Nathan Hodge
Security

Afghanistan Diary: Culture Clash

In late August, a contingent of Afghan National Army soldiers – with a team of British advisors in tow – arrived at the mud-brick compound occupied by Marines of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment in southern Helmand Province. The arrival of the ANA would mean relief for the Marine riflemen who had spent […]

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In late August, a contingent of Afghan National Army soldiers – with a team of British advisors in tow – arrived at the mud-brick compound occupied by Marines of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment in southern Helmand Province. The arrival of the ANA would mean relief for the Marine riflemen who had spent a long summer in this dusty, primitive outpost.

As the Afghans moved into their quarters, a few Marines looked on with astonishment. The Afghans had a somewhat more casual approach to soldiering. One ANA soldier was toting a boom box along with his newly issued M16; another had slung a teapot from the barrel of his rifle. Muzzle discipline – in a few alarming cases – seemed a bit lax. And whatever lip service their leaders may pay to the concept, cultural sensitivity was not a strong suit for the Marines.

“Did you see that? They’re f*ckin’ holding hands.”

A young lance corporal marked a pathway in the dirt with some flat rope so the Afghans would stay out of their way.

“Ski, what the f*ck is that?” asked the company executive officer.

“Sir, I had an RPG pointed at me twice today!”

A staff sergeant chimed in, laughing: “It’s f*cking racist!”

Ski: “It’s just a suggestion …”

The rope was removed. Nearby, a lanky British NCO began dressing down an ANA soldier who has parked his PKM machine gun next to the Marines’ shade tent. The NCO barked at an interpreter: “Tell him to unload it. You’re not supposed to have loaded weapons inside the base. Tell him to unload it NOW! Pull the slide back … .”

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Despite the initial culture clash, the ANA and the Marines quickly settled into a routine. The ANA
was supposed to take over security in the area, so the Marines spent the next two weeks going out with them on familiarization patrols and giving them some basic instruction. The idea was to create a more or less seamless transition.

Departure of the Marines from Garmsir, however, would clearly leave a void. The ANA unit that replaced the Marines had none of the logistics support or air power that the 24th Marine Expeditionary
Unit brought to Helmand Province. Their heaviest weapon was an SPG-9 recoilless rifle.

I spent some time with a group of ANA soldiers in their compound. With some coaxing from Dave, a British army captain who was part of the mentoring team, the Afghans aired a few complaints. Their food, they said, was inadequate. And several ANA soldiers said they were not fond of their new M16s, which required constant cleaning.

Dave said the plan to shift the ANA to more NATO-standard equipment was perhaps the wrong priority. “This equipment issue has now outstripped their training,” he said. “They are literally dumping this equipment on them and we are having to backtrack. It would be better if we could concentrate on the basics.” Another issue for the Afghans was their vehicles; they had no up-armored vehicles, only Ford Ranger pickup trucks that would be shredded if they hit a mine or a roadside bomb.

Said Sergeant Mohammad Nazir: “The US and the British have good vehicles. When they hit an IED, the American trucks will not be destroyed. When our vehicles hit an IED, they will be destroyed completely.”

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