War On Terror News

FET teams Re-Set

Female engagement team refreshes their training
by Cpl. Megan Sindelar RC-SW

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Marines with the Regional Command Southwest Female Engagement Team conducted reset training here Jan 11-12.

The Marines are required to return to Camp Leatherneck every 45 days to conduct reset training to give them a break from their respective units and share lessons learned before returning to their assigned districts.

“During this reset, we wanted to focus on some of the projects they have been doing,” said Master Sgt. Cherelle L. Peters-Williams, from Ithica, N.Y., and FET staff noncommissioned officer in charge.

Troops Assess Uruzgan Women Issues

FET assesses needs of Afghan women in Uruzgan

ISAF: KABUL, Afghanistan – A coalition forces Female Engagement Team met with the women of Shesh Par village Nov. 21 to assess the needs of local women as the team develops future plans and programs for the Uruzgan province.

These teams provide coalition forces insight on women’s medical, educational and employment needs, and how they may be addressed in a culturally sensitive way.

During the visit, the FET members heard from a midwife who runs a practice along with her 11-year-old daughter. She lacks the funds to purchase and provide proper medication for her patients during the week, whom she rarely charges for services. She also lacks the money to provide heating and lighting for the patients, said a member of the team.

Another need the team uncovered involved the local school, which has been closed for several months, but is scheduled to reopen in three months. The school, which teaches students first through 12th grade, lacks funding and supplies to operate daily.

Members of the engagement team and civil affairs representatives are currently exploring possible solutions to these two specific areas as well as others that were presented during the visit.

New women’s affairs director sets goals for Paktika

Headquarters, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs  

Hala Hushawa, Paktika’s new director of women’s affairs, meets with female engagement team members from the Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team here Nov. 7. Hushawa and team members discussed the needs of Paktika’s female population including Islamic classes and healthcare. (Photo by: U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Ashley N. Avecilla)

Story by Sgt. Scott Davis 11.07.2010  PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team’s female engagement team conducted their first meeting with Hala Hushawa, Paktika’s new director of women’s affairs, here Nov. 7.

Through questions, explanations and laughter, members of the FET established a relationship with Hushawa and learned how the PRT can assist her in meeting the needs of Paktika’s females.

Engagements Advance Women's Issues in Kunar

ISAF Joint Command  10.24.2010 KABUL, Afghanistan - In Asadabad, a city located near the Pakistan border in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, women are making strides and recently conducted a women's shura.

The patrol included 18 females and a few males who were providing security. Most of the patrol was made up of female engagement team members at the district and provincial levels from Task Force No Slack. Members from the Army, Navy and Air Force represented - for the first time - a large joint effort that was put together to address women's issues in Asadabad.

"I think women's affairs are probably the highest priority out here," said U.S. Army Maj. Mary Parmenter, the Iowa National Guard's 734th Agribusiness Development Team operations officer and a member of the Forward Operating Base Wright FET. "Education of women and children is what's going to change the future of Afghanistan."

Female Engagement Team builds bridges into Afghan society

Regimental Combat Team 1 Story by Sgt. Dean Davis

10.24.2010  CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan - As the Female Engagement Team of Regimental Combat Team 1 patrols the fields, canals and villages of Helmand, they are bridging the cultural gap that is sometimes at the forefront of the counterinsurgency here.

In Afghanistan’s culture, a woman’s modesty is a sanctity closely guarded by everyone. But, this specially trained team is able to reach across those boundaries, enabling them to go where male Marines often cannot.

“Afghanistan’s society is much more conservative [than that of the U.S.] when it comes to women,” said 1st Lt. Quincy Washa, FET platoon commander for RCT-1. “Very rarely are they allowed to go outside the compounds without a male escort, so it’s imperative that we get the female Marines to go to them.”

Marine Female Engagement Team Delivers Ray of Hope in Afghanistan

Female Engagement Team Visits Afghan Students, Delivers School Supplies

Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan Media Operations Center
Story by Sgt. Brian Kester

08.08.2010  HERAT, Afghanistan — A school in Herat province recently received a much needed delivery of school supplies for its more than 30 female Afghan students during a Marine Corps Female Engagement Team visit.

The Marine FET, in a coordinated effort with a U.S. Civil Affairs and Special Forces team from the Zerekoh Valley, delivered more than just backpacks filled with paper, pens, pencils, erasers, and other various supplies to the 34 female students ranging in age from 7 to 14 -- they delivered a ray of hope to the people living in Shindand district.

“The intent was to

ISAF Gives Medical Aid to Bouldac Villagers

I Marine Expeditionary Force (Fwd)

Story by Lance Cpl. Megan Sindelar

06.17.2010  BOULDAC, Afghanistan – Marines and medical officers from I Marine Headquarters Group and 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD), a British platoon, a Danish liaison training team, a squad from the Afghan National Army and an ANA medic traveled to Bouldac, a village near Camp Leatherneck, June 16, to conduct a village medical outreach and provide medical aid to the locals.

The VMO site was set up at a centralized location of the village compounds. A large tent was set up for the outreach patients and solar-netting was put up over the waiting area. The medical team, with the ANA medic taking the lead, helped 45 patients at the centralized site.

Meanwhile, a female engagement team escorted I MEF female medical staff to each compound within the Bouldac village. The FET was needed to escort the medics because the females have

Governor, ISAF Develop Priorities for Afghan Women in Farah

ISAF Joint Command
By U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Christine Darius

05.30.2010  KABUL, Afghanistan - Farah Provincial Governor Rahool Amin and the Female Engagement Team assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah met to develop a priority agenda for the women of province, May 25.

The engagement team is composed of a U.S. Agency for International Development representative and four female military servicemembers assigned to PRT Farah. The team meets with Afghan women from all over the province and provides them an opportunity to address the concerns and issues of the women of Farah. After the FET gathers their assessments, they work closely with Afghan cooperatives on solutions to the women's problems.

"Even before getting to Afghanistan people would tell me it would be difficult to work with the women here because of cultural customs," said Marsha Michel, USAID field officer and FET coordinator for PRT Farah. "After only a few months of being here I realized that women here just need a little direction, and an opportunity to showcase their skills."

First British soldiers pass female engagement course in Helmand

A Training and Adventure news article

24 May 10  Two British female soldiers serving in Helmand have become the first to complete the United States Marine Corps' Female Engagement Team course.

Lance Corporals Murray and Garraway conduct intravenous training as part of the Female Engagement Team course
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]

The all-female course focuses on methods of interaction with the local Afghan female population, and how to foster relationships and gain the trust and support of Afghans whilst patrolling with infantry soldiers.

Female Engagement Teams prep for interacting with Afghan women

FET training preps CLB-6 females for productive engagements with Afghan women

Sgt. Justin J. Shemanski

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Helmand province, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – There’s an old adage in the Marine Corps – “adapt and overcome.” It can apply to any number of situations, whether it’s not having a particular piece gear or being heavily outnumbered in a fire fight, Marines excel with what they have. Improvising is one of the organization’s hallmarks, and when dealing with something as delicate as respectfully overcoming cultural and social taboos, it is especially important for success in a combat zone?

Effectively identifying the wants and needs of the people of Afghanistan requires a unique approach, and female Marines rise to the occasion.

Nuristan Female Engagement Team Meets the Women of Sundurwa Village

Combined Joint Task Force - 82 PAO Story by 2nd Lt. Natassia Cherne

02.17.2010  NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team's female engagement team visited the Sundurwa village in eastern Afghanistan's Nuristan province to hold a female shura, Feb 13.

This was not the Nuristan PRT's first visit to the village, It was the first time the female engagement team met with the women to introduce themselves and their mission, and to learn about issues facing women in the area.

"Visiting the women of Sunderwa village was very different [from] any of the other village visits

Female Engagement Team (FET) Brings together Afghan Women and Marines

Female Engagement Team Helps Establish Connection Between Marines and Afghan Women

Regimental Combat Team-7, 1st Marine Division Public Affairs Story by Lance Cpl. Dwight Henderson

12.26.2009 HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Throughout the Garmsir District in Afghanistan, Marines and Sailors of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, interact with multiple key leaders and locals to learn what the village needs.

However, there is one gap that is hard to bridge – the interaction between Marines and the females of these villages.

This is the problem that the Marines and sailors of the female engagement team, attached to 2/2, worked to solve, as they conducted multiple patrols through the village of Tajik Khar Dec. 16-20.

With the help from the Marines of Easy Company, 2/2, and local members of the Afghan National Army, the FET moved from compound to compound, hoping to speak to the females to discuss what medical care and humanitarian assistance was needed for them.

"This is extremely important," said 2nd Lt. Carly E. Towers, the officer in charge of the FET. "Our mission out here as (International Security Assistance Force) is to talk to and work with the locals to build cooperation and security."

Because of the local Afghan culture, male Marines are not allowed to look at, let alone talk to, any local females. Even the ANA is not supposed to talk to the women of any compound, so the female Marines' efforts do not only benefit other Marines, but the local ANA, as well.

Women Have the Power in COIN: Female Engagement Teams

In 2005, I was sitting under a tree at Shira, in Kapisa Province with Minister Stanakzia who was in charge of the Disarmament of Illegally Armed Groups (DIAG) program. I was struck by the fact that there were no women to be seen anywhere. I mentioned this to the Minister and he explained to me that although there were no women present, in Afghan culture they were quite powerful in the home. He said that the great interest in cell phones and the riots that had taken place because of a lack of phone cards was generated by Afghan wives pushing their husbands to keep up with the Jone’s, or in this case, the Barakzias. Being married, I knew exactly

Iraq IFET Brings Expertise to COB Basra

Multi-National Division-South  Story by: Sgt. Benjamin R. Kibbey  11.20.2009

COB BASRA, Iraq – Fifty years of experience as an architect, a master's degree and a resume that reads like a travel guide ranging across Europe and the Middle East and even Japan: these are just a few of the things Abrahim M Oda al Timimi brings with him as the leader of the Iraqi Facilities Engineering Team at Contingency Operating Base Basra.

A Basrah native, Abrahim seems perfect to lead the six other Iraqi electrical, civil and mechanical engineers hired to take over the job of the U.S. Air Force Facilities Engineering Team.

The IFET will be overseeing quality assurance and control for all facilities, utilities and construction on COB Basra.

They are the military equivalent of city planners.

And the small city that is COB Basra is more complex than many would guess. Though decentralized, the base has full sewage, water and electrical systems, roadways that are constantly being adapted and improved and any number of ongoing construction projects.

Iraq News - April 8, 2009

 

A young Iraqi boy receives Halal meals and water from U.S. and Iraqi Soldiers in Bara'ia, Samarra, Iraq, March 31. Photo by Sgt. Ian Terry, 25th Infantry Division Public Affairs.

Articles:

Iraqi ERB arrests 11 suspected terrorists in single mission

Doctor shares tips with Iraqi patients and practitioners

COB Speicher stands up Iraqi Facility Engineer Team

Iraqi Army Soldiers Display Combat Skills

President Obama Surprises Troops

 

Families Receive Food, Farming Supplies

COB SPEICHER — Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers delivered dozens of humanitarian aid packages containing several cases of Halal meals to families in the Bara’ia neighborhood near Samarra, March 31

“Bara’ia is an extremely impoverished area of Samarra, and local residents are not used to receiving humanitarian aid from government or Coalition forces,” said 1st. Lt. Daniel Flynn, platoon leader. “The last time most of these folks saw people in uniform, they were kicking down doors and arresting people.”

The local citizens appeared cautious at first, but quickly warmed up to the Soldiers when it became apparent they were on scene to help.

In addition to food and water, Coalition Soldiers and Iraqi Security Forces delivered several large