A Battlefield Tourist

Task Force 2/7 Under Fire

Jun 14 at 4:04pm by David Tate

Four US Marines were killed in action in the southwestern part of Afghanistan June 14th where they’ve been training Afghan National Police forces since late March.  The Marines died when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in Farah Province.  A fifth Marine was seriously injured in the attack.  That brings the number of Marines killed during this springs’ “surge” to seven.

While Task Force 2/7 came to Afghanistan with the 2,200 Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), their mission is completely different from that of the MEU. 

“Our Mission is to provide security for the ANP mentors and assist in training the ANP in order to extend Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) authority and influence over security, stability and regional development.”  Lt. Col. Richard Hall told me in an email interview. ”My Marines are in contact everyday, in every district”.

2/7’s current area of operations includes 11 districts across two provinces, but will focus their training efforts in eight of those districts. Currently, 2/7 is operating in  Sangin, Musa Qala, Nahr-e-Saraj (Gereshk), Now Zad, and Washir districts in Helmand province as well as Deleram, Golestan, Bala Baluk, Bakwa and Farah districts in Farah Province.  The entire area of operations is 400 km by 240 km.

The Marines have been broken down into platoon-sized elements and are assigned to various district centers where they mentor and train a force of primarily Afghan National Police.  While 2/7 is attached to Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan, they are also part of Task Force Phoenix, which makes the Marine battalion the first unit of this size to be dedicated to the training of Afghan Security Forces.

Beyond that, 2/7 is also working toward the integration of civil affairs projects that coincide with their security efforts. 

“We focus heavily on civil military projects tying in and synchronizing our efforts with all elements of the civilian leadership.” 

Also by email, Master Sergeant Marlon Martin adds,  “The task force’s mission, however, is not to drive out the Taliban.  Its mission is the people.  The commander (Lt. Col. Hall) is intensely focused on this mission.”

The battalion, now headquartered at Camp Barber, is within the confines of the sprawling British base, Camp Bastion, northwest of Helmand’s provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.

Focused District Development Plan (FDD)

While there are many reasons that have contributed to the shortcomings in Afghanistan, one that ranks at the top is the failure to adequately train and implement Afghan police forces.  This task was originally given to the Germans, then taken over by the Americans in 2006.

Beginning in October, 2007, the United States began a new program called Focused District Development, which not only began pumping more funding into the police forces, but training teams, similar to the Embedded Training Team (ETT) concept were now being used with police forces. 

The goal for the program is to focus on 52 of the country’s districts by the end of 2008, with all of Afghanistan’s remaining 313 districts to follow suit by 2012.

“We see FDD as really the first step in breaking the cycle of corruption that really is a challenge here in Afghanistan,” said Army Colonel Michael McMahon, the director of force integration and training for Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, which oversees Afghan security forces development.

A sentiment echoed by Lt. Col. Hall.  “We (US and Afghan leadership) jointly understand as being underpinned by a legitimate and capable law enforcement capacity that becomes the first, and perhaps the only, form of legitimate government local people will ever come to know.  They understand this, not so much from an idealistic view but certainly from a pragmatic perspective.  They both understand force, but it is inculcating character and teaching the legitimate or restrained use of force that becomes the challenge, in both theaters.  Teaching them to do the right thing even when no one is looking.”   

It’s a challenge the Marines successfully met just last year in Anbar Province, Iraq.  Now, less than a year later, 2/7 is doing it all over again, this time as the tip of the spear for a program in it’s own fledgling state, even if almost seven years into coalition intervention.

“Creating a credible, respectable, competent police force is challenging in any theater, especially when you do not always have all the resources up front to get you started, or the processes in place for sustainment.”  Hall said.  “But there is certainly enough to get the job done.”

The above image was provided by 2/7 Marines.