18.2017 04:49
• Story ID: 227302
• Location: KABUL, AF