10th Mountain soldiers provide link so Afghan kids can get to school

FOB PASAB, AFGHANISTAN — It was mid-morning at this dusty U.S. Army forward operating base in southern Afghanistan, and soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, were preparing a convoy that included heavily armored personnel transports, mine clearing vehicles and truckloads of Afghan army troops.

They were prepared to fight the enemy if necessary, but their real mission was to visit a nearby village for the dedication of the Nowruzi Bridge, which many of them built to allow foot traffic across the Arghandab River.

“My men fabricated this pedestrian passageway over a collapsed span of the old bridge, which was built by the Russians” said Lt. Col. Jered Helwig, commander of the 710th Brigade Support Battalion. “It had been down for nearly 30 years and the school children have been walking an extra mile around the highway bridge twice a day just to make it to and from school.”

With the Afghan troops spreading out around the bridge crossing to provide security, Fort Drum troops led by Col. Patrick D. Frank, commanding officer of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, attended the ribbon cutting ceremony along with the district governor, assorted local politicians and tribal chiefs

A large crowd of residents, Afghan soldiers and police watched as village leaders lined the bridge railings. Later, Col. Frank sat with the region’s major power broker, tribal leader Haji Toragan.

“We call Haji Toragan the Keith Richards of Afghanistan,” Lt. Col Helwig said, in comparing the local leader to the Rolling Stones’ lead guitarist. “His red hair and flamboyant clothing stand out among the locals, but this guy is a very forward thinking leader.”

In the past Haji Toragan has fought with the Russian army, with the Mujahudeen, and now he supports Americans forces. These varying allegiances are not uncommon for most men in Afghanistan in their struggle for survival.

Haji Toragan built the local school that’s visible across the river. He himself is illiterate, but he wants to see that this younger generation is prepared to compete in the modern world.

During the ceremony, which began with a Moslem prayer sung by one of the Afghan soldiers, children watched while holding their book bags and lunches.

With the speeches concluded and the ribbon cut, the children along with the dignitaries crossed over the new span. The soldiers from the 710th who cut and welded the steel span together looked on approvingly, proud of their work and justly so.

Col. Frank said he insists his troops practice “Shona-ba-Shona,” which for U.S. military forces means standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Afghan security and governance partners.

Col. Frank, who is married to the former Jennifer Karen Constance, a Sackets Harbor native, will appear on CNN Friday at 6 p.m. He was interviewed by CNN’s John King recently about the partnership between Syracuse University and the Spartans of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team.