40ID ADT joins ANSF and TF No Slack to help Afghan Village

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – A specialized team of Soldiers from the California Army National Guard’s 40th Infantry Division Agribusiness Development Team joined with the Afghan Border Police and Task Force No Slack to bring relief supplies to the people of Daridam Village in eastern Afghanistan’s Marawara District, Kunar province.

The supplies arrived after a violent battle between the Taliban and a combined team of Afghan National Army forces and 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment Soldiers. The battle saw a large force of insurgents defeated and fleeing the village, leaving the residents shaken and in need of assistance.

Following a shura with Marawara District sub-governor, Pacha, and Daridam village elders, ADT Soldiers accompanied by Afghan Border Police went to the village and began efforts to reinforce the local economy, which is almost entirely agriculture based.  

The 40th ID ADT first sergeant, U.S. Army 1st Sgt. John A. Hanson of Salinas, Calif., led a team to conduct a field expedient repair to a pipe, which is the residents’ only source of water. Meanwhile, U.S. Army Sgt. Scott Flynn, of Redwood City, Calif., and U.S. Army Sgt. Jason Stevens, of Lynchburg, Va., led a group of ABP and Soldiers on a patrol inside the village to assess the health of the local livestock population and talk to residents about their needs and concerns.

Flynn and Stevens found that the livestock suffer from malnutrition and parasites, both of which are common throughout the province.  They also assessed a local watershed area, which is subject to periodic flooding causing damage to the crops, and began developing an initial plan to control the problem.

“The people of Daridam have obviously been through a lot after having their village occupied by the Taliban,” said Sgt. Flynn, an ADT agronomist who works with the U.S. Forest Service from Northern California.  “We were able to talk to a few villagers during our patrol, and they are mainly concerned about putting their lives back together and getting to planting.  Our work will help them do that,” he said.

Before the ADT departed, the ABP and Soldiers delivered agriculture supplies to the villagers to ensure they can maximize the productivity of their fields and livestock as they recover from the battle.  Among the supplies, were high-quality animal feed, anti-parasitic medication, nutritional supplements, high-quality seed, and tools they will need for the work such as pick-axes and shovels so the villagers can re-plant fields damaged in the fighting.

“Daridam is one of the better areas of Kunar province in terms of its agriculture capabilities,” said Sgt. Stevens, who works in his civilian life as a horticulturalist with Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate in Virginia. “The supplies we delivered will help them recover more quickly, and strengthen their village to resist the Taliban’s influence.”

In addition to the supplies delivered, the ADT has coordinated with contractors for additional repairs to irrigation systems. The Afghan Veterinarians Association will also go to Daridam to vaccinate livestock against diseases as well as implement a program, which will set the villagers up in a self-sufficient poultry business, giving them additional strength to resist the Taliban on their own.