Friday, March 29, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Saturday, November 17, 2012
Hawaii Guard soldiers ready to assist, advise Afghan forces
By Selected News Articles @ 2:10 PM :: 6330 Views :: Energy, Environment

Hawaii Guard soldiers ready to assist, advise Afghan forces

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan DVIDS

Don’t be too surprised if the shaka sign becomes the standard friendly greeting gesture between coalition forces and Afghan National Security Forces in southern Afghanistan in the upcoming year.

The gesture, long associated with the Hawaiian Islands and surfing culture, promises to be widely displayed throughout the region in upcoming months when about 190 soldiers from the Hawaii Army Guard’s 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team assimilate with Afghan security force personnel. The Guardsmen will comprise 16 security forces assistance teams that will advise and assist both Afghan soldiers and policemen at seven locations in Kandahar and Zabul provinces.

Their mission is critical as there is just a short time remaining to ensure the Afghan army and police can sustain the country’s security and security training once International Security Assistance Forces pull out of Afghanistan in 2014.

“The goal of our mission will be to work ourselves out of our job,” said Lt. Col. Paul Takata, the brigade’s executive officer. “Our goal is to make the Afghan organizations we work with completely independent and able to conduct operations completely on their own.”

About 10 percent of the 29th IBCT’s soldiers are participating in the nine-month deployment that began here at KAF in early November with some final training classes before the teams traveled to their final destinations.

The entire brigade, headquartered in Kalaeloa, Hawaii, includes more than 2,200 soldiers. The security forces assistance teams are each comprised of 9-12 senior officers, senior sergeants and soldiers with specialized military occupations.

“This will be a unique mission because every soldier will be a doer,’” said team leader Lt. Col. Darryl Lindsey of Hilo, Hawaii. “Lieutenant colonels will have to be crew-served weapon gunners and sergeants major will have to be drivers. Every soldier will have a variety of responsibilities.”

The SFAT teams will prioritize a number of subjects and topics in both classroom and field environments with their Afghan partners, including infantry tactics, organizational management, logistics and acquisitions.

Hawaii Guard soldiers ready to assist, advise Afghan forces

Sgt. Lamont Scott, of Waipahu, Hawaii, foreground, confirms his M4 rifle’s accuracy along with several dozen additional soldiers from the Hawaii Army Guard’s 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team at Kandahar Airfield’s small arms rifle range Nov. 14. About 190 soldiers in the 29th IBCT are set to advise and assist Afghan security forces during their nine-month deployment in southern Afghanistan.
 

The SFAT teams’ route to Afghanistan entailed far more than an 8,000-mile airplane flight. The teams have trained full time for the past five months and spent long stints at Camp Shelby, Miss., Fort Polk, La., and Fort Irwin, Calif., preparing for the deployment.

Lindsey said the southern Afghanistan SFAT mission is perfectly suited for a Hawaii Army National Guard brigade.

“Hawaiians are similar to Afghans in so many ways. We take our shoes off at the door, like to talk about our families, and love to sit down together for a meal, just like the Afghans,” Lindsey said. “The cultural diversity of the Hawaii Guard is also an important factor. It’s cultivated a mindset of mutual respect and reserved judgment.

“The Aloha spirit is going to be present – it’s going to be a good rotation.”

The team’s desire to spread the Aloha spirit throughout southern Afghanistan doesn’t lessen the realization that insider threats will remain a serious issue throughout the deployment. According to the Associated Press, more than 50 NATO service members have been killed in insider-attack incidents in 2012.

“We participated in a lot of training and scenarios throughout our predeployment training that focused on avoiding green-on-blue incidents,” Takata said.

Before reaching each of its respective final destinations, the 16 teams spent about one week on KAF taking final marksmanship, driving and counter-improvised explosive device classes. Once they reach their final destinations, the teams will spend about one week with their SFAT predecessors learning the intricacies of the duty. Once the overlap period is over, the Hawaiian soldiers will be solely responsible for advising and assisting the Afghan forces.

“We’ve been training hard,” Takata said. “We’re ready to get into our sectors and do our mission.”

---30---

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT