U.S. Army Capt. Benjamin Fitting, Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir executive officer and a Burlington, Iowa, resident, listens to Shiekh Ahmad, Panjshir Marble mine manager, talk about some of the different types of marble the company cuts. There are 16 different colors of marble mined in Panjshir. Marble mining could be a multi-million dollar business for the region. Photo by 2nd Lt. Jason Smith

There are hundreds of millions of dollars worth of marble in the Panjshir province, and some Afghan entrepreneurs are working with the U.S. Agency for International Development and Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir to develop the industry.

According to Curtis Rose, USAID field development officer with PRT Panjshir, marble is currently being mined in the Anaba, Rokha, Dara and Khenj Districts of the province, but the profits are a small fraction of their potential.

“There are some issues right now with being able to mine,” said Rose. “First, there are some problems with the land rights. Who owns the land? How can you lease the land? Also, you have to be a registered company. Finally, the Ministry of Mines, which only allows a three-year lease for a mine, charges high export taxes.”

Rose said the only way to meet the requirements of becoming a legitimate mine is to have outside investment. And outside investment requires complying with all standards a difficult task for mine owners.

“The mining is primitive now,” said Rose. “The miners really need a new skill set, but every time someone gets trained, they go to another country for more money.

“There are three entrepreneurs who run the Panjshir Marble mine, and they want to train and keep miners,” he said. “They understand mining techniques and mining safety, but they can’t get investment without a business plan and without complying with all standards.”

Rose said business plans are a new idea in the Panjshir province, and USAID is getting involved by bringing in experts who can teach international business methods.

Shiekh Ahmad, one of the entrepenuers said the Panjshir Marble mine is pushing out about 30,000 meters of marble per year.

“We get 3,000 to 5,000 afghani per meter, depending on the type of marble,” said Ahmad. “We are the only mine company in Panjshir. We have more than 10 mines we operate.”

Currently, the miners cut the marble here by primitive means and take it to Kabul to sell, said Rose. They have contracts with businesses in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Italy, the United States and Russia.

Afghan workers cut raw marble at the Panjshir Marble mine in the Panjshir province, Afghanistan. Some Afghan entrepreneurs are working with the U.S. Agency for International Development and Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir to develop the industry. Photo by Jim Hoffman

“This has the potential to create a lot of jobs here,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Curtis Velasquez, PRT Panjshir commander. “If the people here are able to cut, design and polish the marble, there is opportunity for increased profits. The only industry in Panjshir right now is agriculture, and this could open a whole new industry.”

The first step to opening the industry is transportation, said Rose. The main road through the valley, a USAID and PRT project, is the only way the mine owners can get their goods to Kabul.

“None of this would be possible without the road that USAID and the PRT have built and are continuing to build in the north,” said Rose. “The road was the first step to getting to all of the resources here. In addition to marble, there are gems, iron and granite that can be mined.”

As the mining business expands, USAID and the PRT want to make sure it’s done in the right ecological way, said Velasquez.

“It’s going to take education, safety and mindfulness,” said Velasquez. “The Panjshir River provides water to 14 million people. We need to teach proper mining with the watershed plan in the forefront to protect the water source.”

There are 16 different colors of marble mined in Panjshir. Ultimately, Rose said he would like to see the local mine owners have the people and equipment to properly mine and polish the marble.

DVIDS
Story by 2nd Lt. Jason Smith

Panjshir Gov. Keramuddin Keram talks with U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Curtis Velasquez, Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team commander and Abilene, Kan., native, July 1, about a project that could potentially bring 35,000 new trees into the province by the end of the year. Photo by U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Jason Smith

Panjshir Gov. Keramuddin Keram met with the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team, July 1, to discuss a project that could potentially bring 35,000 new trees into the province by the end of the year.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jeffrey Casada, Kentucky National Guard Agri-Business Development Team leader with the Panjshir PRT, and Jim Hoffman, U.S. Department of Agriculture advisor to the Panjshir PRT, presented the governor with a slide show highlighting key elements of the Panjshir Valley Green Belts Project.

The ADT, in a joint venture with the PRT and provincial government line directors, have proposed a large-scale reforestation project. The purpose of the meeting was to bring the plan to the governor’s attention to obtain full consensus, said Hoffman.

“Decades of war have caused deforestation in the Panjshir Valley,” said Hoffman, a Boise, Idaho native. “The loss of the tree cover is causing soil erosion, landslides and destabilization of the sides of the valley. Planting trees and other shrubs helps to stabilize soil and snowpack and will allow for continued normal hydrological functions of the Panjshir River drainage. In turn, it will have positive effects for the people and businesses downstream.”

During his presentation to Keram, Casada, a London, Ky., native, said the project will involve planting 5,000 seedlings in each of the six districts and one municipality. Each district would have two belts of 2,500 trees in each belt.

“Our goal is to start in October of this year and finish in November,” said Casada. “We’ll start in Paryan and move south to Shutol.

“We’re proposing hiring 10 day laborers per district for a total of 70 in the province,” continued Casada.

According to the proposal, the Panjshir Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Land, and his staff, would receive two days of training prior to the arrival of the trees. In addition, the 70 tree planters would receive one day of training. The tools purchased to use in the project will remain in the districts in which they are used.

Five thousand Eco Bags are also part of the proposal. Casada said the Eco Bags are a form of new technology used in agriculture. He said each bag holds 28-30 days of water that slowly drips where the plants or trees need it. If used properly, the bags eliminate the need to water the trees by traditional standards.

Keram had many questions during the presentation. One concern he had was that the right trees would be planted for the right climates of the individual districts. He said, through an interpreter, that projects like this have failed in the past, and he wanted a realistic assessment of the survival rate for the trees.

“Some will not survive the winter,” said Casada. “Our goal is for 70 percent of these trees to live.”

Near the conclusion of the meeting, Casada said, “This project will last 180 days or less. That’s six months to get the trees planted, watered and off to a good start. I’m asking your help to get the letters of support from the districts so we can submit this project.”

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Curtis Velasquez, Panjshir PRT commander and Abilene, Kan., native, told Keram that while it’s important to have his support for the project, it’s also important to have district and village leaders be a part of the plan for it to work in the long term.

“The Panjshir Valley Green Belts Project has many potential benefits,” said Velasquez. “Workers will get training and have jobs while the project is ongoing. Also, as discussed by our agricultural experts, this could reduce flooding and soil erosion, improve irrigation, provide electricity, support fisheries, recharge groundwater, and support forest resources,” said Velasquez.

Following a discussion after the presentation, Keram told the group that the project had his support. He said he would work with the line directors and local leaders to get their support as well. He concluded the meeting on a motivational and humorous note.

“According to this plan, give me a shovel and I’ll get started digging,” said Keram smiling.

“It fits in with many elements of the Provincial Development Plan that deal with water,” said Hoffman. “They’re generated from the Afghan people in their PDP as individual projects, and they’re covered in the larger analysis of Task Force Wolverine and Regional Command-East.”

DVIDS
By U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Jason Smith

Civilian and military members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir enjoy the view. Photo by 2nd Lt. Jason Smith

The mineral water-bottling plant, kabob restaurants along the river and construction site of the Massoud Tomb Complex don’t necessarily reflect images of a war-torn nation, nor does the permissiveness that allows American military and civilian members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir to move relatively freely throughout this area of Afghanistan.

In his August 2009 International Security Assistance Force Commander’s Counterinsurgency Guidance, Gen. Stanley McChrystal writes, “Earn the support of the people and the war is won, regardless of how many militants are killed or captured.”

Based on that guidance, the “war is won” in the Panjshir province. The people of Panjshir support their PRT, says Rohullah Yousufi, Panjshir province director of Culture and Information.

“They support them because of what the PRT has done for the people,” said Yousufi. “The people didn’t expect to support them, but they saw what they did, and now the expectations are too high.”

Panjshir, the newest of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan, is the story of a successful, Afghan-led province with good governance, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Curtis Velasquez, PRT Panjshir commander and Abilene, Kan., native.

“We are the model province for what security and good governance can do to win the war through counterinsurgency operations,” said Velasquez. “Our province is unlike any other in Afghanistan. You can look around and quickly see how the people here look at us as guests in their country and partners in their reconstruction efforts.”

Yousufi’s recommendation to other provinces looking to build a Panjshir-style model is cooperation with the PRTs, but more importantly cooperation between the people and government. He says trust for the government is earned when reconstruction efforts meet the legitimate needs of the people.

“Unity, security and people supporting the government; these are the positive things about Panjshir that makes it different than the rest of Afghanistan,” said Yousufi. “The government should try to keep the people united by showing it is with them.”

The history and ethnic population of Panjshir also contribute to its success, according to Khalid Siddiqi, PRT Panjshir political advisor. Siddiqi said when U.S. Soldiers initially came to Panjshir, they came to help Ahmad Shah Massoud fight the Taliban.

“[Americans] raised their hands first for friendship; to fight the enemy for both of us,” said Siddiqi. “Most support for the Taliban comes from the south because their leadership is coming from the Pashtun Tribe.

“When the Taliban came into Panjshir, Parwan and Kapisa, they had no rights for other tribes,” continued Saddiqi, an ethnic tajik. “They said only one tribe could be in control,” added Saddiqi. “That’s why we resisted.”

The future of the other provinces depends on the politics of Kandahar, according to Siddiqi. He said traditionally that the Afghan people follow proven leaders, just like they followed Massoud.

The Panjshiris are not strangers to Taliban activity either. Afghan national army Col. Rajab Khan, commander of the Panjshir Operations Coordination Center (Provincial), or OCC-P, fought the Russians and Taliban. Now he works with the PRT because he says he wants to stop the Taliban from becoming the whole world’s problem.

“We know about the Taliban and al-Qaida because we were their victims,” said Rajab. “They are creating problems for the whole world, and if we don’t stop them now, then it will become a much bigger problem.”

Rajab says the Taliban originally claimed to be fighting because they had no power in the government.

“Now they are fighting for opium,” said Rajab. “Now it’s more about business than it is political. They’re claiming they grow narcotics because they say no one helps them with agriculture. No one helped [Panjshiris]. We’re not selling narcotics. It’s just an excuse.”

There are many factors involved in the equation of Afghanistan. For those hoping to rid the country of the Taliban and other extremists, the vision of what the rest of Afghanistan could look like exists today in Panjshir.

The “Strong Food” recipe has been passed to other areas of Afghanistan and more children will not die of malnutrition because of this unique product.

In the country with one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world, U.S. military and civilians are teaming with local governments to combat malnutrition and save the lives of children.

On March 28, members of Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team delivered a shipment of ingredients to make a concoction dubbed, “Strong Food” to Charmaghzak Basic Health Clinic in the Dara District of Panjshir, Afghanistan.

According to U.S. Air Force Capt. Michael Calnicean, a physician’s assistant with the Panjshir PRT, the delivery of almonds, sugar, sunflower oil, soy flour and multi-vitamin enriched milk will be mixed together to form a low cost nutritious food with a long shelf-life.

Figures from UNICEF place the average lifespan for an Afghan at 44.5 years old. Information from the UNICEF web site says that one in four Afghan children doesn’t live past the age of 5 and more than half the children in the country are malnourished.

Calnicean points to Strong Food as a way to help solve the medical crisis affecting Afghanistan. Strong Food is a medicinal product that is appealing to children.

According to Calnicean, “It’s kind of like cookie dough.” The amount needed is based upon the height and weight of the individual, added Calnicean.

The mixture was originally formulated by a PRT in another province. The malnutrition issue is wide spread across the country.

Currently Strong Food is only distributed at two clinics in the Panjshir province. Dr. Samad Karim, Line Director of Public Health for Panjshir province, is looking to expand distribution of the product.

“Dr. Karim is looking at ways of getting Strong Food out to all the clinics in the district, including two mobile clinics,” said Calnicean.

One way to increase distribution according to Elizabeth Smithwick, United States Agency for International Development Field Program Officer for Panjshir PRT is to train women to administer the Strong Food through a program in the works called Strong Women.

Smithwick said the Strong Women program will help distribution in many ways.

“One is that it employs women,” said Smithwick. “It will employ three women per clinic to mix it, distribute, administer, keep the records and everything else,” Smithwick said. “Hopefully, by doing this, it expands it throughout the province, all seven districts.”

Another advantage is that it will free up clinic personnel to handle the normal case load of an all-purpose clinic in Afghanistan.

“It will help reduce the strain on the clinic. On the days that they do Strong Food, it’s insane,” said Smithwick. “They have difficulty addressing all the Strong Food needs as well as all the people who are regularly coming to the clinic.”

U.S. Soldiers, Airmen, and civilians from Panjshir PRT drove to the clinic on narrow, winding roads hauling the life-saving ingredients. Once at the clinic, they carried the 110-pound bags of almond and sugar up 10 flights of steps to a storage room.

Dr. Amed Abdullah was there to greet them and help offload the supplies. At the Charmaghzak Clinic, Abdullah sometimes sees upward of 400 patients a month.

Abdullah said through a translator that the biggest problems he deals with are stomach related illnesses, pneumonia and skin diseases. When asked how many of these cases were related to nutrition, he said, “All of it is affected in some way by nutrition.”

Grateful to get the supplies, Abdullah said, “It will help out so much.”

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Carolyn Mcilvaine, of Westfield Mass., who is currently deployed as a medical technician for the PRT says it is rewarding to see progress.

“It’s good to see the improvement as things go on,” said Mcilvaine. “They keep a record of height and weight measurements. You can look back over a period of time and see the kids getting healthier and stronger.”

DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. Donald Reeves

The adventure began on the cold, wintery morning, Dec. 10, deep in the Hindu Kush Mountains of the Panjshir valley in Afghanistan. The Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team conducted a routine mission to deliver material assistance, such as clothing, food and other supplies to a high-altitude village in the Dara district of the valley.

It snowed all morning, but temperatures were a bit too warm for it to stick to the road. The convoy departed with three trucks filled with supplies bound for the district center in Dara, assessing the situation and deciding whether to leave the supplies with the district governor for distribution or to continue on our own into more remote regions.

When we arrived, it was still snowing but not heavily. The road was clear up until that point, and, as far as we could see, it was still passable. The forecast said the snows would subside, so the mission commander decided to continue.

I was in the third truck as we travelled upwards along the road that wrapped along the mountainside. The road was barely wide enough for one vehicle, with the mountain on the left and a significant drop to the river on the right.

In an instant, the situation turned ugly, as the second truck could not maintain enough speed to make it up the now ice-covered road and slid backward. My truck also began sliding back down the hill. My driver, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jeff Kelly, deliberately slammed our truck into the mountain side to stop our decent. It worked, but the second truck smashed into us.

Both the trucks were now stopped on the mountain road. We checked for any injuries, and, fortunately, there were none. I radioed the first truck, which we had lost sight of, to inform them of the situation.

“Sir, we are in a predicament,” said Senior Airman Bryan Ulloa, PRT Civil Affairs. “We couldn’t stop and our truck is now dangling off a cliff.”

I arrived to a frightful scene. The truck’s right side was completely off the road with at least a 15-foot drop to the boulders below. Everyone had made it out safely, and some had leapt from the vehicle as it had slid toward the cliff.

With the help of a crowd of local residents who had gathered to lend assistance, we began recovery attempts on the disabled vehicle as we relayed information regarding the situation back to our forward operating base. Help was dispatched, but the weather impeded arrival. As darkness set in, temperatures dropped, and the snow continued to fall, we were forced to abandon the recovery mission.

“The decision was made to download all sensitive items, such as radio equipment and weapons, and return to base with the hopes that the truck would remain in its current position until we could resume recovery efforts the next morning,” Kelly said.

That’s when the Panjshir Afghan National Police and the local residents displayed their heroism. Together, they took turns braving the frigid temperatures, cutting winds, and mounting snow-fall to guard the truck all night long, making sure it didn’t fall and no one was injured. When morning came they worked, stone by stone, to build a new rock wall reaching up from the riverbed to stabilize the truck. Then they used wooden logs to push the vehicle back onto the road. The ANP drove to the PRT’s FOB to let us know that our truck was safe and ready for us to retrieve it.

“This is proof that the government and citizens of Panjshir are capable of accomplishing great things,” said U.S. Army Maj. Ian Murray, PRT Operations Officer. “Not only did they watch over our truck, but they took it upon themselves to make sure we got it back. They put themselves at risk to help us. If it weren’t for their efforts, the PRT would have lost a valuable asset. We are proud to live and work in partnership with all of them.”

When asked why they did it, a local man named Pahlawan who had helped lead the recovery efforts stated simply, “You would do it for us.”

CJTF-101
Written by U.S. Air Force Captain John T. Stamm