Guard members sent to help Afghanis farm

By GINA KINSLOW
Glasgow Daily Times

GREENVILLE June 27, 2009 01:17 pm

— A group of Soldiers and Airmen from the Kentucky National Guard’s 1/623rd FA MLRS, which is headquartered in Glasgow, is preparing for deployment to Afghanistan.
The group is part of the Kentucky Agribusiness Development Team, which is comprised of Soldiers and Airmen from several different units across the state.
“The unique skill sets of these Soldiers and Airmen are not found in just one unit which made it a necessity to pick our team from various units to ensure we had the best people the commonwealth could provide,” said Maj. John H. Homes Jr. with the 1/623rd.
Their mission is to teach Afghanis how to farm.
“The ADT mission is centered on teaching Afghanis to be agriculturally self-sufficient and is based on a concept that has been in place for over 20 years in South America,” he said. “By teaching Afghani farmers how to be self-sufficient and providing sustainable methods to meet that end, they will be able to feed their families and have enough surplus to market.” 
Many Americans take for granted the ability to provide food for their families, he said.
“This is not the case for the people in Afghanistan,” Holmes said. “The years of constant war have ravaged the country and made raising a family almost impossible.”
The Afghanis farm the way the Americans did in the 1800s, he said, so that means they have a concept of agriculture.
“It’s just not one that provides enough food to sustain their families,” Holmes said. “The mission is all about teaching and providing Afghanis the tools to improve their chance at feeding their families.”
Afghanis have two basic crops — wheat and corn. They also produce grapes, goats, sheep and some beef cattle.
“We plan on introducing soybeans and forage grass crops to begin our work in addition to enhancing what they already raise,” Holmes said.
One of the Soldiers who will be deploying to Afghanistan for this mission is Sgt. 1st Class Scotty Turner, of Tompkinsville.
All of the Soldiers and Airmen who are a part of the mission volunteered for it. Turner volunteered because it gives the unit a chance to help the people of  Afghanistan.
“The military has an appearance of always destroying stuff,” he said, adding this mission allows Soldiers and Airmen to help the Afghanis. Turner pointed out that Afghanistan was once a thriving agriculture country.
“They have lost so many men that the younger generation doesn’t know much about farming,” he said.
Several of the Soldiers and Airmen who are part of the mission have farming backgrounds, including Turner.
“I was raised on a farm in the Mud Lick community,” he said. “We raised tobacco and the basic garden stuff.”
His family also milked four to five cows and sold some of the milk.
“We were just the typical farm family,” he said.
Turner and his fellow Soldiers and Airmen will have booklets to help them learn common phrases they will need to know to communicate with the Afghanis.
“They encourage us to learn the basic language,” Turner said, however, interpretors always accompany the soldiers when they are out on missions.
A large part of the soldiers’ mission will be the Women Empowerment Programs, which are aimed at teaching women how to support themselves.
“Many women are widowed but are expected to contribute to the family without any resources. Programs such as herb gardening and bee keeping are a perfect fit for these unfortunate women,” Holmes said. “They can not own land but can still raise high profit herbs and bees without actually owning any land.”
The Soldiers and Airmen are currently undergoing basic soldier skill training.
“While this is a humanitarian mission, Afghanistan is still a country in turmoil,” he said. “Additionally, the agriculture team is honing their skills by compiling and analyzing the areas we will service to ensure we are prepared to provide the best methods to Afghani farmers.”
This is the third year the U.S. Army has sent troops to Afghanistan for this same mission.
“The Kentucky National Guard is the fifth state to accept this mission. This program is growing and will look to states such as Kentucky to show then how to do business,” Holmes said. “That being said, we are the first National Guard state that has incorporated the use of our Air National Guard and making this a joint mission and make up of a considerable part of our team.”
The Soldiers and Airmen are expected to return from their mission in 2010.

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