TF Wolverine works with local leaders to select bazaar vendors

 BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The middle of September is steadily approaching and that means the re-opening of Bagram Airfield’s bazaar.

From the initial meetings with more than 70 maliks in the Bagram district, to clearing an area for the new vendors to set up their shops, a lot of work has been done to re-open the marketplace, which is scheduled for late September. 

“Initially, when the bazaar was just a good idea, we acquired two lists of potential vendors,” said U.S. Army Maj. Stephen E. Bragg, deputy civil affairs officer for Task Force Wolverine. “One list was from Mir Rahman, a member of Charikar’s Chamber of Commerce, and the second one was from Gen. Abdul Rahman of the Afghan National Army.”

These lists provided a number of vendors. However, Bragg wanted to get more local involvement.

When local villagers found out about the re-opening, they brought up concerns about the vendor selection process, which had initially excluded the village maliks. To answer their questions and concerns, TF Wolverine met with more than 70 local village elders, as well as the Bagram district governor, Admad Kabir, at a shura in Janqadam.

“Maj. Bragg and I met with a group of maliks that represented 70 villages in the Bagram area,” said U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Vincente Collins Jr., the 86th Brigade Special Troops Battalion command sergeant major.

“During the meeting we listened to their explanation that they should help choose and provide who works in the bazaar. We told the maliks we would review a list of vendors that they choose,” said Collins. “We received the list and held a follow up meeting where these vendors were interviewed.”

From that shura, 92 potential vendors representing the local villages surrounding Bagram Airfield were added to the selection and interview process.

As a way to showcase the upcoming opening, some vendors had the chance to show and sell their wares beforehand on Bagram Airfield at the Task Force Wolverine headquarters.

“Each Saturday for the past four weeks, we have invited various potential vendors in to display and sell their products,” said Bragg. “This has become an auditioning process, if you will. We are looking for product selection, product knowledge, people skills, etc. So far, this has been a pretty successful process with many opportunities for potential customers to preview and purchase items and give feedback about the candidates. This will continue until the bazaar becomes reality.”

Once the vendors are selected, they will use shipping containers to store and sell their products.