Parwan PRT completes first solo mission

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The Parwan Provincial Reconstruction Team completed its first solo mission in Parwan province, Afghanistan, March 15.

A team of 24 people went to Qal’ah-ye Khwajah village to assess a situation where elevated ground water damaged 500 to 600 family homes.

This issue came to the attention of U.S. Navy Cmdr. Kyle Higgins, Parwan PRT commander, during two separate meetings, and he requested the team’s engineers visit the site.

According to Builder 1st Class Patricio Gonzalez, a Parwan PRT engineer, the ground water has caused major damage. 

“Apparently what’s happened over the past 40 years, there used to be a canal built by the Chinese that went through the village,” said Gonzales. “Through the years, (the villagers have) covered the canal and built houses on it.”

Now the water is seeping to the top and destroying their homes.  

The Parwan team met with village leaders and three district ministers during the visit. 

Gonzales told the leader he was there to gauge the situation so “we can bring it back to the Afghan government and inform them of the situation so together we can work to fix their problem.”

The Parwan Provincial Reconstruction Team has been going out on missions with Task Force Galdius for the past two weeks so team members could get familiar with the area and the villages, as well as get comfortable operating in this area.

“I don’t know if there is any specific criteria that determines when a team is ready to conduct its own missions,” said U.S. Army 1st Sgt. James Herrington, Parwan PRT first sergeant. “It basically boils down to the leadership’s assessment of the way the missions will be run and both sides having a comfortable feeling that it’s going to be done right.”

This PRT’s leaders said the team is ready and fully mission capable.