Editor's note: The 168th Engineer Brigade (Task Force Storm) is headquartered in Vicksburg and is comprised of citizen soldiers throughout Mississippi.



By CPT Peter O. Mousseau

Special to The Star



A typical weekend with the 168th Engineer Brigade / TF Storm is anything but typical. The National Guard Engineering Brigade’s operational tempo has been extremely high, since they arrived in Afghanistan this past winter, and the weekend of August 28-31 was indicative of Storm’s involvement in combat operations in Regional Command East.

All hands were on deck for some key engagements that included meetings with Afghan National Army Commanders and the Minister of Defense / Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, rounded out with a visit from the Deputy Commanding General of Regional Command East and a Graduation of a Contractors’ class from the Engineer Skills Development Workshop. These four days highlight how pivotal Mississippi Engineers have been to Counter Insurgency Operations in Afghanistan.

The weekend started with a visit from the Deputy Commanding General, Operations for Combined Joint Task Force 82 (Airborne), Brigadier General Kurt Fuller and the Division Command Sergeant Major, CSM Thomas Capel on Friday, Aug. 28. The Storm command team put together a walking and driving tour of Forward Operating Base, Sharana, and an operational brief for the Deputy Commander, to show the significant effect of TF Storm to the division’s effort.

The Division command team was thoroughly impressed: “That’s what I love about Engineers,” said CSM Capel, “they always know how to improve their foxholes.” Cmd. Sgt. Maj. Capel’s comments came after a brief walking tour, where Brigadier General Earnest L. Harrington, TF Storm Commander showed off the Brigade’s new Multi-purpose room.

“This was put together with scraps and materiel from here in theater. The 877th Engineer Battalion took everyday supplies and made it into something extraordinary,” Brig. Gen. Harrington responded to the Cmd. Sgt. Maj.’s comment, during the walking tour.

On Saturday, Aug. 29, the Deputy Prime Minister / Minister of Defense for the Czech Republic, Dr. Martin Bartak, arrived at FOB Sharana to conduct a site survey of the future location of Czech troops. Task Force Hippo, a Czech Helicopter unit, is scheduled to deploy to Sharana in early 2010, and TF Storm has taken the lead on the construction of their facilities. The purpose of Dr. Bartak’s visit to Sharana was to see where his airmen will live, better understand the security situation in Paktika Province, and experience what type of conditions his airmen can expect.

Dr. Bartak brought a large contingent of foreign press and Czech military with him on his visit; his traveling party consisted of 30 people. Both military and civilians alike were impressed with the planning involved to house the Czech airmen and women.

“The Deputy Prime Minister said: the American military [TF Storm Design Management team] is doing an excellent job, now I must get you the Soldiers,” LTC Timothy Herrington added, after a conversation with the Minister. During his visit, Dr. Bartak took a walk in his airmen’s shoes, eating what his airmen will eat, and donning the Czech desert uniform.

The following day wasn’t quite as easy for the leaders of TF Storm. The Storm Commanding General put together a team of 14 engineer “all stars,” to go out and visit with the Afghan National Army Commanders and staff. Tasked to integrate directly with ANA forces by the Division Commander, the Storm leadership team did just that. On Sunday, Aug. 30, Brig. Gen. Harrington met with commanders: Major General Wardak of the 201st ANA Corps, and Major General Khaliq of the 203rd ANA Corps. While Brig. Gen. Harrington talked with his counterparts at the strategic level, his staff visited with their ANA counterparts and talked tactics namely, how U.S. Forces could assist in the ANA base winterization process, as well as incorporate ANA soldiers in Storm Route Clearance formations.

These combined action discussions took place on the ANA compounds FOB Blackhorse (201st) and FOB Lightening (203rd). Both ANA commanders enthusiastically engaged with Brig. Gen. Harrington, and these conversations quickly turned into planning sessions where corroboration was the main focus.

Maj. Gen. Wardak and Brig. Gen. Harrington quickly built a candid working relationship and got down to business, eager to learn how each force could leverage the others’ forces for mutual benefit. Brig. Gen. Harrington outlined Storm’s combined action areas of interest and Maj. Gen. Wardak sketched a summary of his concerns.

Brig. Gen. Harrington asserted, “I am particularly sensitive to the fielding of your RCC [Route Clearance Companies], I want to ensure they don’t get out on the road before they receive the appropriate training.” Maj. Gen. Wardak sensed the sincerity in the voice of the other commanding general, and said he looked forward to having his RCCs train with TF Pirate Soldiers (276th Engineer Battalion) at the Center of Engineering Excellence in Sharana. By the end of the discussion Brig. Gen. Harrington asked Maj. Gen. Wardak when the partnering could begin, and Maj. Gen. Wardak joked that he could take his lead engineer back to Sharana on the helicopter that same day.

Later that day, the discussion with Major General Khaliq, Commander of the 203rd ANA Corps, took on much the same tone. The two leaders, at the pinnacle of their careers can get a lot done when they meet face to face.

At one point in the hour long meeting, Maj. Gen. Khaliq became very serious and asked Brig. Gen. Harrington to take notes. The consummate statesman, Brig. Gen. Harrington obliged, noticing the passion with which the 203rd commander spoke.

Maj. Gen. Khaliq speaks perfect English, but relied on his native Pashtu to state the following through Mr. Karim, Storm interpreter: “Winning the IO [Information Operations] fight, and beating the IED [Improvised Explosive Device] are the two keys in winning this war!” Brig. Gen. Harrington and the 203rd U.S. Army mentors nodded in unison, and pledged to assist Maj. Gen. Khaliq as the two forces move forward with combined action plans.

The final day in this busy string of important events consisted of a graduation of the Contractor Class at TF Builder’s (877th Engineer Battalion) Engineer Skill Development Workshop and a Ribbon Cutting on Aug. 31, to mark the opening of the Center for Engineer Excellence, in Sharana. The fact that 30 Afghan tradesmen joined the ranks of capacity building contractors was as notable, as the list of attendees, which included: The Deputy Minister of Public Work, Dr. Rasouli, the President of the Women’s Affair Center of Sharana, Gulan dama Dina, the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Afghan Engineer District-North, LTC Stephen E. Lefebvre, and Paktika Province Assistant to the Governor, Juma Mohammad Zadran.

“This is a great opportunity to have all these key players in the same room. You’ve got Afghan Contractors who can potentially win contracts to build infrastructure, plus you’ve got Coalition Engineers that can facilitate that, and the whole engagement is effectively underwritten by the Minister of Public Works,” states CPT Taylor, the Civil Military Affairs Officer for the 877th Engineer BN.

As you can see, the last weekend of August was anything but typical for TF Storm and its subordinate battalions: TF Builder and TF Pirate. This was the first weekend after the people of Afghanistan held their second free and open election in the country’s history. The above actions and events involving Reg. Cmd. East Engineers are indicative of the progress that has been made over this past year. Task Force Storm has seized the opportunity to become present and relevant in the lives of the People of Afghanistan.