Working Paper

FARMERS WITH GUNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF COUNTERINSURGENCY

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS IN AFGHANISTAN

Peter W. Connors, PhD

8165906821

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DEDICATION

To

Staff Sergeant Christopher Neil Staats

Texas Agribusiness Development Team II

Killed in Action, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, 16 October 2009

And

Sergeant Anthony Gabriel Green

Texas Agribusiness Development Team II

Killed in Action, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, 16 October 2009

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FARMERS WITH GUNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF COUNTERINSURGENCY

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS IN AFGHANISTAN

Table of Contents

Dedication……….

Chapter 1: Introduction……..

Chapter 2: ADT Origins and the First Rotation………

Chapter 3: 2008 Deployments – Texas ADT I, Nebraska ADT I, and Missouri ADT II….

Chapter 4: 2009 Agribusiness Development Team Deployments………..

Chapter 5: 2010 Agribusiness Development Team Deployments………..

Chapter 6: Conclusion……..

Bibliography……….

Suggested List of Photographs and Illustrations……….

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FARMERS WITH GUNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF COUNTERINSURGENCY

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS IN AFGHANISTAN

“We will focus our assistance in areas – such as agriculture – that

can make an immediate impact in the lives of the Afghan people.”1

President Barack Obama

Chapter 1: Introduction

“Eighty percent of Afghanistan depends on agriculture for its livelihood,” but “they’re

where we were 300 years ago,” explained Colonel Martin Leppert in describing the status of the

war-torn nation’s agricultural business sector.2 Leppert was the first National Guard Bureau

coordinator for the Afghanistan Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) Program which was

developed beginning in 2006 under the guidance Secretary of the Army Peter Geren, Lieutenant

General Clyde Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard, Major General King Sidwell,

adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, and Missouri Farm Bureau President Charles

Kruse. The original concept envisioned all-Soldier teams of agricultural experts, with specific

civilian-acquired skills, deploying to train and advise Afghan universities, provincial ministries,

and local farmers with the overall goals of improving stability, promoting sustainable farming

practices, and revitalizing the agribusiness sector of Afghanistan’s economy. By 2009, the

1President Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on the Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” 1 December 2009, 3.

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official ADT mission statement called for providing “basic agricultural education and services

for the people of Afghanistan and to support the effectiveness of the Islamic Republic of

Afghanistan (IRoA).”3 The mission statement was subsequently clarified in 2011 stipulating that

ADTs (1) teach Afghans new, more efficient ways of farming, harvesting, and marketing crops;

(2) stabilize the Afghan agricultural sector through hands-on training, and; (3) streamline Afghan

farming methods.4

The 935th ADT, comprised of soldiers from the Missouri Army National Guard,

deployed to Nangarhar Province in early 2008. The diverse team, which included agronomists;

hydrologists; veterinarians; engineers; medics; mechanics; pest management, marketing, soil

science, and supply specialists; and a robust security force, and quickly began teaching various

farming techniques for irrigating, fertilizing, planting, marketing, and storing of crops. By 2011,

nineteen ADT rotations – 17,000 Army and Air National Guardsmen on teams from Missouri,

Texas, Nebraska, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Kansas, California, Iowa,

Wisconsin, Illinois, South Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, Arkansas, and Mississippi – had

conducted operations in 15 Afghan provinces, team size had grown to 58 Soldiers/Airmen, and

$30 million had been invested in agribusiness development projects in Afghanistan.5

Agribusiness and the Afghanistan Economy

Since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, the Afghanistan economy is expanding after

decades of conflict. The recovery is due primarily to international financial assistance,

improvements in agriculture, and the growth of services. Nevertheless, landlocked Afghanistan

remains comparatively poor, with a GDP of only $27 billion – 111th worldwide in 2010, but

growing at 8.2% – a 35% unemployment rate, and 36% of the population (33 million) below the

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poverty level. Deficiencies in available jobs, housing, health care, electricity, clean water,

infrastructure, and the widespread inability of the IRoA to enforce the rule of law and curtail

corruption continue to plaque the populace and threaten prospects of further economic growth.6

Overall, however, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) believes that

“agriculture will determine whether Afghanistan will succeed or fail.”7

In Afghanistan, which is roughly the size of Texas, agriculture represents 31% of GDP

and an estimated 80% of the population relies on farming and related agribusinesses for their

livelihoods. Unfortunately, only 15% of the country’s land mass is suitable for farming, and

since most this farmland is located in remote valleys and requires irrigation, only about 6% is

actually cultivated.8 Prior to the Soviet invasion/occupation (1979-1989), however, the Afghan

agricultural sector was robust. Potatoes, rice, barley, corn, wheat, fruits, and nuts thrived in

Afghanistan’s fertile soil and mountainous environment. Figs, mulberries, pomegranates,

cherries, apricots, melons, grapes, almonds, and pistachios were exported worldwide, and in the

early 1970s, Afghanistan ranked 4th in global raisin exportation.9 Currently, wheat is

Afghanistan’s most important crop. The 2003 wheat harvest was the largest in 25 years, yet the

Afghan Ministry of Agriculture was required to import nearly one million tons of wheat to meet

the needs of its own people. Millions of rural Afghans remain dependent on international food

aid.10

Major industrial crops, such as cotton, tobacco, madder, castor beans, and sugar beets,

also play an important role in Afghanistan’s agricultural economy. The New Afghanistan Project

for Cotton and Oil Development (NAPCOD), for example, is a joint venture operation initiated

in 2006 to produce, collect, and gin cotton for export, and to refine cotton seeds into high-value

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oil and animal feed. Forty-six thousand Afghan farmers participated in the first season of

NAPCOD, which is expected to create 300 non-farming, permanent cotton industry jobs.11

Additionally, livestock production is equally critical as crop cultivation to the Afghan economy.

Karakul and Fat-tailed sheep, as well as several breeds of goats, are raised in large numbers

throughout the country. Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of the tight curly Karakul

lamb fleece used to make Persian lamb coats.12

Traditionally, Afghan farmers have been financially unable to purchase farm equipment,

chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and quality seeds. The United States and other members of the

international community have begun to provide financial assistance for the acquisition of these

agricultural necessities. Banking and credit services are slowly reviving as farming loans are now

being offered by US-backed rural Afghan lenders in nearly two dozen provinces. According to

the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as of June 2010, 53,000 small

agricultural loans had been issued to farming-related Afghan businesses – approximately 50% of

which were women-owned. USAID also initiated a $100 million Agricultural Development Fund

(ADF) which by early 2011 had provided loans to nearly 6,000 Afghan farmers. Additional

funds have been provided for leases, agro-processing, and crop export operations, while

commercial banks have extended revolving credit terms for a variety of Afghan agribusinesses.13

The opium trade and opium poppy production continue to represent a significant

percentage of Afghanistan’s agricultural economy. Cultivating poppy and transporting opium

require few skills and the majority of Afghanistan’s opium production – 93% of the world supply

in 2007 – is refined into heroine and consumed regionally or exported, primarily to Western

Europe. In 2010, Afghan farmers cultivated 123,000 hectares of opium poppy, which after

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processing yielded 3,600 metric tons of opium. Based upon estimated 2010 prices, the total value

of the opium harvest amounted to $640 million or approximately 5% of Afghanistan GDP.14

However, as increasing numbers of Afghan farmers turn to producing and marketing legitimate

alternative crops, the number of farmers growing poppy continues to decline. By 2011, 20 of

Afghanistan’s 34 provinces were poppy free. The United States ended direct involvement in

poppy eradication in 2009 and began increasing support for legal agricultural initiatives in

Afghanistan. The revised US counter-narcotics strategy also emphasized interdiction of

poppy/opium intended for Taliban use, thereby denying resources to the insurgency.15

The IRoA, led by President Hamid Karzai, is doing its part to restore strength to the

Afghan agricultural sector. The Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) – a long-

term, comprehensive, blueprint for security, governance, economic growth, and poverty

reduction – calls for a 30% increase in public investment for agriculture, with particular

emphasis on perennial horticulture, animal health, food security, and irrigation. The Afghan

Comprehensive Agriculture and Rural Development Program (CARD), a key component of

ANDS, is a series of 15 critical, agriculturally-oriented, initiatives intended to support the

poorest and most vulnerable segments of rural society. CARD sub-programs address, for

example, nationwide community development and cooperatives, livestock production, rural

access and infrastructure, research and extension services, forest and rangeland control, and

sanitation.16

In 2009, the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock streamlined

the ANDS framework to four key developmental programs: (1) Natural Resource Management,

(2) Agriculture Production and Productivity, (3) Economic Regeneration, and (4) Program

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Support and Change Management. These refined programs were intended to be inter-related, to

build upon each other, and to represent a sector-wide approach for improving Afghan

agriculture. Subsequently, MAIL also revised its mission statement as follows: “Economic

growth and food security depend upon natural resources management, increasing agricultural

production and productivity, improved physical infrastructure and market development. This is

the path to poverty reduction, licit crops and national security.”17

Specifically, ministry goals for the Natural Resource Management Program were to

rehabilitate Afghanistan’s natural resources and to encourage the country’s rural population to

use these resources in a sustainable and productive manner. The Agriculture Production and

Productivity Program objectives included sustainable productivity increases for Afghan farmers

and herders, expanded production of cash crops for domestic use and export, and improvements

in animal husbandry. Economic Regeneration Program goals involved increasing employment,

diversifying incomes, and enhancing Afghan state revenues by expanding economic growth in

the licit agricultural sector. The fourth developmental program, Support and Change

Management, addressed creating a competent, dynamic, well-run, Ministry and its subordinate

provincial offices.18 Finally, the Afghan government also supports growth in large scale

commercial agricultural activity through the Agriculture and Rural Development Zones (ARDZ)

program which is expected to increase rural incomes and employment opportunities and to

facilitate national agro-based export potential.19

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Comprehensive Efforts to Improve Agriculture in Afghanistan

In December 2009, a White House Office of the Press Secretary Fact Sheet noted that a

significant number of civilian experts would increasingly partner with Afghans to strengthen

government institutions and revitalize key economic sectors. “Our top reconstruction priority is

implementing a civil-military agriculture redevelopment strategy to restore Afghanistan’s once

vibrant agriculture sector,” the White House explained.20 Shortly after Operation ENDURING

FREEDOM began, the December 2001 Bonn Agreement clearly recognized the importance of

agriculture to Afghanistan’s recovery as a nation by urging “that the United Nations, the

international community, and regional organizations cooperate with the Interim authority to…

provide Afghan farmers with financial, material, and technical resources for alternative crop

production.”21 As a result, numerous donor nations, international agencies, and non-

governmental organizations (NGO) have contributed financially and mounted volunteer efforts

to rejuvenate and rebuild the Afghan agricultural economic sector.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT), for example, are integrated civil-military

organizations, whose mission involves extending IRoA authority into the Afghan provinces,

facilitating a stable and secure environment, and enabling security sector reform, reconstruction,

and host nation capacity building. PRTs typically operate in semi-permissive environments after

the conclusion of combat operations. In 2002, the US Combined Forces Land Component

Command (CFLCC) in Afghanistan established a Combined Joint Civil-Military Operations

Task Force (CJCMOTF) in Kabul to provide humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people.

20The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Fact Sheet: The Way Forward in Afghanistan,” 1 December 2009, 2, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/way-forward-Afghanistan (accessed 3 August 2011).21United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), “Agreement on Provisional Arrangements in Afghanistan Pending the Re-establishment of Permanent Government Institutions (Bonn Agreement),” 22 December 2001, 8.

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Civil Affairs Soldiers from the 96th and 489th CA BNs subsequently opened and manned a

series of Coalition Humanitarian Liaison Cells (CHLC) in several Afghan provinces.22

Concerns regarding insufficient representation by the Department of State and USAID in

the CHLC process led CJTF-180 and CJCMOTF leadership to recommend beefed up

organizations, initially called “Joint Regional Teams,” then renamed “Provincial Reconstruction

Teams (PRT).” The PRT concept had been roughly outlined in a Political-Military (POL-MIL)

Plan prepared by Dennis Skocz, Director of the Office of Contingency Planning and

Peacekeeping at the State Department, at the behest of US Special Envoy to Afghanistan,

Ambassador James Dobbins.“To get State Department and USAID officers out of Kabul, I

proposed that DOD allow American Civilian officials to live and work within military

compounds in the areas where US Troops were active,” Dobbins wrote. “Eventually, the first

Provincial Reconstruction Team was fielded on the model I had suggested…USAID and State

Department personnel were co-located with a military Civil Affairs team and housed within an

American military base camp,” he further explained.23

The first US-led PRT, which included representatives from USAID, US State

Department, US Department of Agriculture, the Afghan government, United Nations Assistance

Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and several additional international organizations, was

established in late 2002 at Gardez, followed in 2003 by PRTs Bamian, Bagram, Herat, Jalalabad,

Kandahar, plus German PRT Konduz and UK-led PRT Mazar-e Sharif.24 By 2005, there were 22

PRTs in Afghanistan, 10 NATO/ISAF and 12 US. Also at this time, PRT commanders began

reporting directly to the military commanders of their respective Regional Commands. The last

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PRT was established in Lowger Province by the Czech Republic in 2008, thus bringing the total

number of PRTs in Afghanistan to 26.25

PRTs performed their broad-based mission in Afghanistan by combining the diplomatic,

military, and developmental components of the various assigned agencies contributing to the

overall stabilization and reconstruction efforts. Primary PRT activities involved, therefore,

conceiving, planning, coordinating, and executing a wide variety of development and

reconstruction programs and projects, including several related to the Afghanistan agricultural

sector. Specific agriculture-oriented PRT tasks dealt with providing microloans to Afghan

farmers, creating value-added facilities to improve agriculture capabilities, and generating

agriculture-related employment opportunities on the farm and in the marketplace.26

Additionally, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) personnel are also participating in

Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Although USDA’s principal national security role involves

protecting the national food supply, numerous volunteer agricultural experts are collaborating

with the US Military in efforts to restore and rebuild the agriculture sector in Afghanistan. As of

2010, 13 USDA advisors were serving in Afghan PRTs in pursuit of the following goals: (1)

enabling, supporting, and fostering the physical and institutional reconstruction of Afghanistan’s

agricultural sector; (2) strengthening the capacity of the Afghan Government to rebuild

agricultural markets and supporting/providing services to the agricultural private sector; and (3)

improving conservation of biological diversity and management of forest, rangeland, and

watersheds though the relevant ministries of the Afghan government.27

Finally, since 2002, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

has spent an estimated $328 million on crop improvements, animal husbandry, irrigation

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systems, and microloans in support of Afghanistan’s Agricultural sector. Similarly, the United

Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provided Afghan farmers with food and farm

aid provided by funding contributions from numerous foreign countries. Improved livelihoods

for rural farmers and a food-secure, self-reliant, Afghan nation are the objectives of the FAO

mandate. The FAO initiative concentrated on enhancing certified seed production throughout

Afghanistan for important food crops, such as high-yield wheat. As of 2008, FAO had

established 37 pilot and private seed enterprises in 11 Afghan provinces with the goal of

achieving both profitability and long-term sustainability.28

Some international development experts suggest, however, that the magnitude of the

Afghan reconstruction effort may border on overkill. Dr. Amitai Etzioni, for example, award

winning Professor of International Affairs and Director of the Institute for Communitarian Policy

Studies at The George Washington University, favors smaller, humbler, more manageable

development initiatives as opposed to large-scale social engineering projects. Etzioni notes in

Military Review that basic security must be provided first, then followed by a small (vs. large)

number of rebuilding projects with relatively low expectations, high multiplier effects, and short-

term (vs. long-term) payoffs. “An overly ambitious and scattergun approach is very likely to fail,

[since]…in reconstruction, less is more,” Etzioni explained.29 The Etzioni approach is

remarkably similar to that of ADTs in Afghanistan.

History of National Guard Participation in Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Programs

Under a variety of operational codenames, such as Minuteman, Blazing Trails, Fuertes

Caminos/Strong Roads, New Horizons, and Beyond the Horizon, US Army and Air National

Guardsmen have been conducting humanitarian operations in Central America, South America,

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and the Caribbean since the mid-1980s. Sponsored primarily by the US Southern Command

(USSOUTHCOM), the Guardsmen, along with Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Reserve

forces, have participated in a series of humanitarian engineering and medical readiness exercises

intended to improve the well-being of rural populations and to enhance the economies of seven

Central American countries, six South American countries, and eleven Caribbean island nations.

These exercises also afforded the National Guard and Reserve forces the opportunity to

experience hands-on, realistic training, while promoting goodwill and improved diplomatic

relations with the nations within SOUTHCOM’s Area of Responsibility.30

Beginning in January 1984, the first unit-sized engineering exercise took place in Panama

and involved about 750 Soldiers from the 53rd and 92nd Infantry Brigades of the Florida and

Puerto Rico Army National Guard, respectively. Numerous additional Guardsmen from several

other states joined the task force during their annual two-week training periods. By the following

year, the first project – a 25 mile-long farm-to-market road with 14 bridges in Veraguas Province

– was completed. Congress formally authorized the Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA)

Program under Title 10, United States Code, in 1985. Subsequent projects promoted the security

interests of both the United States and the host nation, and required approvals from the US

Departments of Defense and State, plus host nation government officials. Since 1984, roughly

100,000 US Reserve Component and 10,000 active duty military personnel have participated in

several hundred HCA exercises. As of 2011, exercises New Horizons and Beyond the Horizon

are ongoing.31

Agriculture and The Way Forward in Afghanistan 2011-2014

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In his December 2009 “Address to the Nation” from the United States Military Academy

at West Point, President Barack Obama narrowly defined US goals in Afghanistan as

“disrupting, dismantling, and defeating al Qaeda and its extremist allies.”32 A year later,

President Obama reaffirmed these broad strategic goals and added the following related

objectives during the December 2010 Afghanistan-Pakistan Annual Review: (1) to prevent al

Qaeda from threatening the United States and its allies in the future, (2) to deny safe haven to al

Qaeda in Afghanistan, (3) to degrade the Taliban insurgency and deny the Taliban the ability to

overthrow the Afghan Government, and (4) to provide time for the Afghanistan National

Security Forces (ANSF) to assume the lead for Afghanistan’s security by the end of 2014.33 As

of mid-2011, the transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces continued based on the

momentum generated earlier in the year. Overall, however, “progress across Afghanistan

remained fragile and reversible.”34

Both the DoD Report on Progress toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan (April

2011) and the United States Government Integrated Civilian-Military Campaign Plan for

Support to Afghanistan(February 2011) have comparable mission statements. The DoD mission

from ISAF OPLAN 38302, 31 December 2010, states:

ISAF, in partnership with the Afghan Government and the international community, conducts comprehensive, population-centric counterinsurgency operations in order to – protect the Afghan people; neutralize insurgent networks; develop Afghan National Security Forces; and support the establishment of legitimate governance and sustainable socio-economic institutions.35

Typically, ISAF operations concentrate on providing security in geographic areas with large

Afghan populations. Transitioning responsibility for nationwide clear-hold-build operations to

the ANSF is a key focus of OPLAN 38302, which also includes the following lines of operation:

(1) protect the population, (2) develop the ANSF, (3) neutralize insurgent networks, (4) 16

neutralize criminal patronage networks, (5) support development of legitimate governance; and,

(6) support sustainable socio-economic development. Similarly, the Integrated Civilian-Military

Campaign Plan calls for US Forces, ISAF, and the international community to utilize a full

spectrum of diplomatic, military, and financial mechanisms to assist the GIRoA in countering

insurgency, preventing terrorist activities in Afghanistan, making the government responsive and

accountable to the people, and fostering long-term development.36

The Integrated Plan includes a series of 13 campaign objectives that reflect various

desired end-states as of 2014. With respect to agricultural opportunities, the plan identifies

enhanced productivity, improved irrigation, stronger markets and greater market access,

expanded credit availability, and increases in viable farming-related employment and incomes as

key developmental objectives/sub-objectives. Correspondingly, the spring 2011 Report on

Progress toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan outlines a number of initiatives

undertaken to boost international recognition of Afghan agricultural products, expand market

share, and generate new business deals, such as the November 2010 Agricultural Shura, a US

Embassy-financed national Agricultural Conference, and participation in the Gulfood 2011

Exhibition in Dubai. The Report on Progress also describes the increased capabilities within the

Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL) to expand services, improve

irrigation, regenerate agribusinesses, and increase productivity, employment, and farmer

incomes. The vast majority of the plans, programs, goals, and objectives from the Report on

Progress, OPLAN 38302, and the Integrated Civilian-Military Plan are essentially identical to

those initiated and carried out by Agribusiness Development Teams in Afghanistan.

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Finally, during 2011, ISAF began expanding security from Kabul into Regional

Command-East, where eight of the nine ADTs in country are located.37 “Our [ADT] mission is

high-profile,” declared Major General Roy Martin Umbarger, Adjutant General of Indiana. “It

represents what we are working toward in Afghanistan…a country that can provide for itself…

that kind of capability helps create stability – the safe and secure environment Afghans need to

take the reins.”38

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FARMERS WITH GUNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF COUNTERINSURGENCY

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS IN AFGHANISTAN

Chapter 2: ADT Origins and the First Rotation

“Whereas the Agribusiness Development Teams [ADT] of the National Guard began as a

pilot program in Missouri…and whereas ADTs consist of National Guard members who have a

civilian background in farming…be it resolved that the House of Representatives commends

ADT members for their efforts…to modernize agricultural practices and increase food

production in war-torn countries” – so reads US House of Representatives (111th) Resolution

1075, sponsored by Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) and passed 21 March 2010.39

In 2006, Secretary of the Army Francis Harvey and Lieutenant General Clyde Vaughn,

Director of the Army National Guard, discussed the possibility of deploying National

Guardsmen with civilian agriculture experience to Afghanistan to assist Afghan farmers. General

Vaughn further developed the ADT concept after he, Major General King Sidwell, Adjutant

General of the Missouri National Guard, and Paul LePage, retired command sergeant major and

Missouri Farm Bureau board member met with Afghan leaders and village elders in Kandahar

Province in the fall of 2006. The Afghans convinced General Vaughn that enhancing agricultural

development would help curtail the fighting and reduce Taliban influence in the country.40

39Clerk, United States House of Representatives, 111th United States Congress, “H. Res. 1075: In the House of Representatives, US,” 21 March 2010, 1-2.

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General Vaughn subsequently persuaded newly-appointed Secretary of the Army, Peter

Geren, Acting Commander of US Central Command, Lieutenant General Martin Dempsey, and

Missouri Farm Bureau President, Charles Kruse of the value and viability of deploying Soldiers

with agricultural expertise to help restore/rebuild Afghanistan’s devastated agribusiness

economic sector. Missouri Governor, Matthew Roy Blunt, volunteered his state to be the first to

assemble, train, and deploy an Agribusiness Development Team to Afghanistan.41 “I commend

our National Guard members in reaching out to farmers in Afghanistan and helping them…

jumpstart their agriculture economy,” Blunt declared in announcing the ADT Program.42

Both US Representative for Missouri’s 4th congressional district, Isaac N. “Ike” Skelton

and US Senator from Missouri, Christopher S. “Kit” Bond provided bi-partisan backing for the

ADT mission. Senator Bond had discussed the concept of a farming extension-like system for

Afghanistan with Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, commanding general of Combined Forces

Command-Afghanistan during a 2006 trip to Kabul. “ADTs are an important part of our ‘Smart

Power’ strategy – the combination of military might, economic development, education, and

diplomatic strategies – that is needed to succeed in Afghanistan,” Bond later remarked.43

“Revitalizing Afghanistan’s agricultural sector is critical to efforts to stabilize that country,”

Congressman Skelton added in a House Armed Services Committee press release announcing the

program.44 “The right people at the very top helped get this project done…and all the pieces fell

into place,” Vaughn noted in explaining the high level of US Government support for ADT

initiative.45

41Vaughn, interview, 17 August 2011; Center for Army Lessons Learned, Handbook: Agribusiness Development Teams (Fort Leavenworth, KS: CALL, 2009), 1; CW3 Anthony Romano, email correspondence, 12 August 2011, 1. 42Governor Matthew Roy Blunt quoted in Tamara Spicer, “Missouri Guard Partners to Help Afghanistan with Agribusiness Development Team,” Missouri National Guard News Release, 10 September 2007, 29.

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In March 2007, Vaughn redeployed Colonel Martin A. Leppert, former commander of

the 2d Embedded Training Brigade in Zabul Province, and prior to that Chief of the Army

National Guard’s Operations Division, to Afghanistan to lay the groundwork for the arrival of a

Pre-deployment Site Survey (PDSS) team in July, a four member Advanced Echelon (ADVON)

in October, and the first full complement ADT (935th) in January 2008. The PDSS team

included Captain Douglas Dunlap, the first ADT’s assigned executive officer, Chief Warrant

Officer Anthony Romano, who would eventually serve as Executive Officer Afghanistan

Agribusiness Development Mission, Sergeant Major James Schulte, and Master Sergeant Steven

Grassmuck. Nangarhar Province was chosen primarily because it was under US Military control

in Regional Command East – RC (E).Therefore, after arriving in Afghanistan, ADVON team

members – Captain Bradley Leonard, Sergeant Van Malter, Staff Sergeant Wade Galden, plus

Sergeant Major Schulte – deployed directly to the Jalalabad area in Nangarhar Province to

prepare for the arrival of the 935th main body.46

By May 2007, Colonel Leppert had developed a concept of operation and an ADT

manning structure, and he was thoroughly coordinating the upcoming ADT mission with key

stakeholders in Afghanistan, including the US Embassy, Kabul; USDA and USAID

representatives; the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MAIL);

Nangarhar provincial officials; and the US Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) at Jalalabad,

which would have administrative control (ADCON) of the ADT. Leppert also received go-ahead

approval for the ADT program from Combined Joint Task Force 82 (CJTF-82) commander,

Major General David Rodriguez. Finally, Leppert coordinated regularly with Colonel Charles

Preysler, 173d Airborne Brigade Commander and commander, Regional Command East – RC

(E), who was assigned operational control (OPCON) over the 935th’s mission in Nangarhar. 21

After successfully completing his ADT preparation assignment in Afghanistan, Colonel Leppert

went on to become Special Assistant to the Director of the Army National Guard and the initial

Afghanistan Agribusiness Development Mission Coordinator.47

On 2 December 2007, the 935th ADT was formally activated under Title 32 orders and

began pre-mobilization training at Camp Clark, Missouri. In early 2008, the team underwent

additional training under Title 10 orders at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. The initial ADT was task

organized as follows:

ADD WIRE DIAGRAM OF TASK ORGANIZATION FROM ALLISON’S FINAL REPORT

Key team members included Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, ADT Commander; Major

Douglas Dunlap, Executive Officer; Sergeant Major William Vogel, Non-Commissioned Officer

in Charge; Captain Michael Seek, Security Force (SECFOR) Platoon Leader; Captain Robbie

Roth, Supply Officer; and, First Lieutenant Tony Elkin, Operations/Intelligence Officer. The

935th subsequently deployed to Afghanistan and linked up with the ADVON team on 31 January

2008. The official ADT mission statement at the time read as follows:

Develop, man, equip, train, certify, deploy, and sustain Army National Guard Agribusiness Development Teams (ADT) in order to promote the revitalization of the agriculture sector in various Afghanistan provinces within the CJTF AOR NLT [spring] 08. On order be prepared to provide additional ADTs into theater based on CJTF requests.48

“Missouri Soldiers are proud to lead the way as the first Agribusiness Development Team,

setting the standard for future ADTs and successfully proving an Army concept,” Lieutenant

Colonel Allison remarked after leading the team for three months in Nangarhar.49

22

ADT planning called for team deployments to be divided into three phases: assessment,

operations, and disengagement. In Phase I, the ADVON or a small (3-4 members) agricultural

assessment team (AAT) conducts a preliminary analysis of provincial agribusiness deficiencies

and development requirements. The assessment results in a series of preplanned projects ready

for implementation once the ADT main body arrives on site. Phase II is simply the execution of

those projects identified in Phase I, plus others that may arise during the course on normal

operations. Typical 935th ADT activities in Nangarhar Province, for example, focused on the

following six pillars of agricultural development – irrigation and water, energy, education,

resource development and management, value added enterprises, and food safety. In the

operations phase, ADT members interact with a wide variety of Afghan agribusiness sector

players, such as MAIL employees, provincial government officials, district level teachers and

university professors, and local/rural farmers. Reachback assets and expertise are also available

to ADT personnel from US land grant universities, farm bureau organizations, and cooperative

extension services during all three deployment phases. Finally, during Phase III, the ADT

disengages from operationally supporting Afghan agribusiness activities and prepares for

redeployment.50

ADT Tasks, Goals, and Objectives

The 935th ADT, with assistance from RC (E), PRT Jalalabad, National Guard Bureau

Headquarters, USDA, and USAID, developed a series of operational and tactical tasks for their

deployment to Nangarhar Province. These tasks fell within the overall context of conducting

agricultural support operations, i.e., providing basic agricultural services, securing the safety of

the food supply, fostering value-added sustainability, promoting the economic well-being of all

23

Afghans, and extending the reach of the GIRoA to rural areas.51 The tasks addressed, for

example, rebuilding and expanding irrigation capacity and enhancing cropland productivity.

Establishing extension-type services and improving technology access for Afghan farmers were

areas of concern for ADT members, as were providing food storage and livestock slaughtering

facilities, protecting the Afghan food supply, establishing demonstration farms, promoting

conservation practices, and expanding market access.52

ADT 935th Soldiers conducted agricultural assessments in all 22 Nangarhar Province

districts during the course of their eleven month deployment. Since the 935th was the initial

ADT, all projects were essentially pilot projects intended to create Afghan solutions to Afghan

problems. Planners devised a three-tiered approach to project development that involved both

large and small scale efforts, plus a separate initiative to reduce dependence on Pakistan for

energy and raw materials. As a result, agricultural and economic sustainability became key

aspects of 935th project design. Additional considerations relating to sustainability included

employing Afghan subject matter experts to assist with project quality assurance/quality control,

establishing a network of reliable Afghan contractors, strengthening relations with influential

tribal groups, coordinating more closely with local MAIL representatives, and highlighting ADT

activities through Information and Public Affairs Operations.53

During the course of their deployment, ADT 935th leaders also identified potential

beneficiaries of their efforts to rebuild the country’s agriculture sector. The GIRoA in general,

along with MAIL representatives and Nangarhar provincial officials specifically, have clearly

benefited from ADT plans, programs, and operations. Opportunities to make a decent living for

non-landowners and minimum wage workers were expected to increase significantly as a result

24

of Afghan agribusiness growth. Also, refurbished irrigation systems and greater market access

would help struggling small-scale, subsistence, farmers to better provide for themselves and their

families. Similarly, mid-level farmers would benefit from productivity improvements, expanded

capacity, and learning how to adapt to changing world markets. Finally, large-scale farmers and

corporate farming enterprises could profit from investing in Afghanistan’s growing agricultural

business sector.54

A Closer Look at the 935th ADT’s Pillars of Agricultural Development

The availability of a reliable water supply is critical to crop production. In Phase I during

its preliminary analysis, the 935th ADVON discovered an onerous water shortage in Nangarhar

Province caused in part by inappropriate water management techniques/procedures, inefficient

irrigation systems and utilization methods, and insufficient numbers of stand-alone water wells.

As a result, developing a sustainable water supply for Nangarhar farmers became a primary

focus for 935th ADT members. Water and irrigation issues were problematic in Nangarhar long

before the 935th’s arrival. Nangarhar water resources flow primarily from the Panjshir and

Kunar watersheds and are concentrated in and around the intersection of the Kabul and Kunar

Rivers near the center of the province. The 2007 Provincial Development Plan notes that

Chemonics International, Inc., the International Foundation of Hope (IFHope), and USAID

under the Rebuilding Agricultural Markets Program (RAMP) have been rehabilitating irrigation

structures and improving productivity of arable land in the province since 2002. Disrepair and

neglect of drainage ditches, canals, and irrigation structures – siphons, dams, bridges, and gates –

has for years prevented the runoff from heavy snows in higher elevations from reaching lower-

25

level farmlands. By 2006, IFHope had cleaned and repaired 70 miles of blocked drainage ditches

in the Nangarhar and Kama irrigation systems and dredged 37 miles of the Nangarhar Valley

Development Authority (NVDA) canal system.55

935th ADT and PRT Jalalabad personnel intended to focus on wells, catchments,

irrigation schemes, and water use efficiency in order to help revitalize Nangarhar’s agricultural

sector.56 Early in their deployment, ADT members installed three solar-powered irrigation wells

in the desolate and very dry Gowshtah district of remote northeastern Nangarhar. The farmers

were “just ecstatic,” and they soon began growing rice, wheat, and planting fruit trees,

Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, 935th ADT commander, explained in a 2009 interview.57

Building additional solar-powered wells and the introduction of wind-powered irrigation wells

were projects carried out by follow-on ADT rotations.

By spring 2009, repairs to the Nangarhar Grand Canal had been completed, doubling the

canal’s irrigation capacity and directly benefiting 60,000 provincial families. “The canal repairs

would provide better irrigation, more crops, more jobs, and a better economy…this projects

represents hope for the people…Afghans will enjoy the fruits of this project for years to come,”

PRT commander, US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Steven Cabosky, declared during the Grand

Canal ribbon cutting ceremony in Jalalabad. “While the enemies of Afghanistan offer only

destruction and death, this project demonstrates the government’s commitment to building a

better future…,” Cabosky continued. Nangarhar Provincial Governor Gul Agha Sherzai agreed

adding “today is a great day for all Nangarhar people.”58

Another problem encountered by 935th ADT members was the marked lack of reliable

electricity in Nangarhar Province. Improving and revitalizing the agricultural sector required

26

near continuous access to inexpensive energy. Lieutenant Colonel Allison was surprised at the

meager output from the Soviet-built Duranta hydro-electric Dam near Jalalabad – down from a

high of 12 megawatts of power to just two by 2008.59 Since developing large scale energy

projects was beyond the 935th’s capabilities, the team focused on small scale power production

using micro-hydro generators, solar and wind technology, biomass and wood fuels, and

agricultural by-products as biofuels. In conjunction with the PRT, the 935th began laying the

ground work for developing new micro-hydroelectric projects (MHP) for Nangarhar Province.

By 2010, 44 MHPs had been implemented – mostly in the Shenwar District –and six micro-

hydro turbine manufacturing companies were up and running in Jalalabad.60 Numerous micro-

hydro generators operated year-round using snow melt runoff from the SafedKoh Mountain

Range which included Tora Bora.

Also, wind and solar energy applications were restricted to powering irrigation wells and

generally not utilized for commercial or residential electricity generation during the 935th’s

deployment.61 Additionally, limited experimentation was occurring at the time using biogas

derived from animal manure for cooking and lighting. However, no biomass projects – those

using living and recently dead biological material for burning as fuel – had as yet been initiated

in Nangarhar.62 Without the electrically-powered processing facilities to can, juice, freeze, and

store Afghan produce, the agricultural sector will most likely experiences only limited growth.

“You don’t really get the value-added component and the true economic growth everyone is

looking for…it is just not going to happen without the power,” Colonel Allison explained on

several occasions both during and after his deployment.63

27

Soon after arriving in Nangarhar, ADT members discovered that Afghans were already

excellent farmers – Afghans had been for hundreds of years. Nevertheless, farmer education was

a key component of the ADT mission, beginning with formal classroom programs at Nangarhar

University and then extending outward to individual farmers in the field. The ADT sponsored

career days and team experts conduct lectures on new farming techniques, products, and

practices. The lecture series proved to be a two-way street in that the attendees, who often

included Hussain Safi, Provincial Director of MAIL, his agricultural and irrigation

representatives, Afghan veterinarians, and farmers from different districts, shared information

about pertinent issues, such as hybrid or sterile wheat seeding, harvesting, and livestock rearing.

935th Soldiers also assist in the development of demonstration and research farms in the

Jalalabad District and helped create train-the-trainer and technology transfer programs directed at

Afghan provincial extension agents.64

With respect to ADT Pillar number four – Basic Resource Development and

Management – poor natural resource conditions, i.e., soil, water, air, and vegetation, were of

paramount concern. As described above, many irrigation channels were clogged with silt and the

mountains lacked soil-retaining trees and ground cover that would help prevent erosion. During

their rotation, 935th team members designed several watershed management programs to

capture/control runoff and restore natural vegetation. Other soil-related issues involving fertility,

salinization, and high pH levels also hindered agribusiness productivity in Nangarhar. To help

Afghans better understand complex soil conditions, the ADT encouraged farmers to begin using

the USDA-equipped soil testing laboratory in Jalalabad.65

28

Additionally, the poor condition of Afghan livestock herds was another basic resource

concern facing the ADT. Inadequate nutrition and dozens of years of inbreeding left the animals

unhealthy, undernourished, and unproductive. Team members helped Afghan farmers, ranchers,

shepherds, and herd managers with improved grazing techniques, better overall nutrition, and

supplemental feeding for their livestock. Also, with urging from the ADT, MAIL initiated

development of a livestock breeding and artificial insemination program for Nangarhar Province.

“A large portion of the farming community depends on livestock for milk and meat, in order to

feed their families…current breeding and husbandry practices have led to poor genetics and

production,” explained Staff Sergeant Joshua Salmon.66 Finally, inferior crop seed quality posed

another problem for Afghan farmers. Efforts to improve seed stock for crops such as wheat, rice,

and potatoes became a priority focus for the ADT. For example, due to a wheat seed shortage in

2008, ADT members helped the Director of MAIL locate and purchase several thousand tons of

approved, high quality, wheat seed that successfully germinated and was subsequently harvested.

935th personnel continued to work with MAIL on the development of a seed bank and a seed

cleaning facility in Nangarhar.67

The 935th ADT’s fifth development pillar involves value-added production and

marketing initiatives. Since Afghan fresh produce is perishable, bulky, and often only available

seasonably, it is not suitable for expanded distribution to larger markets. Most fresh fruits and

vegetables can be more readily distributed if they are processed –juiced, dehydrated, frozen,

canned, or otherwise packaged. Food processing, however, is complicated, requiring electrical

power, clean water, a knowledgeable workforce, investment capital, and infrastructure, such as

cold storage. Prior to the ADT’s arrival, USAID had established a working relationship with the

Surkh Rod Vegetable Packing Facility in Jalalabad. Surkh Rod opened in 2006, employed 25 29

Afghans, sorted, washed, packaged, and stored vegetables, and distribute under the brand name

“Pride of the Eastern Region” through Jalalabad wholesalers to embassies and supermarkets in

Kabul. Unfortunately, by 2009, the packaging facility was unprofitable due primarily to under

capacity and high expenses.68

ADT members also collaborated with the USAID and local government officials on a

long term plan to rebuild the Jalalabad Abattoir (slaughter facility) which will be capable of

processing 400 animals per day. The new facility was to be located near the Jalalabad Olive

Factory and would also include a livestock auction, holding pens, and a poultry processing center

in addition to the abattoir. ADT commander Lieutenant Colonel Allison noted in his Final Report

that developing viable financial strategies and encouraging private investment was the best long-

term approach to increasing value-added food processing in Nangarhar Province.69

Food safety and reliability was the sixth and last ADT pillar of agricultural development.

Exports of Nangarhar commodities were constrained due to many of the deficiencies described

above, such as those related to electricity, clean water, cold storage, and sanitary processing

facilities. During the 935th’s rotation, Surkh Rod Vegetable Packing was the only US

Department of Defense certified facility in Afghanistan.70 Conversely however, the Jalalabad

Abattoir was merely an unhygienic raised platform with no running water and no lighting prior

to the ADT’s arrival.71 “The slaughter facility is very important to the people of Jalalabad…to

reduce contamination of meat sold in the markets,” said Staff Sergeant John Wymore, adding

“the conditions for slaughtering are so poor that people are afraid to buy meat from local

butchers.”72 Many more clean/certified vegetable and meat packaging operations were needed

before Afghan agricultural goods could be reliably exported to world markets. ADT 935 not only

30

assisted the Jalalabad PRT, USAID, and MAIL with this food processing and packaging issue,

but also helped develop programs for crop and livestock disease and pest control and provided

support for revitalizing veterinary medicine in Nangarhar Province.73

935th ADT Five Year Strategic Plan for Nangarhar Province

Lieutenant Colonel Allison and the 935th team members developed a five-year

agricultural strategic plan for Nangarhar Province that included an end state stipulating that the

GIRoA assume responsibility for supporting provincial farmers and that Nangarhar produce be

suitable for world market distribution and consumption. The ADT proposed a course of action

that included both sustainable large scale projects, such as watershed management, and

immediate impact small scale projects involving, for example, irrigation wells, demonstration

farms, and micro-hydro electric generators. Allison acknowledged that many projects could not

be completed during a single ADT rotation and would, therefore, require

continuation/completion by future teams.

During Year 1 of the plan, ADT 935 intended to designate potential large scale projects,

begin a series of test and demonstration programs, and complete several small scale, ADT pillar

related, initiatives. The large scale projects proposed included watershed management along the

Kabul and Kunar Rivers and the Grand Canal, creation of reservoirs, macro-hydro power

generation, the development of cold storage, food processing, and meat packing facilities, and

MAIL-run agricultural centers. Year 2 called for completing and replicating successful small

projects, evaluating test programs, recommending changes, and beginning a limited number of

large scale programs. Finally, in Years 3-5, additional small projects would be undertaken and

completed, successful programs would be duplicated, and the large scale efforts would be

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continued. In March 2008, Colonel Charles Preysler, commander 173d Airborne Brigade

Combat Team (TF Bayonet) approved the 935th ADT’s five-year agricultural strategic plan for

Nangarhar Province.74

935th ADT Lessons Learned, Recommendations, and Project Funding75

Macro-hydro turbines at the Duranta Dam were the primary source of electrical power for

Nangarhar. As described above, the electricity generated by these turbines was woefully

insufficient for meeting the power needs of the province. To address the problem, the GIRoA

began supplementing the Duranta turbines with diesel powered generators. While the addition of

diesel generators nearly doubled the amount of available electrical power, the combined total

output still represented only an estimated 25% of the overall provincial requirement. In addition,

diesel fuel was expensive – nearly $40 million per year to run the generators – thus driving up

the cost of electricity in Nangarhar to between 30 and 60 cents per kilowatt, depending upon

diesel fuel pricing fluctuations.

After analyzing the large scale power situation, 935th ADT members recommended both

continued refurbishment of the Duranta Dam complex and conversion to supplemental coal

burning turbines. Switching to coal as a fuel would put Afghan natural resources to good use,

since actual production levels were running at 220,000 tons per year and the Ministry of Mines

and Industries estimated North Afghanistan Basin coal reserves at 125 million tons.76 Lieutenant

Colonel Allison’s analysis indicated that, based on 2008 Jalalabad pricing, converting to coal

fired turbines would reduce the cost of electricity to five cents per kilowatt.

The Kabul and Kunar Rivers, along with the Grand Canal from the Duranta Dam

spillway, were the principal sources of irrigation water in Nangarhar Province. Farmers typically 32

hand-dug trenched from these sources, local streams, and diverter canals to their fields. During

hot summers and periods of drought, however, many streams, canals, and trenches dried out. In

order to increase water availability during dry seasons, ADT 935 recommended continuing

refurbishment of the Grand Canal main channel; constructing check dams, weirs, and small

reservoirs to trap more snow melt and runoff from the Spin Ghar Mountains; building large

capacity holding tanks; and installing additional solar powered wells. During their tour in

Nangarhar, ADT members initiated watershed management projects and completed preparatory

planning for a series of check dams in the Khogyani, Sherzad, and DehBalah Districts.

Both crop quality and quantity in Nangarhar were adversely affected by expensive, yet

inferior, seed and fertilizer imported from Pakistan. The province lacked soil testing facilities

necessary for determining correct fertilization levels, and seed cleaning testing, and storage

operations were only marginally effective. The 935th recommended construction of a modern

seed cleaning and bagging facility as well as a fertilizer testing laboratory to conduct quality

assurance/quality control inspections on chemical imports. As described above, the ADT utilized

Commanders’ Emergency Response Program (CERP) funding to purchase 600 metric tons of

improved wheat seed for Nangarhar farmers in 2008, and assisted MAIL in establishing a

provincial seed bank. Team members also trained Afghans in procedures designed to improve

farming efficiency, such as proper fertilizing techniques and organic farming methods.

The semi-secretive banking system in Afghanistan also had a detrimental effect on

agribusiness growth. Islamic/Sharia lenders, GIRoA operated depository institutions, and

commercial banks all prevented landowners from using their property as collateral. Afghan

farmers were generally skeptical of the various banking systems and preferred instead to use the

33

Hawala money transfer network whenever possible. As the 935th ADT recommended, however,

clarifying legal questions and concerns regarding property rights and allowing land and property

to serve as collateral for loans are national-level issues that need resolution to enable long-term

agribusiness sector success.

Also, the markets and distribution systems for farm produce in Afghanistan were

rudimentary at best. Most harvested crops served as subsistence for farmers’ families and

residents of local villages. At harvest time, excess produce in Nangarhar was sold fresh along the

side of the road or to buyers from Pakistani processing facilities. Lack of cold storage facilities

forced farmers to sell their fresh produce before it spoiled at prevailing low prices.

Unfortunately, unreliable and costly electrical power in Nangarhar Province discouraged private

investment in cold storage operations. Despite numerous obstacles, 935th ADT worked with

USAID, MAIL, and the PRT to develop and establish value-added produce and livestock

processing facilities, such as the previously described Jalalabad Abattoir. The ADT was

instrumental in restoring an olive orchard and a ramshackle olive oil processing and pickling

facility, by adding cold storage and installing bottle making, juicing, canning, and pickling

equipment. ADT members also provided Afghan apiarist with updated bee keeping equipment

and offered marketing training to improve sales of hive products, such as honey and beeswax.

Finally, the 935th offered education workshops for MAIL agricultural extension representatives,

trained farmers on general marketing strategies, helped established buying networks, assisted in

increasing participation in Afghan farmers’ associations, and helped rebuild the Afghan tree

nursery and aquaculture industries.77

34

Livestock rearing in Nangarhar Province suffered from excessive inbreeding and

inadequate veterinary services. As with other commodities, lack of refrigeration limited milk

distribution to families and local villages. ADT 935 initiated a mobile veterinary clinic pilot

project that brought Jalalabad veterinarians to rural farming communities to help improve animal

health. “By introducing new genetics and improved veterinary services we hope to increase the

quality of the herd,” Sergeant First Class Russ Piece said during 2008 interview.78 Additionally,

the team suggested that Afghan farmers co-mingle their small herds in an effort to demonstrate

the efficiencies realized from larger scale livestock operations. The ADT also suggested

establishing refrigerated centralized dairy collection centers designed to keep milk fresh for

longer periods. Lastly, the language barrier and less strict construction standards and building

practices, made negotiating with Afghan contractors a tedious process for ADT members. Often,

several negotiation sessions were needed to pin down contract specifics, such as pricing, the

scope of work, and design validation. Continuous supervision and step-by-step approvals

required the constant attention of team project managers.

The ADT security force (SECFOR) was critical to the 935th’s success in Nangarhar

Province. Early in the mission, Lieutenant Colonel Allison determined that SECFOR cross

training was essential. Each member had to be capable of performing all of the individual

security force duties – tactical commander, driver, gunner, and dismounted security – and also

had to be proficient in both the use of and the preventive maintenance checks and services

(PMCS) for team vehicles, weapons, and communications equipment. SECFOR Soldiers were

qualified as Combat Lifesavers (CLF) during mobilization and completed quarterly refresher

training during deployment. Allison also recognized the need for communications equipment

redundancy during convoy operations. In addition to standard FM radios and satellite phones, he 35

recommended duplicate tactical satellite (TacSat) and Blue Force Tracker (BFT) communication

systems in separate vehicles in case one was disabled. All SECFOR members were trained in

communications equipment trouble shooting.

Prior to traveling by convoy on agribusiness operations, the ADT conducted thorough

route reconnaissance surveys. Route reconnaissance was particularly vital when Mine Resistant

Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles were utilized due to their oversize and roll over tendencies.

Typically, primary and alternate routes were identified, and to prevent potential enemy

ambushes, teams used different outbound and inbound routing. When traveling in restricted

terrain, the 935th occasionally made prior arrangements for aerial support for overhead cover and

advance scouting. To counter the threat of enemy Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), mines,

roadside bombs, and unexploded ordnance, the SECFOR periodically requested Route Clearance

Package (RCP) support from the BCT. Familiarity with FalconView and Google Earth mapping

systems, and knowledge of general satellite imaging techniques were recommended for all

SECFOR members. Finally, to provide local sets of eyes and ears and to put an “Afghan face” on

ADT missions, the team always brought small groups of Afghanistan National Police (ANP)

along on their various agribusiness operations.

Lieutenant Colonel Allison emphasized the need for a clear understanding of OEF project

funding procedures. Commanders’ Emergency Response Program (CERP) funding was utilized

by the ADT for the majority of projects undertaken during its deployment to Nangarhar. The

wheat seed purchase and seed cleaning facility described above are examples of CERP funded

ADT projects. CERP in Afghanistan enabled local commanders to respond to the immediate

needs of the Afghan people for essential goods and services through humanitarian relief and the

36

construction/reconstruction of critical infrastructure and other urgently required facilities. CERP

funding was intended for small-scale, sustainable, projects costing less than $500,000. These

small projects in Nangarhar were approved by the local BCT – the 173d ABCT for the 935th.

The Commander, Combined Joint Task Force-Afghanistan (CJTF-A) was authorized to approve

CERP funding up to $2 million, while USCENTCOM authorization was required for funding in

excess of that level.79 The CERP request process in Nangarhar was slow and projects were often

underfunded. Allison found it difficult to compete for CERP funding with the Jalalabad PRT that

already had several million dollars in CERP requests in the approval pipeline when the ADT

arrived in Afghanistan.

The 935th Agribusiness Development Team completed its successful mission to

Afghanistan in December 2008, having served in the unique capacity of being the first such team

ever established and deployed by the US Military. The Missouri National Guard Soldiers

volunteered for the mission, took their civilian farming skills to the fight, and became an integral

component of RC (E)’s “Nangarhar, Inc.” regional development plan. “One of the benefits of

being first at anything is that you set the standard that all others use to measure their success,”

Lieutenant Colonel Allison remarked following completion of the 935th’s mission.80 Hussain

Safi, Provincial Director of MAIL, expressed his appreciation, noting that “the ADT is reaching

an important group of people by supporting the farmers of Nangarhar Province.”81 ADT

members conducted assessments, identified problems, provided solutions, created pillars of

agricultural development, prepared long and short range strategic plans, established trial and test

projects, proposed large scale programs, and completed a series of sustainable, quick-impact,

small scale initiatives. “After 30 plus years of war, we want to help the Afghan people to reach

the economic growth level that will allow them to become less dependent on other countries,” 37

Allison explained, while Master Sergeant Larry Godsey added, “the key to success for

agriculture in Afghanistan is to enable the farmers to have the technology that allows them to

stand on their own.”82 The 935th ADT arrived back in Missouri on Christmas Eve 2008, and the

following year, the team received a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its distinguished and

unique service in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.

38

FARMERS WITH GUNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF COUNTERINSURGENCY

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS IN AFGHANISTAN

Chapter 3: 2008 Deployments – Texas ADT I, Nebraska ADT I, and Missouri ADT II

Texas Agribusiness Development Team I

In May 2008, Texas Agribusiness Development Team I, comprised of 53 36th Infantry

Division Soldiers from the Texas Army National Guard, deployed to Ghazni Province,

Afghanistan. Ghazni is a historically important trade center that lies between Kabul and

Kandahar in Regional Command East, where Afghan farmers typically grow wheat and grapes

and raise sheep and goats. TX ADT I, led by Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Poe, was attached to 1st

Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Combined Task Force

Currahee), 101st Airborne Division at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Ghazni. Despite the dry

and sandy soil common in Ghazni, 4th BCT commander, Colonel John P. Johnson, expected the

ADT to assist Afghans in developing business models to “move from subsistence farming to

really sustainable, productive, farming.” “The focus of all we do is the Afghan people, [but] we

cannot succeed here with military power alone…the soft power these teams represent can help

Afghanistan for the long term,” Johnson added.83

83Colonel John P. Johnson, US Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), DoD News Briefing, 21 November 2008, 3; Colonel John P. Johnson quoted in Jim Garamone, “Guard Farmers Join Counterinsurgency Fight in Afghanistan,” American Forces Press Service, 21 November 2008, 1, http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52050 (accessed 2 September 2011).

39

Upon arriving in Ghazni, TX ADT I built their own housing and office facilities and

developed a five-year campaign plan that addressed building dams, improving irrigation,

establishing an Afghan farmers’ banking system, training University of Ghazni agricultural

students, enhancing agribusiness marketing skills, and laying the ground work for follow-on

teams. The team began work on the 53-acre Jungal Bagh demonstration farm a few miles north

of the FOB. The farm would eventually contain row crops, beehives, an orchard, a greenhouse,

cold storage capabilities, independent power generation, and a learning center for Afghan

farmers. Texas ADT members also helped Ghazni grape farmers transport their harvests to

juicing facilities in Kabul and initiated work on a slaughterhouse and adjacent hide tanning

operation in the province.84

During a routine inspection tour of the Abande Sultan Dam in August 2008, a six-vehicle

ADT convoy was fired upon by Taliban artillery. The concrete dam in question was built by

Germans in the 1960’s to control water flow from snowmelt and rain originating in the

mountains along the Khwaja Omari River basin. The Khwaja River provided water for all the

villages along its route including the provincial capital, Ghazni City, which was flooded in 2006

due to a crack in the dam. The purpose of the ADT visit was to assess repairs to the dam that

were being conducted by a group of Afghan contractors hired by the Ministry of Agriculture,

Irrigation, and Livestock. The ADT assessment party included Major Devin James, Assistant

Agriculture Team Chief; Sergeant David Brink, Agriculture Team Hydrologist/Geologist; and

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Flacinski, TF Currahee Civil Affairs Hydrologist. After thoroughly

inspecting the dam and its immediate surroundings on foot, the ADT members met briefly with

the contracting supervisor to review reconstruction progress.

40

The trip had been uneventful up to this point, however as the team was preparing to

leave, an enemy round impacted ten meters away from Major James’ M1151 HMMWV. The

ADT SECFOR gunners noticed four men on the mountain west of the dam and immediately

opened fire with their main crew served weapons and MK 19, 40-mm Grenade Machine Guns.

After conducting a headcount, convoy commander, Corporal Jonathon Ives, directed the convoy

away from the impact area and out of enemy sight. The convoy halted after reaching a safe

location to reconsolidate ammunition, check for injuries, and return team members to their

originally assigned vehicles. Ives chose an alternative route for the return trip, and the convoy

eventually reached FOB Ghazni without further incidents. The Taliban presence near the Abande

Sultan Dam concerned TX ADT 1, since the dam was strategically important to the Afghan

farmers in the Khwaja Omari River Valley and the residents of Ghazni City.85

In September 2008, another group of TX ADT I Soldiers traveled to Jaghori District for a

Key Leader Engagement with District Governor Khudadad Irfani. Jaghori, Ghazni Province’s

most populous district, is located in the highlands of the central Hazaristan region, serves as a

major business center, and has 88 schools and a teachers college. The convoy to Jaghori

consisted of seven ADT vehicles, one PRT vehicle, and three ANP/Militia vehicles. Lieutenant

Colonel Poe; Major James; Major Conan Martin, Agriculture Team Chief; Captain Wesley West,

Agriculture Finance and Marketing; and Ghazni PRT Engineer, Major Michael Duffy all

participated in the Jaghori operation. Upon arriving at the District Center in Sange-e-Masa

Village, the ADT established a security perimeter and prepared to remain overnight.

During the engagement meeting the next day, ADT members and district officials

discussed regional crops – wheat, barley, corn, beans, lentils, almonds, apples, and legumes –

41

and area livestock rearing which included sheep, goats, and cattle. Meeting participants agreed

that the district needed more agricultural mechanization, such as tractors and implements, and an

improved, broader-based, banking system. The ADT group then traveled a mile northeast of the

village to the proposed site of a district demonstration farm, which was intended to test and

evaluate erosion control methods, range grass management, snowmelt collection, improved

irrigation techniques, and weed control procedures. Many of the people in Jaghori were educated

and most took pride in their district. The region offered great potential for developing production

agriculture and was worthy of more ADT time and attention.86 “If we can help them improve

their agricultural techniques, we can improve their livelihoods,” Colonel Poe later observed

regarding the overall efforts of TX ADT I members in Ghazni Province.87

Nebraska Agribusiness Development Team I

The third Agribusiness Development Team to deploy to Afghanistan was the Forward

28th ADT from the Nebraska National Guard. The NE ADT, which was commanded by Colonel

Michael Johnson, arrived in Afghanistan in October 2008 and established its headquarters at

Bagram Air Field. Johnson had already traveled to Afghanistan several times to review the

tactics, techniques, and procedures employed by the Missouri and Texas teams. The 28th was

OPCON to Task Force Warrior – 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade – led by Colonel Scott

Spellmon. The Nebraska Guardsmen quickly linked up with representatives from PRT

Kapisa/Parwan, USDA agricultural advisors, a Police Mentor Team, and Soldiers from Task

Force Gladiator (101st Airborne Division Special Troops Battalion), and began conducting

assessment visits to key locations within the team’s assigned area of operations, which included

42

Bamyan, Panjshir, Parwan, and Kapisa Provinces.88 One unusual organizational aspect of the

28th ADT’s tour in Afghanistan was that Specialist Trevor Baker and his mother, Chief Warrant

Officer 3 Carrie Hancock, were both members of the Nebraska team. This represented the first

time in US military history that a mother and her son deployed to a combat zone at the same time

with the same unit.89

“We will work hard to complete important projects and …to identify short, medium, and

long-term goals needed to improve agriculture in Afghanistan,” Colonel Johnson explained.90 By

February 2009, the Nebraska team had completed 83 missions involving a wide variety of

Afghan farming issues, such as building terraces and ponds, capturing snowmelt, improving

irrigation, replanting fruit and nut trees, combating soil erosion, wheat seeding, grape trellising,

and encouraging crop rotation. Additional ADT projects involved expanding the number of

vineyards in Kapisa and Parwan, improving cherry tree and apricot orchards in Panjshir, treating

insect infestations of pomegranate trees in southern Tagab Valley, training Afghans in tractor

maintenance, building greenhouses, and planting demonstration crops. The demonstration fields

and experimental plots taught Afghan farmers new methods for growing crops and showed them

different techniques that could be used on their own farms.91 The team also conducted soil and

crop analyses, established tractor and implement rental operations, helped strengthen provincial

farming cooperatives, repaired irrigation canals, installed Afghanistan’s first center pivot

irrigation system, and initiated a women-run home based nursery project.92

One unique project initiated by the 28th ADT concerned beekeeping. The team used

CERP funding to purchase and place 400 bee hives in Parwan and Kapisa Provinces. Afghan

farmers, village leaders, and staff form Al Bironi University attended ADT-sponsored hands-on

43

training at Bagram Air Field to review and discuss bee anatomy and behavior; hive design, care,

and management; honey and wax processing; and crop pollination. “This training puts actual

working agricultural products in the hands of Afghans,” ADT intelligence sergeant, Staff

Sergeant Eric Singsaas, explained. “The Afghans had many questions and were very…grateful

for the information,” added Sergeant First Class Eldon Kuntzelman, ADT agronomist.93

Kuntzelman was also involved in another interesting ADT program. He had noticed for

years that numerous older, smaller – 1,500 to 3,000 bushel – grain bins were sitting empty

throughout Nebraska. Contemporary American bins were 10-15 times larger, as modern farming

practices had made the small bins obsolete. Kuntzelman suggested that the unused metal bins be

disassemble in Nebraska, shipped to Afghanistan, and reassembled by Afghan farmers for

produce storage or possibly as water tanks. This would significantly reduce spoilage and rodent

contamination, since Afghans typically stored produce in open, dirt, pits. During the summer of

2008, several Guardsmen and local civilian volunteers disassembled eight bins donated by

farmers from Imperial, Nebraska. The bins were transported to Camp Atterbury and eventually

shipped to Bagram, where Kuntzelman and other ADT members trained Afghan farmers on re-

assembly procedures and general seed and grain storage techniques. By July 2009, all the storage

bins had been erected – one in Parwan, three in Kapisa, and four in Panjshir.94 “Shir Padasha

Village constructed the grain bin exactly as we trained them,” Kuntzelmen pointed out during an

inspection visit, adding “these bins are the first in Afghanistan and serve as an excellent way for

farmers to store their grain.”95

Since more than half of the Afghans in the TF Warrior AO tended flocks and herds of

livestock, the NE ADT initiated an animal public health and information campaign to promote

44

disease prevention and treatment, increased immunizations/vaccinations, improved feed for the

animals, and greater use of the services offered by Veterinary Field Units (VFU). Team members

with animal husbandry backgrounds developed a livestock care training course for Al Bironi

University, and Colonel Johnson took to the airwaves to explain the ADT mission and to

publicize the animal health initiative on Radio Sada-e-Azadi (Peace Radio) in the Jubal Saraj

District of Parwan Province.96

The development team also coordinated reach-back services provided by the University

of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. Sergeant First Class Alan Wineiger, a former Kansas farmer,

assisted Afghans with the extension services and noted “the people are eager to learn and

anxious to improve the agribusiness sector…lives are dependent on production,” he said.97 28th

ADT members continued to initiate agribusiness projects, conduct key leader engagements with

agricultural ministers, provincial officials, and chambers of commerce, and meet regularly with

faculty and staff from Al Bironi, Bamyan, and Kabul Universities for the duration of the team’s

deployment.

On 19 August 2009, Task Force Warrior commander, Colonel Scott Spellmon, presided

over a ceremony at Bagram Air Field to transfer authority from the 28th to a replacement ADT

from Kentucky. “Colonel Johnson and his Soldiers made an immediate connection with the

Afghan farmers and improved the agribusiness development potential across the four provinces

of our region beyond anyone’s expectations,” Spellmon said in his change of command

address.98 “We did a lot of things that are going to have a lasting effect, but probably the biggest

one was we restored some hope that there’s a better life,” Colonel Johnson later noted in October

45

during his welcome home celebration remarks at the Lancaster Events Center in Lincoln,

reflecting on the plight of Afghan farmers and the exceptional assistance his team had provided.99

Missouri Agribusiness Development Team II

Missouri 135th FWD ADT II received mobilization orders in November 2008, underwent

pre-mobilization training at Camp Atterbury, and deployed to FOB Finley-Shields, Jalalabad,

Nangarhar Province, on 5 December. MO ADT II, which was commanded by Lieutenant

Colonel David Boyle, replaced MO ADT I, continuing the Missouri National Guard’s “enduring

mission to Nangarhar.”100 The new team reported initially to 3d BCT (TF Duke), 1st Infantry

Division, and later in the tour to 4th BCT, 4th Infantry Division. MO ADT’s partners in

Nangarhar now included Afghan Police, Afghan National Army soldiers, USDA and USAID

representatives, PRT Jalalabad officials, and US Soldiers from 3-1 Brigade Special Troops

Battalion (TF Valiant). Team members continued the practice of key leader engagements,

beginning a series of regular meetings with Nangarhar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai, provincial

director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL), Mohammad Hussain Safai, district sub-

governors, and Jalalabad University faculty and staff. The MO ADT II SECFOR was led by First

Lieutenant Daniel Ashton and included 11 members of the 139th Security Forces Squadron. This

was the first deployment of Missouri National Guard Soldiers and Airmen together in the same

unit.101 Missouri Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond visited MO ADT II shortly after the team

arrived in Afghanistan to review progress and to offer continued support for the agribusiness

mission.102

The second Missouri development team stepped up efforts to meet the basic agricultural

needs of Nangarhar citizens, to improve the safety of food produced and consumed in the

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province, to create sustainable value added business operations, and to enhance the overall

economic well-being of the people. MO ADT II continued to focus on water and irrigation

projects, such as watershed repair, check dams, reservoirs, canal restoration, micro hydro/grain

mill facilities, and providing tanker trucks and irrigation survey equipment. The team also

addressed the ongoing need for rural electrical power for cold storage and food processing

facilities. Expanding the marketability of Nangarhar agricultural products by improving

sanitation and introducing quality control/quality assurance measures were additional ADT

concerns. And special projects initiated by MO ADT I involving wheat seeds, fertilizer,

reforestation, district farm surveys, and livestock de-worming were also continued by team II, as

were efforts to create employment opportunities for Afghans at the Nangarhar Valley

Development Authority olive and citrus orchids. By mid-2009, the combined efforts of MO

ADTs I and II in Nangarhar had resulted in 17 completed projects, 58 projects under

construction, 61 staffed and ready, and 60 more in various planning stages. A total of $36 million

in CERP funding had been either spent or committed for projects in 13 specific categories.103

“We have projects with large budgets, but we have found that it’s the small [inexpensive]

projects that have the biggest impact on the people who need our help the most,” ADT II

Executive Officer, Major Denise Wilkinson, told US Air Force Central Public Affairs in June

2009.104 Irrigation and watershed expert Specialist John Larsen agreed, writing the following

month in The Ruffian Review that “to see the completion of a project and bear witness to the

people of Afghanistan beginning to reap the benefits from it is a very proud moment for us

all.”105

Watershed management was a critical component of MO ADT II’s mission to improve

agribusiness in Nangarhar Province. Ensuring water availability, controlling water flow, and 47

preventing flooding are important aspects of sound water management practice. Uncontrolled

water typically becomes contaminated and causes erosion in unstable soil. ADT irrigation

specialists looked for opportunities to pool and slow water draining from high ground into

streams, tributaries, and rivers. Pooling provided water to local Afghan farmers for crop

irrigation, livestock watering, and possible micro-hydro electricity generation. Slowing water

down helps prevent erosion, permits some water to replenish the underground water table, and

allows for silt to settle out, resulting in cleaner water. To pool and slow water, MO ADT II

continued work on several upper watershed check dams begun in DehBala, Sherzad, and

Khogyani Districts by the previous rotation. The team also initiated 16 upper and lower check

dam/reservoir projects in Acheen, Hezarak, Sherzad, PichirWaAgam, DehBala, Dara Noor, Kot,

Kama, Dur Baba, Nazyan, and RodatDistricts during its tour.106

In February 2009, Colonel Scott McWilliams – a wildlife biologist for the Missouri

conservation Department – deployed to Nangarhar and temporarily joined MO ADT II.

McWilliams’ mission was to build a warm water fish hatchery to provide the 200 fish farmers in

Nangarhar with a dependable, reasonably priced, high quality supply of 2 inch grass and silver

carp fingerlings. At the time, the only fish hatchery in the province was in disrepair and farmers

were forced to purchase overpriced fingerlings from Pakistan. As envisioned, the hatchery would

be able to produce two million competitively priced fingerlings per year, enough for Nangarhar

and several surrounding province. With only minor changes, the hatchery could eventually also

be used for cold water trout farming. Colonel McWilliams successfully completed the detailed

design for the fish hatchery and was back at his civilian job in Missouri by April. Finally in May

2010, with continued assistance from Missouri ADTs and the Afghanistan Rural Enterprise

Development Program, the Rahmat Insaf Fish Hatchery in Bagrami village near Jalalabad 48

produced its first batch of carp fingerlings, thereby becoming a sustainable and profitable

resource for Nangarhar farmers for generations to come.107

MO ADT II continued to address the issues of seed collection, quality, and distribution in

Nangarhar by promoting seed cleaning and expanding storage facilities for raw and cleaned

grains. Team members helped Afghans increase the numbers of trucks and wagons used to

transport raw seeds from the fields to centralized collection points and seed banks and to re-

distribute cleaned seeds back to the farmers. In September 2009, the ADT assisted Governor

Sherzai, Director Mohammad Safai (DAIL), and the Nangarhar Provincial Council in sponsoring

a Wheat and Fertilizer Distribution Shura at Karzai Hall on the governor’s compound. The Shura

served as a follow-up to the successful Certified Improved Wheat Seed and Fertilizer program

initiated by MO ADT I the previous year. The meeting, which addressed a wide range of

distribution topics, such as scheduling, tracking, costs, quantities, and control measures, was

attended by numerous district level officials, including sub-governors, MAIL and DAIL

extension representatives, Development Assembly members, and the leaders of provincial

farming cooperatives. “The government of Afghanistan is planning for the future…they are not

only solving today’s needs, but starting with this Distribution Shura, they are making their

communities self-sufficient for the future,” Lieutenant Colonel Boyle said at the conclusion of

the conference.108

Upgrading veterinary and artificial insemination services to improve the health, well-

being, and genetic quality of livestock in Nangarhar represented another significant aspect of

MO ADT II’s mission. Both milk and meat production had been stagnant for years. To address

the situation, development team members continued to pursue a series of veterinary clinic design

49

and construction projects in several Nangarhar districts. MO ADT I had submitted an official

request for the veterinary projects in November 2008, and funding approval was granted in

February 2009. The clinics were intended to provide basic veterinary services, such as disease

diagnosis, general surgery, livestock training and nutritional advice, artificial insemination, and

genetic record keeping. Each clinic was equipped with solar powered coolers for medications,

submersible solar powered water pumps, automatic drenchers for pour-on medications, basic

surgical instruments, head chutes, and motorcycles for traveling off-site.109 “The importance of

these clinics to the people of Nangarhar Province cannot be stressed enough,” Sergeant Jennifer

Dipley, Large Animal Veterinary Specialist for the ADT, wrote in July 2009.110 By the end of

MO ADT II’s deployment, a veterinary clinic and laboratory was operating in Jalalabad and

eight clinics had opened in the Acheen, BatiKot, Chaparhar, Goshta, Khogyani, KuzKunar,

PachirWaAgam, and Surkh Rod Districts of Nangarhar Province. All of the veterinary clinics

were owned by the GIRoA and operated/maintained with assistance from the Afghanistan

Veterinary Association.

Missouri ADT II commander, Lieutenant Colonel Boyle, considered the solar/hydro

powered micro-value added facilities for local communities, such as the veterinary clinics, the

micro-slaughter house in Dara Noor District, the cold storage facility in Chaparhar, and

construction of the MAIL nursery net house in Jalalabad the development team’s most

significant accomplishments. Lieutenant Colonel Wilkinson added that establishing a “cash of

work” program and contracting directly with Afghan workers so that the funding went into the

local economy were also noteworthy achievements.111I n June2009, MO ADT II Sergeant Major

James “JW” Walters opened the first Post Exchange on FOB Finley-Shields, Missouri Governor

Jay Nixon was made an honorary member of ADT II during a visit with the team in July, 50

Director Safai attended the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia as the special guest of US Senator

Christopher Bond in August, and on 28 October, MO ADT III replaced ADT II in Nangarhar.

“Soldiers and Airmen of ADT II, on behalf of the people of Missouri, I salute you for a job well

done,” Governor Nixon told team members, their families, and friends at the official welcome

home ceremony in the Missouri State Capitol rotunda on 6 November.112

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FARMERS WITH GUNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF COUNTERINSURGENCY

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS IN AFGHANISTAN

Chapter 4: 2009 Agribusiness Development Team Deployments

Texas Agribusiness Development Team II

The 65 member Texas ADT II deployed to Afghanistan in early 2009 and replaced TX

ADT I in Ghazni Province. TX II essentially continued the mission in Ghazni to provide basic

agricultural education and services, assist with improving agricultural infrastructure, support the

legitimacy of the GIRoA, and conduct stability operations in support of Operation ENDURING

FREEDOM. To accomplish the ongoing mission, the team continued to refine, improve, and

implement the comprehensive and sustainable agribusiness development strategy already in

place in Ghazni for expanding the agricultural industry. TX ADT II, commanded by Colonel

Harlan “Dan” Harris, was similarly headquartered at FOB Ghazni, was OPCON to Task Force

White Eagle, a Polish Battle Group led by Colonel Rajmund Andrzejczak, ADCON to 3d BCT,

10th Mountain Division (TF Spartan, under the command of Colonel David Haight), and

continued to work cooperatively with PRT Ghazni. The development team also intended to

coordinate with a group of agricultural specialists from the Texas AgriLife Blackland Research

and Extension Center, an affiliate of Texas A&M University, which was already working in

Afghanistan.113

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Texas ADT II awarded contracts to Afghan companies for the construction of several

slaughter facilities, a livestock sale barn, and solar/wind power generation systems in Ghazni

Province. The team also assisted with refurbishing and upgrading of the slaughter house in

Ghazni City with improved cattle handling equipment, tip tables, chain winches, cold storage,

and other meat processing instruments. The GIRoA Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and

Livestock intended to permanently assign a registered veterinarian to conduct on-site

examinations of the animals, monitor of the butchering process, and perform quality control

inspections of the meat.114 “Now health inspectors check the quality of the meat and control the

slaughter point…before, [Afghan butchers] slaughtered the animals in the street and blood just

ran down into the ditches,” Lieutenant Colonel Michael Rockwell, ADT deputy commander,

explained.115

Additionally, the team equipped veterinary clinics and trained their staffs, while ADT

hydrologist, Sergeant Marty Conricote, worked with Afghans to identify potential locations for a

Ghazni fish farm which would allow provincial farmers to raise their own fish – rainbow trout in

this case.116 Colonel Harris, Major John Ploch, Agriculture Section OIC, and Agricultural

Specialist First Lieutenant Bradley Clark attended a Land Shura in Sange-e-Masha,

administrative center for Jaghori District, to solicit cooperation from tribal elders for

construction of a demonstration farm near the village. Texas ADT II members also travelled

twice to Nawur District, Ghazni Province’s largest, where they determined that due to persistent

drought, the cold climate, and the relatively high elevation (roughly 10,000 ft. average) the

arable land was not sufficiently fertile for cultivation. The district was, however, well suited for

114Sarah Webb, “Texas Guard Improves Meat Processing in Afghanistan,” MilitaryConnection.com, American Forces Press Service, 22 September 2009, 1-2. 115Lieutenant Colonel Michael Rockwell quoted in Will Hill, “Texas Troops to Ring in the New Year at Home,” Blackanthem Military News, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs, 29 December 2009, 1.

53

raising sheep, goats, and cattle. The team paid local officials for use of the district center in

Doabi as a staging area during their visits to Nawur.117

In June 2009, Brigadier General William Mayville, Assistant Division Commander-

Support(ADC-S) for Coalition Joint Task Force-82 (CJTF-82) asked Colonel Harris what Texas

ADT II was doing to help win the war. Harris replied that his team was following

counterinsurgency doctrine by working with Afghan farmers in the pacified Hazara tribal regions

of Ghazni Province. The ADC praised Harris and the team for their efforts in support of the

Hazaras, but suggested that the fight in Ghazni should be waged in the Pashtun tribal areas where

the Taliban was still active. General Mayville’s suggestion was transformative for TX II, as

Harris then refined the team’s mission by shifting focus to the eastern provincial districts and

attempting to influence the Pashtuns to relinquish their support for the Taliban, while continuing

the core ADT task of assisting Afghan farmers. After conferring with PRT Ghazni

representatives and the provincial DAIL, the development team began to plan specific projects

suitable for particular towns and villages in the Pashtun dominated districts. Most of these

projects were eventually implemented by TX ADT III, as Team II ran out of growing season

before the projects could be approved and the necessary funding secured.118

Since it was likely that the Taliban would have destroyed any facilities built by the ADT

in Pashtun territory, the team concentrated initially on agricultural training and information-

sharing programs designed to positively influence eastern district farmers specifically and the

Pashtun populace in general. For example, after receiving approvals from tribal and village

elders, certain families were selected for participation in an education project designed to teach

the proper care of poultry and sheep. Farmers who attended received 10 chickens and two

54

pregnant sheep after completing the course. The farmers were then free to start their own small

businesses or simply use the animals to better feed their families. TX ADT II also began

conducting livestock husbandry, budgeting, project management, fruit and vegetable processing,

apiary, mechanized equipment repair, and Afghan extension agent training in several Ghazi

provincial districts.119

Colonel Harris reassessed his original ADT plan for Ghazni Province district by district.

In Dih Yak, for instance, where the southern half of the district was controlled by Taliban and

Haqqini network insurgents, the Texas team concentrated projects along the Ghazni-Gardez

road, a 56 mile long direct east-west link between the two provincial capitals. And since the

district subgovernor was suspected of supporting corruption, ADT members began establishing

agricultural cooperatives in order to work directly with local farmers. Projects in Jaghatu were

planned for the central and southern regions since anti-Afghanistan forces (AAF) operated

predominantly in the northern third of the district. In the newly established Khwaja Omari

District, which borders Ghazni, the security and political situations were comparatively normal.

As such, TX ADT II was able to assist local farmers continue their recovery from the 2005

rupture of the Band-e-Sultan Dam, which ravaged district irrigation systems and flooded Ghazni

City 20 miles to the south.120

Similarly, the development team concentrated its activities in the vicinity of FOB Warrior

and the district center in Gelan District, and in Qarabagh, near the Polish combat outpost and

along the Malistan-Qarabagh road. The Texas ADT addressed irrigation and retention dam issues

and recommended establishing an engineering technician school in the Hazaran-dominated

Jaghori District, and suggested a long-term livestock center of excellence for Nawur. By the end

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of their deployment, TX ADT II members had a grand total of 63 active projects in Ghazni

Province – 19 completed, 15 on-going, 17 awaiting approval/bids, and 12 in various stages of the

development. Team projects included those describe above, plus several others involving

wind/solar power generation, enhanced wheat production, irrigation system and culvert

improvements, livestock feed mills, agriculture extension programs for Ghazni University, dam

and retention pond construction, and plans for building a farmer’s market and agriculture

extension training facility in Ghazni City.121

Texas Governor Rick Perry visited with TX ADT II at FOB Ghazni in July 2009. Perry,

along with the governors of Missouri, Minnesota, Illinois, and Nevada, travelled to both

Afghanistan and Iraq to express their appreciation to the US troops fighting in the Global War on

Terrorism. “I’m proud to have the opportunity to visit the dedicated men and women who

sacrifice so much to protect freedom around the world,” Governor Perry said. “These individuals

work hard through difficult and dangerous conditions to protect others and deserve our highest

honor and deepest appreciation.”122 Colonel Harris served as host for the delegation and briefed

the governors on the ADT mission. “All the governors were easy to talk to, asked questions, and

seemed to genuinely appreciate visiting with the Soldiers…it was a morale boost for us to see the

governors in Afghanistan,” Harris later wrote.123

Veteran US Diplomat and former Ambassador to Germany and the United Nations

Richard Holbrooke also met in Ghazni with TX ADT II. Holbrooke, who was accompanied by

US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, was serving at the time as US Special

Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and strongly supported efforts to revitalize

Afghanistan’s agricultural economy. “One of the most cost-effective steps Washington could

56

take would be to boost the agriculture sector of Afghanistan, which in years past had been a

productive and profitable source of exports.” “Replicate the past success, Holbrooke explained

during a March 2009 press briefing, and Afghans would have money and jobs – and that in turn

would create stability in the country.”124

Colonel Harris briefed Holbrooke and Eikenberry on Texas ADT II’s Ghazni Province

agricultural development priorities for 2009-2010. Harris was surprised at Holbrooke’s reaction

to the briefing, as the Ambassador candidly commented that the methods being used by the

ADTs to accomplish the COIN mission would not work due primarily to the limited number of

Afghans that could be effectively reached. The quality of life for some Afghans was indeed

changing for the better, but this was limited to specific villages or small portions of larger towns

and most people would not experience a significant improvement in their economic status.

Holbrooke suggested focusing on much larger projects, such as building hydro-electric dams that

would impact greater numbers of Afghan citizens.125 Harris quickly responded, noting that

“ADTs were not designed, manned, trained, equipped, or properly financed to undertake such

large projects.”126 Ambassador Holbrooke acknowledged that he fully understood the constraints

placed on ADTs. For the remainder of their deployment, TX II members ensured that USAID

and USDA representatives were informed of and included in the team’s development efforts.

Planning and execution of Texas ADT II’s basic mission, however, did not change. Colonel

Harris later described the opportunity to brief Ambassadors Holbrooke and Eikenberry as “a

unique experience that I will always remember.”127

Unfortunately in October 2009, Staff Sergeant Christopher Staats, from Boerne, Texas

and Sergeant Anthony “Gabe” Green, from Yorktown were killed in a Taliban IED attack as

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their convoy was returning to Ghazni from a mission to Jaghori, Nawar, and Malistan Districts.

Helicopter airlift was not available and MRAPs were unable to navigate the narrow mountain

roads. Both Sergeant Todd Plybon and Major John Ploch were wounded in the attack. The Texas

team redeployed on 21 December 2009.

Indiana 1-19th ADT I

The 64 member Indiana ADT I, 1-19th, deployed to FOB Salerno in insurgent infested

Khost Province March 2009. Prior to departing the team underwent Pashto language and cultural

adaptation training at Indiana University Bloomington and completed a crash course in Afghan

agriculture at Purdue. IN ADT I was well prepared for a wide variety of small scale, big impact,

projects involving animal husbandry, veterinary training, irrigation improvement, erosion

control, rangeland management, seed and fertilizer application training, beekeeping, poultry

raising, and tree nursery and orchard operations. Training, sustainability, “post-production, post-

harvest, and value-added processing,” all “nested in counterinsurgency strategy,” became the

principal focus of 1-19th’s mission.128 “Knowledge is something the Taliban cannot blow up or

burn down,” ADT commander Colonel Brian Copes, a fourth generation farmer from

Shelbyville, IN, told Afghan farmers. “They get that,” he explained. “Every time I’ve thrown

that out, they get that, they understand that.”129

The 1-19th ADT’s mission statement was similar to that of other ADTs, calling for

developing agribusiness, collaborating with stakeholders, and strengthening the Khost provincial

government. All of the Indiana agricultural strategies shared common themes, relating to

capacity-building, infrastructure rehabilitation, food security, jobs creation, private sector 58

expansion, and increased production and incomes. Partnering with village, district, and

provincial officials to reach sustainable solutions to afghan agricultural problems was a key

aspect of 1-19th ADT plan.130

The Indiana Agribusiness Development Team worked with PRT Khost and reported to

the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne – Task Force Yukon), 25th Infantry Division,

commanded by Colonel Michael Howard. TF Yukon was responsible for some of eastern

Afghanistan’s most contentious provinces, including Khost which bordered on the AAF-

controlled Parrot’s Beak region of Waziristan in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan.131

The 4th BCT’s strategy for the region involved “five lines of effort: security, governance,

development, agriculture, and information,” Colonel Howard explained to a reporter from the

Alaska Post in 2009.132Despite the hostile operational environment, IN ADT I trained Afghan

agricultural extension agents in each of Khost’s 13 districts to utilize soil testing kits and taught

farmers in every district new drip irrigation techniques, how to use hand-cranked wheat seed

spreaders, and improved procedures for pruning their peach, apricot, and apple trees.133

The Indiana ADT paid one farmer to grow half his crops in the typical Afghan way,

while planting the other half using updated US methods. The intent of the experiment was to

indisputably demonstrate to this particular farmer and numerous others in his village the benefits

and advantages of upgrading their agricultural skills. “They’re all subsistence farmers, so

anything they grow is going to feed their family for the year,” team agricultural specialist

Sergeant Major Scott Bassett told the Associated Press. “Having that much at stake, you

wouldn’t expect them to try something new unless it’s proven.” 134 The 1-19th also developed

high school agricultural courses based on the curriculum at Emmerich Manual High School in

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Indianapolis, produced radio public service announcements on food safety and nutrition, and

worked with Khost University on greenhouse and demonstration farm projects.135

In April 2009, the Indiana ADT designed a string of 87 small rock check dams to control

a stream during seasonal runoff in Tani District. Team hydrologist Sergeant Richard Joyce used

satellite photographs – pictures from the sky – to convinced the district subgovernor and tribal

elders of the project’s merits. The ADT then arranged for CERP funding, contracted with the

Afghan Taranom National Construction Company to manage the project, and following the US

cash-for-work strategy, hired equal numbers of Afghans from the villages of ShoboKhel and

ZandaKhelat six dollars per day to build the dams. The ADT paid the workers directly to avoid

skimming by the contractor. Construction difficulties with the dams emerged early-on, requiring

a succession of ADT quality control/quality assurance trips to Tani to review progress. “I don’t

need to ever see Shobo Khel again,” ADT deputy commander Colonel Cindra Chastain said

jokingly annoyed. “I’ve been there 20 times…well 10 anyway.”136 The ADT hydrology group

soon discovered that instead of building a series of dams, the Afghan workers had constructed a

mile-long length of high rock walls lining the stream banks. Through an interpreter, team

members determined that the Afghans had built the walls rather than the dams out of fear that the

check dams would flood their fields. ADT leaders decided to pay the workers anyway, but

reached agreement with the Afghans that the dams be properly built before the next scheduled

payments.137

135Robert Cooper, “Mission in Afghanistan Plants Seeds for Economic Growth,” Blackanthem Military News, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs, 11 February 2009, 3-4.136Colonel Cindra Chastain quoted in Douglas Wissing, “The Seeds of a New Afghanistan Part II: Small Dollars, Big Impact,” American Legion Magazine, June 2010, 22. 137Douglas Wissing, “The Seeds of a New Afghanistan Part II: Small Dollars, Big Impact,” American Legion Magazine, June 2010, 18-23.

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Another troublesome issue was uncovered by IN ADT I agricultural specialist Captain

Robert Cline, who was also Chief Deputy Prosecutor for Morgan County, Indiana. Cline

developed an animal husbandry outreach program, but was unable to locate the district level

veterinary clinics that USAID had built several years prior in Khost Province. By 2009, USAID

representatives at PRT Khost were unaware of the clinics and did not know their locations. “Just

give me the GPS coordinates, village name, anything – we’re the military, we can find them,”

Cline pleaded with USAID officials.138 After several weeks and numerous requests, USAID

produced a list of clinics. However, as ADT members hunted them down, they discovered that

most of the veterinary equipment, including the solar powered generators required for

refrigeration, had been looted. In one instance the entire building had disappeared.139

Prior to redeploying, Colonel Copes and the IN ADT I staff prepared an After Action/

Lessons Learned report for the Center for Army Lessons Learned titled “If I Were Here One

More Year, I would…” Copes wrote that he would devote more time to coaching, teaching, and

mentoring the Khost Director of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock in management skills,

such as planning, forecasting, budgeting, and hiring. He would also conduct more planning

workshops and agricultural shuras, partner with the sector working group, strengthen

relationships with Khost and Kabul Universities, and assist all stakeholders in developing a long

range agribusiness strategy to complement the Khost Provincial Development Plan. Copes went

on to suggest preparing a comprehensive Khost market-chain/value-chain analysis, pursuing

additional market-based initiatives, and focusing on high-value specialty crops such as almonds,

walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, and olives. Finally, recommendations from the 1-19th staff

included developing small business/entrepreneur seminars, increasing the numbers of

experimental farms, fostering the use of low tech farm mechanization, gaining greater access to 61

intelligence data, obtaining dedicated Afghan National Police support, and training more Afghan

women.140

During their deployment, 1-19th ADT members conducted 136 combat patrols,

performed 79 agriculture assessments, held 95 key leader engagements, hired Afghan workers to

restore 22 miles of stream and build 267 check dams, replenished 2,900 acres of rangeland,

sponsored 15 agricultural seminars, and trained 25 provincial officials and 680 Afghan farmers.

The team spent $2.5 in CERP funding and used radio, television, and billboards to publicize the

numerous accomplishments, giving credit to local Afghan officials. The ADT’s focus was on

people-centric versus project-centric programs, aimed at producing low-cost, low-tech,

reproducible, sustainable solutions to Afghan agricultural challenges. The training provided by

the Indiana team to Afghan farmers mirrored this philosophy by concentrating on simple, hands-

on, best management practices for higher yields, immediate value, and an improved standard of

living for the People of Khost.141 Indiana ADT I demobilized at Camp Atterbury on New Year’s

Eve 2009.

Tennessee ADT I

The first Tennessee Agribusiness Development Team (1-16th ADT) deployed to

Afghanistan in January 2009. As with the other ADTs, the 60-member Tennessee team had a

security force, a headquarters element, and 15 agriculture and livestock technical experts. Based

at FOB Gardez, TN ADT I was commanded by Colonel James Moore, reported the 4th BCT

(Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, and assumed responsibility for Paktiya Province and the

western portions of Paktika Province. Within 60 days, the team had conducted agricultural

shuras with district subgovernors, developed prioritized agricultural district development lists,

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initiated CERP funding requests, completed assessments of 19 districts from both provinces, and

begun work on 50 improvement projects involving veterinary, livestock, and nursery training,

reforestation, greenhouse construction, beekeeping, and watershed management.142 In

wholeheartedly supporting the ADT mission, Colonel Michael Howard, 4th BCT commander,

noted that “it’s an agrarian-based economy…the agricultural line of effort is key to

[Afghanistan’s] economic independence.”143

The Tennessee ADT included Afghan provincial and district government officials in their

development activities, solicited the opinions of tribal leaders and village elders, utilized trained

district level agricultural extension workers, and conducted a wide variety of training programs

in an instructional facility built by PRT Paktiya. Several projects were initiated in conjunction

with the Paktiya University School of Agriculture and USAID. In the Paktiya districts of Zormat,

Dandwa Patan, Chamkani, and Mirzaka, for example, TN ADT I and USAID representatives

conducted poultry production and management training classes for Afghan farmers, with

emphasis on raising chickens, ducks, and geese for both subsistence and economic gain. Colonel

Moore, who has a degree in agriculture and is a banking executive in civilian life, also assisted

Afghan farmers access financial institutions, obtain loans, recognize marketing/sales

opportunities, and understand potential buyer’s wants and needs.144

“As long as this one turns out OK, then we’ll build these all over Paktiya,” Captain

Patrick Rasmussen, an engineer advisor with TN ADT I, said referring to the cool storage pilot

project units being supervised and funded by the team in Ahmedabad District.145 Compared with

existing Afghan produce storage methods, the cool storage facilities will lengthen preservation

times by 45-60 days, thereby allowing Afghan farmers to command higher prices by bringing

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their produce to market piecemeal rather than in bulk and at more advantageous intervals. To

stimulate the local economy, Afghans were hired to build the units, and Rasmussen, along with

fellow engineer advisor Sergeant Phillip Wallace, travelled to the cool storage test site twice a

week during August and September 2009 to conduct quality control/quality assurance

inspections. “If the storage units are successful, the goal is to have future ADTs carry on the

project by building more facilities in other areas of Paktiya, so that farmers will not have to

travel so far to store their produce,” Sergeant Wallace pointed out in a CJTF-82 Public Affairs

Office interview.146

TN ADT agronomist, Sergeant Robert Moore, who had been in the US Army and the

National Guard since the 1970s, re-enlisted in 2008 in order to deploy with the Tennessee team.

“He’s Mr. Agriculture,” said engineer advisor Major James Thompson. “He probably knows

more about plants, animals, insects, soil, and farming than most of us will ever know

combined.”147 A native of Lavinia, TN, Moore is a professor of Agriculture at Austin Peay

University in Clarksville, where he continued to teach distance learning classes online while

deployed. In Paktiya Province, Sergeant Moore taught honeybee biology and beekeeping

techniques to both Afghan farmers and 4th BCT Soldiers at FOB Gardez.148

According to TN ADT I Public Affairs NCOIC Sergeant First Class George Winters, the

team’s primary focus was on training, education, and infrastructure. ADT members trained

Afghan farmers in basic animal husbandry, helped them organize a livestock association, and

provided general sales and marketing instruction. To increase fruit production and generate

revenue from the sale of honey, other ADT Soldiers assisted district beekeeping associations

with membership expansion, taught hive construction, and demonstrated proper methods for

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pressing wax inserts. Since Paktiya Province lacked adequate numbers of veterinarians, the

Tennessee team coordinated with the Afghanistan Veterinary Association to train para-vets and

vet-techs in laboratory techniques, artificial insemination procedures, and de-worming methods.

Village-level poultry, sheep, and goat husbandry training for women and youths was also

conducted by the ADT. Courses covered health, feeding, and breeding, and the attendees were

given livestock and chickens to take home to their families.149 A common theme of the TN ADT

training was stewardship of the land, enhanced by education and technology. At 7,600 feet above

sea level and with only 12 inches of rainfall per year, Paktiya was a far cry from Tennessee. “But

the farmers in Afghanistan are similar to US farmers,” Colonel Mooresaid, “they’re interested in

production quality and quantities, producing enough to feed, clothe, and educate their

families.”150 At the end of 2009, TN ADT I was relieved by a new team from the Oklahoma

National Guard.

1-6th Kansas Agribusiness Development Team

The first agribusiness Development team from Kansas arrived at FOB Mehtar Lam in

Afghanistan’s Laghman Province in early May 2009. 1-6th KS ADT was led by Colonel Eric

Peck and reported to Task Force Mountain Warrior, 4th BCT, 4th Infantry Division, commanded

by Colonel Randy George. PRT Laghman and 1-121 Infantry (Nevada National Guard), which

relieved 1-178 Infantry (Illinois National Guard) in July, were also based at FOB Mehtar Lam.

Colonel Peck described the Kansas team’s mission as building the foundation for regional

agribusiness self-sustainment by providing relevant education and safe food production, storage,

processing, and distribution in Laghman Province. Specific goals included developing viable and

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diverse product lines, improving markets for Laghman crops and livestock, expanding provincial

extension services, and enhancing GIRoA economic prestige through agribusiness growth and

development. The end states envisioned by Peck were (1) stronger ties between district,

provincial, and national Afghan governments, (2) sustainability in Laghman’s agribusiness

sector, (3) improved agribusiness education systems and communications networks, and (4)

strengthened security against AAF forces through greater unification between the government

and the Afghan people.151

Prior to 1-6th’s arrival in northeastern Afghanistan, only the Missouri teams had operated

in Nuristan, Nangarhar, Kunar, and Laghman Provinces, referred to as the N2KL region. “Each

area of Afghanistan has a unique set of agricultural challenges and advantages that require

tailored approaches to resolve,” Colonel Peck said shortly before participating in an air assault

humanitarian aid operation to Garmunay Village in remote western Mehtar Lam District.152

Operation LONGBOW III was the third in a series humanitarian assistance and key leader

engagement (KLE) missions concerning ongoing counterinsurgency activities in the area. “The

mission was important…because it linked the people of this remote region with government

officials in Laghman Province,” explained Major Jack Erwin, a Civil Affairs operations officer

with 1-178 Infantry, adding “the people need assistance…they are poor and primarily survive

through subsistence agriculture.”153

Also participating in the mission were PRT Laghman representatives, a US Marine Corps

Embedded Training Team, and a contingent of Afghanistan National Army soldiers. Village

elders, along with Colonel Mohammed Jan, 201st Afghan National Army Reconnaissance

Kandak commander, and local government officials, including Deputy Provincial Governor

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Mutaza Hedayt Qalandarzai attended the key leader meeting. The lack of electricity and

insufficient clean water in the village were the principal concerns voiced by the Afghans

participating in the meeting. Following the KLE, flour, sugar, beans, rice, and radios were

distributed to Garmunay residents. Since the operation provided an opportunity for village elders,

provincial officials, and ANA and ISAF leadership to meet, discuss issues, and strengthen

relationships; LONGBOW III was considered a success by all involved.154

In July 2009, KS ADT I and USAID representatives taught agricultural development

classes at the research and demonstration farm on FOB Mehtar Lam. Students from Nangarhar

University attended five days of instruction that began with food storage, preservation, and

sanitation and continued with additional farming topics such as irrigation, livestock care,

preventative veterinary medicine, and pest control. The agriculture students also learned soil

management and methods of testing soil for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. “Students love

to dig into and analyze the soil samples…they were very curious about the chemicals used to

separate nutrients from the soil,” said ADT soil scientist Captain Jeff Mann.155 “These classes are

designed to teach future agricultural leaders modern techniques of growing, irrigating,

harvesting, and preserving their crops, as well as taking better care of their livestock.” “If these

students take just some of the ideas and work with local farmers, who then put them into

practice, we’ll see a more productive and efficient farming society in Afghanistan,” added

Lieutenant Colonel Roger Beekman, leader of 1-6th’s group of agricultural specialists.156

Perhaps the most unique project undertaken by the Kansas ADT was the introduction of

saffron to Laghman Province. One of the world’s most expensive spices, saffron is native to

Southwest Asia and is used typically as a food seasoning and coloring agent. “This is a great day

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for Laghmanis…I hope this will bring prosperity for our people,” Mohammad Ismail Dowlatzai,

provincial director of Agriculture said during the ceremonial planting of the first saffron bulbo-

tuborat the Laghman Agricultural Research and Development Center.157 “We are growing

Laghman’s future one seed at a time,” Lieutenant Colonel Beekman added as he addressed

Afghan farmers and provincial officials in attendance at the ceremony. “This is a monumental

occasion for Laghmanis, and it all starts right here.”158 Masood Sayeed, an associate professor

from Kabul University, demonstrated for Afghan farmers the proper method of planting saffron.

“Saffron is considered more valuable than poppies, and it is relatively easy to grow,” Sayeed told

the farmers during a discussion regarding the establishment of an official association to publicize

and market the crop.159 Laghman was an excellent choice as a new location for saffron

cultivation since the province was located in a fertile valley already known for producing some

of Afghanistan’s best crops.

During a mid-deployment briefing in July 2009, Colonel Peck made a series of

recommendations for improving the Agribusiness Business Development Team program. Several

suggestions involved expanded pre-deployment training to included instruction for TOC

personnel in the use of Command Post of the Future equipment and early access for the logistical

staff to the web-based Equipment Common Operation Picture (ECOP) system to review MTOEs

and Mission Essential Equipment Lists (MEEL) and initiate Operational Needs Statements and

Army Direct Ordering (ADO) requests. Peck also proposed additional mobilization station

training for ADT personnel covering theater specific project funding operations to include CERP

request and administration procedures, and the duties/responsibilities of pay agents, project

payment officers, field ordering officers, and contracting officers.160

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Colonel Peck further urged that portions of the Combat Advisor Development Program

be incorporated into ADT training to ensure that agribusiness team members are proficient at

participating in shuras and key leader engagements, that lessons learned from previously

deployed ADTs be quickly incorporated into mobilization station training, that MRAP operation

and maintenance training be completed prior to movement into theater, and that ADT medical

personnel be granted access to the Medical Operations Data System (MODS) for tracking and

processing Line of Duty (LOD) information. Peck went on to recommend that the Rapid Fielding

Initiative (RFI) apply equally to active and reserve component units, thus making sure that all

deployed personnel are issued the same allocation of protective gear, uniforms, and specialty

equipment. Finally, the 1-6 KS ADT Commander suggested that a team operations officer

assume responsibility for both operations and intelligence and that a small operations cell be

established to conduct daily planning and coordinate activities with the ISAF battle space owner

and the controlling BCT.161

During their deployment, members of 1-6th KS ADT continued to mentor provincial

DAIL representatives and to shift responsibility for agricultural development in Laghman

Province to Afghan government officials. The ADT completed construction of a pole barn at the

FOB Mehtar Lam Research and development farm, conducted horticulture and mushroom

growing training for Afghan women, held seminars for Afghan farmers on orchard and vineyard

management, initiated an animal science seminar, and provided veterinary training for herdsmen

at COP XioHaq. The Kansas team also completed a project to revitalize the Mayal Valley canal,

built a wind turbine, helped plant 300 fruit and nut trees, installed drip irrigation equipment,

provided support for an Afghan agricultural interns program, and performed quality control

inspections of check dams in Alishang District and of greenhouses/net houses Qarghayi 69

District.162 “In all but a few areas…we have achieved or exceeded our goals at this point in our

mission,” Colonel Peck reported in his final SITREP.163 Kansas ADT II relieved KS ADT I in

February 2010.

Kentucky Agribusiness Development Team I

In August 2009, the 64-member Kentucky ADT I replaced the Nebraska team at Bagram

Airfield. The Soldiers and Airmen from the Kentucky National Guard assumed agricultural

development responsibility for 1,000 square miles of diverse Afghanistan territory covering

Parwan, Panjshir, Kapisa, and Bamyan Provinces. KY ADT I became a critical component of

Task Force Wolverine, which was under operation control of Combined Joint Task Force 101,

the operational headquarters for Regional Command – East and included the 1st Squadron,

172nd Cavalry Regiment, the 86th Brigade special Troops Battalion, three Provincial Operations

Coordination Centers, and three Provincial Reconstruction Teams – Parwan (Republic of Korea),

Panjshir (United States), and Bamyan (New Zealand). The Kentucky development team was

commanded by Corbin, KY native Colonel Mike Farley, who by the summer of 2009 was

already a combat veteran of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.164 Major John Holmes was the team

executive office, while Lieutenant Colonel Ruth Graves, who runs a 300-acre farm in Franklin in

civilian life, led the ADT’s agricultural specialists group, Major Eddie Simpson commanded the

SECFOR, and Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Carney Jackson from the Livestock Disease

Diagnostic Center at the University of Kentucky served a team veterinarian.

The Kentucky ADT included actual farmers, range managers, animal husbandry experts,

marketing specialists, a large animal veterinarian, soil and irrigation advisors, engineers, a

command and staff cell, and a force protection section comprised of 34 Soldiers and Airmen. In

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addition to the typical ADT mobilization training, KY ADT I members spent time at Oliver

Vineyards near Bloomington, IN to study US style vineyard operations. “We learned how to

grow grapes and also what helps to yield a good crop at the end of the season…overall we

learned quite a bit,” explained Sergeant Jo Lisa Ashley, the ADT’s women’s empowerment

coordinator.165 ADT agricultural specialists visited Amish farms to study farming methods that

do not depend on modern-day technology, such as the use of animals to pull primitive equipment

similar to that used in Afghanistan. They also learned how this simple-living religious group

harvested crops, and canned, preserved, and stored food for the winter. “At home both my mom

and I still can all of our vegetables from our garden. We hand off that knowledge from

generation to generation, and I want to bring that knowledge to help the people of Afghanistan,”

Sergeant Ashley said.166

As with the other ADTs deployed to Afghanistan, KY ADT I’s mission – described as a

mix of development and counterinsurgency – called for assisting Afghan farmers in agricultural

self-sufficiency, helping develop markets for Afghan agricultural goods and services, and

capitalizing on what Afghan farmers already do well. Inherent in the mission were general goals

involving improving the Afghan standard of living, stabilizing the provincial and central

governments, and minimizing popular support for the AAF. The drawbacks to progress

encountered by the Kentucky ADT were similar to those noted by previous teams – a lack of

electricity, modern irrigation, adequate storage facilities, and agriculture-generated revenue.167

During their deployment, ADT members completed 300 projects in their area of responsibility,

foremost of which was the long-term Circle of Life sustainability program designed to support

Afghan villages of 5,000 or more residents. ADT engineers demonstrated water conservation

techniques using simple drip and sprinkler mechanisms, and helped Afghans build wells and 71

micro-dams, and repair ravaged irrigation systems. Education was a significant component of the

KY ADT plan, as team members partnered with Kabul University and Al-Biruni University to

teach Afghan farmers and provincial extension agents modern methods for cleaning seeds,

improving grain production, trellising grapes, pruning woodlots and orchids, cultivating saffron

and pomegranates, building root cellars and greenhouses, and raising livestock, poultry and

honey bees.168

KY ADT I was also instrumental in laying the groundwork for a USAID-funded soybean

processing facility in Parwan Province. Soy was a cash crop for Afghan farmers and the new

factory would employ local workers. Consuming protein-rich soybean meal, in the form of soy

milk, infant formula or mixed with wheat in bread, would significantly improve the nutritional

value of the Afghan diet and lead to healthier lifestyles. Soy also provided an excellent source of

protein for livestock.169 Additionally, the ADT used CERP funding and partnered with the non-

profit organization Roots of Peace to provided Afghan farmers in Panjshir Province with tens of

thousands of cherry, apricot, walnut, and almond tree saplings. The farmers were charged

approximately 50 cents per sapling. “That’s inexpensive, but it still has value because [the

farmer] paid for it and he’ll care for it,” said Roots of Peace lead extension advisor Jean-Pierre

Detry.170 Former mujahedeen general Mhrab Udeen owns a farm in Panjshir with more 20,000

fruit and nut trees. Udeen got into tree farming to supplement his GIRoA retirement income. “I

heard about Roots of Peace, and I wanted to make some money and help people,” he said.171 The

tree farms provided Afghan farmers with the option of either selling their produce or using it to

feed their families.

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Another KY ADT I initiative was the Kapisa Province Honeybee Project, in which local

women were provided with beehives and taught how to manage the hives and harvest the honey.

The bees helped pollinate surrounding crops and each hive was capable of producing

approximately six pounds of honey per year. At the prevailing rate of $6.00 to $7.00 per pound,

the sale of honey generated modest secondary incomes for the participating Afghan families.

Sergeant Jo Ashley led the effort for the ADT and coordinated her activities with Suhaila

Kohistani, Director of Women’s Affairs for the province. “I have a plan to help 1,000 women

with this project,” Kohistani said. “I have 10 to 15 women applying for the project each day.”172

“The women are all excited about the project and their involvement…all have gained knowledge

[and] they know they have a monumental role in Afghanistan’s agriculture,” Sergeant Ashley

added.173 The Kapisa Honeybee Project was expected to double in size over the next three years.

With assistance from the Kentucky ADT, farmers in Bamyan Province materially

increased potato and onion production and pomegranate farmers in the Tagab District of Kapisa

Province began exporting their crops to India and Dubai at three times normal prices.174 “They

grow really good fruits and vegetables here, but they have a hard time with transportation,”

Colonel Farley said. “We have farmers who have potatoes and onions that are remarkable, but

they sit and rot because [the farmers] can’t get them to market.”175 ADT members worked with

provincial DAILs and their extension agents to improve farm to market transportation

capabilities. The team always attempted to strengthen relationships between the people and the

government by bring an extension agent or provincial official along for important meetings with

farmers, village elders, and tribal leaders. “It’s amazing sometimes when we go out we’ll have

farmers say that this is the first time a government official has come to their village and talked to

them,” Farley explained.176

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KY ADT I also helped Afghans build a community greenhouse and improve vineyards in

Janqadam Village in Parwan Province. The villagers then sold the food for a profit at local

markets. As for livestock operations in the team’s AO, ADT members trained Afghan

veterinarians, para-vets, and animal care workers in pasture management, animal health,

parasitology, and animal autopsy techniques using materials prepared by team veterinarian

Lieutenant Colonel Carney Jackson. Along with Army Veterinary Corps officers, Jackson also

conducted continuing veterinary education for students and faculty at Kabul University,

Nangarhar University, and the Charikar Veterinary Training Center in Parwan Province.177

Prior to the end of KY ADT I’s deployment, Colonel Farley observed that it was often

difficult getting Afghan farmers to understand what to do. In one village, Farley discovered that

farmers were flooding their crops for eight hours straight once a week, thereby causing their

crops to rot. Since these farmers had been irrigating in this manner perhaps for generations, it

took several visits to convince them to water for one hour, every other day. In another instance,

ADT members first taught, then assisted, a group of Afghan farmers plant wheat and soybeans

using row crop methods and a rototiller. The next day, several farmers had reverted back to

sowing seed by hand. Frustrated and determined to demonstrate the significant benefits of row

cropping, Colonel Farley paid one farmer $300 – the high end potential future value of his crop –

to rent his field and plant wheat and soy using American methods. The eventual yield far

exceeded previous production levels.178 Developing “Afghan solutions to Afghan problems takes

time,” Farley said. You can’t just go and sit down and start talking their issues…what they want

to know is that you’re interested in them and care about them… we have spent hours just talking

177Chris Aldridge, “Special National Guard Teams open Farm Front in War on Terror,” Kentucky AgNews, 30 June 2010, 2; Aimee Nielson, “UK College of Agriculture Aiding Afghanistan’s Agriculture, Veterinary Services,” University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Agricultural Communications Services Press Release, 18 February 2010, 1.

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with them about what they do, how many children they have, and what they’ve been through in

their lives.”179 Afghan farmers were often reluctant to change their ways for fear of becoming

unable to feed their families. “You have to build a common bond,” Colonel Farley explained.180

Sharing details about his personal life – like the fact that he grew up on an apple orchid – worked

to build trust.181 Farley and Kentucky ADT I transferred authority to KY ADT II on 23 June 2010

at Bagram Airfield and returned to a welcome home ceremony at the Army Aviation Support

Facility Hanger #2, Boone National Guard Center, in Frankfort on 2 July.

California 40th Infantry Division Agribusiness Development Team

The CA 40th ID ADT deployed to Afghanistan from September 2009 until August 2010.

The 63 member team, which was commanded by Colonel Eric Grimm, began combat life-saving

training in April 2009 at the West Los Angeles Nation Guard Armory. Vehicle and weapons

training was conducted at Camp Roberts near Paso Robles, agronomists received training at

California State Polytechnic University, and the CA team completed ADT mobilization training

at Camp Atterbury prior to departing for FOB Wright near Asadabad in Kunar Province,

Afghanistan. During the course of their deployment, ADT members would reach out to Afghan

farmers in the Pech and upper Kunar River valleys to help bolster local economies, strengthen

relations with provincial and GIRoA officials, and minimize Taliban influence.182 The CA ADT

team included farming experts, animal husbandry specialists, engineers, soil scientists, power-

generation consultants, and forestry professionals. “You bring in people who have these

specialties and get them to collaborate on projects – we’re talking agribusiness and general

business practices – and things will improve,” Colonel Grimm said in explaining his mission

which “focused on helping the people of Afghanistan maximize their agricultural productivity so

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they can sustain themselves, prosper, and ultimately live without fear of the Taliban.”183 The

team reported to the 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division – Task Force Mountain Warrior – led by

Colonel Randy George and soon began working closely with PRT Kunar representatives and

Provincial Agriculture Director Mohasal Khan.

According to director Khan, some improvement in the quality and quantity of agriculture

production was already taking place in Kunar. From 2008 to 2009, for example, improved seeds,

fertilizers, and insecticides, along with increased precipitation had resulted in a 56% expansion

in wheat production, from 48,000 to 75,000 metric tons. “Natural resource management is most

important and irrigation affects all other programs,” Khan said. “We’re helping farmers get loans

to buy better equipment…we’re using agricultural associations to teach farmers how to irrigate,

how far apart to plant seeds, how to apply fertilizer, and how to weed.”184 However, as was the

case in other Afghan provinces, transporting goods and produce from the field to market

presented a major obstacle to Kunar farmers. Similarly, inadequate electricity prevented farmers

from properly storing fruits and vegetables, thereby resulting in premature spoilage.

One of the most significant undertakings of the CA 40th ID ADT was the centrally-

located Chowkay District Demonstration Farm, the first in Kunar Province. The farm was one of

several planned for Kunar and was intended to “show farmers things that they can do to grow

more abundant, healthier, and profitable crops,” Colonel Grimm said in a2010 CJTF 101

interview.185 District Agricultural Extension Manager Mashoqullah Hajji did the original

planning for the demonstration farm, while the funding was provided by the ADT. Afghan

farmers were taught, for example, how to increase productivity by planting corn in furrows in

order to get more nutrients to the stalks. Excess forage could then be used to feed the numerous

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malnourished farm animals in the district. The 40th ID ADT also demonstrated improved

techniques for storing water, recommended new irrigation methods, and introduced high-quality

seed at the farm. “The new seed we delivered is designed for drought-prone environments…it is

important that farmers see exactly how much more valuable it can be for them to use,” said

Sergeant Jason Stevens, on loan to the CA ADT from the VAARNG, and who as a civilian is

orchard manager for Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Estates.186

During the fall of 2009, the 40th ID ADT began conducting mobile veterinary clinics in

Kunar Province. In one instance, the team travelled along a winding, narrow, dirt road for six

hours to FOB Bostick near the village of Naray, 60 miles northeast of Asadabad. There was no

running water or electricity in Naray, and the malnourished and disheveled farm animals needed

rabies, anthrax, and parasite vaccinations. About 100 local farmers brought their livestock to the

clinic, which was planned with assistance from Naray district governor Haji GulZamon, and was

a complete success, as by nightfall ADT members had inoculated 21 donkeys, 54 sheep, 183

goats, and 204 cows.187

In January 2010, the California team conducted a veterinary clinic, referred by this time

as a veterinary civic action program – VETCAP, for Afghan farmers from the villages of Woch

Now, Argadel Kalay, and Yargul Kalay that encircled FOB Wright. Accompanied by tribal

leaders and village elders, hundreds of farmers brought their livestock to Asadabad for

vaccinations and vitamin supplement treatments administered by Afghan veterinarians and ADT

members. Afghan National Army forces provided security for the VETCAP and Afghan children

rounded up any animals that managed to escape. Provincial Governor Fazlullah Wahidialso

attended the event, thereby placing an Afghan government face on the VETCAP initiative.

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Governor Wahidi brought his own horse and cows for treatment and stressed the importance of

livestock to the mountainous Kunar region, noting that “the biggest economy for the people is

their cows, sheep, and goats.”188

The Kunar ADT worked with the Afghanistan Veterinary Association, brought

organization and discipline to high-volume animal vaccination operations, and trained veterinary

technicians to run future VETCAPs. “We finished crunching the numbers last night and our total

was 567 animals treated at the Argadel VETCAP,” Lieutenant Colonel Max Velte, the ADT

deputy commander said. “This is a record number for us. It was a great VETCAP and a total

team effort.”189 By the completion of the Kunar ADT’s tour, team members had provided

veterinary service to more than 30,000 animals in the province.190 As an incentive for Afghan

farmers to bring their animals in for treatment, the team provided a variety of humanitarian

assistance items. Lieutenant Colonel Velte handed out nearly 2,000 pairs of shoes, for example,

mostly to schoolgirls and their parents. After eight months with the 40th ID ADT at FOB Wright,

Velte went on the become deputy S-9 for 1st Brigade Combat Team (Task Force Bastogne),

101stAirborne Division (Air Assault), where he oversaw all ADT activities in RC-E and wrote a

comprehensive VETCAP standard operating procedures manual.191

The Backyard Poultry Program was another successful Kunar ADT initiative. Rural

Afghan village women were provided with free prefabricated chicken coops, several starter

chicks, six months of feed, and training by veterinary technicians. The program flourished, as the

women set up small businesses to sell birds and eggs in village markets. After only a few

months, local children reported that there were many more chickens and more food in their

villages. The California team also introduced a revised watershed control method using low cost

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masonry pieces – designed similar to crib logs – that snapped together and were easy to install.

Lieutenant Colonel David, a civil engineer, subsequently drew up plans to improve irrigation

management in the entire Kunar Valley.192

Kunar Province was ground zero for the insurgency according to Lieutenant Colonel

Velte. During the 40th ID ADT’s rotation, team members were involved in 19 firefights with

Taliban and Haqqani Network terrorists.193 In one instance, after completing a VETCAP

operation in Ghaziabad District, a Kunar ADT convoy was ambushed in Asmar District by

Taliban from a hill top overlooking the roadway. The team’s MRAP was hit and immobilized.

After four hours of exchanging fire with the enemy and being resupplied with ammunition by

OH-58 D Kiowa Warrior helicopters, team mechanics repaired the MRAP and the convoy

resumed the return trip to FOB Wright. ADT Staff Sergeant John Carter, Sergeant Leonard

Contreras, Sergeant Jeffrey Johnson, Corporal David DeRouen, and Specialist Andrew Coffman

each received the Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device for their actions in the Asmar

District firefight.194

In July 2010, after a sustained battle between the Taliban and a combined team of Afghan

National Army forces and 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment Soldiers, Kunar ADT

members quickly moved in to assess damage and provided needed supplies at Daridam Village

in Marawara District. The supplies included animal feed, medications, nutritional supplements,

replacement seeds, and tools to re-plant fields damaged during the fighting. “The people of

Daridam have obviously been through a lot after having their village occupied by the Taliban,”

said ADT agronomist Sergeant Scott Flynn, whose civilian job is with the US Forest Service.

“They [village farmers] are mainly concerned about putting their lives back together and getting

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to planting…our work will help them do that,” Flynn added.195 Iowa ADT I replaced the 40th ID

ADT in Kunar Province in August 2010, and, after a highly successful deployment, the

California team began a long trip home – a trip that wound through FOB Fenty, Jalalabad; Camp

Warrior, Bagram Airfield; Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Virginia, Kuwait; Kuwait

International Airport; Bucharest, Romania; Keflavik, Iceland; Pease Air National Guard Base,

Portsmouth, NH; Indianapolis International Airport; Camp Atterbury; and finally the closest

cities to team member’s homes.196

Oklahoma 1-45th Agribusiness Development Team

The first Agribusiness Development Team from Oklahoma (1-45th ADT) replaced

Tennessee’s 1-16th ADT at FOB Gardez and assumed responsibility for Paktiya and Paktika

Provinces in December 2009. Prior to deployment, OK ADT I underwent training at the Camp

Gruber Military Training Site in Muskogee, Oklahoma State University (OSU) School of

Agriculture, and the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center. The 1-45th Soldiers also

attended Pashto language training conducted by Defense Language Institute instructors and

learned the basics of apple orchid management at the Apple Works in Trafalgar, Indiana. The

Oklahoma team, which was OPCON to the 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, quickly

established strong working relationships with Gardez PRT representatives, USDA senior

agricultural advisor Maggie Rhodes, Paktiya’s Director of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock

Niazlali Mohammed Zadran, and with Dr. David Henneberry, Director of International

Agricultural Programs at OSU for “reach-back” support.197

The 1-45th ADT was commanded by Colonel Amos “Mike” Chase from Chandler, OK.

Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia Tinkham was team executive officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jackie

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Sanders led the agriculture section, and Master Sergeant Bobby Howard served as the unit’s

command sergeant major. Additional ADT members provided expertise in veterinary medicine,

soil sampling, bee keeping, agronomy, animal husbandry, engineering, economics, banking, and

marketing.198 Colonel Chase described the OK ADT mission in terms of providing assistance and

advice to Afghan farmers by conducting agricultural classes, teaching the latest technological

advancements, developing demonstration farms, and supplying high-grade seed and other

necessary materials. “It’s not about ‘giving’ the Afghan people something, rather it’s about

empowering them and teaching them new and improved ways of conducting business,” Chase

explained.199 1-45th ADT members were also briefed and fully prepared to continue the

watershed restoration, cool storage facilities, livestock, and poultry projects initiated earlier by

the Tennessee ADT in their area of operations. The OK ADT was similarly trained and prepared

to assist Paktiya and Paktika farmers with their principal crops, which included wheat, apples,

grapes, peaches, pomegranates, honey, walnuts, and almonds.200

In an effort similar to the Backyard Poultry Program initiated by the California ADT in

Kunar, the 1-45th sponsored a comprehensive poultry management training session at Shah

Qambar High School in Gardezfor Paktiya youths, both male and female, ages 10-16. The

participants studied a variety of chicken health and welfare related issues, such as caring for

chicks, incubation of eggs, rooster and hen anatomy and physiology, proper mixing of feed, and

diseases effecting domesticated fowl. After completing the course, each student was provided

with additional training literature, chicken coops, 66 pounds of feed, and 20 chickens. “Based on

the enthusiasm of the participants, it is apparent that this training was well received…it will

provide a sustainable source of nutrition and income through the sale of excess eggs and foul,”

Colonel Chase pointed out as the training concluded.201 “I wish we could give them all the 81

training they want,” added Lieutenant Colonel Sanders. “They are eager to learn.”202 NiazLali

Mohammed Zadran, Paktiya DAIL, expressed his appreciation to the OK ADT for organizing

the poultry training and asked for additional education programs. As an additional benefit, the

poultry project helped build trust among the Afghan students, their parents, government officials,

and the 1-45th ADT.

The Oklahoma ADT also helped establish a working relationship between the colleges of

agriculture at Oklahoma State University and Gardez University (GU). Guest lecturers presented

seminars to Gardez faculty and students, the Gardez University agriculture curriculum was

upgraded, and the ADT contracted for 1,700 textbooks and other agricultural education materials

that were given to GU. Additionally, ADT 1-45 assisted Afghans in building a demonstration

farm in Gardez to test, evaluate, and exhibit new agricultural techniques and methods. The

Oklahoma team also provided extensive training for DAIL extension agents covering a wide

variety of agribusiness topics from agronomy to forestry to animal husbandry. “We also provided

basic equipment to put this training to practical use…we did a lot of projects and touched a lot of

Afghans, but we really focused on helping the provincial DAIL build capacity,” Colonel Chase

explained.203 In October 2011, over 150 Soldiers from three ADTs – Texas ADT III, Indiana

ADT II, and Oklahoma ADT I – all redeployed together back to Camp Atterbury for

demobilization processing.204

South Carolina Agribusiness Development Team I

The first agribusiness development team from South Carolina deployed to FOB Shank in

Logar Province in December 2009. The 64-member team, which was commanded by Colonel

Michael K. Dunn, initially reported to the 10th Mountain Division and subsequently to the 173rd

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Airborne Brigade Combat Team. An Afghanistan national police academy, a US Police

Mentoring Training Team, and Czech-led PRT Logar were also located at FOB Shank. Prior to

deploying, the SC ADT underwent cultural and language training – taught by native Afghans – at

the McCrady Training Center at Fort Jackson in Columbia. The twelve members of the ADT’s

agriculture section, all of whom were civilian farmers, also received specialized instruction in

soil science, microbiology, livestock management, and extension program development from the

College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Life Sciences at Clemson University. While completing

pre-mobilization training at Camp Atterbury, additional ADT Soldiers visited the Cikana State

Fish Hatchery in Martinsville, IN for aquaculture familiarization conducted by Indiana Natural

Resources and Wildlife instructors.205

SC ADT I quickly began building relationships with Afghan farmers, tribal leaders, and

provincial officials. The Afghan farmers soon began trusting their fellow farmers from South

Carolina. Every operation in rural Logar put team members face-to-face with Afghans.

Listening, understanding, building confidence, gaining support, and convincing farmers that they

needed help became an overarching team focus. By 2010, CERP funded projects initiated by SC

ADT I were smaller – typically around $5,000 – more manageable, transparent, and less

susceptible to corruption. Potential projects were vetted by village elders, tribal leaders, and

provincial government committees. Once projects were approved, the ADT solicited vendors,

awarded contracted to local companies whenever possible, insisted on using Afghan workers,

and performed frequent quality control inspections. The South Carolina team also conducted

numerous new methods workshops for provincial agricultural extension agents who, in turn,

passed the information on to Logar farmers.206

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The SC ADT also sponsored Farmers’ Shuras in an effort to bring provincial officials,

local leaders, Afghan agricultural extension agents, and farmers together to discuss

problems/issues, review current projects, and assess future Logar farming requirements. ADT

members helped organize these Shuras, but did not actively participate, since the intent was to let

Afghans reach conclusions and make agricultural decisions on their own. In one instance

however, ADT Command Sergeant Major Michael Hall announced to the Shura that, due to its

potential use in IEDs, ammonium nitrate fertilizer was being discontinued in the province, but

that he had two free bags of urea-based fertilizer for each farmer in attendance. The farmers and

extension agents understood the reason for the switch and appreciated the SC ADT’s generosity.

Counterinsurgency and Agriculture expert Janet Killeen, who spent more than two years in

Afghanistan analyzing ADT operations, including those of SC ADT I, observed that of all the

US units participating in OEF, “the ADTs are the only group in the US military bringing

positive, measurable, results to the rural population.”207

Since SC ADT I was the first to deploy to Logar Province, team executive office

Lieutenant Colonel Frank Rice establishing strong working relationships with provincial

agricultural extension agents a critical component of the mission. “We went out every day to

drink tea,” Rice said. “If you don’t get off on the right foot, it’s tough to catch up.”208 The ADT

successfully encouraged Afghan extension agents to get out of their offices and to meet face-to-

face with farmers to determine their needs. Another productive SC ADT initiative involved a

district by district apiary training program managed by beekeeping expert Major John Roache.

Roache contracted with Afghan producers for hives, and he and several provincial extension

agents conducted week-long training sessions for interested farmers and their families in six

207Janet Killeen, “South Carolina National Guard ADT Advises Afghans,” 2.84

provincial districts. Of the apiary program and numerous others established by the SC ADT in

Logar, Lieutenant Colonel Rice commented “we want to help Afghans with sustainable practices

that they can continue when we leave.”209 Nevada ADT I replaced the South Carolina team at

FOB Shank in September 2010.

Indiana Agribusiness Development Team 2-19th

Indiana ADT 2-19th deployed to FOB Salerno, relieved IN 1-19th in December 2009,

and assumed responsibility for agricultural operations in Khost and Paktika Provinces. Khost

was one of the most fertile provinces in Afghanistan with wheat and alfalfa the principal crops.

IN ADT 2-19th continued pursuing a wide of variety of projects initiated by the previous Indiana

team to assist Afghan farmers with new techniques for animal husbandry, drip irrigation, row

cropping, orchard management, bee keeping, watershed operations, and with the experimental

research farm at Shaikh Zayed University.210 The 2-19th was OPCON to 3d Brigade Combat

Team, 101st Airborne Division and was commanded by Colonel Michael Osburn from

Martinsville, IN, who in civilian life was Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the Indiana

Department of Corrections.

In addition to the typical ADT mission of helping Afghans improve their farming

methods for subsistence and income, Colonel Osburn and the 2-19th also emphasized specific

outcomes, such as measurably increasing crop/livestock production yields, increasing secondary

and vocational level agricultural knowledge, and sustaining/reinforcing natural resources

conservation practices. Osburn and his staff met weekly with US military commanders and

provincial officials – the Khost Board of Directors – to ensure that all were in agreement 85

concerning upcoming projects and programs. “The goal was to provide the training and the tools

needed for success to the Afghan farmers, but at the end of the day, it was up to the individual to

make the necessary changes and commitment to succeed,” Osburn explained.211

As the California ADT had done in Kunar province, IN ADT 2-19th initiated the first

women’s poultry project in Khost. The intent was to assist Afghan widows provide for their

families and generate income. The women participants were first provided with basic training for

managing fowl, including proper care, feeding, and disease control. At the completion of

training, each woman was given a rooster, several chickens, and month’s supply of feed and

medicine. Additional, more advanced, follow-up training was offered the women after their first

month of operating the chicken farms.212 Indiana team members also established a second

demonstration farm at Camp Parsa, an Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police

training base near the Pakistan border. The experimental facility would eventually be used to

instruct local Afghan farmers in drip irrigation techniques, grape trellising, and greenhouse

construction.213

During its deployment, Indiana 2-19th coordinated extensively with Khost provincial

Director of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Salahuddin Faizyee Shafiaq, trained his 15

agricultural extension agents in 21st century farming techniques, assisted more than 4,000

Afghan farmers, and conducted over 180 combat patrols.214 “I have seen the progress we have

made in Khost Province…this is a direct reflection of our shared commitment for Afghanistan,”

Colonel Osburn said during the transfer of operational authority to the IN 3-19th ADT in

October 2009.215 Indiana ADT 2-19th arrived home to Stout Army Air Field in Indianapolis on 20

October 2010.

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Texas Agribusiness Development Team III

Texas agribusiness Development Team III deployed to FOB Ghazni in December 2009.

TX ADT III was commander by Colonel Albert “Jeff” Adkinson and was OPCON initial to

Combined Joint Task Force-82, then CJTF-101, ADCON to the 173d Airborne Brigade Combat

Team, and under NATO tactical control of Task Force White Eagle’s Polish Battle Group. The

Texas team assumed responsibility for interacting with Ghazni Provincial Governor Musa Khan,

Director of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Sultan Hussein, and the US-led PRT in

Ghazni, which included 30 Polish representatives. As with previous teams, Texas III’s objective

was to nurture and promote sustainable, revenue-generating, agriculture in Ghazni by improving

the capabilities/competencies of Afghan government officials and provincial extension agents,

and passing the resulting knowledge on to local farmers.

Texas ADT III continued to support the 24-week para-veterinarian training program at

the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan Para-Vet Training and Support Center in Charikar District.

During training, Afghan students learned how to prevent, diagnose, and treat a variety of

diseases common to cattle, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, and poultry. “Some Afghanistan

herdsmen lose up to 30 percent of their herds to disease every year without preventative

medicine,” said director of training for the center, Dr. Nagibullah Durani. “These graduates will

make a positive impact on livestock health in their villages.”216 In order to establish successful

practices back home, students were also taught courses in basic financial management and

business administration. Although the Dutch Committee established, managed, and taught the

para-vet training program, Texas ADT members First Lieutenants Rodney Robinson and

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Matthew Machacek supported the effort by providing each graduate with practice start-up

necessities including stainless steel surgical instruments and a solar-powered freezer.217

First Lieutenant Robinson also served as ADT team leader for the Sanayee High School

active involvement agricultural experience project in Ghazni City. The ADT provided seeds for

beans, tomatoes, rosemary, squash, radish, pepper, beets, watermelon, alfalfa, and peanuts, along

with rakes, wheelbarrows, shovels, buckets, and hundreds of agricultural textbooks. Texas III

also helped train the teachers, paid for the construction of five gardens, and purchased trellises to

support taller plants. “We need to reach them at a very young age…we want to provide them

with hands on experience and to apply it, whether at home or if they want to pursue…an

agricultural degree,” explained Robinson, ADT agribusiness marketing specialist from Austin.218

Seven hundred students out of 5,000 at the all-male school signed up for the agricultural classes

that included soil testing and analysis, disease identification and prevention, and horticultural

grafting techniques. With the Texas ADT’s help, the Sanayee High School students had the

necessary textbooks and equipment and were ready to learn.

While at Ghazni, the TX ADT III SECFOR medics underwent helicopter medical

evacuation training provided by the FOB Forward Surgical Team and flight crews from C

Company, 2d Battalion, 3d Aviation Regiment. The training began on the ground with

instructions regarding intravenous solutions administration, radio procedures for requesting

medevac assistance, use of the nine-line request form, landing zone security, landing zone

marking with smoke grenades, and the proper methods for loading casualties onto the aircraft.

217Peter Ferrell, “Texas ADT Supports Para-Veterinarian Program at Charikar,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 10 August 2010, 1.218First Lieutenant Rodney Robinson quoted in Katherine Roling, “Afghan Students Work on Green Thumbs in Ghazni Province,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 10 April 2010, 1; First Lieutenant Rodney Robinson quoted in Katherine Roling, “Texas ADT Goes Back to School,” PRT Ghazni Press Release, 6 May 2010, 1.

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Next, participants were given stretchers, combat lifesaver kits, radios, and smoke grenades and

began conducting a number of practice medevac missions. Several TX ADT members served as

simulated casualties. Prior to completing training, a lucky few ADT Soldiers, including SECFOR

squad leader Sergeant Jeffery Palmore, were chosen to ride the “jungle penetrator” – a three

armed anchor-shaped seat that is lowered by winch and cable to extract wounded personnel from

terrain unsuitable for helicopter landings.219

Convincing Ghazni DAIL Sultan Hussein to become more deeply involved in ADT

efforts to improve agriculture in the province was a major accomplishment for Texas team III.

The ADT’s operations section was able to muster sufficient aviation assets to fly Hussein to

nearly every district for key meetings with local agriculture extension agents and farmers. ADT

members also used helicopter support to distribute seeds and fertilizer to remote regions of

Ghazni Province. In one instance, the Texas Soldiers airdropped wheat seeds to farmers in

Ajristan District where there was no government presence. TX ADT III also worked with the

Central Asian Development Group, an NGO known for promoting high-yield farming practices

and methods for increasing efficiency and sustainability, to create a cash-for-work program in

Ghazni aimed at improving irrigation and controlling erosion. The Texas team placed great

emphasis on training district agricultural extension agents and convincing them to get out of their

offices and to work directly with Ghazni farmers. Finally, Texas III concentrated primarily on

those projects that were sustainable by the Afghan farmers themselves.220 TX ADT III

relinquished command to TX ADT IV at Ghazni on 13 October 2010.

Missouri ADT III

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The third Missouri ADT, officially designated 132d MO ADT, arrived 12 October 2009

at FOB Finley-Shields, Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province – the breadbasket of Afghanistan. On 1

November, the 64-member team conducted a transfer of authority, relieving the Missouri 135th

ADT II. MO ADT III was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ronny Mast, a Missouri State

Highway Patrol Trooper from Cassville. Major Christopher Jackson was ADT III Executive

Office, Major Sean Elfrink served as agriculture team chief, First Lieutenant Mark Stokes led the

SECFOR, and Master Sergeant Donald Lilleman was team NCOIC. Prior to deploying, team

members completed pre-mobilization training at Camp Clark, Nevada, Missouri, weapons

training at Camp Crowder in Neosho, and were mobilized 3 September at Camp Atterbury Joint

Maneuver Training Center. During a departure ceremony at the Ike Skelton Training Site in

Jefferson City, dignitaries noted that MO ADT III would build on the successes of previous

Missouri teams. Senator Kit Bond told the crowd that on a recent fact-finding mission to

Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai had proudly served him broccoli that had been grown in

Nangarhar, where teams I and II had operated.221

Missouri ADT III reported to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Task Force Mountain

Warrior), 4th Infantry Division and worked with Nangarhar Director of Agriculture, Irrigation,

and Livestock, Safi Mohammed Hussein, plus representatives from PRT Jalalabad, USAID,

USDA, and the State Department. The team composition was similar to other ADTs and

included a SECFOR, an agronomist, a hydrologist, a large animal veterinarian, contracting

officers, and agricultural, pest management, marketing, and soil science specialists. Notably, MO

ADT III also had a judge advocate general, Major Tony Horvath, a St. Louis University School

of Law graduate and Assistant Attorney General for Missouri. The ADT legal office, which also

included paralegal assistant Specialist Candace Brooks, helped State Department officials with 90

rule of law issues, mentored Afghan lawyers, conducted CERP funding legal reviews, assisted

with investigations and non-judicial punishments, and provided Soldiers with power of attorney

and notary services.222

The MO ADT III mission remained generally the same as that of the previous teams – to

help rebuild Nangarhar’s agricultural and livestock infrastructure. Lieutenant Colonel Mast’s

After Action Report was more specific, citing (1) integrating non-kinetic agriculture and

development activities into Brigade Combat Team COIN operations, (2) supporting the GoIRA

in efforts to assist farmers, (3) providing agricultural services, (4) securing the safety of the food

produced and consumed by the people, (5) developing sustainable value-added business

operations, (6) improving Nangarhar Province’s chances of becoming a legitimate world market

provider of agricultural goods and services, and (7) increasing the economic well-being of the

citizens of the province.223 Team III did in fact have large shoes to fill as the previous Missouri

ADTs had completed more than 100 projects worth approximately $13 million, including

irrigation improvements that brought water to parched farmland, wheat seed enhancements that

created greater yields, cold storage facilities that extended produce preservation times, and

slaughterhouses that significantly improved sanitation.224

Missouri ADT III, however, compiled an impressive record of their own. Team members

assisted the Nangarhar Valley Development Authority with planting 60,000 orange trees and

rehabilitating four olive orchids covering 4,200 acres of land. One of the restored orchids yielded

121 tons of olives during MO ADT III’s deployment. Increased olive production favorably

impacted the GoIRA owned processing plant by expanding the number of olive-based

marketable products and providing jobs for Afghan workers. The Missourians distributed 1,100

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tons of wheat seed and 2,200 tons of fertilizer, developed forestry programs, and continued seed

cleaning, cold storage, canning, preserving, and juicing projects begun by teams I and II. The

ADT also helped build nine slaughter facilities in Nangarhar and taught local butchers proper

sanitation practices.225 “The slaughter facilities provide a centralized location for butchering and

slaughter services,” said ADT slaughterhouse project manager, Captain Jordan Clark.226

The Missouri development team oversaw the completion of 60 solar-powered wells that

used energy from the sun to pump water into storage tanks for later use in irrigating fields and

created small-scale cash-for-work soil erosion and irrigation projects that kept much needed

revenue in the local villages. ADT Soldiers and Airmen helped Nangarhar government officials

expand agricultural extension services in the province by recruiting and training agents. Team

contracting officers and engineers performed an extensive number of quality assurance

inspections of the more than 80 ongoing projects in MO ADT III’s AO. Major Elfrink developed

a plan for establishing provincial growers associations – similar to farmer’s co-ops in the United

States – in districts and villages throughout Nangarhar. To bolster provincial government

credibility with the public, Lieutenant Colonel Mast introduced the Afghan project identification

system, under which new programs were more carefully scrutinized and Afghan officials became

involved to a higher degree in the decision making process. Finally, team members assisted PRT

personnel in renovating a home for disabled Afghans and participated in the PRT’s Female

Engagement Outreach Program.227 “When you talk about the agribusiness sector, all of the

projects tie together,” Master Sergeant Lilleman told representatives from the Missouri National

Guard 135th History Detachment. “I really think we are helping – not just the COIN fight – but

the average Afghan,” added team engineer Staff Sergeant Thomas Parsons. “I think we are really

making a difference here.”228

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In April 2010, the command team for MO ADT IV visited for briefings with team III at

FOB Finley-Shields. During a surprise visit later in the month, Chief of Staff of the Army,

General George Casey, presented Chief of Staff coins to First lieutenant Zachary Wilson, Staff

Sergeant Joshua Polorski, Air Force Staff Sergeant George Wong, and Sergeant John Thiel for

outstanding performance of duties. The 4th BCT transferred authority in Nangarhar to Task

Force Bastogne, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division in June and in August,

MO ADT III redeployed to Camp Atterbury for demobilization.

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FARMERS WITH GUNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF COUNTERINSURGENCY

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS IN AFGHANISTAN

Chapter 5: 2010 Agribusiness Development Team Deployments

Eleven states sent Agribusiness Development Teams to Afghanistan in 2010. Most of

these teams were second, third, and four rotations by follow-on units from the same state, such as

Missouri ADT IV or the 3d-19th Indiana ADT. Three states, however, deployed their initial

Agribusiness Development Teams – Arkansas, Iowa, and Nevada.

Arkansas Agribusiness Development Team I

The first National Guard Agribusiness Development Team from Arkansas conducted pre-

mobilization training at the Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center, mobilized at Camp

Atterbury, and subsequently arrived at FOB Apache outside Qalat, Zabul Province, in early

April, 2010. The 64 member team included Soldiers and Airmen, both men and women, from 14

separate Arkansas National Guard units. Prior to deployment, the team’s agricultural section

received specialized refresher training from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension

Service in wheat and grain production, food processing and storage, soil and water analysis,

irrigation methods, sheep and goat herding techniques, poultry raising, and fruit and vegetable

cultivation, processing, and storage. AR ADT I was commanded by Colonel Stephen Redman

and reported to the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Headquarters. The

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Arkansas team was the only ADT in Regional Command – South and operated fairly

autonomously, but coordinated activities in the battlespace with PRT Zabul, Provincial Governor

Mohammed Ashraf Nasseri, Provincial DAIL Bismillah Harifal, the 4th Brigade Combat Team,

82d Airborne Division, and, after July 2010, with 2d Squadron, 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment.229

As the first ADT in Zabul, Arkansas I gained its footing by quickly establishing

relationships with key provincial officials, tribal leaders, government and non-government

organization/agency representatives, and others involved in advancing agricultural interests in

the province. The ADT’s mission generally followed the guidelines established in the

Afghanistan Minister of Agriculture’s national plan for agriculture and economic development –

to expand agricultural production, create more job opportunities, and rejuvenate the agribusiness

economic sector. Team members initiated a grassroots agricultural education and training

program, began mentoring Provincial DAIL Harifal, his staff, and district level extension agents,

and helped originate a five-year agribusiness development plan for Zabul that was consistent

with the goals and objectives delineated in the overall Afghanistan National Development

Strategy. The training programs were hands-on, covering agricultural basics such as irrigation,

plant science, crop rotation, livestock management, and disease prevention; methods for

improving existing farming practices and natural resource management; and creating market

oriented post-harvest business models. These initial training programs soon evolved into three-

day mobile agricultural education seminars, training farmers and moving from village to village,

district to district. The long-term objective, Colonel Redman said, “was to develop a sustainable

229Lieutenant Colonel Keith Moore, email correspondence, 19 October 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute; Keith Moore, “Arkansas ADT Begins Training for Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 30 November 2009, 1.

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agricultural education program utilizing Afghan farming extension agents to improve the

production capability and overall quality of life for Zabul farmers and herdsmen.”230

The 12 member agricultural specialist section of the Arkansas ADT was led by

Lieutenant Colonel David Sheely and included Soldiers and Airman with professional

experience in agronomy, soil science, irrigation operations, poultry production, produce storage,

animal health, agricultural marketing, and farm, crop, and livestock management. The AR ADT

initiated an outreach program, entitled ‘Operation Know Your Neighbor,’ to assess Afghan

farming methods, assist para-veterinarians, and build relationships in the district villages

surrounding FOB Apache. As farmers and herdsmen themselves, the Guardsmen “come from

small towns in Arkansas so it is pretty easy for us to understand and build rapport with [farmers]

in these small villages,” Lieutenant Colonel Sheely explained.231 By July 2010, ADT agricultural

specialists had met with farmers, tribal elders, and local officials from a dozen villages in the

Qalat, Shah Joy, Shinkay, and Tarnak WaJaldak districts of Zabul Province.

The Arkansas ADT also assisted Afghan agricultural extension agents construct

demonstration farms in Shah Joy and Tarnak WaJaldak districts to provide local farmers with

hands-on training and experience. The team then opened information centers in district

marketplaces to provide farming literature and publicize the availability of training at the

demonstration farms. Modern farming techniques, including seed testing, crop resiliency

evaluations, pest control measures, greenhouse operations, row-crop improvements, and growing

fruit tree seedlings and saplings, were taught by ADT agronomy specialists and district extension

agents at these farms.232

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In addition, AR ADT I developed a youth agriculture education curriculum for provincial

children interested in farming and continued to expand the mobile agriculture seminar program

in Shin Kay district and then to Qalat, Mizan, and Tarnak WaJaldek. Twenty-eight farmers

attended the Shin Kay session that was taught by Afghan plant science specialists, forestry

management experts, and para-veterinarians. Afghan farmers who attended a seminar received

farming tools, animal vaccines, and herbicide sprayers. “This agriculture seminar is probably the

most important aspect of our mission here in Zabul.” “The road to peace and prosperity is paved

with education, and seeing [farmers] practicing what they learned…there is no question that our

agriculture education program is on the right track,” Colonel Redman observed in August 2010

about midway through the team’s deployment.233

On 19 January 2011, Arkansas Agribusiness Development Team I relinquished

responsibility in Zabul to AR ADT II. During their deployment, AR ADT I Soldiers and Airmen

conducted over 200 missions, mentored provincial agricultural staffs, established five farmers’

cooperatives, used commercial radio stations to broadcast disease warnings, and trained nearly

400 Afghan farmers from nine Zabul districts. The training covered a wide variety of agricultural

topics from erosion control, soil analysis, and check dam construction, to animal vaccinations,

livestock and poultry production, and crop, orchid, and nursery management. “The best way that

I can think of to increase the standing of the Afghan government in the eyes of the people is to

help the government increase its ability to provide agricultural services to the population,”

Colonel Redman said, then added “good things came with this mission, and I’m proud to have

been a part of it.”234 Arkansas ADT I team members were welcomed home by families and

friends at the Robinson Maneuver Training Center in Little Rock on 9 February 2011.

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Iowa National Guard734thAgribusiness Development Team

The Iowa734th ADT relieved the California Guard’s 40th ADT at FOB Wright, Kunar

Province, in August 2010. The Iowa ADT trained at Camp Dodge and Iowa State University, as

well as with Amish farmers and at the Living History Farms in Urbandale to study non-

mechanized operations and the use of draft animals, such as horses and oxen. Several team

members received additional instruction at Purdue University while undergoing mobilization

training at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center.235

The 734th ADT was commanded by Colonel Craig Bargfrede, Lieutenant Colonel David

Lewis served as executive officer, and Lieutenant Colonel Neil Stockfleth led the team’s

agricultural specialists section. Shortly after arriving in Kunar, Lewis attended a meeting in

which the Commanding General International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, General

David Petraeus, was briefed on ADT operations. Since protecting and supporting the population

is a key fundamental of counterinsurgency operations, “General Petraeus seemed very interested

in the [ADT] aspect of the counterinsurgency campaign,” Lieutenant Colonel Lewis reported.236

While at FOB Wright, IA ADT 734th reported to Combined Joint Task Force101 – Task Force

Bastogne–and maintained strong working relationships with Kunar Provincial Governor, Syed

Fazlullah Wahidi, and Provincial DAIL, haji mohasal Kahn. “One of our key goals here is to

improve the government’s ability to provide agricultural services to its citizens,” Colonel

Bargfrede said. “I thought it was very important to meet with Governor Wahidi and his staff as

soon as we could.”237

Since hoof and mouth disease and rabies were considered endemic in Afghanistan, ADT

734th’s veterinarian, Major Loren Adams and Master Sergeant Darla Sheasley, team veterinary

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technician began coordinating their efforts to provide better livestock nutrition and proper animal

care with the various veterinary service providers at the national, provincial, and district levels.

Adams and Sheasley initiated efforts to strengthen the relations between Afghan veterinarians

already employed by the Kunar government and the livestock producers and herdsmen of the

province. Soon after arriving in Afghanistan, the IA ADT sent 300 doses of vaccine to PRT

Nuristan to help combat a rabies outbreak in the Titin Valley. The vaccine was used to inoculate

dogs in the region, and Major Adams, an expert in veterinary public health, provided technical

assistance to the PRT, which had staff veterinarian. “It’s really important that we vaccinate the

dogs,” Adams noted at the time. “You can’t kill your way out of a rabies problem…vaccinating

the animals is really the way to go.”238

Rabies was a topic, along with animal nutrition and livestock parasite control, at a

veterinarians’ conference held on 13 December in the provincial capital of Asadabad. IA ADT

734th sponsored the event, which was attended by a record number of 35 Afghan veterinarians.

Dr. Mohammed Ghalib, Kunar Provincial Veterinarian, presented materials on parasite

prevention and control, while Army Major Robert Paul from the Cooperative Medical Assistance

Team, 30th Medical Command/62d Medical Brigade, USFOR-A at Bagram Airfield spoke on

general animal health and livestock nutrition. Major Adams then made his presentation on the

importance of vaccinating animals for zoonotic viral diseases such as rabies, which is typically

fatal in humans if not properly treated post-exposure, and next, he demonstrated neutering

surgical techniques on a dog belonging to a consenting conference participant. Adams

reemphasized the important role veterinarians play in preventing and controlling rabies and in

educating Afghan farmers and the general public about the potentially deadly disease.239

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In late December 2010, Iowa ADT veterinary personnel joined other Army and Air Force

veterinarians from the 62d Medical Brigade, the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, and Kentucky

ADT II for a private tour of the Afghanistan Central Veterinary Research and Development

Laboratory (CVRDL) in Kabul. The facility has six functional departments concentrating on

histopathology, toxicology, biochemistry, pharmaceutical analysis, public health, and training

laboratory technicians. Understanding the CVRDL capabilities would be beneficial for IA ADT

members in planning workshops and seminars for Afghan veterinarians back in Kunar Province,

who were key participants in caring for livestock and treating disease. The CVRDL oversees 13

provincial and six regional veterinary laboratories in Afghanistan, and both conducts primary

diagnostic investigations and confirms the diagnostic determinations of subordinate facilities. To

Dr. Gulam Mohammad Ziay, director of animal health and welfare at the laboratory, CVRDL

represented the future of Afghan veterinary medicine by creating and moving forward with a

standardize, nation-wide, system for drawing tissue/blood samples from livestock, tracking the

samples, testing the samples for disease, performing diagnoses, and reporting the findings to the

central government.240

The Iowa ADT also funded several Veterinary Outreach Sustainment Programs (VOSP)

in Kunar’s Noor Gal District. Provincial veterinary personnel conducted the VOSPs, which

provided de-worming and vaccination services for sheep and working dogs belonging to Kuchi

tribesmen – displaced Afghan Pashtun nomads. Kuchis breed their ewes and sell or trade their

rams for much-needed food and supplies. “The Kuchi are entirely dependent on the health of

their sheep for their livelihood,” Major Adams explained.241 “Kuchis are people with very few

resources…they have no land of their own and are a little more dependent on their government,”

added Kunar provincial veterinarian Mohammed Ghalib.242 Two thousand animals were treated 100

at the Noor Gal VOSP. More than 10,000 Kuchi sheep and dogs were vaccinated and de-wormed

by the program’s conclusion.243

In addition to serving as the Iowa 734th’s veterinary technician, Master Sergeant Darla

Sheasley also led the Kunar Female Engagement Team (FET). Along with ADT operations

officer, Major Mary Parmenter and Sergeant First Class Melissa Brumley, Sheasly work with

Naseema Shfiq Sadat, head of the Kunar Province Department of Women’s Affairs, to collect

donated clothing – shoes, hats, coats, and gloves – for Afghan war widows and to purchase

books and supplies for the Fatima Girls School in Asadabad. “My staff and I were pleased to

present clothes and supplies to widows’ families and children at the school,” Sadat said. We’re

very grateful to the ADT and all the American families that donated materials to this cause.244

Improving literacy rates among Afghan women and making certain that schoolgirls had

sufficient supplies to ensure a quality education were important issues addressed by the Iowa

ADT Female Engagement Team. “Education of women…is what’s going to change the future of

Afghanistan,” Major Parmenter explained. “I think women’s affairs are probably the highest

priority out here,” she said.245

In October 2010, 734th ADT FET members joined with other female military personnel

from the US Army, Air Force, and Navy for a Shura with 50 Afghan women at the Women’s

Affairs building in Asadabad. A variety of issues were discussed including the lack of female

owned businesses, animal care training, the need for higher quality seed, and the desire for

poultry, dairy, and beekeeping opportunities. By December, the Iowa ADT had assisted the

Kunar Department of Women’s Affairs in establishing a small-scale poultry project for Afghan

widows and their families in the village of Karula outside Asadabad. “Setting up the poultry

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project cost $500 per family…it doesn’t cost much, we can duplicate it many times,” Master

Sergeant Sheasley said after assessing progress of the project in January 2011.246 Each

participating Afghan family received 23 hens, two roosters, vaccinations for all the chickens, a

six-month supply of feed, and materials to build coops. The Karula poultry project represented a

sustainable method for Kunar widows to provide their families with both income and a high-

protein diet.247

Prior to concluding their deployment to Kunar Province, members of Iowa’s 734th ADT

helped improve operational management at the 200-strong provincial farmer’s cooperative;

worked with the USAID Accelerating Sustainable Agriculture Program (ASAP) on the

production and marketing of grapes, apples, and cashmere wool; funded training for Afghan fruit

and nut growers from the Kunar Nursery Association; mentored internship program students

from Nangarhar University; and assisted the Kunar chapter of the Afghanistan Chamber of

Commerce and Industry develop plans for a large cold storage facility in Asadabad which would

be operated by the provincial Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Union. The Iowa ADT also initiated

a cash-for-work project that paid 25 Afghan men to clean out an obstructed irrigation canal in the

Sarkani District. Free flowing water from the unclogged canal benefited the residents of six

small villages and irrigated a thousand acres of re-claimed farm land. While in Sarkani, ADT

Soldiers and Airmen, along with district officials developed plans for a demonstration farm and

greenhouses for growing fresh vegetable during the upcoming winter.248 In total, the 734th ADT

oversaw seven demonstration farms scattered throughout Kunar Province. On 11 June 2011, the

Illinois National Guard’s 1-14th Agribusiness Development Team relieved IA 734th ADT at

FOB Wright.

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Nevada Agribusiness Development Team I

The Nevada National Guard’s initial Agribusiness Development Team replaced SC ADT

I at FOB Shank in Logar Province in August 2010. Agriculture was the principal occupation for

Afghans in Logar, a wheat and fruit growing province situated in the flat Logar River Valley

surrounded by mountains, with a climate similar to that of Nevada. At its highest count, NV

ADT I had 64 members, both Air and Army National Guardsmen, and was commanded by

Colonel Johnny Isaak. Lieutenant Colonel Bart O’Toole led the ADT’s agriculture section and

Sergeant Major Greg Cook served as NCOIC. The NV ADT also provided agricultural coverage

to portions of Wardak and Bamyan Provinces. Prior to deploying the Nevada team trained at the

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension School, California State Polytechnic University, the

Lahontan Valley Veterinary Clinic, and the Eric Olsen Hillside Dairy south of Fallon, NV. The

pre-deployment training involved accelerated refresher courses in horticulture, irrigation, pest

management, animal husbandry, dairy operations, forestry, weed control, water quality,

veterinary medicine, soil science, and orchid management. The Nevada ADT completed

mobilization training at Camp Atterbury in early August 2010.249

While at FOB Shank, NV ADT I reported to the 173d Airborne Brigade Combat Team –

Task Force Bayonet – and coordinated agricultural activities with Czech-led PRT Logar. The

Nevada ADT’s general objectives upon arrival were to continue the initiatives begun by the

South Carolina ADT and to assist Afghan farmers increase production levels, thereby increasing

self-sufficiency, stabilizing the economy, and legitimizing the GIRoA. The team’s greatest

obstacle was convincing Afghan farmers to utilize the equipment and new farming methods

available to them. “Our intent is to show [Afghan farmers] better techniques for agriculture and

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livestock production…we’ll supervise the implementation of programs and train,” Lieutenant

Colonel O’Toole said, later adding “we will take a system that works up here [in Nevada],

simplify it, and take it to them.250 After several months deployed in Afghanistan, Colonel Isaak

described the local needs of Afghan farmers as better food security, greater access to cash crops,

and improved understanding of markets.

Colonel Isaak also underscored the inherent dangers in the ADT mission, describing his

team as “farmers with guns…on the cutting edge of counterinsurgency.”251 Afghan interpreters

who worked for the NV ADT were targeted by the Taliban. Isaak himself received threatening

enemy shabnamah notes, commonly referred to as ‘Taliban night letters.’ Provincial officials

were often afraid to be seen in public with ADT members. In Sayad Abad District, Wardak

Province, site of the 6 August 2011 shoot-down of a US CH-47D helicopter by a Taliban-fire

rocket-propelled grenade, district chief Enaytullah Mangal thought he was putting his life on the

line by meeting with American Soldiers and Airmen. “We could be brothers inside [the district

headquarters building], but outside I don’t know who you are,” Mangal told Colonel Isaaks.252

Taliban insurgents setup their own roadblocks in Logar and Wardak Provinces looking for

Afghans carrying larger than normal sums of American money. In a few instances, local Taliban

commanders, accompanied by their bodyguards, attended ADT-sponsored agricultural shuras.

Colonel Isaak was not particularly concerned by the Taliban presence, since he believed many

Taliban were interested in reconciling with the GIRoA. “There are only three choices for the

Taliban in Afghanistan, Isaak explained, be killed, leave, or reintegrate.”253

Master Sergeant Shane Jensen, agriculture project manager for the Nevada ADT, helped

Afghan farmers build three cool storage facilities in Jelga Village, Pol-e Alam District. The ADT

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hired local residents to construct the storage cellars, which were each capable of holding nearly

45 tons of produce such as apples, onions, and potatoes. The Nevada team developed plans to

install dozens of additional cool storage facilities throughout Logar Province. NV ADT members

also trained Afghan farmers in modern methods of beekeeping to help with fruit tree pollination

and to produce honey for consumption or sale. Government officials, with the help of the ADT,

erected billboards touting the virtues of pure Afghan honey. Additionally, the team assisted

Afghans with greenhouses, windmills, and erosion control projects; broadcast a local agriculture

radio program; taught Wardak growers proper techniques for pruning trees and plants; and held

seminars on business aspects of farming. In all, the Nevada ADT trained 9,000 Afghans and

completed 116 major projects in 20 Logar, Wardak, and Bamyan districts.254 Georgia’s 201st

Agribusiness Development Team replaced NV ADT I at FOB Shank on 11 June 2011.

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FARMERS WITH GUNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF COUNTERINSURGENCY

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS IN AFGHANISTAN

Chapter 6: Conclusion

The main body of the first National Guard Agribusiness Development Team, Missouri

935th ADT, arrived in Afghanistan on 31 January 2008. Twenty-two of the team’s volunteer

Soldiers were farmers or ranchers in civilian life, while the remaining 26 members formed the

935th’s security force. This unique combination of farmers and Soldiers was ideally suited for

helping Afghan farmers reinvigorate their county’s agricultural economic sector in the midst of a

counterinsurgency operational environment. Typically, civilian organizations would assist host

nation farmers, however, the ongoing Taliban insurgency made large-scale civilian involvement

impractical. Only the US military had sufficient manpower, resources, skills, mobility, force

protection, and funding to get things done, to make things happen, and to operate relatively safely in

the hostile Afghan environment. As former Combined Forces Command Afghanistan (CFC-A)

commander, Lieutenant General David Barno frequently told his brigade commanders and staff, “we own

it all…the US Army is the 800-pound gorilla in the room.”255

The ADT mission at the time was clear-cut and generally followed the Agriculture and

Rural Development guidelines of the official Afghanistan National Development Strategy,

calling simply for promoting the revitalization of the Afghan agriculture sector in a team’s

designated province. The initial Missouri team envisioned three phases to the mission –

assessment, operations, and disengagement – and focused on six pillars of agricultural 255Lieutenant General David Barno, interview by the US Army Center of Military History, 21 November 2006, 34.

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development – irrigation and water, energy, education, resource management and development,

value-added initiatives, and food safety. Since Missouri 935th was the first ADT deployed, initial

projects undertaken were essentially pilot projects, based upon completed assessments and input

from key Afghan leaders, and intended to determine best practices, while simultaneously

benefiting Afghan farmers and herdsman.256

During the course of 2008, additional Agribusiness Development Teams – TX ADT 1,

NE ADT 1, and MO ADT 2 – deployed to Afghanistan. These new teams operated

256National Guard Bureau, “National Guard Agribusiness Development Teams (ADT),” PowerPoint Briefing, 2008, Slide 4; Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 7 November 2008, 1-9. 2 Colonel Martin Leppert, quoted in Jon Soucy, “Agribusiness Teams Help Afghan Farmers Find Simple Solutions,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 6 October 2009, 1; Colonel Martin Leppert quoted in Mary Flynn, “National Guard to Help Afghan Agriculture,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 11 December 2007, 1. 3 Center for Army Lessons Learned, Handbook: Agribusiness Development Teams (Fort Leavenworth, KS: CALL, 2009), 1, 13.4 John Crosby, “Seeds of Stability: Agribusiness Development Teams Lead Afghanistan to Autonomy,” GX: The Guard Experience, May/June 2011, 61.5 Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of 935th ADT,” December 2008, Appendix A; Army National Guard, “ARNG Agribusiness Development Team (ADT),” March 2011, 1-2; Lieutenant Colonel Howard Schauer, “Team Briefs Presentation,” 7 July 2011, 1-3; John Crosby, “Seeds of Stability: Agribusiness Development Teams Lead Afghanistan to Autonomy,” GX: The Guard Experience, May/June 2011, 59-65.6 Central Intelligence Agency, “South Asia: Afghanistan,” The World Factbook, 14 July 2011, 1-4.7Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Umbrella Document for the National Agricultural Development Framework, April 2009, 2.8 Afghanistan’s Web Site, “Agriculture,” Information Paper, 1, http://www.afghanistans.com/information/economy/Agriculture.htm(accessed 26 July 2011); Central Intelligence Agency, “South Asia: Afghanistan,” The World Factbook, 14 July 2011, 1-4.9 John Crosby, “Seeds of Stability: Agribusiness Development Teams Lead Afghanistan to Autonomy,” 60.10US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service, “Afghanistan,” Fact Sheet, January 2009, 1-3, http://www.fas.usda.gov/country/afghanistan/Afghanistan%20Agricultural%20Economy%20and%20Policy.pdf (accessed 15 July 2011). 11 Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, World Bank Group, “MIGA Insures Cotton Project in Afghanistan,” MIGA Press Release No. 2006/90, 27 February 2006, 1-2, http://www.miga.org/news/index_sv.cfm?stid=1506&aid=426 (accessed 27 July 2011).12Afghanistan’s Web Site, “Agriculture,” Information Paper, 1, http://www.afghanistans.com/information/economy/Agriculture.htm (accessed 26 July 2011).13 US Agency for International Development, “Afghanistan: Agriculture,” Fact Sheet, June 2010, 2, http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/documents/document/document/790 (accessed 29 July 2011); US Agency for International Development, “Afghanistan: Agriculture,” Fact Sheet, December 2010, 2, http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/documents/document/Document/1264/Agriculture_Sector_Fact_Sheet2102011 (accessed 29 July 2011).14US Department of State, “Background Note: Afghanistan,” 6 December 2010, 7, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5380.htm (accessed 26 July 2011); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2010: Summary Findings, September 2010, 2, 12, 24.

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autonomously and addressed the specific needs in their respective assigned provinces, but they

generally followed the MO ADT 1 model. The 2008 teams made an immediate positive impact

in Regional Command – East, where the US brigade and battalion commanders soon saw the

merits of ADT operations. During his tour as Commander CFC-A, Lieutenant General Karl

Eikenberry had often asked his field commanders: “if you had a choice right now of getting 100

15 US Agency for International Development, “Afghanistan: Agriculture,” Fact Sheet, 1, http://afghanistan.usaid.gov/documents/document/Document/1264/Agriculture_Sector_Fact_Sheet2102011 (accessed 29 July 2011); US Department of State, “Background Note: Afghanistan,” 6 December 2010, 7, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5380.htm (accessed 26 July 2011).16 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Afghanistan National Development Strategy 1387-1391 (2008-2013): A Strategy for Security, Governance, Economic Growth, and Poverty Reduction (Kabul, May 2008), 87-93. 17 Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Umbrella Document for the National Agricultural Development Framework, April 2009, 4-5.18Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Umbrella Document for the National Agricultural Development Framework, 7-8.19Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Afghanistan National Development Strategy 1387-1391 (2008-2013): A Strategy for Security, Governance, Economic Growth, and Poverty Reduction , 91. 22 Donald Wright et al, A Different Kind of War: The United States Army in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM October 2001-September 2005 (Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2010), 223.23 Ambassador James Dobbins, After the Taliban: Nation-Building in Afghanistan (Dulles, VA: Potomac Books, Inc., 2008), 132-133.24 United States Government Accountability Office, GAO-09-86R Report to Congress, Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan and Iraq, 1 October 2008, 3; ISAF, ISAF Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Handbook (Kabul, Afghanistan: ISAF, 2009), 105-106.25 NATO/OTAN, “ISAF Provincial Reconstruction Teams,” 29 April 2009, 1, http://www.nato.int/isaf/topics/prt/index.html (accessed 30 May 2010); Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress (Washington, DC: SIGAR, 30 July 2010), 76; ISAF, ISAF Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Handbook (Kabul, Afghanistan: ISAF, 2009), 92-97.26 Center for Army Lessons Learned, Afghanistan Provincial Reconstruction Teams Handbook: Observations, Insights, and Lessons (Fort Leavenworth, KS: Center for Army Lessons Learned, 2011, No. 11-16), 1-18.27 US Department of Agriculture, Guide for USDA Agricultural Experts: Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) Afghanistan (Washington, DC: Foreign Agricultural Service, USDA, 2009), 7.28 Greg Bruno, “Nourishing Afghanistan’s Agricultural Sector,” Council on Foreign Relations Backgrounder, 26 May 2009, 1-4, http://www.cfr.org/afghanistan/nourishing-afghanistans-agricultural-sector/p19478 (accessed 3 August 2011); United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), “FAO Initiative on Soaring Food Prices,” 2009, 1-2, http://www.fao.org/isfp/country-information/afghanistan/en/ (accessed 7 August 2011); United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), “FAO in Afghanistan,” 20 July 2011, 1, http://coin.fao.org/cms/world/afghanistan/en/Home.html (accessed 7 August 2011).29Amitai Etzioni, “Reconstruction: A Damaging Fantasy,” Military Review, November-December 2008, 111-117.30 Joint Task Force-Bravo, “New Horizons/Beyond the Horizon,” Fact Sheet, 18 July 2008, 1, http://www.jtfb.southcom.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=10292 (accessed 25 July 2011); United States Southern Command, “Beyond the Horizon,” Fact File, 29 October 2008, 1, http://www.southcom.mil/appssc/factfiles.php?id=46 (accessed 25 July 2011). 31United States Southern Command, “Completed,” Fact File, 27 August 2010, 1, http://www.southcom.mil/appssc/factfiles.php?id=46 (accessed 25 July 2011); “Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Provided in Conjunction with Military Operations,” US Code – Title 10: Armed Forces, 1985, 1-2, http://us-

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more infantrymen or 10 agricultural experts, which would it be?” “Nine times out of ten, the

answer would be 10 agricultural experts,” Eikenberry recalled in a 2009 interview.257 Despite

early ADT successes, however, some critics viewed the ADT mission as poorly defined,

unsynchronized, and possibly counter-productive to other Afghan agribusiness development

code.vlex.com/vid/humanitarian-civic-provided-conjunction-19221819 (accessed 26 July 2011); William H. Ormsbee, “Cornerstone of US Southern Command’s Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean,” WHO’S SCROLL, 2005, 1-13, http://william_h_ormsbee.tripod.com/scex_eng_ov_p01.htm (accessed 25 July 2011); United States Southern Command, “Beyond the Horizon 2011 and New Horizons 2011,” Fact File, 28 July 2011, 1, http://www.southcom.mil/AppsSC/factFiles.php?id=166 (accessed 1 August 2011). 32President Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on the Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” 1 December 2009, 2. 33The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “Overview of the Afghanistan and Pakistan Annual Review,” 16 December 2010, 1-4, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/12/16/overview-afghanistan-and-pakistan-annual-review (accessed 9 August 2011).34Department of Defense, Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, Report to Congress, April 2011, 1. 35Department of Defense, Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, 7. 36Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and General David Petraeus, United States Government Integrated Civilian-Military Campaign Plan for Support to Afghanistan, Revision 1, February 2011, 4. 37Department of Defense, Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, 1, 7, 88-91; Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and General David Petraeus, United States Government Integrated Civilian-Military Campaign Plan for Support to Afghanistan, i,4-6, 19-20; Department of Defense, Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, Report to Congress, November 2010, 8-9. 38Major General Roy Martin Umbarger quoted in John Crosby, “Seeds of Stability: Agribusiness Development Teams Lead Afghanistan to Autonomy,” GX: The Guard Experience, May/June 2011, 63.

40Lieutenant General Clyde Vaughn, unrecorded interview by the author, 17 August 2011; CW3 Anthony Romano, Executive Officer, Afghanistan Agribusiness Development Mission, National Guard Bureau, Arlington, VA, email correspondence 12 august 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 1; Command Sergeant Major James Schulte, unrecorded interview by the author, 15 August 2011.43Senator Christopher S. “Kit” Bond, “Agriculture Development Teams: Sowing the Seeds of Peace in Afghanistan,” United States Senate Press Release, December 2008, 1. 44Chairman Isaac N. “Ike” Skelton, United States House Committee on Armed Services, Press Release, 24 October 2007, 1-2.45Vaughn, interview, 17 August 2011.46Tamara Spicer, “Missouri Guard Partners to Help Afghanistan with Agribusiness Development Team,” Missouri National Guard News Release, 10 September 2007, 30; Command Sergeant Major James Schulte, unrecorded interview by the author, 15 August 2011. 47Department of the Army, “Agribusiness Development Team (ADT),” 2008 Army Posture Statement Information Papers, 14 July 2008, 1-2; Colonel Martin Leppert, former Special Assistant to the Director of the Army National Guard and Afghanistan Agribusiness Development Mission Coordinator, email correspondence 15 August 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 1; Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, “Martin A. Leppert, Research Fellow,” 2 November 2010, 1, http://www.potomacinstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=818:martin-a-leppert-research-fellow-&catid=35:press-releases&Itemid=57 (accessed 13 August 2011).

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initiatives pursued by the US Department of State, the United Nations Assistance Mission to

Afghanistan, and the Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock.258

In one such critique of ADT operations, US Army Colonel Michael Hauser, et al.,

suggested that (1) strategic inter-agency plans for civilian-military applications did not exist at

the onset of ADT operations, (2) without a comprehensive strategy, the effective use of limited

48Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 7 November 2008, 2; National Guard Bureau, “National Guard Agribusiness Development Teams (ADT),” PowerPoint Briefing, 2008, Slide 4.49Lieutenant Colonel James Allison quoted in Tamara Spicer, “Missouri Guard Leads the Way for Afghanistan Agribusiness Teams,” Missouri National Guard Press Release, 16 May 2008, 1.50Lieutenant Colonel John Standberg, “Information Paper: Agribusiness Development Team (ADT),” Concept of Operation, CJTF-82, CJ9, 30 September 2007, 1-3; Samuel Young, “Agribusiness Development Teams in Afghanistan,” News from the Front, Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), 9 February 2009, 1-2; Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 7 November 2008, 10. 51Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,”5. 52Samuel Young, “Agribusiness Development Teams in Afghanistan,” News from the Front, Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), 9 February 2009, 2-3.53Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 5-6. 54Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 9. 55The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, “The Provincial Development Plan of Province Nangarhar,” 15 August 2007, 23; United States Agency for International Development and Chemonics International, Inc., “Rebuilding Agricultural Markets Program (RAMP) Afghanistan,” February 2006, 19; International Foundation of Hope, “RAMP Drainage Project,” March 2006, 1, http://www.ifhope.org/228.html (accessed 22 August 2011; International Foundation of Hope, “The Canal Project,” February 2005, 1, http://www.ifhope.org/223.html (accessed 22 August 2011).56Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 10, 18. 57Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, interview by the Contemporary Operations Study Team, US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 4 March 2009, 10, 17-18.58US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Steven Cabosky quoted in Dustin Hart, “$2.8 Mil Project Doubles Irrigation Capability,” United States Central Command Press Release, 20 April 2009, 1-2, http://www.centcom.mil/news/2-8-mil-project-doubles-irrigation-capability (accessed 23 August 2011); Nangarhar Provincial Governor Gul Agha Sherzai quoted in Dustin Hart, “$2.8 Mil Project Doubles Irrigation Capability,” United States Central Command Press Release, 20 April 2009, 1-2, http://www.centcom.mil/news/2-8-mil-project-doubles-irrigation-capability (accessed 23 August 2011).59Allison, interview, 4 March 2009, 9, 16.60Afghanistan Clean Energy Project, “Micro-Hydro Power Assessment for Nangarhar Province,” Report from 27 February to 1 March 2010 Meeting in Jalalabad, 1, 3, 7, http://www.afghaneic.org/ACEP/assessment%20reports/ACEP%20NangarharTR3_10.pdf (accessed 23 August 2011).61Allison, interview, 4 March 2009, 15, 17-18.

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resources, such as ADTs, were not optimized, (3) US civilian agencies lacked capabilities

resulting in DoD using the National Guard to meet the needs of military commanders in

Afghanistan, (4) continuity of operations and unity of effort across agencies was lacking, and (5)

the Department of State lacked sufficient funding to build and sustain capability for current and

future civil-military efforts.259 All of the US agencies jointly responsible for agribusiness

development in Afghanistan had, however, recognized the shortcomings described by Colonel

62Afghan Energy Information Center (AEIC), “Biogas,” Information Sheet, 16 August 2011, 1, http://www.afghaneic.org/biogas.php (accessed 23 August 2011); United States Agency for International Development, “Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Final Report,” Report prepared by Altai Consulting, November 2007, 33, http://www.asmedproject.info/joomla/images/Assessments/report_reee.pdf (accessed 23 August 2011).63Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “DoD Briefing with Lieutenant Colonel Allison from the Pentagon Briefing Room,” US Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), News Transcript, 26 September 2008, 4; Allison, interview, 4 March 2009, 9-10.64Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 10-11; Allison, interview, 4 March 2009, 11.65Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 11-12; Allison, interview, 4 March 2009, 14-16.66Staff Sergeant Joshua Salmon quoted in Tamara Spicer, “Missouri Guard Leads the Way for Afghanistan Agribusiness Teams,” Missouri National Guard Press Release, 16 May 2008, 2.67Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 11-12; Allison, interview, 4 March 2009, 14-16.68United States Agency for International Development, “Report on US Government Women’s Earmark in Afghanistan for Fiscal Year 2008,” May 2009, 8-9.69United States Agency for International Development, “Alternative Development Program – Eastern Region Biweekly Report,” 16-30 September 2007, 13; Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 7 November 2008, 12.70United States Agency for International Development, “Report on US Government Women’s Earmark in Afghanistan for Fiscal Year 2008,” 8. 71United States Agency for International Development, “Alternative Development Program – Eastern Region Biweekly Report,” 13.72Staff Sergeant John Wymore quoted in Tamara Spicer, “Missouri Guard Leads the Way for Afghanistan Agribusiness Teams,” Missouri National Guard Press Release, 16 May 2008, 2.73Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 12-13.74Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, email correspondence 26 August 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 1; Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 13-14, 16.75Unless otherwise noted all data for this subsection were derived from Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Final Report of the 935th ADT: The Army’s First Agribusiness Development Team, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM,” 1-31.76Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Ministry of Mines and Industries, Geology and Mineral Resources of Afghanistan: Book 2 (London: British Geological Survey, 2008), 248; US Geological Survey, “Assessing the Coal Resources of Afghanistan,” Fact Sheet 2005-3073, June 2005, 1. 77Tamara Spicer, “Missouri Guard Leads the Way for Afghanistan Agribusiness Teams,” Missouri National Guard Press Release, 16 May 2008, 2.

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Hauser and had taken steps to solidify unity of effort among key stakeholders, including the US

Embassy Kabul, USDA, USAID, Afghan MAIL, and the ADTs.

ADTs and the Whole-of-Government Agriculture Assistance Strategy in Afghanistan

78Sergeant First Class Russell Pierce quoted in Tamara Spicer, “Missouri Guard Leads the Way for Afghanistan Agribusiness Teams,” Missouri National Guard Press Release, 16 May 2008, 2.79Department of Defense, “Commanders’ Emergency Response Program (CERP),” Summary of Major Changes to DoD7000.14-R, Volume 12, Chapter 27, January 2009, 27-3. 80Lieutenant Colonel James Allison, “Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) I: Major Events,” February 2009, 1.81Hussain Safi quoted in Tamara Spicer, “Missouri Guard Leads the Way for Afghanistan Agribusiness Teams,” Missouri National Guard Press Release, 16 May 2008, 1.82Lieutenant Colonel James Allison and Master Sergeant Larry Godsey each quoted in Tamara Spicer, “Missouri Guard Leads the Way for Afghanistan Agribusiness Teams,” Missouri National Guard Press Release, 16 May 2008, 2-3.

84 Michelle Tan, “Teaching Afghan Farmers Modern Techniques,” Army Times, 26 October 2008, 1-3, http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/army_afghan_demofarm_102608w (accessed 2 September 2011).85Major Devin James, “ADT Trip Report to Abande Sultan Dam at the Tip of the Khwaja Omari District,” Texas Agribusiness Development Team I, 4th Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Memorandum for Record, 28 August 2008, 1-4.86Major Devin James,“ ADT Trip Report to Jaghori District to Conduct KLE,” Texas Agribusiness Development Team I, 4th Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Memorandum for Record, 11 September 2008, 1-3.87Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Poe quoted in Paul Ondik, “Secretary of the Army Geren Visits Ghazni, Texas ADT,” CJTF-101 Public Affairs Office, Press Release, 29 September 2008, 1.88 Nebraska Agribusiness Development Team, “Monthly Report: 19 October 2008 – 29 October 2008,” 1. 89Alex Salmon, “Like Mother, Like Son,” Prairie Soldier, October 2008, 4.90Colonel Michael Johnson quoted in Shelly Herrod, “First Seeds: Nebraska Agricultural Development Team Begins Year-long Mission Helping Afghan Farmers to Grow Better Futures,” Prairie Soldier, February 2009, 13.91Kevin Hynes, “On their Way,” Prairie Soldier, October 2008, 5; Shelly Herrod, “First Seeds: Nebraska Agricultural Development Team Begins Year-long Mission Helping Afghan Farmers to Grow Better Futures,” Prairie Soldier , February 2009, 13; Michael Greenberger, “Nebraska Team Growing Local Relationships in Afghanistan,” Prairie Soldier, April 2009, 5.92Nebraska Agribusiness Development Team, “Monthly Reports: 1 November 2008 – 31 August 2009, 1-16.93Staff Sergeant Eric Singsaas quoted in Lory Stevens, “Nebraska Guardsmen Continue to Help Afghans Re-Grow Nation,” Prairie Soldier, August 2009, 5; Sergeant First Class Eldon Kuntzelman quoted in Lory Stevens, “Nebraska Guardsmen Continue to Help Afghans Re-grow Nation,” Prairie Soldier, August 2009, 5.94Lori Stevens, “Nebraska Community Lends Helping Hand to Afghan Farmers,” American Forces Press Service, News Article, 17 July 2009, 1; Lory Stevens, “Nebraska Guardsmen Continue to Help Afghans Re-grow Nation,” Prairie Soldier, 5; Kevin Hynes, “On their Way,” Prairie Soldier, October 2008, 5. 95Sergeant First Class Eldon Kuntzelman quoted in Lori Stevens, “Nebraska Community Lends Helping Hand to Afghan Farmers,” American Forces Press Service, News Article, 17 July 2009, 1.96Shelly Herrod, “First Seeds: Nebraska Agricultural Development Team Begins Year-long Mission Helping Afghan Farmers to Grow Better Futures,” Prairie Soldier , February 2009, 13.97Sergeant First Class Alan Wineinger quoted in Cheryl Alberts, “National Guard Taking Extension Education to Afghanistan,” Connect, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, February 2011, 1, 4.

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In the summer of 2009, for example, the US Chief of Mission and the Commander of US

Forces-Afghanistan updated and reissued the United States Government Integrated Civilian-

Military Campaign Plan for Support to Afghanistan, which provided guidance for all US

personnel in Afghanistan and was produced in collaboration with ISAF, UNAMA, and the

GIRoA. The Agricultural Opportunity and Market Access portion of the Integrated Campaign

Plan stressed the same goals outlined in the Embassy Agriculture Assistance Strategy, plus the

98Colonel Scott Spellmon quoted in Lori Stevens, “Task Force Warrior ADT Transfers Authority to Kentucky,” Combined Joint Task Force – 82, Public Affairs Office, Press Release, 23 August 2009, 1.99Colonel Michael Johnson quoted in Alex Salmon, “Agribusiness Development Team Returns to Nebraska after Spending Year Helping Local Afghan Farmers Grow New Lives,” Prairie Soldier, October 2009, 3.100Missouri Agribusiness Development Team, “Mission Update Brief to the Adjutant General,” 6 March 2009, 4.101Brian Bowman, “ADT II Team Honored by Governor After Deployment,” 139th Airlift Wing, News Release, 17 March 2010, 1. 102Senator Christopher S. “Kit” Bond, “Agriculture Development Teams: Sowing the Seeds of Peace in Afghanistan,” United States Senate Press Release, December 2008, 1. 103Missouri Agribusiness Development Team, “Mission Update Brief,” May 2009, 6-9; Note: The 13 specific project categories were upper watershed management, lower watershed management, solar wells, karize restoration, veterinary clinics, slaughter facilities, cold storage, canning/juicing, greenhouses, olive/citrus orchids, reforestation, seed distribution, and de-worming. 104Major Denise Wilkinson quoted in Stacia Zachary, “Missouri Agribusiness Development Team Plants Seeds of Hope for Nangarhar Province,” US Air Force Central Public Affairs, Press Release, 16 June 2009, 1.105Specialist John Larsen, “Proud to Serve,” The Ruffian Review, July 2009, 1.106Jason Ledbetter and Zachary Davenport, “Watershed 101,” The Ruffian Review, February 2009, 2; Missouri Agribusiness Development Team, “Mission Update Brief to the Adjutant General,” 6 March 2009, 14-16, 28.107Scott McWilliams, “Special Projects,” The Ruffian Review, April 2009, 6; Missouri Agribusiness Development Team, “Mission Update Brief,” May 2009, 22; Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Program, “Success Story: AREDP and the Rahmat Insaf Fish Hatchery,” News Bulletin, 2010, 1, http://aredp-mrrd.gov.af/?page=rahmat (accessed 13 September 2011). 108Lieutenant Colonel David Boyle quoted in Denise Wilkinson, “Wheat Seed and Fertilizer Shura,” The Ruffian Review, October 2009, 4. 109Missouri Agribusiness Development Team, “Mission Update Brief to the Adjutant General,” 6 March 2009, 24; Jennifer Dipley, “Missouri ADT Opens Eight New Veterinary Clinics,” The Ruffian Review, July 2009, 6-7.110Jennifer Dipley, “Missouri ADT Opens Eight New Veterinary Clinics,” The Ruffian Review, July 2009, 7.111Lieutenant Colonel David Boyle, email correspondence 11 September 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 1; Lieutenant Colonel Denise Wilkinson, email correspondence 11 September 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 1. 112Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, “Governor Nixon’s Remarks at the ADT II Welcome Home Ceremony,” 6 November 2009, 2.113Colonel Harlan Harris, email correspondence # 1, 20 September 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 3; Texas AgriLife Blackland Research and Extension Center, “Dyke Leads Stateside Support Team for Texas National Guard Agribusiness Development Team,” Press Release, 22 December 2008, 1-2.116Will Hill, “Texas Troops to Ring in the New Year at Home,” Blackanthem Military News, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs, 29 December 2009, 1.117Colonel Harlan Harris, email correspondence #4 and #5, 20 September 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 1 both documents.

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additional objectives of establishing grants and vouchers for farmers, cash-for-work projects,

economic development corridors, and post-harvest storage and processing facilities.260

Then in January 2010, agribusiness proponents, including ADT representatives, met in

Kabul to further clarify and solidify the Afghanistan agricultural mission. The US Embassy staff

in Kabul then issued a directive entitled USG Agriculture Assistance Strategy for Afghanistan

118Colonel Harlan Harris, email correspondence #1, 20 September 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 2.119Colonel Harlan Harris, email correspondence #1; Colonel Harlan Harris, Texas Agribusiness Development Team-2 Information Brief, Briefing, 9 February 2010, Slides 15-23. 120Colonel Harlan Harris, Briefing, Slides 15-18. 121Colonel Harlan Harris, Briefing, Slides 19-22, 28-32. 122Governor Rick Perry, “Governor Perry Visits US Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Office of the Governor, State of Texas, Press Release, 23 July 2009, 1. 123Colonel Harlan Harris, “Governors Delegation Narrative,” email correspondence attachment #2, 22 September 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS, 1.124Ambassador Richard Holbrooke quoted in David Corn, “Richard Holbrooke’s Unfinished Business,” MotherJones, 14 December 2010, 1.125Ambassador Richard Holbrooke’s thoughts and comments as later recounted by Colonel Harlan Harris, “TX ADT II – Holbrooke Experience,” email correspondence attachment #1, 23 September 2011, 2.126Colonel Harlan Harris, “TX ADT II – Holbrooke Experience,” 3.127Colonel Harlan Harris, “TX ADT II – Holbrooke Experience,” 3.128Colonel Brian Copes quoted in Robert Cooper, “Mission in Afghanistan Plants Seeds for Economic Growth,” Blackanthem Military News, Camp Atterbury Public Affairs, 11 February 2009, 3; Douglas Wissing, “America’s Farmer-Soldiers in Afghanistan,” Globalpost.com, 20 November 2009, 1. 129Colonel Brian Copes quoted in Douglas Wissing, “America’s Farmer-Soldiers in Afghanistan,” Globalpost.com, 20 November 2009, 1. 1301-19th ADT, Khost (Indiana) ADT Operational Campaign Plan, 3 March 2009, 3, 5-6. 131In 2009, the 4th BCT was divided into three provincial task forces. The 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 3d Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment operated in Paktika Province supported by the Paktika PRT. The 1st Squadron (Airborne), 40th Cavalry Regiment, operated in Paktiya Province supported by the Paktiya PRT and the Tennessee ADT I. The 2d Battalion 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment operated in Khost Province supported by the Khost PRT and the Indiana ADT I. 132Colonel Michael Howard quoted in David Bedard, “4/25 Commander Talks about Counterinsurgency Strategy,” Alaska e-Post Online, 18 December 2009, 1, http://www.usarak.army.mil/alaskapost/Archives2009/091218/Dec18Story1.asp (accessed 27 September 2011).133Rick Callahan, “US Military Boosts Efforts to Help Afghan Farmers,” Seattle Times, 6 January 2010, 1.134Sergeant Major Scott Bassett quoted in Rick Callahan, “US Military Boosts Efforts to Help Afghan Farmers,” Seattle Times, 6 January 2010, 1.138Captain Robert Cline quoted in Douglas Wissing, “It’s a Perfect War. Everybody Makes Money,” Globalpost.com, 19 January 2010, 2.139Douglas Wissing, “It’s a Perfect War. Everybody Makes Money,” Globalpost.com, 19 January 2010, 2.140Samuel Young, “If I Were Here One More Year, I would…,” News from the Front, Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL), 30 September 2010, 3-4, 8. 1411-19th ADT, “Indiana ADT TOA Narrative and History Summary,” October 2009, 1-4.142David Roberts and Michael Winters, “Tennessee ADT Hits the Ground Running with New Kind of Mission,” AG Shura Newsletter, March-May 2009, 3.

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that reiterated agribusiness development goals and objectives that were once again consistent

with those of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy. The Embassy goals and

objectives applied to both US military personnel and civilians in Afghanistan, were intended to

strengthen unity of effort and bring greater coherence to overall USG agribusiness development

efforts, and included increasing agricultural productivity, jobs, and income; regenerating

143Colonel Michael Howard quoted in David Bedard, “4/25 Commander Talks about Counterinsurgency Strategy,” Alaska e-Post Online, 18 December 2009, 2, http://www.usarak.army.mil/alaskapost/Archives2009/091218/Dec18Story1.asp (accessed 27 September 2011).144George Winters, “The NG Establishes Agribusiness Development in Paktiya, Paktika Provinces,” Regional Command-East Press Release, 3 July 2009, 1-2; Bagram Media Center, “Development Projects Improve Life in Eastern Afghanistan,” Regional Command-East Press Release, 26 October 2009; George Winters, “Tennessee ADT Sets Up Shop in Afghanistan,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 6 July 2009, 1. 145 Captain Patrick Rasmussen quoted in Warren Wright, “Tennessee ADT Helps Preserve Afghan Produce,” Press Release, Combined Joint Task Force-82 Public Affairs Office, 18 September 2009, 1.146Sergeant Phillip Wallace quoted in Warren Wright, “Tennessee ADT Helps Preserve Afghan Produce,” Press Release, Combined Joint Task Force-82 Public Affairs Office, 18 September 2009, 1.147Major James Thompson quoted in Warren Wright, “Mr. Agriculture Shares Knowledge in Afghanistan,” Press Release, Combined Joint Task Force-82 Public Affairs Office, 15 September 2009, 1.148Warren Wright, “Mr. Agriculture Shares Knowledge in Afghanistan,” Press Release, Combined Joint Task Force-82 Public Affairs Office, 15 September 2009, 1.149George Winters, “Tennessee ADT Sets Up Shop in Afghanistan,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 6 July 2009, 2. 150Colonel James Moore quoted in “The NG Establishes Agribusiness Development in Paktiya, Paktika Provinces,” Regional Command-East Press Release, 3 July 2009, 3.151Colonel Eric Peck, “Eric Peck’s Experience: Commander, 1-6th Kansas Agribusiness Development Team,” LinkedIn, 2011, 1, http://www.linkedin.com/pub/eric-peck/23/183/b41 (accessed 30 September 2011).152Colonel Eric Peck quoted in Adora Medina, “Kansas ADT Arrives in Afghanistan,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 8 May 2009, 1.153Major Jack Erwin quoted in Jason Dorsey, “Illinois, Kansas Guard Work with Afghan Locals,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 4 June 2009, 1.154Jason Dorsey, “Illinois, Kansas Guard Work with Afghan Locals,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 4 June 2009, 1-2.155Captain Jeffrey Mann quoted in Elizabeth Raney, “Soldiers Teach Afghanistan’s Next Generation of Farmers,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 22 July 2009, 1.156Lieutenant Colonel Roger Beekman quoted in Elizabeth Raney, “Soldiers Teach Afghanistan’s Next Generation of Farmers,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 22 July 2009, 1.157Mohammad Ismail Dowlatzai quoted in Melissa Raney, “Kansas Team Introduces Afghan Farmers to Saffron,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 2 October 2009, 1.158Lieutenant Colonel Roger Beekman quoted in Melissa Raney, “Kansas Team Introduces Afghan Farmers to Saffron,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 2 October 2009, 1.159Masood Sayeed quoted in Melissa Raney, “Kansas Team Introduces Afghan Farmers to Saffron,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 2 October 2009, 1.160Colonel Eric Peck, First Army Division East D+90 Day Brief, PowerPoint Presentation, 12 July 2009, Slides 1-22.161Colonel Eric Peck, First Army Division East D+90 Day Brief, Slides 1-22.162Colonel Eric Peck, 1-6th Kansas Agribusiness Development Team January 2010 SITREP, 2 February 2010, 1-9.

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Afghanistan’s agribusiness sector; increasing confidence in the GIRoA and the MAIL’s capacity

to deliver services, and; rehabilitating watersheds and irrigation infrastructure.261

Still concerned that US agricultural assistance to Afghanistan was uncoordinated and

ineffective, retired Lieutenant General and newly appointed US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl

Eikenberry directed Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs (CDDEA), E.

163Colonel Eric Peck, 1-6th Kansas Agribusiness Development Team January 2010 SITREP, 9. 164Colonel Farley was originally a tank battalion commander and served as head of base security for FOB Al Qayyarah (also known as Q-West Airfield, FOB Q-West, Camp Endurance, and COB Q-West) south of Mosul in northern Iraq. 165Sergeant Jo Lisa Ashley quoted in Tegan Kucera, “Kentucky Guard Prepares for ADT Mission,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 31 July 2009, 1. 166Sergeant Jo Lisa Ashley quoted in Tegan Kucera, “Kentucky Guard Prepares for ADT Mission,” 1. 167Kentucky National Guard, “Kentucky ADT Mobilizes for Afghanistan,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 7 May 2010, 1; Sean Carberry, “Planting Seeds in Afghanistan,” America Abroad Media, 9 October 2009, 1. 168Douglas Wissing, “Farmer-Soldiers,” KentuckyLiving.com, January 2011, 1-2.169Colonel Mike Farley, unrecorded interview by the author, 5 October 2011. 170Jean-Pierre Detry quoted in Jason Smith, “Kentucky ADT, Roots of Peace Sow Seeds for Afghanistan,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 26 July 2010, 1.171Mhrab Udeen quoted through an interpreter in Jason Smith, “Kentucky ADT, Roots of Peace Sow Seeds for Afghanistan,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 26 July 2010, 1.172Suhaila Kohistani quoted through an interpreter in Whitney Hughes, “How Sweet It Is,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 19 April 2010, 1.173Sergeant Jo Lisa Ashley quoted in Whitney Hughes, “How Sweet It Is,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 19 April 2010, 1-2.174Charles Thompson, “Kentucky Guardsmen Help Afghanistan Grow,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 24 January 2010, 1.175Colonel Mike Farley quoted in Jon Soucy, “Kentucky ADT Helps Afghan Farmers Reach New Markets,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 17 February 2010, 1. 176Colonel Mike Farley quoted in Jon Soucy, “Kentucky ADT Helps Afghan Farmers Reach New Markets,” 1. 178Colonel Mike Farley, interview, 5 October 2011. 179Colonel Mike Farley quoted in Jon Soucy, “Kentucky ADT Helps Afghan Farmers Reach New Markets,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 17 February 2010, 2. 180Colonel Mike Farley, interview, 5 October 2011. 181Jon Soucy, “Kentucky ADT Helps Afghan Farmers Reach New Markets,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 17 February 2010, 2. 182Lieutenant Colonel David Kelly, The Kunar ADT and the Afghan COIN Fight, (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2011), Front cover overleaf.183Colonel Eric Grimm quoted in Jan Bender, “California National Guard Members Deploying to Train Afghan Farmers,” California National Guard News Release, 28 August 2009, 1. 184Mohasal Khan quoted in "Kunar Officials Anxious for Arrival of California ADT," 7 October 2009, 1.185Colonel Eric Grimm quoted in Robert Parry, “California ADT Helps Launch First Demo Farm in Kunar Province,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 2 August 2010, 1. 186Sergeant Jason Stevens quoted in Robert Parry, “California ADT Helps Launch First Demo Farm in Kunar Province,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 2 August 2010, 1.

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Anthony Wayne, to take additional measures to bolster compliance with US strategic objectives.

Eikenberry asked for recommendations on strengthening the alignment of US and GIRoA

agricultural priorities, creating more precise outcome measurements, transitioning to Afghan

responsibility, and downsizing due to budget constraints. Wayne appointed a Senior Agriculture

Coordinator with oversight responsibility over all US agriculture-related personnel and

187Tony Perry, “THE WORLD: A Battle Waged with Hoes and Vaccines; California Soldiers Try to Win Hearts and Minds by Helping Rural Afghans Improve their Agricultural Practices,” Los Angeles Times, 21 December 2009, A.25; Brian Boisvert, “California ADT Helps Vaccinate Livestock in Naray,” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, 19 December 2009, 1.188Fazlullah Wahidi quoted in Brian Boisvert, “California ADT Hosts Animal Clinic in Asadabad,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 17 January 2010, 1. 189Lieutenant Colonel Max Velte quoted in Brian Boisvert, “California ADT Hosts Animal Clinic in Asadabad,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 17 January 2010, 2. 190Lieutenant Colonel David Kelly, Front cover overleaf.191Lieutenant Colonel Max Velte, email correspondence, 9 October 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute.192Lieutenant Colonel Max Velte, email correspondence, 9 October 2011; Tony Perry, “THE WORLD: A Battle Waged with Hoes and Vaccines; California Soldiers Try to Win Hearts and Minds by Helping Rural Afghans Improve their Agricultural Practices,” A.25.193Lieutenant Colonel David Kelly, Back cover; Lieutenant Colonel Max Velte, email correspondence, 9 October 2011.194“ADT Soldiers Recognized for Valor,” Grizzly, June 2010, 6.195Robert Parry, “40 ID ADT Joins ANSF and TF No Slack to Help Afghan Village,” Regional Command - East Press Release, 11 July 2010, 1.196Lieutenant Colonel David Kelly, 435-453.197Darren Heusel, “Oklahoma Guard Next in Line for Afghanistan Mission,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 18 September 2009, 1-3; Deidre Musgrave, “Oklahoma ADT Trains at Indiana Apple Orchid,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 2 December 2009, 1; Jason Bowers, “Oklahoma ADT Teaches Students Cooped Up in Paktiya Classrooms,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 27 July 2010, 1; Maggie Rhodes, “Revitalizing Agriculture, Empowering women in Afghanistan,” USDA Posting, 25 May 2011, 1. 198Monique Headley, “Soldiers Taking Ag Skills to Afghanis,” Stillwater NewsPress, 23 October 2009, 1.199Colonel Mike Chase quoted in Darren Heusel, “Oklahoma Guard Next in Line for Afghanistan Mission,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 18 September 2009, 1.200Deidre Musgrave, “Oklahoma Guard Gains Agribusiness Authority in Paktiya and West Paktika Provinces,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 21 December 2009, 1; Darren Heusel, “Oklahoma Guard Next in Line for Afghanistan Mission,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 18 September 2009, 2.201Colonel Mike Chase quoted in Jason Bowers, “Oklahoma ADT Teaches Students Cooped Up in Paktiya Classrooms,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 27 July 2010, 1.202Lieutenant Colonel Jackie Sanders quoted in Jason Bowers, “Oklahoma ADT Teaches Students Cooped Up in Paktiya Classrooms,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 27 July 2010, 1.203Colonel Mike Chase, email correspondence, 11 October 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute.204Matt Scotten, “Agribusiness Soldiers Demobilize at Atterbury,” Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center Public Affairs, 22 October 2010, 1. 205Julie Harker, “SC Guard Members to Work with Afghan Farmers,” Clemson University Press Release, 17 November 2009, 1; Peter Hull, “Clemson Trains S.C. National Guard Agriculture Team for Afghanistan,” Clemson University Press Release, 17 November 2009, 1.

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programs, established a Senior Agriculture Policy Committee, restructured the existing

Agriculture Working Group, conducted a comprehensive review of US agriculture assistance,

and made 20 recommendations for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of US agriculture

assistance plans and programs. The CDDEA Report acknowledged the significant role ADTs

played in furthering the goals and objectives of the US agriculture assistance strategy by

coordinating the activities of civilian agricultural advisors and Afghan government officials at

206Janet Killeen, “South Carolina National Guard ADT Advises Afghans,” Columbia Star, 28 May 2010, 2.208Lieutenant Colonel Frank Rice, unrecorded interview by the author, 14 October 2011.209Lieutenant Colonel Frank Rice quoted in Peter Hull, “Clemson Trains S.C. National Guard Agriculture Team for Afghanistan,” Clemson University Press Release, 17 November 2009, 2.210Kjerstin Ramsing, “National Guard Agribusiness Unit Returns from Afghanistan,” WXIN Fox 59 News, Indianapolis, 20 October 2010, 2. 211Colonel Michael Osburn quoted in Rich Larsen, “Reflections: A Soldier’s Story,” InsideCorrections, August 2011, 4-5. 212Shawn Gardner, “Indiana National Guard Farmer-Soldiers to Return from 2010 Afghanistan Deployment,” Indian National Guard Office of Public Affairs Press Release, 19 October 2010, 2.213Rick Richards, “Area Soldiers Reach Out to Help Afghan Farmers,” Beacher Weekly Newspaper, Michigan City, IN, 16 December 2010, 1-2.214Chris McKenna, “2-19th Indiana ADT Transfers with 3-19th Indiana ADT,” Regional Command – East Press Release, 16 October 2010, 1; Shawn Gardner, “Indiana National Guard Farmer-Soldiers to Return from 2010 Afghanistan Deployment,” Indian National Guard Office of Public Affairs Press Release, 19 October 2010, 1; Rich Larsen, “Reflections: A Soldier’s Story,” InsideCorrections, August 2011, 4-5. 215Colonel Michael Osburn quoted in Chris McKenna, “2-19th Indiana ADT Transfers with 3-19th Indiana ADT,” Regional Command – East Press Release, 16 October 2010, 1. 216Nagibullah Durani quoted in Peter Ferrell, “Texas ADT Supports Para-Veterinarian Program at Charikar,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 10 August 2010, 1.219Ross Dobelbower, “Texas ADT Conducts MEDEVAC Training in Afghanistan,” The Dispatch, February 2010, 13.220Major William Davis, unrecorded interview by the author, 16 October 2011.221Silas Allen, “Missouri Guard Holds Deployment Ceremony for ADT,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 4 September 2009, 1; “The Crew in Review,” MO ADT III Monthly Newsletter, November 2009, 6-7; Lieutenant Colonel Ronny Mast, 132d MO ADT After Action Report, August 2010, 2-3.222Silas Allen, “Missouri Guard Holds Deployment Ceremony for ADT,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 4 September 2009, 1; Jessica Byrd, “Look at Life Through Our Eyes: Military Law at Its Finest,” MO ADT III-The ADT Chronicles, February 2010, 2. 223Silas Allen, “Agribusiness Development Team III Completed cold Storage Facility,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 26 February 2010, 1; Lieutenant Colonel Ronny Mast, 132d MO ADT After Action Report, August 2010, 3.224Lieutenant Colonel Ronny Mast, “Living the Dream: A Word from the Commander,” MO ADT III-The ADT Chronicles, January 2010, 4. 225Shelda Sternberg and Rachel Knight, “Agribusiness Team Improves Local Farming Infrastructure while Incoming Team Trains at Home,” Missouri National Guard Public Affairs Press Release, 23 June 2010, 1; Gary Witte, “Missouri ADT Tends the Breadbasket of Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 19 May 2010, 1; Lieutenant Colonel Ronny Mast, 132d MO ADT After Action Report, 4, 10.226Captain Jordan Clark quoted in Shelda Sternberg and Rachel Knight, “Agribusiness Team Improves Local Farming Infrastructure while Incoming Team Trains at Home,” Missouri National Guard Public Affairs Press Release, 23 June 2010, 1.

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the provincial level. The Report also suggested that ADTs increase efforts to train Afghan

agricultural extension agents, continue helping Afghan farmers to regenerate agricultural

capacity, and develop a plan for eventual ADT withdrawal.262

Efforts persisted throughout 2010 to ensure that all personnel involved in rejuvenating

Afghanistan’s agribusiness sector were operating in accordance with the Embassy Strategy and 227Gary Witte, “Missouri ADT Tends the Breadbasket of Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 19 May 2010, 1-2; Shelda Sternberg and Rachel Knight, “Agribusiness Team Improves Local Farming Infrastructure while Incoming Team Trains at Home,” Missouri National Guard Public Affairs Press Release, 23 June 2010, 1-2; Janet Killeen, “Ask, Don’t Tell,” Zones of Conflict, 5 January 2010, 1-2; Lieutenant Colonel Ronny Mast, “Living the Dream: A Word from the Commander,” MO ADT III-The ADT Chronicles, January 2010, 4; Lieutenant Colonel Ronny Mast, “Living the Dream: A Word from the Commander,” MO ADT III-The ADT Chronicles, February 2010, 4; Silas Allen, “Agribusiness Development Team III Completed Cold Storage Facility,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 26 February 2010, 1.228Master Sergeant Donald Lilleman quoted in Shelda Sternberg and Rachel Knight, “Agribusiness Team Improves Local Farming Infrastructure while Incoming Team Trains at Home,” Missouri National Guard Public Affairs Press Release, 23 June 2010, 1; Staff Sergeant Thomas parsons quoted in Gary Witte, “Missouri ADT Tends the Breadbasket of Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 19 May 2010, 2.230Colonel Stephen Redman quoted in Keith Moore, “Arkansas ADT Stands Up Operations in Zabul Province,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 29April 2010, 1-2; Keith Moore, “Arkansas ADT Begins Training for Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 30 November 2009, 1; Keith Moore, “Arkansas ADT Prepares for Deployment to Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 11 January 2010, 1; Lieutenant Colonel Keith Moore, email correspondence, 19 October 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute.231Lieutenant Colonel David Sheely quoted in Keith Moore, “Arkansas Guard’s ADT Reaches Out to Neighboring Villages,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 11 July 2010, 1. 232Keith Moore, “Arkansas ADT Stands Up Operations in Zabul Province,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 29April 2010, 1; Keith Moore, “Arkansas Troops Develop Farm as Agriculture Education Center,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 19 November 2010, 1.233Colonel Stephen Redman quoted in Keith Moore, “Arkansas ADT, DAIL Staff Hold First Agriculture Seminar in Shin Kay,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 2 August 2010, 1.234Colonel Stephen Redman quoted in “Arkansas’ First ADT Completes Mission,” Arkansas National Guard Public Affairs, 9 February 2011, 1; “Federal Missions: Soldier and Airman Farmers,” Arkansas National Guard Fiscal Year 2010 Annual Report, 18.235Peter Shinn, “Iowa ADT Completes ‘Old School’ Training,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 7 June 2010, 1-2; Peter Shinn, “Iowa ADT Trains with Amish Before Deployment,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 21 June 2010, 1.236Lieutenant Colonel David Lewis quoted in Peter Shinn, “Iowa ADT Hits Ground Running in Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 12 August 2010, 1.237Colonel Craig Bargfrede quoted in Peter Shinn, “Iowa ADT Hits Ground Running in Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 12 August 2010, 1.238Major Loren Adams quoted in Peter Shinn, “Iowa ADT Helps Nuristan PRT Fight Deadly Rabies Outbreak,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 4 September 2010, 1.239Peter Shinn, “Iowa Guard Teaches Animal Nutrition, Rabies Prevention in Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 20 December 2010, 1-2.240James Wilton, “National Guard Veterinarians Learn Afghan Capabilities,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 6 January 2011, 1.241Major Loren Adams quoted in Peter Shinn, “Iowa Guard ADT Backs Veterinary Programs for Kuchis,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 10 January 2011, 1.

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the Integrated Campaign Plan. In November, 350 participants, including Ambassador

Eikenberry, USDA Deputy Under Secretary Darci Vetter, Agricultural Czar for Afghanistan,

James Butler, Afghan DAILs from all 34 provinces, nine ADT commanders, and ISAF, USAID,

and PRT representatives, attended the Joint American Afghanistan National Agriculture

Conference held at the Serena Hotel in Kabul. “Work hard, work fast, and work together,

242Mohammed Ghalib quoted in Peter Shinn, “Iowa Guard ADT Backs Veterinary Programs for Kuchis,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 10 January 2011, 1. 243Peter Shinn, “Iowa Guard ADT Backs Veterinary Programs for Kuchis,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 10 January 2011, 1. 244Naseema Shfiq Sadat quoted in Peter Shinn, “Iowa ADT Helps Afghan Girls School,” 2 September 2010, 1.245Major Mary Parmenter quoted in Amy Abbott, “Female Engagement Team Makes Strides in Kunar,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 22 October 2010, 1.246Master Sergeant Darla Sheasley quoted in Peter Shinn, “Iowa National Guard ADT Small Poultry Project a Sustainable Success,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 24 January 2011, 1.247Amy Abbott, “Female Engagement Team Makes Strides in Kunar,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 22 October 2010, 1-2; Peter Shinn, “Iowa National Guard ADT Small Poultry Project a Sustainable Success,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 24 January 2011, 1.248Donald Kuehl, “Iowa Guardsmen Learn Ways of Afghan Farmers, ”National Guard Bureau Press Release, 24 November 2010, 1; Peter Shinn, “Iowa National Guard Project Irrigates a Thousand Acres in Afghanistan,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 13 December 2010, 1; Peter Shinn, “Dozens Get Nursery Training Funded by Iowa National guard ADT,” National Guard Bureau Press Release, 19 January 2011, 1.249"UNCE to Help National Guard Help Afghan Farmers" University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Service Press Release, 18 June 2010, 1-3; Steve Ranson, “Nevada Guard Unit to Teach Ag Practices in Afghanistan,” Nevada Appeal News Service, 27 June 2010, 1-3.250Lieutenant Colonel Bart O’Toole quoted in Steve Ranson, “Nevada Guard Unit to Teach Ag Practices in Afghanistan,” Nevada Appeal News Service, 27 June2010, 1; Lieutenant Colonel O’Toole quoted in “Nevada Guard’s Ag Team to Begin its Deployment,” Lahontan Valley News, 8 July 2010, 1.251Colonel Johnny Isaak quoted in David Axe, “The Afghan Agribusiness Strategy,” Offiziere, March 2011, 1-2, http://www.offiziere.ch/?p=6315 (accessed 23 October 2011).252Enaytullah Mangal quoted in Colonel Johnny Isaak, interview by Agricultural Videos, 18 March 2011,http://www.agriculturalvideos.com/agribusiness/col-johnny-isaak-agribusiness-development-team (accessed 24 October 2011).253Colonel Johnny Isaak, interview by Agricultural Videos, 18 March 2011,http://www.agriculturalvideos.com/agribusiness/col-johnny-isaak-agribusiness-development-team (accessed 24 October 2011). 254 Eric Ritter, “Afghan Villagers give Warm Welcome to Cool Storage,” Regional Command – East Press Release, 2 June 2011, 1-3; David Axe, “The Afghan Agribusiness Strategy,” Offiziere, March 2011, 1-2, http://www.offiziere.ch/?p=6315 (accessed 23 October 2011); “Deployment Roundup: Agribusiness Development Team in Deployment Home Stretch,” Battle Born, Spring 2011, 22-23;“Deployment Roundup: ADT Mission Concludes,” Battle Born, Summer 2011, 19.

257Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry quoted in Tom Bowman, “Shortage of Civilian Experts Slows Afghan Rebuilding,” National Public Radio, 26 August 2009, 1, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112263615 (accessed 26 October 2011).258See for example Michael Hauser, et al., “The Minuteman Farmer: If Not Me, Then Whom?” Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, 2010, 1-62.

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because together we win,” Afghanistan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock

Mohammad Asef Rahimi told the crowd during his opening remarks at the conference, which

was the largest agricultural gathering in OEF history.263 Prior to the conference, more than 200

Afghan national and provincial agricultural officials met in working groups with ADT, PRT,

USAID, and USDA personnel to discuss strategic, tactical, and operational goals and objectives

relating to agricultural stability, productivity, and sustainability.264

Following the Joint Conference, USDA revised its goals for rebuilding Afghanistan’s

agricultural economy and providing long-term, sustainable, development as follows:

Increase agricultural sector jobs and income

Increase agricultural activity

Regenerate Agribusiness

Rehabilitate watershed and improve irrigation infrastructure

Increase the MAIL’s capacity to deliver services to rural farmers and herders and

promote the private sector and farmer associations.265

In February 2011, the US Embassy in Kabul, likewise revised its USG Agricultural Assistance

Strategy for Afghanistan to include:

Increase confidence of Afghans in their government

259Michael Hauser, et al., “The Minuteman Farmer: If Not Me, Then Whom?” Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, 2010, 40-42.260Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and General Stanley McChrystal, United States Government Integrated Civilian-Military Campaign Plan for Support to Afghanistan, 10 August 2009, 11.261Albert Huntington, “Actions Needed to Better Assess and Coordinate capacity-Building Efforts at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock,” Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, SIGAR Audit 12-1, 20 October 2011, 2. 262The recommendations of the CDDEA review included program alignment, performance reporting, transition to Afghanistan authority, budget actions, clarity of mission, agency coordination, program procurement and execution, provincial agriculture development strategies, field staffing, and international collaboration. See Kaush Arha, USG Agricultural Assistance to Afghanistan: A Review, US Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan, 21 March 2011, 5-42.

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Increase MAIL capacity to deliver services

Increase agriculture sector jobs and incomes

Increase agricultural productivity

Regenerate agribusiness

Rehabilitate watersheds and improve irrigation infrastructure.266

The Agribusiness Development Teams deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011 had been and

were operating in their respective provinces in compliance with these strategies, goals, and

objectives developed by US senior leadership in Kabul.

Later in 2011, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

(SIGAR) released the results of an official performance audit of US efforts to build capacity in

the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock. The SIGAR report made the

following series of recommendations for ensuring the sustainment of US agriculture assistance in

Afghanistan and for improving the management and integration of capacity-building efforts

aimed at Afghan MAIL, DAIL, and agricultural extension agent personnel:

To improve the integration and coordination of US capacity-building efforts

Develop a MAIL capacity-building implementation plan

Define an end state for MAIL capacity building

Identify core competencies and establish priorities and critical milestones

Establish a MAIL capacity-building progress reporting system

Further integrate ADT capacity-building activities with those of civilian agencies

Disseminate information and guidance to ADTs through military liaison personnel

Implement MAIL capacity-building activities in a coordinated civilian-military manner

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Accurately and consistently measure MAIL capacity-building progress

Establish common indicators and standard definition for assessing progress

Direct US agencies to collect and report on those indicators of progress

Establish performance baselines and targets for all performance indicators, and

Include activities of USDA, USAID, and ADTs in the Agriculture Campaign Plan.267

While conducting the audit, SIGAR representatives attended both the November 2010 Joint

American Afghanistan National Agriculture Conference in Kabul and an ADT conference in

March 2011, and interviewed several ADT members. The SIGAR auditors found that ADTs in

Afghanistan were in fact working with their provincial DAILs and extension agents on

budgeting, project management, and the proper use of CERP funding, in accordance with the

overall USG agricultural assistance strategy. The SIGAR audit went on to cite the 2011 CDDEA

report commending US ADTs for completing 413 agricultural projects in 2010 and initiating 578

more with a total value of $9.9 million in CERP funding.ADT members and USDA

representatives coordinated effectively when co-located at the same FOB with the ADT often

providing transportation and security assistance. However, capacity-building measures initiated

by officials in Kabul were often not properly communicated to ADT and USDA personnel

operating in the field at provincial and district levels.268

Difficulties with the downstream dissemination of information were exacerbated by the

dual chains of command inherent in unity-of-effort/ unity-of-purpose campaigns. ADTs and

civilian personnel in Afghanistan operated under separated command structures. USDA

representatives in the provinces, for example, reported to and were directed by the US Embassy

Interagency Provincial Affairs (IPA) office in Kabul. ADT commanders, on the other hand,

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reported to the Brigade Combat Team commanders for their respective geographical regions, and

therefore functioned within the military chain of command. Stovepiping – information

dissemination methods distinct from one another – is often inevitable in dual chains of

command, unity-of-effort, situational environments. To help resolve the communications issue,

IPA personnel in Kabul began participating in biweekly ADT teleconferences, and liaison

officers from ISAF Joint Command and Regional Command-East, along with ADT

representatives, began attending weekly Embassy Agriculture Working Group meetings.

Embassy officials conducted a Field Agriculture Advisors Conference and an Agriculture Team

Conference in October 2011, and also began including ADT capacity-building activities in their

monthly Agriculture Campaign Assessments.269

As of mid-2011, nine ADTs were deployed to Afghanistan in support of operations in

Regional Command-East and Regional Command-South. Since the ADT program’s inception, a

total of 28 teams have conducted agribusiness missions in 15 Afghan provinces and assisted

Afghans with nearly 650 agricultural projects, producing more than $30 million in revenue for

rural farmers. The unique Soldier-farmer combination brought much needed new skills in

agronomy, irrigation, horticulture, animal husbandry, and civil engineering directly to Afghan

farmers’ fields. Training provided by ADTs helped provincial and district officials, Afghan

agriculture extension agents, and individual farmers increase crop yields, expand produce

marketing activities, decrease unemployment, and improve agricultural sustainability. District

level agricultural improvements initiated by ADT members helped strengthen relations between

Afghan government officials and the populace. As a result, government services increased,

regional stability improved, and new opportunities arose for agribusiness sector growth.270

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The ADT mission is atypical, as is each team’s ad hoc, non-standard, force structure.

There are no Agribusiness Development Teams in the Regular Army – there is no ADT Field

Manual, no doctrine, no relevant military occupational specialties, no branch, and no service

schools. ADTs conduct missions typically undertaken by civilian organizations, such as USDA

and USAID. The ADTs bridge the gaps among these agencies, the Afghan government, and

farmers in provinces and districts that are unsafe and unsecured. ADTs move on and civilian

agencies move in as the security environment in a particular region improves. Once an ADT’s

deployment is concluded, the unit disbands. Replacement teams deploy and assume

responsibility for completing agricultural projects begun by previous ADTs.271 As of 2011, those

on-going ADT projects included:

Afghan Extension Agent training

Seed cleaning operations

Storage facility construction

Beekeeping and poultry management programs for Afghan women

Cash-for-work infrastructure repair activities

Veterinary training

Orchard management, and

Demonstration farm and greenhouse development.272

Meanwhile, the US whole-of-government approach to growing Afghanistan’s agricultural

economic sector continued to expand and produce results. USDA, for example, established a

multi-year Grants Management and Contract Services program at MAIL and installed an

automated, integrated, and comprehensive Financial Management and Information System that

272“Agribusiness Development Team,” US National Guard Bureau Fact Sheet, March 2011, 1.125

enabled MAIL to directly receive and manage program funding from USDA, USAID, and other

donors. “Building MAIL into a viable institution will help ensure that US efforts to build the

agriculture sector are a success, and it will help the Afghans stand on their own and reduce their

dependence on the United States and other donors,” Steven Trent, Acting Special Inspector

General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, explained.273 To build leadership and institutional

capacity at the sub-national level, USDA representatives also trained 460 afghan agricultural

extension agents and DAIL staff members from 79 districts during 2011. USAID continued

several Afghan food security initiatives, including credit-to-farmers and seed distribution, and

distributed $164 million in vouchers through the Afghanistan Vouchers for Increased Production

in Agriculture program. Under its National Seed Distribution initiative, USAID provided 14,300

tons of certified wheat seed and 39,000 tons of fertilizer to 260,000 Afghan farmers in 31

provinces. By 2011, the United States had invested more than $1 Billion to help Afghans

redevelop their agribusiness economic sector.274

Accomplishments, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations

“The ADTs’ impact in the war in Afghanistan doesn’t manifest itself as territory held or

number of insurgents dead, but in improving the quality of life for rural Afghan farmers,”

Colonel Martin Leppert, USARNG (Ret), the former and initial Special Assistant to the Director

ARNG/Afghanistan Agribusiness Development Mission Coordinator told participants at the

Camp Atterbury ADT Seminar in October 2011. “It’s a mission I never would have dreamed

would evolve to this…it’s come a long way since we decided how to do this on a napkin in a

chow hall in Afghanistan.”275 Leppert went on to explain how the dozens of ADTs deployed to

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Afghanistan since 2008 have taken the steam out of the Taliban, helped decrease the numbers of

insurgent attacks, bolstered the credibility of national, provincial, and district Afghan

governments, and improved conditions for Afghan farmers. “Now every provincial governor and

every brigade combat team commander sees the skills and abilities of ADTs as an asset in

building provincial stability,” Colonel Leppert emphasized.276

Key ADT program leaders attending the Camp Atterbury seminar generally agreed that

successfully advancing the goals and objectives of the US counterinsurgency strategy in

Afghanistan from 2008-2011 represented a significant accomplishment for both the overall

Agribusiness Development Team program and the individual teams that participated. ADT

members taught Afghan farmers how to increase their yields and helped them develop small

businesses with micro loans and grants. ADT sponsored demonstration/research farms offered

farmers and extension agents hands-on experience with new techniques and methods for

increasing high value crop production. Numerous Afghan farmers in province after province

learned how to take care of themselves, became more self-sufficient, and turned away from the

insurgency. Agribusiness initiatives were not only successful in their own right, but also served

to deepen ties between the Afghan people and their government and provided a legitimate means

for engaging directly with the general populace. ADT efforts to train provincial DAILs, their

staffs, and hundreds of sub-national Afghan agricultural extension agents ultimately strengthened

the link between farmers/herdsmen in the field and the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and

Livestock in Kabul. Finally, ADT poultry, beekeeping, and canning programs for Afghan women

provided rural families with additional sustenance and income.277

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Lieutenant Colonel Howard Schauer, Special Assistant to the Director

ARNG/Afghanistan Agribusiness Development Mission Coordinator in 2011 cautioned that

change occurs very slowly in Afghanistan and that regaining strong vibrant agribusiness

production levels and obtaining sustainable food security could take 25-30 years to achieve.

Consequently, if ADTs remain in Afghanistan, their mission and structure will evolve

accordingly over time. Better understanding of the Afghan culture, obtaining pre-project buy-in

from everyone involved, and robustly engaging village elders to precisely determine critical local

needs are essential aspects of successful agribusiness development initiatives. All agribusiness

projects should focus directly on supporting the Afghan people. Additionally, continuing to build

the Afghan agricultural education system – training extension agents to educate farmers, building

more demonstration farms, and teaching leadership skills – will be an important consideration for

future ADT missions. Moving Afghan farmer beyond simple sustenance to a viable agriculture

business model involving revenue-generating commercial enterprises represents another

continuous worthwhile goal for US agricultural assistance efforts in Afghanistan. Expanding

production, processing, and commercialization capabilities should move forward simultaneously

whenever possible. Also, ADT teams should be cautious not to unwittingly create a false

economy by paying Afghan farmers to do work that they would have done themselves. Finally,

ADTs can play a crucial role in building Afghan public support for the GIRoA. Winning the

counterinsurgency fight and establishing a legitimate government in Afghanistan involves more

than teaching Afghans to farm.278

The agribusiness development team concept has clearly proven its worth during the past four

years in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Consequently, the ADT program should be

expanded and formalized, and teams should be made more permanent components of US military force

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structure. As both OEF and Operation IRAQI FREEDOM have demonstrated, civilian agencies, despite

valiant efforts, lack the manpower, resources, and funding to adequately deliver services to host nation

populations in counterinsurgency environments. Interagency coordination and integration frequently do

not materialize as expected due to budget constraints, personnel shortages, and insufficient authority to

cross interagency boundaries. Military and civilian components in counterinsurgency operations often fail

to effectively integrate. Notions of ‘jointness’ and ‘cross-jurisdictional responsibility’ never fully develop,

and efforts to achieve unity of command in multi-agency environments routinely fall short. Duplication of

effort is nearly unavoidable as each supporting agency has its own specific mission and reports back to

Washington through its own dedicated, stovepipe, chain of command. “Contingency relief and

reconstruction operations are not inherently the function of any single department,” a 2009 Special

Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) report noted, further explaining that “when unity of

command is missing and unity of purpose does not foster unity of effort, a solution can only be

implemented at the top.”279

Relatedly, in 2005, the DoD issued Directive 3000.05, stipulating “stability operations are a core

US military mission [with] priority comparable to combat operations.”280 The Directive instructs the

military to undertake contingency relief and reconstruction efforts in situations where civilian agencies

are unable to perform the mission. Accordingly, the US Army has strengthened its Civil Affairs and

Corps of Engineers support to combatant commands. Many Department of State officials balked at the

notion of an expanded military role. Former Ambassador to Afghanistan (2005-2007), Ronald Neumann,

for example, explained that no single US Government agency had sufficient resources to

undertake the complex and difficult task of re-building a war-torn country. As for broadening the

US Military’s mission to include more traditional civilian roles, Ambassador Neumann

countered the notion, arguing “the idea that you ought to throw another nonmilitary operation

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into the military I believe to be fundamentally flawed… it has already led to an excessive

militarization in our foreign policy…the military would be in charge of the whole show.”281

On the other hand, however, Ryan Crocker, current US Ambassador to Afghanistan

(2011) noted that “the capacity [often] does not exist on the civilian side to take on the vast array

of roles and missions that the military has so ably performed.”282 Similarly, a 2010 State

Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) report admonished State to “stringently evaluate

whether it has the capabilities and resources to ensure the safety of its personnel, and whether

those personnel will be able to effectively pursue and accomplish US policy goals in a non-

permissive security environment.”283 As for future US counterinsurgency operations, it is safe to

assume that civilian institutions will likewise lack the resources – manpower, equipment, and

funding – to appropriately address post-conflict stability requirements. Consequently, at least

partial responsibility for conducting extended stability operations will once again fall to the US

military.

US military leaders should therefore plan accordingly by expanding the civil affairs

component to include skills that are typically civilian, such as agriculture, governance, and rule

of law expertise. While unity of effort and unity of purpose are well-intentioned, unity of

command is the optimum organizational structure for conducting complex

counterinsurgency/civil-military operations. In future conflicts, each deployed

brigade/regimental combat team should be staffed with a robust civil affairs section that includes

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, highly trained and proficient in Agribusiness

Development and Provincial Reconstruction operations. Under this scenario, ADTs would

become more permanent, remain within the National Guard Bureau structure during peacetime,

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train under the civil affairs branch umbrella, and activate/deploy with designated BCTs/RCTs in

times of conflict. As such, ADTs attached to brigades or regiments would serve as de facto lead

practitioners of USG agriculture assistance strategy during active counterinsurgency campaigns.

Once combat operations cease and respective AORs are officially declared secured, civilian

experts from DoS, USAID, and USDA can move in, establish facilities, and begin to assume the

ADT mission as the military withdraws.

Only the US military has sufficient manpower and resources to effectively conduct

stability operations in hostile environments. Large attached ADTs provide BCT/RCT

commanders with an incredibly powerful tool for quickly improving the well-being of host

nation populations. As Major General Kadavy rightly noted, “demand for ADTs has increased as

a result of their success in Afghanistan…at every level the importance of ADTs is understood

and the benefits have been seen…every province now wants an ADT to help jump-start its

agriculture.”284

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FARMERS WITH GUNS ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF COUNTERINSURGENCY

AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS IN AFGHANISTAN

Suggested List of Photographs and Illustrations

Missouri National Guard History Department ADT CD

Indiana 1-19th ADT CD

Colonel Harlan Harris, Texas ADT II, Ambassador Holbrooke

PowerPoint Maps

U.S. Troops Plan For a Security Wall - August 10

Kentucky ADT helps Afghan farmers grow more - August 2

Col. Bargfrede on ADT training - July 27

Freedom Watch Update - July 13

Look Live - July 13

Kentucky ADT educates villagers

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Oklahoma ADT Assists

Missouri National Guard's Fourth Agribusiness Development Team Departs for Afghanistan

Oklahoma ADT key leader visit

Oklahoma ADT on fruit production

Oklahoma ADT security

Tennessee Agribusiness - Afghanistan

American Forces Network Afghanistan

Agricultural Development Team in Afghanistan

A-D-T Helps out in Nangarhar Province Package

Combat Beekeepers

PHOTOS

Indiana ADT deploys

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Indiana ADT II returns

Indiana ADT departs for Afghanistan

Kentucky Bees

Kentucky ADT conducts key leader engagement

Kentucky ADT works with Kapisa DAIL

Arkansas ADT builds relationships in Afghanistan

CA ADT vaccinates livestock

Oranges in Marawara

CA teaches agriculture classes

Agribusiness teams help Afghan farmers find simple solutions

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Capt. Jeffrey Mann, a soil scientist from the Kansas National Guard teaches students from Nangarhar University how to test soil for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium using chemical tablets, soil and water. (Photo by Pfc. Elizabeth Raney, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs) download hi-res photo

Staff Army Sgt. 1st Class Jon SoucyNational Guard Bureau

Department of Defense

Guard ADT conference points way forward Two Agribusiness Development Teams that are currently working in eastern Afghanistan and the two ADT's that will replace them met here Jan. 28 to compare notes, share best practices and chart the way ahead for the ADT's in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces...February 2, 2011

Army National Guard Director visits Agribusiness Development Teams Army Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, the acting director of the Army National Guard, discussed the future of the National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team initiative during a visit here Jan. 21...February 1, 2011

CALL publishes ADT handbook The Center for Army Lessons Learned has just released CALL publication 10-10, Agribusiness Development Teams (ADT) in Afghanistan Handbook...December 10, 2009

Eikenberry calls for more civilian experts in agriculture While the increase of 30,000 American troops in Afghanistan has garnered most of the headlines, a concurrent increase on the civilian

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side also is occurring, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan told Congress today...December 8, 2009

National Guard executes President's Afghan agriculture initiative The National Guard continues to make a significant contribution to one of the Afghanistan initiatives that President Obama discussed in his Tuesday speech to the nation...December 2, 2009

Guard has no long-term role in reconstruction missions, SECDEF says The National Guard has a role in reconstruction missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it's not a long-term role, the secretary of defense told an audience here at the Joint Senior Leadership Conference Nov. 19...November 20, 2009

Chiarelli: ADTs a 'true success story' The effort of National Guard members, who are helping redevelop Afghanistan's essential farming practices lost to years of conflict, is a true success story, the Army's second-in-command said Sept. 13...September 15, 2009

U.N. agency notes decline in Afghan poppy, opium Farmers in Afghanistan grew fewer opium poppy plants last year, while opium drug production also declined, according to a United Nations-sponsored report released in Kabul today...September 8, 2009

Arkansas

Arkansas troops develop farm as Agriculture Education Center The Arkansas National Guard's first Agriculture Development Team continues to drive forward with its mission to enhance the agriculture productivity and economic status of this southern Afghanistan province...December 6, 2010

Arkansas ADT, DAIL staff hold first agriculture seminar in ShinKay Last week marked an important milestone as the Arkansas Agriculture Development Team (ADT) partnered with the director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL) and the Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) of ShinKay to hold the first agriculture education seminar at the district center here...August 2, 2010

Arkansas Guard's ADT reaches out to neighboring villages Members of the Arkansas National Guard's Agriculture Development Team continued their ongoing small village agriculture assessment and outreach through a program they call "Operation Know Your Neighbor" this week...July 12, 2010

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Arkansas ADT stands up operations in Zabul province Coalition forces here in Zabul province gained a new tool in the agricultural redevelopment process this month as the Arkansas National Guard's Agriculture Development Team stood up its operations here...April 30, 2010

Arkansas leadership observes ADT in action Leadership of the Arkansas Army and Air National Guard visited with troops from the Arkansas Agricultural Development Team (ADT) as they trained in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan Feb. 26...March 2, 2010

Arkansas ADT prepares for deployment to Afghanistan Members of the Arkansas National Guard's Agriculture Development Team (ADT) destined for deployment to Afghanistan later this spring have begun their pre-mobilization training here this week...January 11 2010

Arkansas ADT begins training for Afghanistan The Arkansas National Guard's Agricultural Development Team, which is scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan in early 2010, begins training this week in a cooperative partnership with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture through the U of A Cooperative Extension Service...November 30, 2009

CaliforniaADT Soldiers recognized for valor Five Soldiers from the 40th Infantry Division Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) were recently decorated for valor displayed during a lengthy fire fight in Afghanistan's Kunar province...September 23, 2010

California Guardsmen honored for valor during fire fight Five Soldiers from the 40th Infantry Division's Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) were recently decorated for valor displayed during a lengthy fire fight in Afghanistan's Kunar province...August 23, 2010

California ADT helps launch first demo farm in Kunar Province Farmers in an impoverished section of Afghanistan will soon have a classroom for learning more productive methods of growing crops thanks to their local district government and the California Army National Guard's 40th Infantry Division Agribusiness Development Team...August 2, 2010

California ADT helps Afghan village after battle After a violent battle between the Taliban and a combined team of Afghan National Army forces and U.S. Army Soldiers, residents of this district were left shaken and in need of assistance...July 17, 2010

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California ADT hosts animal clinic in Asadabad The California National Guard's 40th Infantry Division's Agri-business Development Team conducted a veterinary civic action program in the provincial capital to help area residents with their livestock, Jan. 15...January 20, 2010

California ADT helps vaccinate livestock in Naray Within eyesight of the Pakistani border, the California National Guard's Agribusiness Development Team conducted a veterinary civic action program in Naray District, Dec. 16-17...December 22, 2009

Kunar officials anxious for arrival of California ADT Farmers planted seeds of a better tomorrow in eastern Afghanistan's in Kunar province with help from the provincial government, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team, Oct. 1...October 16, 2009

California Guard deploys to train Afghan farmers The California National Guard's Agribusiness Development Team (ADT), made up of Soldiers from throughout the state, will hold a deployment ceremony here at the West Los Angeles National Guard Armory Aug. 30 prior to a yearlong to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom...August 31, 2009

California ADT hopes Afghanistan reaps the fruits of their labor An agricultural development team made up of National Guard Soldiers from throughout California is headed for Afghanistan to help plant the seeds of hope...August 17, 2009

Illinois

Illinois Guard ADT visits research farm, tree nursery in Asadabad The Illinois Army National Guard’s 1-14th Agribusiness Development Team conducted visits to a research farm operated by the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, and a separate nearby tree nursery Aug. 28...September 7, 2011

Illinois ADT trains at Carbondale university While soldiering can be a dirty job, a group of Illinois National Guard members took dirty to a new level. The Soldiers were not learning dirty fighting techniques, but were being educated on the finer points of dealing with cow manure...August 23, 2010

Illinois, Kansas Guard work with Afghan locals For the third time in a year, an air assault mission in the Laghman province of northeastern Afghanistan provided humanitarian aid and coordinated

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information-exchange efforts between locals and International Security Assistance Force leaders concerning ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the area...June 6, 2009

Indiana

Deployed Indiana Guardsman talks with students via internet Thousands of years ago, Trojan soldiers honored their veterans through stories of great accomplishments, poems of courage and songs of heroism and much is the same for the Trojans at Center Grove Middle School North...November 15, 2010

Three agricultural teams demobilize at Atterbury Over 150 Soldiers from three separate Agribusiness Development Teams, Indiana, Texas and Oklahoma, stepped foot back on American soil and headed to Atterbury to begin the demobilization process Oct. 20...October 28, 2010

Indiana communities help train Hoosier Soldiers for agriculture mission The military trains Soldiers to shoot weapons, react under-fire and techniques to navigate through various environments...September 24, 2010

Three ADTs return from agricultural odyssey Agribusiness Development Teams (ADTs) from the Indiana, Tennessee and Texas National Guard returned to the United States during the holidays after year-long deployments to Afghanistan...January 4, 2010

ADT commander presents combat awards to six Soldiers Soldiers from the Indiana National Guard's 1-19th Agribusiness Development Team were recently awarded a Combat Action Badge after two separate improvised explosive device incidents here in the Khost Province of eastern Afghanistan...July 14, 2009

Soldiers train for upcoming mission at Purdue University Indiana National Guard Soldiers with civilian experience in farming are preparing for their next mission by going back to school...November 24, 2008

Iowa

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Young Afghan pros help Iowa ADT enhance agricultural efforts The Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team began an internship program for young Afghan agricultural professionals here as the year began...March 24, 2011

Iowa National Guard ADT small poultry project a sustainable success The Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team conducted a quality assurance /quality control check at a small poultry project in Karula on Jan 13...January 24, 2011

Dozens get nursery training funded by Iowa National Guard ADT Nearly four-dozen private nursery owners gathered Jan 8. at the Mandakol Nursery Center in the provincial capital of Asadabad to kick off six days of specialized training supporting the still-developing fruit and nut production industry here...January 19, 2011

Iowa Guard ADT backs veterinary programs for Kuchis Members of the Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team witnessed a scene of controlled chaos when they visited a Veterinary Outreach Sustainment Program (VOSP) for the nomadic Kuchi tribesman camped in the Noor Gal District of Afghanistan’s Kunar province, Jan. 8...January 10, 2011

National Guard veterinarians learn Afghan capabilities A group of U.S. Army veterinarians – including National Guard members from two Agribusiness Development Teams – visited the Afghan Central Veterinary Research and Development Lab here Dec. 28 to better understand its capabilities...January 6, 2011

Two acres, eight farmers: a demo farm saga The Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team is concerned about the potential impact a two-acre demonstration farm could have on the Afghan farmers currently using the land at the proposed demo farm site, near the Sarkani District Center in Kunar province...December 29, 2010

Iowa Guard teaches animal nutrition, rabies prevention in Afghanistan Thirty-five veterinarians attended a daylong conference in the provincial capital of Asadabad on Dec. 13 that focused

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on animal nutrition, rabies prevention and livestock parasite control...December 20, 2010

Iowa ADT irrigates thousands of acres in Afghanistan A modest cash-for-work project, underwritten by the Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team, will allow irrigation of a thousand acres of land and benefit six district villages...December 15, 2010

National Guard project irrigates a thousand acres in Afghanistan A modest cash-for-work project, underwritten by the Iowa National Guard's 734th Agribusiness Development Team, to clean out a clogged canal in the Sarkani District of Afghanistan's Kunar Province will allow irrigation of a thousand acres of land and benefit six district villages...December 6, 2010

Iowa ADT finds Asadabad merchants better off than five years ago Members of the Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team found that 24 of 25 shopkeepers surveyed in Asadabad, Dec. 2 were better off or much better off than they were five years ago, and all paid taxes, though a majority thought they were too high...December 6, 2010

Nurgal subgovernor meets Iowa ADT leaders to discuss priorities The subgovernor of the Nurgal District in the southern portion of Kunar province met with the Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team when the team visited the Nurgal District Center to discuss potential agricultural projects Dec. 1...December 6, 2010

Iowa Guardsmen learn the ways of Afghan farmers Staff Sgt. Ben Groth and I recently performed a quality assurance-quality control check on a canal cleaning project in the Sarkani District Center in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. During our visit, we obtained measurements of the proposed demonstration farm land and green house area, but also learned a lot from the local farmers we met...November 24, 2010

Cold storage meeting with Iowa ADT reveals need for education Members of the Iowa National Guard’s 734th Agribusiness Development Team attended a meeting Nov. 7 about the possibility of building a cold storage facility in Asadabad...November 16, 2010

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Female engagement team makes strides in Kunar In Asadabad, a city located near the Pakistan border in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, women are seldom seen outside their homes...October 22, 2010

U.S. veterinary leaders push Agriculture Ministry primacy Key leaders of the U.S. veterinary effort in Afghanistan met one-on-one in Kabul with Army Maj. Loren Adams, the veterinary officer for the Iowa National Guard's 734th Agribusiness Development Team Oct. 12...October 20, 2010

Iowa ADT helps Nuristan PRT fight deadly rabies outbreak The Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team is fighting an outbreak of rabies in the province's Titin Valley that has claimed the lives of four Afghan citizens, but they are not going at it alone...September 23, 2010

Warfighters, civilians come together on agriculture Nearly than 50 civilian and military officials gathered to share "best practices" and coordinate their efforts to boost eastern Afghanistan's agri-business sector at Forward Operating Base Fenty Sept. 6...September 23, 2010

Iowa ADT meets Kunar counter parts The agricultural experts of the Iowa National Guard's 734th Agri-Business Development Team met with Haji Mohasal Kahn, Kunar Province Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, and Kahn's department heads at the governor's compound in Asadabad Sept. 14...September 22, 2010

Iowa ADT helps Nuristan PRT fight deadly rabies outbreak The Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team is fighting an outbreak of rabies in the province's Titin Valley that has claimed the lives of four Afghan citizens, but they are not going at it alone...September 7, 2010

Iowa ADT helps Afghan girls school On a late August day outside Forward Operating Base Wright, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Melissa Brumley helped load a slightly scuffed Toyota Corolla with boxes of clothing for the families of war widows and school supplies for the Fatima Girls School in nearby Asadabad, the provincial capital of Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan...September 2, 2010

Iowa ADT hits ground running in Afghanistan Members of the Iowa National Guard's 734th Agri-Business Development Team have wasted no time in establishing themselves as a strong, reliable

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partner for the government and agricultural officials of Kunar Province...August 12, 2010

Iowa ADT Soldiers decorated for heroism Five fast-acting Iowa National Guard soldiers stepped-up after an Indianapolis Police Officer was run down by a motorist following the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race on July 25...August 2, 2010

Iowa TAG sends off ADT team Army Brig. Gen. Timothy Orr, the adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard, traveled here to send-off the 734th Agri-Business Development Team shortly before it deploys to Afghanistan's Kunar province...August 2, 2010

Iowa, Missouri ADTs link up for training The Iowa National Guard's 734th Agri-Business Development Team and the Missouri National Guard's ADT IV are joining forces here to prepare for their deployment to adjacent provinces in Afghanistan later this summer...July 15, 2010

Iowa ADT trains with Amish before deployment It was an unlikely scene in the northeast Iowa Amish country ...June 24, 2010

Iowa ADT completes 'old school' training In less than two months, the Iowa National Guard's 734th Agribusiness Development Team will relieve the California Guard's 40th ADT in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. ...June 11, 2010

Kansas

Kansas team introduces Afghan farmers to saffron The Kansas National Guard agribusiness development team here, along with local and provincial officials, participated in a ceremony to introduce a profitable crop to area farmers at the Laghman Agricultural Research and Development Center in Mehtar Lam district, Sept. 29...October 2, 2009

Soldiers Teach Afghanistan's Next Generation of Farmers Guard members from the Kansas Agribusiness Development Team of Task Force Mountain Warrior conducted an agricultural development class here at Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam's district Research and Demonstration Farm,

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July 12-16...July 22, 2009

Illinois, Kansas Guard work with Afghan locals For the third time in a year, an air assault mission in the Laghman province of northeastern Afghanistan provided humanitarian aid and coordinated information-exchange efforts between locals and International Security Assistance Force leaders concerning ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the area...June 6, 2009

Kansas ADT arrives in Afghanistan An agribusiness development team from the Kansas National Guard unfurled its colors in Afghanistan's Laghman province May 3 and began its work of jump-starting the agricultural economy...May 8, 2009

Kentucky

Kentucky Guard ADT helps Afghans open soybean facility The Baston Seed Company opened the doors of a new soybean processing facility in Bagram, April 2...April 14, 2011

Kentucky Guard ADT witnesses formation of first Afghan soybean farmers association The Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, and Nutrition and Education International, held an inauguration ceremony for the Kapisa Soybean Farmers Association at the governor’s compound March 17...March 22, 2011

Kentucky National Guard ADT visits chicken farm entrepreneur Members of the Kentucky Agribusiness Development Team visited with a local chicken farm owner in Khenj District Dec. 12...December 27, 2010

Kentucky ADT teaches benefits of grape trellis at Dashtak demo farm Soldiers with the Kentucky National Guard Agribusiness Development Team visited the Dashtak Demonstration Farm to observe the building of grape trellises, Oct. 9...October 19, 2010

Kentucky ADT helps Afghan fish farmer apply for grant The Kentucky National Guard Agribusiness Development Team with Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team visited a fish farm here in

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DoabeKhwak village Aug. 18...September 23, 2010

Bamyan University invites Kentucky ADT Soldiers as guest lecturers With about 10 minutes left in the lecture, the scene is the same in most college classrooms: Notebooks are closed, backpacks zipped up, and eyes dart between the professor and the clock...September 23, 2010

Planning for a Parwan soybean facility The owner of the Bastan Seed Company, Kentucky Agribusiness Development Team members and U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives discussed a proposed soybean processing facility here on Aug. 12...August 24, 2010

Kentucky ADT, Roots of Peace sow seeds for Afghanistan A Kentucky National Guard Agribusiness Development Team funded project, managed by Roots of Peace, has put hundreds of thousands of food-producing plants at 10 different locations here in the Panjshir province...August 2, 2010

Kentucky ADT plans reforestation project for Afghanistan Panjshir Gov. Keramuddin Keram met with the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team, July 1, to discuss a project that could potentially bring 35,000 new trees into the province by the end of the year...June 2, 2010

Kentucky ADT trains for upcoming Afghanistan deployment Guardsmen from the Kentucky National Guard Agribusiness Development Team II participated in a training exercise at a mock Afghan village here May 26 in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan next month...June 2, 2010

Kentucky ADT mobilizes for Afghanistan Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, adjutant general for Kentucky, joined hundreds of friends and family today in saying farewell to more than 60 members of the Kentucky National Guard's Agribusiness Development Team II (Task Force Ironhorse) in a ceremony at Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, Ky...May 10, 2010

How Sweet It Is Anybody that has seen Afghan women caring for their families, trekking up and down mountainous roads, and toiling in the fields knows that they are not strangers to playing the role of worker bee...April 30, 2010

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Kentucky ADT helps Afghan farmers reach new markets The Kentucky National Guard's Agribusiness Development Team has helped Afghan farmers reach new markets with their products, the unit commander recently told Kentucky Public Radio...February 17, 2010

Kentucky Guardsmen help Afghanistan grow Since August, the Kentucky National Guard Agri-business Development Team has educated the local farmers and government on how to increase productivity, increase their market share and manage natural resources in the Parwan, Panjshir, Kapisa and Bamyan provinces...January 25, 2010

Task Force Warrior ADT transfers authority to Kentucky Army Col. Scott A. Spellmon, Task Force Warrior commander, presided over a ceremony held on Bagram Air Field, Aug. 19, celebrating the transfer of mission responsibilities between the Nebraska Agri-Business Development Team and the incoming Kentucky ADT...October 6, 2009

Kentucky ADT grows better crops with soil testing Members of the Kentucky Agri-business Development Team went to a village here to take soil samples to learn how they can increase yields of crops for years to come Sept. 16...July 31, 2009

Kentucky Guard prepares for ADT mission Before their deployment to Afghanistan, troops with the Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) from the Kentucky National Guard, are undergoing some very non-traditional training to fulfill their mission of helping the Afghan people learn better agricultural techniques that will benefit their economy...July 31, 2009

Missouri

Missouri Guard Agribusiness Development Team treats scalded Afghan child Missouri National Guard Agribusiness Development Team IV Soldiers and Airmen conducting foot patrols have to be prepared to react to unexpected situations each time they go out, and on a recent mission to the Surkh Rod District Agriculture Extension Compound, members of the team encountered one of those circumstances...May 5, 2011

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Missouri Guardsman shares farming knowledge with Afghans He grew up on his father's farm in Mansfield, Mo. His father was a Marine. His grandfather was a Missouri farmer and a soldier, as was his great-grandfather...December 13, 2010

Missouri Soldier returns for second ADT mission Going to Afghanistan for a year to improve that nation's ability to feed its people might be viewed as an adventure, a sacrifice, or in the case of Sgt. John Larsen, a calling...August 2, 2010

Missouri ADT tends the 'breadbasket' of Afghanistan During a typical day, members of Nangarhar Agribusiness Development Team can travel from green farmlands to sand-covered plains that seem as desolate as the moon...May 20, 2010

Nangarhar ADT ensuring progress Missouri Army National Guard and Air Force National Guardsmen, who work with the Nangarhar Agri-business Development Team, recently assessed ongoing projects and spoke with government leaders in the Surkh Rod and Chaparhar Districts, Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, Aug. 28...September 8, 2009

Missouri Guard holds deployment ceremony for ADT The Missouri National Guard recognized the Soldiers and Airmen of the deploying Agribusiness Development Team III at a departure ceremony today at Ike Skelton Training Site in Jefferson City...September 8, 2009

Missouri Guard hosts Nangarhar Province's agriculture director Adjutant general Stephen Danner and the Missouri National Guard hosted Safi Mohammed Hussein, director of agriculture, irrigation and livestock for Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province, during his visit to Missouri this week...August 18, 2009

Royals, Fox Sports honor Missouri Guard's agribusiness team The Missouri National Guard's agribusiness team in Afghanistan will get a touch of home when Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals and Fox Sports Network honor them during the Royals' Aug. 8 game with the Oakland A's at Kauffman Stadium here...July 21, 2009

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Missouri airmen provide security for Nangarhar ADT Twelve Missouri Air National Guard Airmen help make up the security forces team responsible for providing protection to the Nangarhar Agri-Business Development Team here...June 23, 2009

Missouri Guard's agri-mission grows in Afghanistan One of the biggest hurdles to self-sustainment in Afghanistan is slowly being overcome by Missouri National Guard members, said the state's Sen. Christopher Bond during a press conference in his office here Monday...December 23, 2008

National Guard to help Afghan agriculture Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime...December 11, 2007

Nebraska

Guard's agribusiness teams work to provide sustain ability No matter the size of the project, the ultimate goal of the National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Teams is to increase the sustainability of the Afghan people, two Nebraska Army Guard members told attendees here at the annual conference of the Association of the U.S. Army on Oct. 25...October 27, 2010

ADT trains Afghans on grain storage A Nebraska National Guard agriculture development team is helping Afghan farmers capitalize on their investments...July 6, 2009

Afghan farmers get help from Nebraska ADT As the noon sun crept toward the mountains west of Janquadam, children ran from all corners of the village, greeting the group of Soldiers from the 28th Forward Agri-business Development Team, Feb. 28...March 12, 2009

Oklahoma

Oklahoma ADT conducts first mission to eastern Paktya The Oklahoma National Guard's 2-45th Agribusiness Development Team conducted its first mission to the eastern part of the province to meet with a sub-governor and also to look over a future watershed project...November 10, 2010

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Oklahoma ADT teaches students cooped up in Paktya classrooms There's a lot for would-be chicken farmers to consider in order to keep a budding poultry business from turning fowl or going to the birds...August 2, 2010

Oklahoma Guard gains agri-business authority in Paktya and West Paktika provinces The National Guard continues to make a significant contribution to one of the Afghanistan initiatives that President Obama discussed in his Tuesday speech to the nation...January 4, 2010

National Guard executes President's Afghan agriculture initiative The National Guard continues to make a significant contribution to one of the Afghanistan initiatives that President Obama discussed in his Tuesday speech to the nation...December 2, 2009

Oklahoma ADT trains at Indiana apple orchard A team of more than 60 Oklahoma Army National Guardsmen are preparing for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan by using every training opportunity possible...December 2, 2009

Oklahoma Guard next in line for Afghanistan ADT mission Agronomy, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, agriculture marketing, soil science, pest management, forestry and beekeeping are just a few of the unique jobs performed by members of the Oklahoma Army National Guard in their civilian lives on a routine basis...September 18, 2009

Tennessee

Three ADTs return from agricultural odyssey Agribusiness Development Teams (ADTs) from the Indiana, Tennessee and Texas National Guard returned to the United States during the holidays after year-long deployments to Afghanistan...January 4, 2010

Tennessee ADT helps preserve Afghan produce Members of the Tennessee Agri-business Development Team visited four cool storage facilities being built for the preservation of produce here in the Ahmedabad District Sept. 8...October 6, 2009

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'Mr. Agriculture' shares knowledge in Afghanistan The Agri-business Development Teams in Afghanistan are tasked with rebuilding the country's agriculture industry, and it is important that members of the teams have an extensive knowledge of agriculture to help ensure the success of this mission...July 7, 2009

Tennessee Agri-business Development Team Brings Agri-business Experience to Afghanistan In the 1970's, Afghanistan was a major exporter of produce, but since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the subsequent Taliban rule, Afghanistan's agriculture has decreased to almost nothing...July 7, 2009

Tennessee ADT sets up shop in Afghanistan The Tennessee National Guard's agribusiness development team is up and running as the first of its kind in Afghanistan's Paktia and Paktika provinces...July 7, 2009

ADT's training creates buzz in Afghanistan Representatives from Zinzee and Turkman villages, along with staff members from Al Bironi University, journeyed here June 13 for a day of activity that had them buzzing with questions...June 22, 2009

Texas

Texas National Guard ADT facilitates reforestation initiative in Ghazni During the last two weeks of March, the planting more than 28,000 trees throughout the Ghazni province was coordinated by Texas Army National Guard Agribusiness Development team, to coincide with Nowruz, the Afghan New Year...April 5, 2011

Texas ADT-IV takes over Ghazni mission Army Lt. Col. Brian P. Stevens assumed command of the Texas Agribusiness Development Team mission during a ceremony here Oct. 13....October 10, 2010

Texas ADT supports para-veterinarian program in Charikar Seven Afghan students graduated a 24-week para-veterinarian training program in Charikar District here Aug. 5...August 26, 2010

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Texas father, son reunite in Afghanistan Army Sgt. 1st Class Marc Seal returned here Aug. 13 from a five-day mission that began cloaked in secrecy...August 23, 2010

Texas ADT goes back to school Sanayee High School in Ghazni City invited the Texas Agribusiness Development Team back to school, May 3, to check up on a project designed to give students hands-on agricultural experience...May 18, 2010

Afghan students work on green thumbs in Ghazni Province About 5,000 Afghan students at Sanayee High School here are learning not only about math, history and geography, but also agriculture...April 12, 2010

Three ADTs return from agricultural odyssey Agribusiness Development Teams (ADTs) from the Indiana, Tennessee and Texas National Guard returned to the United States during the holidays after year-long deployments to Afghanistan...January 4, 2010

Texas Guard improves meat processing in Afghanistan A Texas-based National Guard agribusiness development team is working here to ensure Afghans are using the best practices in the farming and food industries...September 22, 2009

Ambassador touts Guard agriculture teams in Afghanistan The most well-received change in American policy in Afghanistan has been the dramatic upgrade of agriculture, and an important part of that upgrade is the National Guard's Agriculture Development Teams, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan told reporters this week...July 31, 2009

'Guard farmers' join counterinsurgency fight in Afghanistan The National Guard is taking a biblical verse to heart: "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks"...November 25, 2008

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Guard builds team to help Afghan farmers The Wisconsin National Guard will build an agribusiness development team to help farmers in Afghanistan improve their techniques and reap greater profits from legitimate crops - and hopes to enlist the aid of agricultural academics in Wisconsin to develop

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an Afghan-specific agriculture training program for this mission...July 13, 2010

263Mahammad Asef Rahimi quoted in Chris Wooten, “Agriculture Conference Brings Partners Together,” 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment Public Affairs, 7 December 2010, 1.264Chris Wooten, “Agriculture Conference Brings Partners Together,” 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment Public Affairs, 7 December 2010, 1-3.265Interagency Agriculture Team, “Our Goals with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” Embassy of the United States Kabul, Afghanistan, Office of Agricultural Affairs Fact Sheet, 18 March 2011, 1, http://kabul.usembassy.gov/usda.html (accessed 26 October 2011).266James Butler, USG Agricultural Assistance to Afghanistan Briefing, 11 February 2011, Slides 1-5, http://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=2996 (accessed 27 October 2011). 267Albert Huntington, “Actions Needed to Better Assess and Coordinate capacity-Building Efforts at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock,” Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, SIGAR Audit 12-1, 20 October 2011, 13-14.268Albert Huntington, “Actions Needed to Better Assess and Coordinate capacity-Building Efforts at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock,” i, 1, 5-7. 269Albert Huntington, “Actions Needed to Better Assess and Coordinate capacity-Building Efforts at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock,” 6-9, 14. 270DoD, Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, Report to Congress, April 2011, 90-91; “Army National Guard (ARNG) Agribusiness Development Team (ADT),” US National Guard Bureau Press Release, July 2011, 1; Lieutenant Colonel Howard Schauer, email correspondence, 1 November 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute. 271David Bruce, “Agribusiness Development Team Seminar at Camp Atterbury,” Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center Public Affairs News Release, 11 October 2011, 1-3; DoD, Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, Report to Congress, April 2011, 90-91.273Steven Trent quoted in “SIGAR Audit: US Unable to Gauge Progress of $77 Million Investment in Afghan AG Ministry,” SIGAR Press Release, 20 October 2011, 1.274DoD, Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, Report to Congress, October 2011, 97-99; Albert Huntington, “Actions Needed to Better Assess and Coordinate capacity-Building Efforts at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock,” iii. 276Colonel Martin Leppert quoted in David Bruce, “Agribusiness Development Team Seminar at Camp Atterbury,” 2.278Major General Timothy Kadavy, email correspondence, 4 November 2011; Gary Supnick, email correspondence, 31 October 2011; Colonel Martin Leppert, email correspondence, 26 October 2011; Lieutenant Colonel Howard Schauer, email correspondence, 25 October 2011. 275Colonel Martin Leppert quoted in David Bruce, “Agribusiness Development Team Seminar at Camp Atterbury,” Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center Public Affairs News Release, 11 October 2011, 2.277Major General Timothy Kadavy, Deputy Director Army National Guard, email correspondence, 4 November 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute; Gary Supnick, Chief, Development Support Division, Interagency Action Group, US Central Command, email correspondence, 31 October 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute; Colonel Martin Leppert, email correspondence, 26 October 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute; Lieutenant Colonel Howard Schauer, email correspondence, 25 October 2011, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute.

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279Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2009), 340-341. 280Department of Defense, “DoD Directive 3000.05: Military Support for Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction (SSTR) Operations,” 28 November 2005, 2.281Ambassador Ronald Neumann quoted in Greg Hack, “Promoting the Market Amid Strife,” Kansas City Star, 2 November 2010, C8; Ambassador Ronald Neumann, email correspondence, 2 November 2010, on file at the US Army Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, KS.282Ambassador Ryan Crocker quoted in Robert Burns and Mathew Lee, “Report: US Diplomats in Iraq Face Challenges,” Army Times, 1-2; Note: Ambassador Crocker’s remarks actually referred to the 2010 situational environment in Iraq, but are equally applicable to the 2011 situational environment in Afghanistan.283US Department of State, Office of Inspector General, “Report of Inspection: Compliance Follow-up Review of Embassy Baghdad, Iraq,” October 2010, 1; Note: The DoS OIG report actually referred to the 2010 situational environment in Iraq, but is equally applicable to the 2011 situational environment in Afghanistan.284Major General Timothy Kadavy quoted in David Bruce, “Agribusiness Development Team Seminar at Camp Atterbury,” Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center Public Affairs News Release, 11 October 2011, 2.

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