Published: August 29, 2008 09:10 am            

Mission made possible

Williamsburg soldier talks of the positive influence his team has on impoverished villages in Afghanistan

Click here to see the Aug. 30, 2008 Neighbors section in its entirety


By Bobbie Poynter / Community Editor

Capt. Jason Monhollen, 33, of Williamsburg, is a 12-year Army reservist currently stationed in Afghanistan. He is one of a three-man Civil Affairs Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), which simply means they mentor the residents of the local villages on how to rebuild their lives and their governments. The team joins 75 other service men and women operating out of Bagram Air Field, located about 60 miles north of Kabul, Afghanistan.

Monhollen is the reconstruction team leader. His main purpose is to arrange meetings between the village elders and government officials, helping to keep and strengthen the lines of communication.

Each village, Monhollen said, is more like its own little individual country with its own set of unique laws and ways of dealing with its people.

Monhollen plays the part of mediator at meetings between the village leaders (usually the oldest and most respected men of the village) and those who hold the major seats of the province’s government. During these meetings, the American helps guide the parties through priorities of development for the village, such as the building of schools, roads, government buildings or hospitals.

“We’re their mentors and advisors,” said Monhollen. “We’re not there to do it for them. We hold their hands and guide them through the steps that will help them rebuild their lives.”

Keeping the lines of communication open between village leaders and government officials is not always easy for the Americans. Monhollen explained that sometimes the locals’ accents can be pretty thick, and the parties would have to repeat themselves many times. On the other hand, the Americans often use military acronyms that get lost in translation, especially if the interpreter is not familiar with the abbreviations.

The meetings are usually held in one of the better-built buildings in the district, and usually one of the few with electricity. It is the interpreter who breaks the ice for the team leader, explaining that the Americans are there to help the locals build schools, roads, bridges, and water canals, to name a few, with the goal of stabilizing the village’s economy and improving the security of the area.

“You really have to respect the bravery of these people,” said Monhollen. “Depending on the area we are in, anyone talking with us could be risking their lives because if the Taliban found out, they could very likely to be killed.”

The other members of the Civil Affairs team consist of Specialist Jared Davidson of Houston, Texas, who assists Monhollen at the meetings and prepares equipment, and Capt. William Selber of Austin, Texas, who is the enemy movement intelligence officer. Capt. Selber’s job is to keep a close liaison with the locals and collect information on enemy movement and routes of travel.

This intelligence information is vitally important, as the team often deals with the Taliban when the Americans supervise road construction.

Monhollen said some of the difficulties the Taliban create for the road construction teams include threatening the workers so they are afraid to work, leaving threatening letters on their doors at night, shooting at them while they are on the job, or threatening them on the site.

Dealing with the Taliban is only half the battle the Americans must deal with in their endeavors to help the locals. As mediators, the Americans help set up a selection committee, which in turn handles the contract bidding. The contractors (of which the Americans also oversee) must then take care to hire local workers of the same ethnicity (or of the same village) for each section of the road running within their government’s jurisdiction.

Then there is the more difficult task of delivering supplies for the multitude of projects throughout the province. Many of the villages must first deal with lack of water and electricity and very poor roads, or in many villages, no roads at all. Work is often delayed or stopped completely while workers wait for supplies.

“Without decent roads, just getting supplies to and from one place to another is often nearly impossible,” Monhollen said. “There’s nothing you can do but sit and wait. Seldom is there any place close to buy the concrete and bricks for construction.

“Part of our job is to help keep the work on schedule,” he added, “but early on you learn to deal with and plan for the delays.”

The Kapisa Province of Afghanistan, where Monhollen’s team of Americans is currently working, has been under construction since 2003. Monhollen has no aspirations that the job will be completed before he leaves and moves on to his next assignment. His team relieved another team who had been in the area for nine months and will turn the reins over to a new team sometime in November.

His best hope is that his team will successfully close out the current ongoing projects, which include the building of three schools, a basic health clinic and half of the six miles of road, which will eventually be paved. His team is anxious to see the completion of the district center government building — where the officials will be able to comfortably conduct their business — and make as much progress as possible on an irrigation canal that will run between villages.

Although the Americans are in Afghanistan in a mentor’s capacity, they are not above providing humanitarian assistance when the need arises. This assistance could include food, clothes, minor medical assistance, or even the occasional tent erected for temporary shelter or shade.

“We don’t make it a habit of stepping in,” said Monhollen, “because we could wreck their economy. We don’t want to start supplying them with those things that can be sold at the local bazaars. We hire Afghan truck drivers to deliver all of our supplies. Whenever we have equipment break down, we bring in civilian contractors to do the repairs. That way we help get as much money back into the economy as possible.”

Monhollen and his team will leave the country in November with a huge sense of accomplishment, he said, knowing they have done all they can to make life better for an impoverished people. Monhollen believes that by stabilizing the region, the U.S. can create allies for the future.

“We absolutely must be there in both countries (Afghanistan and Iraq),” Monhollen said. “If we pull out too soon, we leave a hole for the terrorists to take over. Our goal is to be able to step back and have the local governments shoulder more and more of the burden. And they’re already doing that... We just have to keep reminding ourselves that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will Afghanistan or Iraq. It will simply get done when it’s done.”

Bobbie Poynter can be reached at bpoynter@ thetimestribune.com

        

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