Photo Essays
Paktia Provincial Reconstruction Team Visits Remote Village
The Paktia provincial deputy governor, a council member and senior religious leader traveled by helicopter Feb. 15, 2009 over snow-covered mountains to a remote village in the Jani Khel district northeast of here to meet with the locals and promote peace within the tribe. An aerial view of the small village in the Jani Khel district that Paktia provincial leaders traveled to Feb. 15, 2009. There are no improved roads leading to the village, which renders it mostly cut off from the rest of the province during the winter. Semi-trucks haul goods to eastern Afghanistan along the narrow and dangerous “K-G Pass” that works its way through steep mountains and connects the Khowst and Paktia provinces, Feb. 25, 2009. A $100 million, 100-kilometer improved road, funded by the U.S. Agengy for International Development, is slated to start construction through the pass this summer. Coalition forces will build and improve numerous other roads in Afghanistan in the next few years.An aerial view shows a traditional Afghanistan mud and straw qalat, Feb. 7, 2009. The fortresses can take years to finish, but can last hundreds of years, and are passed down from generation to generation. Large, extended families make each qalat home.Paktia provincial Deputy Governor Abdal Rahma Mangal, left, talks with tribal leaders in the Jani Khel district during a visit to a remote village Feb. 15, 2009. The visit is part of the provincial reconstruction team’s efforts to connect the locals with the provincial leadership.A member of the Afghan National Security Force stands guard at the site of the new Jani Khel district center Feb. 15, 2009. The current center is a small mud hut. Construction on the new center will begin this spring. Afghan locals sit outside to get a look at the Paktia Province deputy governor, a council member and a senior religious leader during their visit to the small village in the Jani Khel district, Feb. 15, 2009. All three have roots to the Mangal tribe that lives in the district. A tribal leader stands outside the Jani Khel district center as Paktia provincial leaders look inside the mud hut Feb. 15, 2009. The foundation is laid for a new center and work will resume this spring.Dogs make their beds in the woodchips outside of the mud hut that serves as the Jani Khel district center Feb. 15, 2009. The district sub-governor and police chief are both appointed by provincial leadership and work out of the building. A new center should be finished this summer.A crowd gathered to catch a glimpse of the Paktia Province deputy governor, a council member and a senior religious leader during their visit to the small village in the Jani Khel district on Feb. 15, 2009. All three have roots to the Mangal tribe that lives in the district.Those who did not attend the “shura,” or meeting with the Paktia provincial leadership during their Feb. 15, 2009, visit to a small village in the Jani Khel district lined the mud streets and stood outside of their shops as the group passed by. All three have roots to the Mangal tribe that lives in the district. U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Moy, Paktia Provincial Reconstruction Team commander, right, talks with Army Master Sgt. Michael Barrows, a civil affairs team chief. The team took the provincial governor and other officials to meet at the remote combat outpost “Wilderness” in Paktia province, Afghanistan, Feb. 11, 2009. Paktia Provincial Reconstruction Team members U.S. Army Capt. Brett Evans, left, and Capt. Phil Soliz share a plate of rice and beef during a traditional Afghan meal served during a meeting at the Jani Khel district Feb. 15, 2009.After Paktia provincial officials spoke at a meeting with tribal officials and locals of the Jani Khel district Feb. 15, 2009, local citizens served a traditional Afghan feast that included beef, chicken, lamb, rice and bread.Those who did not have chairs outside the Jani Khel district school, sat or squatted in the snow to listen to the Paktia provincial deputy governor and others speak Feb. 15, 2009. It was the first such meeting in the district and many of the locals had never seen their provincial leaders.A crowd of more than 300 gathered for the first visit by the Paktia Province deputy governor to the Jani Khel district Feb. 15, 2009. It was the first such meeting in the district and many of the locals had never seen their provincial leaders. An Afghan National Security Force guard provides security during a visit by the Paktia Province deputy governor to the Jani Khel district Feb. 15, 2009. The Jani Khel district is considered one of the worst in the province for insurgent activity. Paktia Province Deputy Governor Abdal Rahma Mangal speaks to a crowd of about 300 Afghan villagers during a visit to the rural Jani Khel district Feb. 15, 2009. The deputy governor promised more improved roads providing the locals will help with security in the area. A schoolboy sits outside the sole schoolhouse in the Jani Khel district of the Paktia Province to listen to officials speak on security and development for the region Feb. 15, 2009. The school now serves about 1,400 boys in the district, with primary attending in the morning and secondary in the afternoon. The school needs windows replaced, carpet and more books and chairs. A tribal elder listens to Paktia provincial officials speak on security and development for the region Feb. 15, 2009. The leaders promised more development in the area providing the tribes quit fighting, stop taking bribes from the Taliban, and help provide security.
The Paktia provincial deputy governor, a council member and senior religious leader traveled by helicopter Feb. 15, 2009 over snow-covered mountains to a remote village in the Jani Khel district northeast of here to meet with the locals and promote peace within the tribe.
DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III