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BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (June 12, 2008) - Task Force
Gladiator soldiers of 101st Headquarters Support Company serve as
the first line of defense here, manning entry-control points and
ensuring base security.
Their operations often result in supplementing their guard role
with envoy-related responsibilities.
"Maintaining security is not all just about the defensive
posture," said Army Capt. Stan Goligoski, 101st HSC commander. "We
go out beyond the [gates] to interact and build relationships with
the people in the local villages around us."
As part of its Bagram Outreach Program, the unit works to
provide local villages with water, power, security fences and
anything else that may help.
The soldiers went to the village of Gulam Ali on June 7, and
brought fuel for service generators, which they acquired for the
village six weeks ago. Later that day, on invitation from the
village elder, they went to the opening of a new all-girls
school.
The soldiers attended the school's opening to show respect for
the culture and village elders, and even brought along the 101st
Division Band to help celebrate the event. Still, their purpose in
attending was two-fold, they said; they also went to check the
school's condition and resources.
Even though the school was new, it was in need of repairs as
well as lacking standard items a school should have, Goligoski
said. The HSC helped facilitate acquire missing items. For example,
they provided wood so the school staff could build students'
desks.
"We have established a good enough relationship with the village
elders that we can go straight to them if we have a problem, and
they can do the same for us," Goligoski said.
Acting as sentries and "pseudo-ambassadors" are not the only
tasks the HSC soldiers accomplish. They also sponsor a program that
pays monetary rewards in exchange for information about weapons
caches.
"We get to know the people's wants and needs, and in exchange,
they provide us with information," said Goligoski, who noted the
program has been very successful.
The Bagram Outreach Program and Small Rewards Program complement
each other, he explained. For example, one village leader told HSC
soldiers of two weapons caches. In return, he received a cash
award. Later on, the same village leader witnessed HSC soldiers
repairing his village's windmills and generators. For their effort,
he informed them of another weapons cache.
Similar mutually beneficial relationships are being forged in
many villages around Bagram Air Base.
Security is much more than manning a 24-hour entry-control
point, the soldiers said. It is also about showing the Afghan
people that coalition forces can provide a positive alternative to
the violence enemy fighters offer.
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