Missouri adjutant general humbles troops during morale visit to Afghanistan

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The commander of the Missouri National Guard recently spent time during the holiday season visiting the Missouri Agribusiness Development Team V at Forward Operating Base Finley-Shields, Dec. 29.

During his visit to FOB Finley-Shields, U.S. Army Maj. Gen Stephen L. Danner, Adjutant General of the Missouri National Guard, shared a message of gratitude and honor for the tremendous sacrifices each citizen-Soldier and Airman has endured while bringing agricultural stability to the eastern region of Afghanistan. 

Accompanying Danner was Army Comm. Sgt. Maj. James Schulte, State command sergeant major of Missouri.  Schulte played a key role in setting conditions in Nangarhar prior to the arrival of ADT I. During the visit his comments and words to the troops mirrored the adjutant general’s themes. He also spent some one-on-one time with the ADT V enlisted personnel.

Sgt. 1st Class Seth Fife, of Jefferson City, Miss., was prepared to answer questions about his duties and accomplishments in poverty-stricken Afghanistan, but was refreshed to instead share stories of his wife, Jennifer.

“You always hear the idea, ‘mission first,’” said Fife.  “However, when Maj. Gen. Danner shook my hand he asked about my family, not the mission.”

“Bringing in the New Year in Afghanistan could have been another routine event, however, it was nice to bid farewell to 2011 with a memorable visit from a supportive command,” Fife added.

In preparation for the eventual troop drawdown in Afghanistan; Danner and Schulte led small informal discussion groups to alleviate concerns, and laid out the way ahead for the state of Missouri beyond the year 2014.

ADT members also engaged their top leaders in discussion of force reduction issues.

The state command team echoed sentiments that the U.S. government, as well as the state of Missouri, is focused on the shared goal of providing a foundation for an independently run, stable, democratic, and financially prosperous Afghanistan.

Danner, who is from Hollister, Miss., will continue to dedicate troops to the Agribusiness mission as long as the proven model, created by the state of Missouri and replicated by numerous other states, can be funded.

“The ADT is performing a vital mission, and although they have faced adversity in attaining their goals, they continue to maintain high standards of performance established here in Nangarhar by previous Missouri Guardsman,” said Danner.

“Nothing can be more trying at times than the life of a day-to-day Soldier or Airman, tasked to serve a people they don’t often understand both through cultural nuance and language”, said Maj. Samuel Forester, Nangarhar ADT Executive Officer.

“As the leaders of the Agribusiness Development Team, we know life is tough here-- we depend on the resiliency and dedication of not only our team, but our family members back home.  It was an honor to have the top leaders from our state set aside time that they could have been spending with their own families, to listen to and acknowledge the successes and concerns of our team members,” said Forester, who hails from Eugene, Mo.

As the Missouri Agribusiness Development Team heads into 2012, the agribusiness situation within Afghanistan continues to evolve.  The team’s priorities continue to revolve around supporting agricultural governance and development within Nangarhar Province. Their last few months of effort are focused on laying the foundation for a seamless transition between Missouri ADT V, and Team VI, scheduled to arrive to Afghanistan in the spring of 2012.

“This continuity of effort is one of the reasons why the Missouri ADT has been so successful in achieving positive long term effects within the Nangarhar Province,” said Forester.