|
Blackanthem Military News
|
Last Updated:
May 20, 2012 - 4:51:44 PM |
|
|
Blackanthem Military News
 |
| United States Marines with Border Advisor Team 1 patrol down to a compound during Operation Eagle Hunt. Both Afghan Security Forces and the Marines and sailors faced temperatures dropping to the low teens. They slept in empty compounds and fighting holes under cold winter night skies. Photo by Cpl. Marco Mancha |
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan - United States Marines and Afghan National Security Forces filled the air with dust recently as dozens of their vehicles rolled into the desert. Afghan camouflage-painted Humvees and small, green trucks with gun turrets led the way into the lower region of the province in search of insurgents.
The Afghan-led operation was a small shaping operation to clear the Taghaz area of southern Helmand in preparation for future counterinsurgency operations to expand Afghan-led security. United States Marines are providing support to the Afghans throughout these operations in order to assist Afghan efforts to expand security, stability and development in the province.
More than 75 U.S. troops, including a few improvised explosive device detection dogs, accompanied roughly 100 Afghan Border Police and Afghan Uniformed Police members during the operation. A majority of those U.S. personnel were the Marines and sailors of Border Advisor Team 1.
The BAT-1 mission was simple: advise their Afghan brothers in arms when necessary, assist with logistics, and accompany their Afghan counterparts on mounted and dismounted partnered patrols.
The operation provided the Afghan members an opportunity to demonstrate for their Marine mentors, and the rest of the world, what they are capable of doing.
Afghan forces detained more than 100 local residents on allegations involving the growing and harvesting of illicit crops, such as poppy and marijuana, according to ABP officials. They also eliminated roughly 90 to 100 acres of hasheesh and confiscated at least 13 tractors in support of the Afghan government’s efforts to prevent illicit crops.
Editor’s Note: Border Advisor Team 1 is currently assigned in support of 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5 in 2nd Marine Division (Forward), which heads Task Force Leatherneck. The task force serves as the ground combat element of Regional Command (Southwest) and works in partnership with the Afghan National Security Forces and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The unit is dedicated to securing the Afghan people, defeating insurgent forces, and enabling ANSF assumption of security responsibilities within its area of operations in order to support the expansion of stability, development and legitimate governance.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
 |
| Afghan Border Police members stand watch during the start of Operation Eagle Hunt. The operation was a shaping operation led by Afghan National Security Forces to search for insurgent forces harbored in the area. Marines and sailors from Border Advisor Team 1 were there to lend a helping hand to their Afghan counterparts of 1st Kandak, 6th Zone, ABP, during the operation.Photo by Cpl. Marco Mancha |
|
 |
| A Marine attached in support of Border Advisor Team 1 stands watch during the start of Operation Eagle Hunt, a shaping operation led by Afghan National Security Forces to search for insurgent forces harbored in the area. Photo by Cpl. Marco Mancha |
|
 |
| A policeman with 1st Kandak, 6th Zone, Afghan Border Police, stands watch during a movement toward the Afghanistan border. The movement signaled the start of Operation Eagle Hunt, an effort led by Afghan National Security Forces to seek out insurgents in the area. Roughly 100 ANSF members executed the mission and led their U.S. Marine counterparts in the shaping operation, preparing the area for future counterinsurgency operations. Photo by Cpl. Marco Mancha |
|
 |
| All Terrain vehicles were staged and ready to go for Operation Eagle Hunt. The policemen of 1st Kandak, 6th Zone, Afghan Border Police, spent the night in the middle of the desert near the Afghanistan border alongside the Marines and sailors of Border Advisor Team 1. The operation provided an opportunity for Afghan National Security Forces to lead the entire operation, while the Marines merely provided logistical support and mentoring as necessary. Photo by Cpl. Marco Mancha |
|
 |
| Members of the Afghan Border Police stand in front of their vehicles waiting to stage security for the night. The policemen of 1st Kandak, 6th Zone, ABP, spent the night in the middle of the desert near the Afghanistan border alongside the Marines and sailors of Border Advisor Team 1 to commence Operation Eagle Hunt. The operation was led completely by Afghan National Security Forces, while Marines provided logistical support and mentoring, when necessary. Photo by Cpl. Marco Mancha |
|
 |
| Dozens of Afghan Security Forces stage their vehicles before launching Operation Eagle Hunt. The policemen of 1st Kandak, 6th Zone, Afghan Border Police, and members of the Afghan Border Police spent the night in the middle of the desert near the Afghanistan border alongside the Marines and sailors of Border Advisor Team 1. The Afghan-led operation provided an opportunity for the Afghan forces to demonstrate their ability to provide security as they searched for insurgents. Photo by Cpl. Marco Mancha |
|
Comments
NO Soliciting.
Comments with links to websites or soliciting services will be removed.
Please read our Terms of use for more information.
|
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
