bobdina
10-29-2009, 11:02 AM
Special Forces continue to work with Afghan communities
‘A female Special Operations Task Group medic assesses an Afghan infant during a recent medical clinic established specifically for women and children in the Mirabad area of Oruzgan province, southern Afghanistan.’
Australian Special Forces soldiers in conjunction with the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) have applied months of intense pressure on insurgents in Oruzgan province, making their presence felt in the province’s Mirabad region.
A series of operations in the area since July have seen the Australian Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) and ANSF steadily advance a counterinsurgency strategy.
The strategy aims to gain and maintain the support of the local Afghan population by demonstrating ANSF and coalition ability to protect them, and by offering them an achievable, positive alternative to continued Taliban domination.
Operations designed to paralyse or disrupt insurgent leadership networks were a key first step.
The main outcome of these operations was to damage the control that local insurgent leaders and improvised explosive device facilitators have over local fighters, reducing their ability to intimidate and threaten the local population.
Building rapidly on these successes against insurgent leaders, ANSF and their Australian Special Forces partners met with key community leaders in follow-on missions across the Mirabad region to hear and better understand the fears, hopes and expectations of their people.
These village meetings, or shuras, were a vital means of reassuring the community of the Afghan and Australian soldiers’ determination to prevent a resurgence of Taliban influence, intimidation and violence in the area.
The shuras also paved the way for direct community assistance in the form of basic medical clinics.
The health issues of women and children have been recognized as important by coalition forces and many of the clinics were comprised of female medics and interpreters.
Basic life support infrastructure needs were also identified through the shuras with the set up of a water pump in a village by the SOTG, assisting in crop irrigation for a community of several hundred people.
Improved levels of trust and support between the local population, coalition and ANSF has been a positive outcome from the Mirabad operation and the ADF expects that this will continue into the future.
http://www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opslipper/stories/stories.htm#special
‘A female Special Operations Task Group medic assesses an Afghan infant during a recent medical clinic established specifically for women and children in the Mirabad area of Oruzgan province, southern Afghanistan.’
Australian Special Forces soldiers in conjunction with the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) have applied months of intense pressure on insurgents in Oruzgan province, making their presence felt in the province’s Mirabad region.
A series of operations in the area since July have seen the Australian Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) and ANSF steadily advance a counterinsurgency strategy.
The strategy aims to gain and maintain the support of the local Afghan population by demonstrating ANSF and coalition ability to protect them, and by offering them an achievable, positive alternative to continued Taliban domination.
Operations designed to paralyse or disrupt insurgent leadership networks were a key first step.
The main outcome of these operations was to damage the control that local insurgent leaders and improvised explosive device facilitators have over local fighters, reducing their ability to intimidate and threaten the local population.
Building rapidly on these successes against insurgent leaders, ANSF and their Australian Special Forces partners met with key community leaders in follow-on missions across the Mirabad region to hear and better understand the fears, hopes and expectations of their people.
These village meetings, or shuras, were a vital means of reassuring the community of the Afghan and Australian soldiers’ determination to prevent a resurgence of Taliban influence, intimidation and violence in the area.
The shuras also paved the way for direct community assistance in the form of basic medical clinics.
The health issues of women and children have been recognized as important by coalition forces and many of the clinics were comprised of female medics and interpreters.
Basic life support infrastructure needs were also identified through the shuras with the set up of a water pump in a village by the SOTG, assisting in crop irrigation for a community of several hundred people.
Improved levels of trust and support between the local population, coalition and ANSF has been a positive outcome from the Mirabad operation and the ADF expects that this will continue into the future.
http://www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opslipper/stories/stories.htm#special