Afghan police chief earns Soldier’s respect

2 Jul 07
By Sgt. Jim Wilt
CJTF-82 PAO.

QARABAGH, Afghanistan - It is often said respect is earned not given. In the Army, it is one of the seven Army Values. Respect between fellow Soldiers is a critical part of military operations.

For one Soldier in Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery Brigade, Kentucky National Guard, the respect he has for his Afghan National Police counterpart has blossomed into near brotherhood.

"We’re just like brothers," said Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Linneman, a squad leader in Bty. A, 2nd Bn., 138th FAB. "The only difference between us is the language."

Linneman, who arrived in Afghanistan in March, quickly became friends with the Qarabagh District Police Chief, Col. Abdul Shokor. The friendship is built on mutual respect. Respect between the two and respect between the men who follow them. Both Linneman, a Florence, Ky. native, and Shokor, a resident of Kabul, have more than their respect in common.

"They’re like two peas in a pod," said Army Sgt. Paul Wilkerson, a forward observer in Bat. A. Both men are leaders, both are 51 years old and both fight against the Taliban. "Taliban sabat," is a common phrase heard between the two. The phrase means "Taliban tomorrow."

["The ANP] get disappointed if we don’t find them," Linneman said. The troopers of Bat. A work hand in hand with the ANP, Linneman said. "I love taking them out on patrol with us," he said. Linneman said he believes in working beside them, not in front of or behind them.

"[Shokor] is pretty gutsy," Wilkerson said. "He gets out with us and dismounts with us." Who is in charge of the men is a non-issue between them, Linneman said. They both are. "What ever chief says goes. What ever I say goes," he said.

Linneman has good reason to share the decision making process. He understands there are aspects of Afghanistan that he can never grasp as well as Shokor. "This is [Shokor’s] backyard," Linneman said.

Linneman’s respect for Shokor is partially based on Shokor’s war fighting experience which is reflected in the five scars on his body from bullets and shrapnel. Shokor said when he was younger he woke up one day to tanks in his town. Shortly after, he started fighting the Soviet Union in Khandahar province as a mujahedeen in a war that would leave the Russians defeated and the country of Afghanistan fractured.

Shokor said he began to fight because he didn’t believe in the ideas the Russians had for the country. After the defeat of the Russians, Shokor soon found himself fighting the Taliban. Today, he is still fighting the Taliban but now at the side of U.S.-led coalition forces.

"It is our country, we should work for the country," the police chief said. "As a police chief, it is my job to provide security for civilians." Shokor’s need to help the people of his district and his men is evident to the Soldiers who work under him. "He seems like a pretty respectable guy. He takes care of his men," Wilkerson said. "He does what he can to help the people in his district," he added.

Shokor spends most of his time at the district center. He said he sees his wife and eight children for only two days every two to three weeks, the rest of the time he is here.

The respect Linneman and his men show Shokor is mirrored in the respect the squad leader receives from the "chief" and his men. When the Afghan policemen are looking for Linneman, they want to know where the "commandant" or "grandfather" is. "Grandfather" isn’t a shot at the skinny, grey-haired staff sergeant’s age. It is a term of respect. It means Linneman is a good man.

The Soldiers and policemen the two lead have also formed their own bonds between themselves. Despite a language barrier, jokes and friendship pass between the men. In the evenings, food is exchanged between the two groups and a friendly game of volleyball is played.

While the two leaders may consider themselves brothers, the two groups of men, one from Kentucky, the other from various parts of Afghanistan, form one big family.

Photo - Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Linneman, a squad leader in Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery Regiment, Kentucky National Guard, talks with Qarabagh District Police Chief, Col. Abdul Shokor during a joint U.S. and Afghan formation at the Qarabagh District Center in Ghazni province, Afghanistan. Photo by Sgt. Jim Wilt.

Hard work creates progress in border provinces

May 16, 2007
By Army Pfc. Daniel M. Rangel
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

PARUNS, Afghanistan – Travel far enough into Afghanistan and you’ll find independent-minded people, confident in their attitudes and behaviors. Tribesmen here brandish Rocket Propelled Grenades and Kalashnikov rifles unlike the unarmed Afghans in the more urban areas.

The Korengal Outpost in the border Province of Kunar, has been a contentious region between these independent-minded people and Coalition forces and therefore serves as part of Afghanistan’s front lines against enemy insurgents.

The elder tribesmen from the Korengal Valley met for peace talks with Coalition leaders and Nuristan Gov. Tamim Nouristani at his compound in the Paruns Valley May 3.

“The Korengal Valley [elders, whose home] is enemy central for Kunar Province, where we’ve been doing most our fighting for the last 14 months now, have decided they want a third party outside of Kunar Province to talk their problems down,” said Army Capt. David W. Mayfield, Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander of 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. “They trust Governor Nouristani to be that third-party element to help them solve that problem.”

Nouristani’s family is from Nuristan, but he was educated in the U.S. and owns a pizza restaurant chain there, Mayfield said.

“It’s going pretty good. Nuristan is pretty lucky having Governor Nouristani,” Mayfield said. “He came back to Afghanistan several years ago, was appointed as governor of Nuristan Province and he’s been working diligently ever since.”

Negotiations are going well in part because of the great amounts of hard work being done by Coalition troops on the ground that leaves the enemy with little alternative but to come to the negotiating table.

“We’ve been shot at 50 to 100 times. But our platoon has been really lucky,” said Army Spc. John K. Anderson, 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1-32 Inf. Rgt, from Flat Rock, Ala. “We haven’t had any kind of casualties besides our platoon sergeant (Sfc. Lopez) who got some shrapnel from a bullet jacket, but he’s fine now.”

“I’ve been in the army for three years. This is my first time to Afghanistan, first time getting deployed. I’ve been here since [last] March,” Anderson said.

When not on the front lines standing guard at the Korengal Outpost or out on foot patrols all around Kunar Province, Anderson and his platoon are hiking the mountains of Afghanistan retrieving lost Humanitarian Assistance drop packages or pulling security for a medical engagement.

“There for a while, we pulled security for the engineers then we started doing missions out of it which was a lot of walking. When you look at it on a map it doesn’t look like that much, maybe a ‘click’ (kilometer) or two. But look at your range and it’s straight up and straight down,” Anderson said.

Forward Operating Base Fenty is Afghanistan’s eastern gate. From there, Soldiers and a handful of sailors and airmen travel to the provincial reconstruction teams and other FOBs. Travel to the PRTs and FOBs is done by armored convoy or helicopter.

Anderson and his unit worked side-by-side with the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police to provide security for the peace summit at the governor’s compound.

“It’s been a long day of work,” said Navy Cmdr. Samuel Paparo, commander of the Nuristan PRT after returning from peace talks with Nouristani and the Korengal Valley elders.

“Suicide bombing is on the rise in Afghanistan, but that doesn’t necessarily mean things aren’t going well. Just because one bad thing is happening doesn’t mean things aren’t going well,” Paparo said.

“I think the reconstruction helps convince them that their needs are going to be met best by the legitimate Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” Paparo said.

The Coalition’s plan to reconcile with tribal elders in these remote provinces is making progress.

“The influence of the government through the coalition is spreading farther and further East and farther and further North for this [area of operations],” Paparo said. “This demonstrates progress.”

“The Korengali elders are here to speak with the governor and they’re here to see the dividends that peace provides. That’s progress. We’ve moved from Naray to Kamdesh and we have a permanent outpost in Kamdesh where they’re making an outreach and implementing reconstruction. That’s progress,” Paparo said. “We have gone from Asadabad to Camp Blessing in Nangalam. We haven’t been in Nangalam before. That is progress. We hope to have a PRT and a FOB right here in Paruns and that is progress. And there’s a PRT and a maneuver element in Kala Gush in western Nuristan where it hasn’t been before – and that’s progress.”

It is the intention of the TF Spartan commanders to move the Nuristan PRT to the Province’s capital in Paruns.

“I’m in constant preparation for it and I prefer that it happen sooner rather than later,” Paparo said. “I want to be here as soon as I can because I realize the sooner the PRT is here co-located with the seat of government the sooner it will be more effective and the more effective it will be in our very important work,” Paparo said.

Photo: The ANP and an American Soldier coordinate security in the governor’s compound before the peace talks May 3.