Paktya PRT reflects on months of efforts, successes

PAKTYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – For the better part of a year, more than 80 members of the Paktya Provincial Reconstruction Team have been dedicated to maintaining an enduring nine-year relationship with the people and government of Paktya Province.

Now, as their deployment is coming to a close and a new team begins their journey, the current PRT members reflect on their many sacrifices and hard-earned achievements.

While assigned to the PRT, members focused efforts on solidifying enduring governance, development and security institutions alongside their government partners. Its mission is to assist the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan extend its authority in order to facilitate the development of a stable and secure environment for the more than 500,000 citizens of Paktya province.

The team has impacted not just the people in the province, but also the processes nationwide to include enhancing governance capacity, economic development, peace and reintegration and security, said U.S. Air Force Col. James Forand, Paktya PRT commander from Auburn, Mass.

“Our team works directly with members of the government, national parliament, Paktya Peace Council, community leaders, village elders, Afghan National Security Forces, local shura members and local citizens,” Forand added. “They are no longer just observers in the dialogue among nations; they have become an integral part of the diverse mosaic - the history and the future of an entire people.”

Over the course of nine months, the team has conducted more than 300 outside-the-wire missions to conduct key-leader engagements and support government outreaches to Paktya’s 11 districts.

“The government travels throughout the province to listen to the needs of the people,” Abdul Rahman Mangal, Paktya Province deputy governor said. “It is only through local support that (GIRoA) will be able to further ongoing development and security within Paktya Province.”

Members of GIRoA regularly visit Paktya’s districts to provide a voice to Paktya residents through government outreach missions. Outreach missions link the community to their government, by creating a venue in which villagers express their concerns and receive direct answers, Mangal added. 

The Afghan Government continues to provide for Paktya Province, with more than 190 miles of paved and improved roads, and the installation of electricity in most district bazaars. Civil engineers at the PRT facilitated reconstruction effort and reinforce national and local development priorities.

All major construction projects must be vetted through the Paktya Provincial Development Council before they are approved for funding allowing the Afghan Government to prioritize community needs and meet higher-level development goals.

This approach is consistent with a larger strategic view, in which Afghan projects are migrating from direct-assistance funding through PRTs, government organizations and donors, to on-budget funding through Afghan national budget processes.

No amount of numbers can quantify the relationships established within the team, and with PRT Afghan partners. The PRT and GIRoA have shared and celebrate promotions, awards and religious holidays together. The team hopes to sustain the momentum and bond as GIRoA continues to create a stable nation, Forand said. 

The PRTs are an off-shoot of coalition humanitarian liaison cells created by the Army in Operation Enduring Freedom in early 2002. These teams assessed humanitarian needs, implemented small reconstruction projects and established relations with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and nongovernmental organizations already in the field.

Late in 2002, the United States expanded the program by creating the first PRTs. This time, force protection and representatives of U.S. government civilian agencies joined the teams.

The first PRT was established at Forward Operating Base Gardez in Paktya Province, January 2003, quickly followed by PRTs in Bamain, Kondoz, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar and Herat.

The PRT is comprised of service members from the active duty Air Force, Army Reserve and Army National Guard, along with such agencies as the Department of State, USAID, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. These agencies provide expertise in areas such as governance and development for PRT Paktya partners.

“I am honored and humbled to have served side-by-side with the most gifted young leaders our nation has to offer,” Forand said. “As we part ways, we do so with a sense of pride, accomplishment and most importantly, an enduring sense of family.”