The State October 22, 2006
Guard unit's mission key to U.S. success in Afghanistan
By Chuck Crumbo
When members of an S.C. National Guard unit reach Afghanistan in January, they could take on a mission analysts and military leaders say is key to U.S.-led efforts to win over the local population and break the Taliban.
The troops — 200 members of the Mullins-based 1st Battalion, 263rd Armor Regiment — expect to provide security for teams of military personnel training the Afghan National Army and contractors helping in the reconstruction effort.
The battalion, which left Wednesday, is an advance party of the Guard’s 218th Infantry Brigade.
The Newberry-based brigade is on alert and expects to send another 1,600 soldiers next spring to Afghanistan. There, the brigade would assume command of Task Force Phoenix, which is training the Afghan military.
Brig. Gen. Robert Livingston, the 218th commander, said about half of the battalion’s troops left Wednesday for two months of training at Camp Shelby, Miss. The rest will leave with the brigade when it heads to Afghanistan, he said.
Lt. Col. Steve Wright, the armor battalion commander, said his troops are taking on a mission that is new to the Afghanistan war effort.
“They’re not relieving anybody over there,” he said.
The reconstruction teams — a mix of military personnel and civilian contractors — need additional security when they go into the Afghan countryside to do their jobs, Wright said.
“Those teams are by themselves, and they’ve had problems,” Wright said. “It’s a dangerous job for (the National Guard troops). “They’re going to do combat operations from day one.”
The reconstruction teams are working on projects intended to improve Afghans’ quality of life — digging deep wells, and building bridges, schools, roads and government outposts.
Security is crucial for the teams because they’re key to the U.S. exit strategy from Afghanistan, NATO commander Gen. James L. Jones said.
“Afghanistan will not be resolved by military means,” the four-star Marine leader said in an Oct. 17 article published in the Washington Times. “The real challenge is how well the reconstruction mission and the international aid mission is focused. And fundamentally, this is the exit strategy for Afghanistan.”
But a recent upsurge in Taliban activity has threatened the teams’ success, said John Pike, a military analyst.
The Taliban militants, who used to launch hit-and-run attacks, are now standing and fighting U.S.-led coalition troops, Pike said.
The Taliban even has attempted to take over some communities and hold the local residents hostage, according to reports.
“Part of the counter-insurgency strategy is ... to win the hearts and minds” of Afghans, said Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org. “These teams are... a way of demonstrating we’re the winning team, and if you kick in, you’ll be better off.”
Without better security, Pike said, “the enemy will come in and run them off.”
The Guard’s presence “provides overmatched lethality. It basically makes sure you have more people pulling triggers than the enemy so they just can’t overwhelm you.
“This is definitely not going to be a day at the beach.”
© Copyright 2006, The State
