Asia Pacific Defense Forum :: Winter 2006-2007

On a mountainous Afghan road, little better than a goat track, New Zealand Army PTE Todd Young adjusts his body armour, wipes dust from his face, and counts the hours till he leaves the boulder-strewn road and reaches his destination. For PTE Young, who has just celebrated his 21st birthday in the grime and heat of Afghanistan, patrolling is everything. “We get out, just 11 of us, and we’re gone for three weeks. The locals in our area know us now, and we’re getting to know them quite well. It’s our area and we … know what’s going on. I look forward to getting out there, sitting with the boss while he talks to the local governors, and hearing what’s going on.”

PTE Young is in Bamyan, the sprawling highland province of Afghanistan where the New Zealand Defence Force’s Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) is based. The PRT’s mission is to enhance the security environment in the formerly war-torn province, and promote reconstruction effort in the province’s many small towns and villages. At the same time, the PRT is monitoring and assessing military, civil, and political reforms by establishing relationships and links throughout the wider community. In the process, the PRT is encouraging Afghanistan “back on its feet,” after decades of oppression, while preventing the re-emergence of transnational terrorist groups.

The 120-strong New Zealand PRT was one of the first established in Afghanistan, arriving under the auspices of the international relief effort – Operation ENDURING FREEDOM – nearly three years ago. It is a role model for other teams that now number 23 throughout the country. Observers regularly drop by to see how the New Zealand PRT operates.

Since the New Zealand PRT’s arrival, the people of Bamyan have for the first time in their history voted for a president and parliamentary representatives. Ask any English-speaking local what’s changed, and they’re enthusiastic. “The children can go to school now, we have water, and we can get help if we really need it – the clinics if we get sick, that sort of thing. The best thing though is we are no longer frightened,” says Masaud, a businessman at the local bazaar.

Standing behind his sacks of spices, cans of soft drink, and baskets of sandals, Masaud talks about how he hopes the road through the bazaar may some day be sealed – it is full of huge potholes and turns into a swamp in winter. “Sometimes things have to happen slowly but that is alright. Most of the time we have what matters.”

Providing “what matters” is proving something of a mission for the PRT’s planning officer, Air Force engineer Sqn. Ldr. Shane Meighan. He scratches his head and wonders aloud if everything that needs to be done will be finished in the short construction season – 20 weeks – available in Bamyan. Beyond that, snow is falling, concrete won’t set, and local workers can’t get to their sites.

Projects on the PRT list include rebuilding the local university, a new college for local children, five new police stations, and the rebuilding of village schools. These projects are undertaken by Afghans, funded mainly by the New Zealand Agency for International Development and supervised by the PRT.

In Afghanistan, a different attitude can prevail toward time keeping. It can be frustrating, noted Sqn. Ldr. Meighan. “But we’re getting there. We just have to adjust and do the best we can.” It is up to his team of three Army engineers to ensure standards are met, and projects carried out efficiently. “We have a regular inspection cycle, and the contractors have milestones they must meet before they are paid,” he said. “If the work isn’t done to our standards it has to be done again. I want the PRT to walk away from this place knowing that any building we were responsible for will stand up, is safe, and will last.”

In the two months the latest PRT has been in Bamyan, there have been 127 pleas for help with projects from people who turn up at the base gate. Each is considered, and while many are not feasible due to their size or availability of funding, most are referred to the local government council to decide their priority.

“We’re trying to build capacity, to get the local council to support itself, and take care of its own planning and decision making,” said Sqn. Ldr. Meighan. “We’re here to help them develop the skills to be self-governing. Ultimately we should do ourselves out of a job here I hope. That’s our aim.”

Just five kilometres away from the New Zealand base, the contingent’s chaplain, Kirstie MacDonald; Army Capt. Kathy McCrory, a nurse; and Army Sgt. Kath Spence visited one of their own unofficial projects, the local orphanage. The modern building is unadorned, built in what seems to be the middle of nowhere, and has neither trees, nor grass, just uneven clay surrounding it. About 20 children, some toddlers, all of them bright-eyed and confident, spill from the stark building and run toward the women. Visibly delighted at seeing Chaplain MacDonald, Mahmud, 9, throws his arms around her waist and slips his hand into hers as he leads her inside.

The chaplain, it seems, has a plan. On her last visit, she noticed Mahmud and other children playing soccer in the makeshift yard, stubbing their toes on the rocks and metal. “Their footwear just isn’t adequate. I talked about it back at camp and we decided we could raise enough money among ourselves to buy each of the 25 kids a pair of shoes down at the bazaar,” said Chaplain MacDonald. “I think we have most of the money already. All we need to do now is enlist several soldiers into helping us get the kids to the bazaar, fit them, and get them home again. Easy.”

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The Director of a building company, Asghar Shment (left), looks over plans for a new boys’ school in Bamay with New Zealand’s Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) members (L to R) Sqn. Ldr. Shane Meighan, site engineer; SSgt. Brendon McDonald; and Capt. Matthew Tihi. A New Zealand Agency for International Development project, the school’s foundations had already been dug and building was to begin.

CSM Sgt. Maj. James Moohan (right) greets Rear Admiral Jack Steer (left), Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, with a Maori greeting after a Powhiri in Bamyan province. The Powhiri is a ceremony of welcome extended to visitors by Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. Once formal speeches are over, the hosts greet their guests by pressing noses with them. This is a traditional hongi greeting in which the ha or breath of life is exchanged.

During training for the security of Rear Adm. Steer’s trip to Yakawlang, PTE Jonathon Torkington stands by his vehicle. Yakawlang, a district in Bamyan province, reportedly was the site of a massacre of 300 people by the Taliban in early 2001.

Maj. Robin Frances (right) and WO1 Anthony Armstronge (left) meet with a local village elder.