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CIVIL AFFAIRS: Winning Hearts and Minds in Afghanistan
Thursday, October 17, 2002
By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service

"They see the Americans and the new [President Hamid] Karzai government is the side to be on. We're the friendlier people, the ones that are going to help them." Army SF SFC Victor Andersen noted this is a hard message for some Afghan people to accept. "Their whole lives they've been told we're the bad guys."

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
Civil affairs soldiers are forging relationships with Afghans that help pave the way for civilian aid organizations and will help prevent terrorist groups from regaining a toehold in the region.

Two such soldiers, recently returned from Afghanistan, shared some of their experiences with American Forces Press Service and Soldiers Radio and Television Service in a Pentagon interview.

Capt. Britton London, a team leader with the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion from Fort Bragg, N.C., said many groups have promised help to the Afghans and never delivered. So, it can be difficult to convince the Afghans his soldiers are there to help them, he said. Not surprisingly, he continued, local populaces don't judge by what you say but by what you do. The team's challenge is to show results.

"When we go and meet the people in the remote villages, we have to come to them with something concrete," he said. In some cases, the team's concrete help came in the form of new windows on the local school and testing water sources to ensure their safety. Other times, the proof was in even larger projects, such as building roads or schools.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Dan