One shopkeeper uses a single solar panel, mounted to the top of his shop, to power his printer. He runs a small-scale photography studio in the bazaar. Prior to the large-scale solar energy project, electricity was scarce in Nawa. Shop owners had to provide their own generator or solar panel to have electricity. Photo by Cpl. Meredith Brown

A single solar panel is mounted above a shop, a wire runs from the panel into the shop and attaches to a car battery, providing the only source of power for the shopkeeper. The storeowner operates a small photography studio, where he takes photos in his shop and prints them out for his customers.

Situations like this are common for the shopkeepers in Nawa district who do not have a central power source.

Many residents throughout the northern half of Helmand receive their energy from the hydroelectric power plant located at the Kajaki dam. However, the power supply does not reach Nawa, which is located in the southern portion of Helmand province.

Now, with the help of a solar energy project in the district, there is a new opportunity for the shopkeepers in the Nawa bazaar. Nearly 150 shops in the bazaar will be able to receive steady power from the project.

Capt. Brandon Newell, Expeditionary Energy Liaison Officer for Regional Command Southwest and a native of St. Amant, La., says this is the first type of large-scale solar hybrid project in Helmand to date.

“We’re not just trying to introduce something that’s sustainable into their community,” explained Newell who also holds an electrical engineering degree from Louisiana State University. “We’re taking something that they understand at a smaller level and trying to provide them an opportunity at a much larger, more centralized capability, which will be much more reliable.“

Two long rows of solar panels were put together, mounted and welded to the roof of the Nawa district governor’s compound and wires were ran to a large storage container where the power is converted into consumable energy. The energy runs to different meters throughout the bazaar.

Solar panels used to collect energy emitted by the sun are mounted to the roof of the Nawa district governor's compound, Dec. 29. Shop owners in the Nawa bazaar will be able to buy electricity on a pre-paid card for individual consumption in their shops. Photo by Cpl. Meredith Brown

At this point, shop owners can wire the electricity to their individual shops, where they will install a separate meter. The district governor will issue the shopkeepers pre-paid cards that they insert into their specific meter. The amount of wattage that the storeowners buy dictates the amount of electricity that they can use. However, once a certain amount of electricity is bought, there is not a time limit on when they must use the power.

Two local Afghans serve as maintenance operators who are responsible for keeping the system up and running once everything is installed. The money raised from selling the power, pays the operators’ salaries and the left-over money accumulates for later maintenance or expansion.

“We’re not trying to dictate what the end product is for them,” said Newell. “We’re trying to facilitate an opportunity for them to take ownership and run the system, to use it for the benefit of individual shops and the benefit the entire community,”

After walking through the bazaar and talking with the local Afghans, Newell said sewing, lighting and running fans in the summer were common uses for the power.

Once the batteries arrive in Afghanistan, the shop owners will also have the opportunity to stay open later. Because batteries cannot be transported through the Pakistan border, power will only be available during daylight. Once the batteries arrive, they will serve as a storage system for extra power collected during the day that can be used throughout the night.

Sarwar Akbari, a renewable energy engineer who has been working on the project over the past few months, said the project is important because it gives the locals a chance to reasonably use electricity.

“Before they were using generators and single panels,” said Akbari. “The shopkeepers in the bazaar are very poor people. They can’t prepare fuel for the generators and purchase individual panels. They are very happy with us that we are finishing our project and are about to install the meters.”

The project is expected to be completed within the next two weeks.

Story by Cpl. Meredith Brown
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At barely 39 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the two women of Female Engagement Team 6 warmed their red, sniffling noses by drinking hot chocolate out of canteen cups. It was early morning and they had little sleep from the cold night before. The Marines began dressing in their body armor, preparing for their upcoming day of work.

Sergeants Jessica Lugo and Autumn Sekely were getting ready to go out in support of Marines with Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, and the Afghan National Civil Order Police during a recent security patrol through their area of Sangin district, Helmand province.

Sergeants Jessica Lugo -left- and Autumn Sekely -right-, of Female Engagement Team 6, walk into a village leader’s compound in Sangin district, Helmand province. Sekely, of Pittsburgh, and Lugo, of San Pedro, Calif., are assigned to support 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, by engaging with the local women and children, building trust and rapport between local residents and the Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces. Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Katherine Keleher

The purpose of the day was to familiarize Marines new to the unit with the area, while also giving Lugo and Sekely the opportunity to interact with local women and children.
While supporting the infantry Marines with 2nd Marine Division (Forward), FET socialized with local children passing by, handing out candy and pencils while sharing smiling faces through the language barrier.

“Establishing a good relationship with the children and their families is very important, and it’s one of our primary tasks here,” said Sekely, a reservist from Pittsburgh. “It helps build trust and rapport. They really appreciate that the Marines make an effort to respect their culture by having FET out here.”
When wrapping up the introduction of the area to the new Marines, 1st Squad made a pit stop at one of the village leader’s compounds while on its way back to the patrol base.

The village leader opened the doors to his home with open arms, allowing FET inside to talk with his wife and children.

“The women, they stay in the compounds while the men are in the bazaars and farming fields working,” explained Lugo, also a reservist who is from San Pedro, Calif. “They hear a lot of things from the people who come in and out of their compounds. So when we get there, these women are just aching to talk. They’re just like we are, and they want their voices to be heard.”

Sergeants Jessica Lugo and Autumn Sekely, of Female Engagement Team 6, walk into a village leader’s compound in Sangin district, Helmand province. Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Katherine Keleher

During their visit with the village leader and his family, the Marines and Afghans used an interpreter to discuss the possibility of building a water well in the village, as well as raising money to build a mosque.

“Things like this take a lot of money and time,” Lugo, the FET 6 team leader, told them.

While carrying on the conversation with the adults, Lugo and Sekley played with the children, giving them crayons and paper, showing them how to color.

“We have the capability of talking to one-hundred percent of the population,” Lugo, a military policewoman by trade, explained. “It’s not only engaging the women of Afghanistan for us, it’s engaging with everyone. Like today, the village leader talked to us. You would think in (this culture) the men wouldn’t want to talk to us, but they do. They’re kind of intrigued by having women in military clothing around.

“The (local residents) are very intrigued by us. They see us, the color of our skin, the color of our eyes, us carrying a rifle walking alongside the males. They see that we’re equal,” Lugo added.

Working side-by-side, FET and 3/7 have until spring to continue working together, winning over hearts and minds and helping the Afghan people toward a brighter tomorrow.

By Cpl. Katherine Keleher
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U.S. Air Force medics, Staff Sgt. April Deluna -right-, from San Antonio, assigned to the Paktya Provincial Reconstruction Team, and Tech. Sgt. Rebecca Rose, from Coleridge, Neb., assigned to the Nebraska Agribusiness Development Team, demonstrate proper arm-bracing techniques at the provincial women’s development center, Nov. 1. The medics taught basic first-aid skills to 13 women from the province. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Katherine Williams

Thirteen Afghan women received life-saving first aid training at a provincial women’s development center shura held in Paktya province, Nov. 1.

U.S. servicemembers assigned to the Paktya Provincial Reconstruction Team and the Nebraska Agribusiness Development Team, both located on Forward Operating Base Goode, taught the women how to treat burns, lacerations and abrasions.

U.S. Air Force medics Tech Sgt. Rebecca Rose, with the ADT from Coleridge, Neb., and Staff Sgt. April DeLuna, with the PRT from San Antonio, conducted an interactive training program for the women.

During the one-hour course, the medics emphasized proper hygiene techniques such as hand washing and the use of gloves while treating wounds.

“The women learned the ‘cold, clean’ method,” DeLuna said. “They’d never heard to clean with cold, clean water and were using alternative methods to treat wounds.”

The women shared stories about their previous home-medical treatments during the shura.

“I’ve used cold potatoes on my children’s wounds to stop the burning,” one student said. “Potatoes and egg yolk both help to prevent the burn from spreading.”

Along with l training, the group also received first-aid medical kits, stocked with bandages, a gauze compress, gloves, antibiotic ointment and other supplies.

The shura was coordinated through Khalema Khazan, the Paktya Director of Women’s Affairs and the Team Paktya Women’s Advocacy Group.

The DOWA is an Afghan ministry-appointed position, with the authority and obligation to raise awareness of concerns and advocate for Afghan women.

“I want a common understanding for every woman to know their rights and freedoms under Islam,” Khazan said. “We have shuras in the women’s development center for Paktya women to teach them important skills.”

In the past, Khazan has organized town meetings, or ‘shuras,’ health workshops and media engagements for women in Paktya.

“Education is very important,” she added. “Our center is focused on teaching the more than 40,000 women in Paktya.”

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Afghan utility workers prepare power lines at the Kajaki Dam to receive a new primary switch center. USACE Photo

A small contingent of soldiers play a huge role in improving and maintaining southern Afghanistan’s electric power infrastructure, primarily in Kandahar City.

These non-commissioned officers, deployed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ only active duty unit, the 249th Prime Power Battalion at Fort Bragg, N.C., are all prime power specialists assigned to Task Force Breshna Barq. Established in the summer of 2010, the task force’s primary mission is bringing more and more reliable power to Kandahar City.

“These soldiers are responsible for electric power outside the wire,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Thomas Black, deputy commander of Task Force Breshna Barq. “Locally, four soldiers are based at the USACE-built and managed power stations in Kandahar city — two at the Bagh-e-Pul power station in western Kandahar and the others at the Shurandam Industrial Park power station.”

The initial task force mission was two-pronged: daily oversight and contract management for the installation and commissioning of two $40 million, 10-megawatt diesel-fueled power plants and the validation and assessment of about 40 kilometers of 20-kilovolt, overhead medium-voltage feeder lines. The electric lines distribute electricity to satisfy the industrial, business, agricultural and residential demands of one third of Kandahar City’s 480,000 residents.

- Editor’s note: Keep in mind that all the fuel for these plants has to be trucked into the country. -

“We are here to assist in the development of the Afghans’ outdated electrical distribution networks throughout the region so businesses can thrive and stimulate the economy,” said Staff. Sgt. Mario Sanchez.

Once the two power stations were commissioned, the task force members began overseeing the $10.3-million operations and maintenance contract for the power stations and developing and managing $7.2 million worth of “starter kit” tools and materials for DABS (Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat), the Afghan power utility company.

The starter kits include transformers, medium and low-voltage cable, distribution panels and tools. Also included are electrical test equipment, bucket trucks, and pole truck with a trailer. The kits will provide the Afghan utility with the resources it needs to accomplish immediate, lasting, effective and reliable repairs in Kandahar province so they meet the needs of their Afghan customers.

As the conditions and needs evolved, the prime power team took a mentoring role on as well.

“We work with the utility company to maintain the power systems and train their employees,” said Staff Sgt. Alex Brown. “They really do want to improve their way of life and are willing to work hard at it.”

Sgt. Joshua Strausbaugh agreed and added: “In the United States, there are many codes that must be followed when working with electricity to ensure safety. In Afghanistan, they don’t have these kinds of regulations. Fortunately, the utility employees picked up quickly on the whats and whys that we were trying to communicate to them.”

Safety is an essential component of all USACE projects, said Air Force Col. Benjamin Wham, South District commander. “Our first priority is keeping people safe. We must share that fundamental value with our Afghan partners.”

The team worked hard to accomplish their goal of safely getting more power production and effective distribution inside Kandahar, and were gratified by the appreciation they saw on the faces of Kandahar City residents, said Strausbaugh.

The team’s work has also taken them to the Kajaki Hydroelectric Plant, where they installed special protective switchgear. This relatively inexpensive installation increased the reliability of the transmission lines to Kandahar and Helmand provinces. According to Black, a new diesel plant providing an equal amount of power would have cost $24 million.

A private contracting company was willing to install the switchgear at a cost of $1.5 million with an eight-month lead time. Instead, three Prime Power soldiers, working with and mentoring the Afghan hydroelectric plant operators and electricians accomplished the installation in six weeks for less than $150,000.

“The $150,000 for the primary switch center was borne by USACE as it had the item in stock,” said British Air Force Wing Cmdr. Charlie Allan, Regional Command Southwest development plans officer. “But that said, there was also a benefit to the power house staff who were given on-the-job training by the prime power team during installation.”

“Language barriers and the idea that ‘doing things the old way was fine,’ were issues we overcame working with the Afghans,” said Brown. “But the challenge of doing something that would improve the life of Afghans was worth it.”

From initial conception to completion took just 39 days, but the impact on the electric system was immediate, said Allan. The switchgear protects the two Kajaki turbines where none existed before and prevents hard shut downs of the grid and mechanical deterioration of essential generators. This, in turn, leads to a far more stable power supply to the people of Helmand and Kandahar and far fewer power outages leading to longer electricity availability per day.

“Regardless of how costs are measured, having prime power specialists in Afghanistan is an exceptional value,” said Black. They supervise, operate, install and maintain electric power plant and associated systems and equipment—the 249th is a unique unit with unique and valuable capability.

“The 249th has a really critical mission here,” said Air Force Col. Benjamin Wham, South District commander. “Afghans need electricity to develop and sustain their economy. By helping the Afghan utility company improve and maintain its electric power generation, this small group of soldiers delivers huge benefits. The outgoing crew has done an outstanding job training Afghan technicians and working with our private contractor to ensure Kandahar City enjoys reliable, stable power. I salute the outstanding efforts of the 249th soldiers.”

This team of prime power non-commissioned officers will return to the United States soon and will be replaced by a new team.

“There is still much to do,” said Sanchez. “Substations powered by the Kajaki Dam will need upgrades to increase power throughout southern Afghanistan. The new team will continue the mentoring and contract oversight mission.”

Story by Karla Marshall
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U.S. Army Sgt. Jacob Miller, a cavalry scout for Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment’s Task Force Slugger and native of Colona, Ill., explains to local farmers how an apple presser works in Maiden Shahr district Sept. 20. The hope is the farmers will take unsold apples and turn them into other products to make more money. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Brian P. Glass, Task Force Patriot Public Affairs

To improve the economy in Wardak province, soldiers from the Georgia Agribusiness Development Team and Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment’s Task Force Slugger worked together to teach local farmers how to use an apple presser in Maiden Shahr district Sept. 20.

The soldiers already conducted the class in the Jalrez district, which local villagers came to in good numbers. So, it seemed to be a no-brainer to bring the class to Maiden Shahr.

“We mostly used it [the class] as a way to establish a connection with the people,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Jacob Miller, a cavalry scout for Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment’s Task Force Slugger and native of Colona, Ill. “We realize agriculture is the driving force in the lives of people here.”

Miller, who grew-up with an agricultural background, was the primary instructor for the class in Jalrez. He came to Maiden Shahr to teach the people what they would need to be successful.

“We built an apple press to show them methods to save apples that normally spoil,” said Miller.

Miller said the economic benefit for villagers in Maiden Shahr is too great an opportunity for the locals to pass up.

“Several tons of apples go to waste inside the valley, and giving them options to be able to sell these apples and still have a product that is marketable for them will improve their way of life,” said Miller. “Selling this (apple juice and cider) at their local shops will bring in money and also shorten their hunger season.”

Once Miller began demonstrating how to use the apple presser, the locals became interested in seeing how it worked first hand.

“Every class starts out the same way, with the Afghans being very stand-offish,” Miller said. “Then, their interest takes over and before we knew it they are out there grinding out and pressing apples.”

Miller said the apple presser works when apples are ground up, then the ground apple parts are put into a clean cloth. Next, the apple parts are put under a smashing plate and mashed to get all the juice out.

One local farmer was excited about the possibility of having an apple presser for all the apples he has.

“This is very important, this apple presser,” said Ahmed Khalil, a local farmer in Wardak. “I want to make one for my home and use it for my apples.”

The apple presser is easy for the local farmers to make at a low cost to them, said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Kistler, Georgia ADT Wardak provincial commander and Lawrenceville, Ga., native.

“They have the wood,” said Kistler. “Some (local farmers) are carpenters and can do a better job than we can at putting it (apple presser) together.”

U.S. Army Sgt. Nathaniel Smith, non-commissioned officer in charge for the Georgia ADT in Wardak province and native of Dunwoody, Ga., said local farmers can obtain materials for building apple presses themselves and do not need the ADT to acquire such items., “[All] we give them is a step by step [class] on how to build this [apple presser].”

Once the demonstration was over and local farmers sampled the apple cider, the villagers came to Miller with questions about how to capitalize on the opportunity.

“One of the villagers said he can produce one ton of apple juice from all his bad apples that aren’t going to be worth selling whole,” said Miller. “He wants to know how he can bottle them, package them and where to sell them.”

That question gave Miller an idea for the next training class he will teach to Afghan farmers.

“This [class] will extend into canning and pasteurizing training,” said Miller.

Miller and other Georgia ADT personnel walked away from the class confident in the hope their training will help turn around the economy in Maiden Shahr and keep local farmers from siding with insurgents.

“[It would be] an increase in the economy. As they make more money, as they’re able to improve their way of life, the government will be able to draw taxes from it,” said Miller. “The people should become less volatile, because their lives have stabilized, they have food and won’t worry about their children going hungry.”

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