Soldiers from Prince George's in Afghanistan

July 08, 2005

The 352nd Civil Affairs Command, Army National Guard, is based in Riverdale, MD. Many of its personnel are currently stationed in Afghanistan and due to return home shortly. University of Maryland student Christina DeNard has collected background information on the unit and the US intervention in Afghanistan. She expects to interview members of the 352nd when they return to Prince George's County. Christina writes ...

I hope to gain a sense of the purpose of intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan and its impact on soldiers. I will further study Afghani culture and compare it to American culture. Hopefully, this will explain some of the hostility Americans have received from those invaded. The economic and political agendas within these missions will be explored with emphasis on neocolonialism and imperialist motives. In addition, civilians will be interviewed about their views on the war on terrorism and their knowledge of the impact of invading another country. Preferably, these will be interviews of Muslims and non-Muslims to evaluate the impact on both perspectives. All of my findings will be posted on the princegeorges.org website because this county needs to be more cognizant of international affairs and diplomacy.

This is what I intended on doing this summer. However, I found myself completing a project that was much more small-scale. First, my travels took me to Washington, D.C. at the Embassy of Afghanistan. I spoke with the education officer there who gave me wonderful information on Afghanistan and the reconstruction taking place. She also dispelled some common myths about the war in Afghanistan. If you would like to know more, click here.

I then continued my research on what I thought was the Civil Affairs Command, finding a lot of information on the Army National Guard. Unfortunately, after meeting with Cpt. John Koerner, an actual member of the unit, I found out the command is actually apart of the Army Reserves. So I regrouped, and gathered more information on that particular branch of the United States Army. To learn more about Cpt. Koerner’s first-hand experience in Afghanistan, click here.

Facts about Afghanistan

This country is located in Southeast Asia, west of Pakistan and east of Iran and is now called the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It is ruled by Hamid Karzai, who was elected democratically. Nevertheless, this is a long way from the political structure of the past. For centuries, Afghanistan has been ruled by monarchs, and Islam. In the 1970s, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and began to oppress its people. A group of students who interpreted Islam radically decided to challenge the Soviets. With the support of billionaire Osama bin Laden, this group called themselves the Taliban, and liberated their people. By 1998, the Taliban had control over 90% of the country. After the attacks of Spetember 11th, the Taliban was overthrown by the Northern Alliance, who established the government currently in place.

There have been numerous media coverages of hostility towards American occupation in Afghanistan. This is not the majority view of Afghans. According to the embassy, the country welcomes the rebuilding of their political infrastructure. Schools, hospitals, and communities are being rebuilt, while women are expanding their rights, such as voting. Ethnic tribes that were previously at odds are cooperating to rebuild the country.

Facts about the Army Reserve

The reserve serves a complimentary role to the Active component of the Army, providing combat support and combat service support functions to enable the Army to ramp up its capabilities to protect combat forces and sustain mobilization.

It further enables the Army to:

1. do more with fewer resources


2. train soldiers at the highest possible level


3. maintain a force that can mobilize rapidly and skillfully at any level


4. Implement national objectives


5. Support national policies

The Army Reserve contributes:




1. 100% of the Army’s


1. Chemical brigades


2. Interment brigades


3. Judge advocate general units


4. Medical groups


5. Railway units


6. Water supply battalions


7. Training and exercise divisions


1. More than 2/3 of the Army’s


1. Civil Affairs units


2. Psychological Operations units


3. Hospitals


4. Medical Brigades

The Army Reserve is comprised of

54% combat service support


1. This includes Civil Affairs

27% mobilization base expansion


2. 18% combat support


3. 1% combat

Training

Upon entry, everyone selects or is assigned a MOS (military occupational specialty)

This is assigned based on individual interest and aptitude, availability, and the Army’s needs

The Reserve train with Active and National Guard units to promote cohesiveness between the three branches

There are three types of training:

1. Basic Training

Soldier skills are learned (Advanced Individual Training) Skills needed to perform MOS Classroom time, time in field (Sustainment training) Drill one weekend a month

1. Annual training- two weeks per year
Several units converge on an assigned post to perform a more involved training exercise

1. Innovative Readiness Training (IRT)
Dept of Defense program addressing serious domestic needs in the U.S.

Facts about the Civil Affairs Unit

What is a Civil Affairs unit?

Culturally-oriented, linguistically capable soldiers

Soldiers that are the interface between civil and military operations

Provide a link between a link between the military commander and the civilian populace in an area of operations

91% are reserve units

Only reserve units that report to Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina

What do CA units do?

Encompass the relationship between military forces, civil authorities and people in a friendly or occupied country or area

Support national policy and implement US national objectives by coordinating with, influencing, developing, or controlling indigenous infrastructures

Help plan US government interagency procedures for national and regional emergencies

Promote regional stability, prevent or reduce conflicts and threats, and deter aggression and coercion worldwide

Locate civil resources to support military operation, help minimize civilian interference with operations, support national assistance activities, plan and execute non-combatant evacuation, support counter-drug operations, and establish and maintain a liaison or dialogue with civilian agencies and civilian commercial and private organizations

Provide functional expertise for foreign internal defense operations, unconventional warfare operations and direct action missions

What are the functional specialties of CA units?

Government section

Legal

Public administration

Public education

Public health

Public safety

Economic/commerce section

Civilian supply

Environmental management

Food and agriculture

Public facilities section

Public communications

Transportation

Public works and utilities

Special functions section

Cultural relations

Cultural information

Dislocated civilians

Emergency services

What do CA commands do?

Provide pre-deployment command and control to their geographically oriented CA brigades and battalions

Provide support to their respective war fighting Commander
Plan, manage, and conduct CA operations that support other commanders
Responsible for the training, equipping, and preparation of their subordinate units for mobilization and deployment both in war and in support of peace operations

CA teams in Afghanistan

Companies go to cities, towns and rural outposts in individual teams of six

Each CAT is composed of a major, a captain, an NCOIC, and three enlisted men

For teams stationed away from the major US bases in Kabul and Kandahar, a communications sergeant is added

Each team hires one or two full time local interpreters

Find a safe house and hire locals (part of the Northern Alliance) as a security force

Always ready to defend themselves but are not supposed to engage in direct action

Talk to village leaders to find out the needs and wants of the village. Then meet the needs to the best extent possible, whether its is from the team’s own funds, or through a pot of money donated by NGOs (non-governmental organizations)

Plan and coordinate the projects

Life in Afghanistan

Bad environment

Irrigation systems have sewage and drinking water in the same reservoir

Illness is rampant

Extreme temperatures

Scorpions and huge wasps

Horrible roads

Constant threat of Al Qeida

The 352nd Civil Affairs Command

Located in Riverdale, MD, this unit is part of the 450th Battalion. This battalion is also airborne, which means that every member is a certified paratrooper. Furthermore, it is the only reserve battalion that has its own beret flash. More information will be gathered, as most of the soldiers are welcoming the troops that returned home July 2nd.

Posted by Prince Georges at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)

Greenbelt, a planned city

July 08, 2005

Greenbelt, in Prince George's County, MD, is a planned city, built by the federal government in the 1930's according to innovative ideas in planning and social organization. Today, it remains a distinctive and successful community. University of Maryland student Erin Boyland has constructed a set of web pages on Greenbelt. Click to see her introduction, or go directly to her pages on Greenbelt's history, philosophy, art deco architecture cooperative, volunteer fire department, or bibliography.

Posted by Prince Georges at 09:34 AM | Comments (1)

historical fiction: desegregration through students' eyes

July 07, 2005

Mandy Fraser, a student at the University of Maryland, has written a short story about a pair of imaginary students--one African American and one White--who experience the beginning of busing in 1973. She explains ....

Prince George's County was more than a little late in abiding by Brown v. Board of Education. Twenty years, to be exact, of official foot dragging until the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) forced change. The January of 1973 saw the largest busing plan implemented in the country amidst some very unhappy parents and their students. The shift away from the neighborood school and into, for the most part, unknown territory was unpopular but necessary for a full realization of the ruling handed down from the Supreme Court two decades before.

The problem then was a combination of hosing segregation and covert racism. Today, we no longer have segregation based on race. In fact, the county's school system is almost 75% black, a side-effect of the "white flight" phenomenon in which white homeowners have moved into other parts of Maryland. The busing system in the County stayed intact through the better part of three decades and it is only now being disbanded, with a return to neighborood schools.

The short story I've written, entitled "Prince George's County, Circa 1973: William Wirt Junior High School (As seen through the eyes of Jesse Wheeler and Nicholas Arnet)" sought to expand upon the clear-cut facts of the situation and explore its more human elements. These were simply children being placed into a situation that they had no control over. There have been some serious questions asked pertaining to the ethics of such a move by the School Board, and the tale does shed light on some of the more negative aspects of the busing.

We follow Jesse Wheeler from his first day at William Wirt and some of his experiences with his new white classmates and teachers. Every other chapter switches perspectives, showing us these same days through the eyes of Nicholas Arnet, a white boy who befriends the new kid and some of the issues attached with this burgeoning friendship.

The interview I conducted with Mrs. Cassandra Hall, along with the interviews and quotes I came upon in preliminary research, helped to flesh out some of the more real aspects of the tale. Some situations were inspired by her own experiences as a child in the county during the 1970s.

Posted by Prince Georges at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)

a portrait of the County in sound

May 02, 2005

University of Maryland student John Shiu has created a musical composition to portray Prince George's County, sampling sounds from Beltway traffic to the Goddard Space Center.

Listen in MP3 format.
Listen in .wav format.

Posted by Prince Georges at 02:37 AM | Comments (1)