Afghan, coalition forces conduct joint operation, builds relationships

Photo By Sgt. Derek Kuhn | Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 509th infantry Division rehearse dismounting a helicopter prior to a recent air assault operation. The operation was a joint effort between the Afghan national army, Afghan border police, and the U.S. Army.  

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

05.15.2009

Story by Spc. Derek Kuhn 

40th Public Affairs Detachment

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — When doing a large air assault into a known insurgent stronghold, peace is not what is expected. Contact with enemy forces is supposed to be inevitable, but in a recent joint air assault operation May 15 between the Afghan national army, Afghan border police, and the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Airborne, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, not a single shot was fired.

The joint forces performed the air assault in the Zerok district of the Paktika province, which involved many key leader engagements which resulted in several weapons caches being found and many people of interest being detained.

Afghan national security forces took the lead, manning check points, engaging locals, and scouting the area while U.S. forces primarily worked as facilitators and supporters.

"The teamwork between the ANSF and U.S. forces gets better every time we conduct mission together," said1st Lt. Daniel Strathman, a Rockford, Ill., native, and mortar platoon leader for the HHC, 3-509th.

Teamwork, which included many ANSF soldiers helping carry heavy equipment up steep and treacherous terrain, and also assisted in resupply efforts by using their innate knowledge of mountain climbing to bring food and water to the more remote encampments.

With their knowledge of the terrain, the coordination between all parties while on patrol of the area allowed several caches to be found by ABP courtesy inspections and scouting.

"We found two small caches during courtesy inspections, and the larger cache we found was in the mountains," said 1st Sgt. Karl Zaglauer, first sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company. "The larger of the caches had several rockets, mortars, an anti-aircraft weapon, AK-47s and IED components."

"We dealt the insurgents a huge blow by destroying the weapons caches," said Strathman. "It will definitely knock them back a little bit."

Reverberating what Strathman stated, Zaglauer, agreed that the cache find would definitely make the area a little safer for the time being.

"This will disrupt their operations," he said. "Now, they will have to come up with the money, time and man-power to resupply [which will take a while]."

The ABP's security checkpoints also disrupted enemy operations by detaining six people with known Taliban connections.

Perhaps the most successful aspect of the operation was establishing positive relationships with people in so remote of an area that some had never seen Soldiers before.

"I spoke with some of the elders from the Zurok district and they were very happy with the way we treated them," said Zaglauer. "They were happy with the way we were treating culture and that we were there."

• Date Taken: 05.15.2009
• Date Posted: 05.29.2009 10:07
• Story ID: 34281
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF