“With Sword And Plow We Are Fighting Evil”

APRIL 2012

Featured Soldiers of the Month

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Commanders Comments

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The Agriculture Mission

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Team Sower Georgia Agribusiness Development Team II

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Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan – After completing a successful Relief in Place / Transfer of Authority, soldiers of the Georgia Agribusiness Development Team II are excited to carry on the work of ADT I as they continue to assist the economic development surrounding Afghan Agribusiness. 1LT Matthew Rushton,

SECFOR platoon leader said, “This is what we have trained for, and my soldiers are ready for the mission! Cowboy Up…Lets Ride!” Along with conducting initial missions to establish relationships and rapport with local Afghan officials, GA ADT II team members have enjoyed settling into their new living quarters. April has been busy with soldiers building and tweaking to get their living areas ‘just right’. Additionally the groundwork has been laid for ADTII’s own Crossfit gym and fitness center right next to the office. Whether on mission or busy in the office, ADT II soldiers are finding a home away from home at FOB Shank!

After Successful Handoff, ADT II Soldiers Are Eager To Get Down to Business

“This is what we trained for”

Last, First RANK GA ADT II FOB Shank (East) APO, AE 09364

Mailing Address

Tips for on Mailing to APO Address:

1. APO addresses are considered US addresses for postage calculation purposes

2. When filing out address forms the city is (APO), the state is (AE), and the zip is 09364

3. A customs form is required when mailing to APO, available at your local post office.

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The AG team has hit the ground running, falling in on several projects started by the GA-ADT-I. Our agriculture mission here is going well. We have been meeting regularly with Afghan officials, such as the Directors of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock (DAIL) and their staff in order to assess their future needs. As you know, our goal is to support the Government of Afghanistan to help the farmers grow, store, preserve and sell agriculture products. We spend many hours meeting with leaders in the Afghan community to determine what practices work best in their specific area and then we try to help them improve their techniques. We have several projects that we are working, such as watershed management and soil conservation, cool storage (root cellars), livestock care, and agri-business associations. We are also working with women’s groups to train and educate them on agri-business affairs, home gardening and canning, just to mention a few.

Our largest projects include cool storage facilities (root cellars) that will preserve food long after the growing season is over. In some areas this will help villages stave off starvation. In other areas that have abundant crops, cool storage allows the villages to

store the product for a few months until the prices rise due to increased demand allowing them to sell their products for a

significant profit. Other projects include windmill construction for water pumps and irrigation canal repair. We will soon be working in some very steep areas to control erosion. Due to over grazing and many years of turmoil and living in survival mode, almost all of the elevated land in our area lacks vegetation. In these areas, erosion is the root of many problems. Drip irrigation from the rivers is useless due to excessive silt, which clogs the fittings. With no power it is difficult to pump water to irrigate steep slopes. Hopefully we can help end this "endless cycle" and allow Afghanistan to become a prosperous and secure nation as many here desire. We are looking forward to the coming months working with the Afghan officials and local farmers. Our aim is to improve the lives of the local farmers and the agricultural economy of Logar and Wardak provinces. We will continue to keep all the families updated as our mission continues. See you soon!

LTC Farrell & SGM Sharpe

The Agriculture Mission

“Hopefully we can end this ‘endless

cycle’ here in Afghanistan”

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Kevin Caldwell Age: 21 Hometown:

Powder Springs, GA MOS: 13B-Field Artillery

Relationship Status: In a relationship

Education: Soph. at Allied American University Favorite Activities: Sports

(Flag Football/Baseball), Outdoor Activities (Fishing) Stuck on a desert

island with one book: Lone Survivor, one TV Show: SportsCenter, one

artist: Toby Keith. Favorite thing about this deployment:

“Experiencing a completely different culture”

Crazy Fact: Kevin once took drama class in 8th grade where he learned stage dynamics and dance. At 5’ 11” he stole the show as one of the Seven Dwarfs

Bobby Clower Age: 23 Hometown:

Lilburn, GA

MOS: 11B-Infantry Education:

Soph. at GA Gwinnett College (Biology) Relationship Status: In a relationship Activities: Camping, hiking, shooting sports, volunteering at BSA Summer Camp Stuck on a desert island with

one book: Between a Rock and a Hard Place, one TV Show: Lost, one

artist: Jimmy Buffett. Favorite thing

about this deployment: The living quarters/having his own room

Crazy Fact: Once tried to swallow and regurgitate a goldfish as a Boy Scout counselor, but the fish wouldn’t come back up

Reese Holman Age: 22 Hometown:

Woodstock, GA MOS: 11B-Infantry

Education: Junior at NGCSU (International Affairs) Relationship Status: Single

Activities: Fratting Hard with SAE buddies, Running, Working Out Stuck on a desert island with one

movie: Groundhog Day, one band:

RHCP, one book: The Count of Monte Christo, one TV show: Blue Mountain State

Crazy Fact: Once took 1st place in a 5k race, and was awarded the trophy by Jimmy Carter, who was wearing a huge “JC” belt buckle

Soldiers of the Month

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Commanders Comments

Salaam Allekum,

Greetings from Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shank located in Logar Province in East Central Afghanistan. Your Soldiers, Airmen, and DA Civilian have jumped head first into our mission of helping the Afghan farmers in Logar and Wardak Provinces. Our mission is COIN which stands for “Counterinsurgency” or in layman terms means “winning the hearts and minds of the people” so they will not want or need to take part as an insurgent or insurgent enabler. Our team is comprised of several

sections with differing responsibilities. Each section must do their part in order for the entire team to be successful. Taking out any one section would be like removing the leg from a stool. The stool can’t support a person if one or more legs are missing.

Our AGRICULTURE SPECIALISTS under the direction of LTC Jeffrey Farrell are meeting with their Afghan government agriculture counterparts in order to assess training needs for the local farmers. Additionally, our AG specialists perform quality assurance inspections on projects started by previous ADTs. One major area GA ADT II is focused on is Watershed Management. Developing ways to slowdown the snowmelt mountain runoff and retain this water for longer periods of time will help provide better crop irrigation thereby helping increase crop production.

Our SECFOR TEAM “COWBOY” is led by 1LT Robert Rushton and SFC Brian Neal. Team Cowboy is charged with protecting the Command Group and Ag Teams when we go out on missions to meet with our Afghan partners. The men and women of SECFOR COWBOY are true professionals who drive our armored vehicles, man the big guns, and check for IEDs along the route. I feel safe every time I roll off the FOB with the men and women of SECFOR COWBOY.

Last but certainly not least are the HQ and TOC SECTIONS led by LTC David Silver and LTC Dane Snowden respectively. The folks working in our headquarters and tactical operations center make sure everything is running seamlessly each and every day. The number of things these sections are responsible for include personnel matters (pay and promotions), intelligence updates, maintenance, equipment re-supply, ammunition accountability, tracking our mission ground movements, requests of air

movement (helicopters when we can’t drive to a meeting location), communications (a boatload of office computers, phones, printers, etc. plus the

internet service we use with our personal computers to do our Facebook and Skype with you folks back home).

GA ADT II is the best small unit I have ever been associated with in my 35 years of wearing the uniform. Everyone on our team volunteered. We are small in numbers but not in what we will accomplish over the next ten months. It is my honor and privilege to command this elite team of National Guard men and women.

Sowing Freedom,

COL MCGALLIARD

“GA ADT II is the best small unit that I have ever been

associated with”

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