Provisional Reconstruction Team begins work in Herat
By Maj. Richard C. Sater
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 Spc. Mary Miller and two young Afghan girls in traditional costume plant a tree at the conclusion of the opening ceremony for the Provincial Reconstruction Team headquarters. Miller is assigned to the 407th Civil Affairs Battalion, Fort Snelling, Minn.
Maj. Richard Sater
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HERAT, Afghanistan (Army News Service, Dec. 4, 2003) -– Two little girls in traditional Afghan dress giggled as they helped plant a young pine tree outside a new building on the northwest side of town housing the headquarters for the Herat Provincial Reconstruction Team.
The young girls concentrated only on the fun of it – digging in the dirt – and paid no attention to the crowd watching. For the solemn onlookers, the tree-planting marked the culmination of many months of hard work and the beginning of a hopeful tomorrow for the region. As of Dec. 1, the Herat Provincial Reconstruction Team headquarters is officially open for business.
The headquarters serves the provinces of Herat, Farah, Ghowr, and Badghis, a potential clientele of 3 million. Commanded and supported by Combined Task Force 180, the PRT aims to make a real difference in the lives of the people in the region by setting conditions for stabilization, security, and reconstruction.
“Combat operations are necessary to defeat our common enemy,” said CJTF 180 commander Brig. Gen. Lloyd Austin at the ceremony, “but reconstruction and development are necessary to win the battle for a better future.”
PRTs help attain that strategic goal, working hand-in-hand with provincial governors, local officials, Afghan government ministers, the United Nations, and other international agencies. Through consolidation of efforts, rebuilding becomes a reality.
PRTs are designed to operate in remote areas where other non-governmental organizations traditionally have no presence, creating a safer environment that encourages the NGOs to expand their operations – extending the reach of the national government and directly benefiting local populations.
“The PRT is one tool in our kit” to facilitate the reconstruction process, said Lt. Col. John Lineweaver, the Herat team commander and an Army reservist from the 301st Civil Affairs Battalion in Texas.
Civil affairs teams patrol the region, visiting towns, brokering productive relationships between people, the government, and various aid organizations to encourage reconstruction. With the PRT’s assistance, local laborers are hired to repave roads, rebuild bridges, repair schools and clinics, and drill wells. Such projects re-establish an infrastructure seriously damaged by years of war while benefiting the economy.
Lineweaver illustrated the potential of his PRT with the example of a cement factory on the outskirts of Herat, abandoned by the Soviets during their occupation in the 1980s. “If we do the homework,” he said – if his team’s influence can spur a reopening of the plant – “it could mean 5,000 jobs” for the region.
Roving teams let the PRT “cover a huge area with limited resources,” Lineweaver said. That’s particularly important here, considering that the four provinces served by the Herat PRT make up more than 20 percent of Afghanistan’s territory. The isolated towns and wide-open spaces “remind me a little of west Texas,” he said.
Initial response to the Herat PRT has been extremely encouraging. “Just our presence helps establish security. They [local leaders and citizens] want us to be here. They’ve told us that,” Lineweaver said.
Local dignitaries, including governors of three of the four provinces that the PRT will serve, attended the Dec. 1 ceremony and met with Lineweaver afterward for a working lunch. The governor of Ghowr was unable to attend, but he too has already met with the commander.
Lineweaver’s team -- primarily civil affairs soldiers from Minnesota as well as Texas -- faces some challenges, but he can’t hide his excitement, even as impending winter weather and poor road conditions in the west present obstacles. His long-term goals include establishing “safe houses” in each province, places where his teams can live and work for a week or two at a time.
“It’s kind of the hub-and-spoke concept,” he said, with the headquarters at the center and the safe houses extending PRT capability into the outer regions. “It’s only common sense.”
Herat itself is a sensible location for the western PRT, Lineweaver said. “The airport is here. Logistical support is available here. Many NGOs have their headquarters here.”
Lineweaver said he hopes his handsome new headquarters building will be perceived as a friendly place, and he extended some Texas hospitality to the local citizens. “Come by the house,” he said.
The Herat “house” is the sixth of 12 projected PRTs sponsored by CJTF 180 in Afghanistan. Mezar-e-Sharif, Gardez, Bamian, Konduz, and Parwan also host PRTs, with new team headquarters scheduled to open soon in Jalalabad, Kandahar, Qalat, and elsewhere – each one a concrete manifestation of the coalition’s commitment to stabilization and security.
Newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad also spoke at the Herat opening ceremony. “I am optimistic about the future of Afghanistan, that the Afghanis will make the right choices,” he said.
(Editor’s note: Maj. Richard C. Sater is a U.S. Air Force officer.) |
