Story and photos courtesy KYNG Public Affairs Office
Lt. Col. Garland Goodrich, Agribusiness Development Team II member from Wakefield, Va., listens to local Afghans at a mock village during a training exercise at Camp Atterbury, In., May 26.
CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind.(June 5, 2010)–Guardsmen from the Kentucky National Guard Agribusiness Development Team II participated in a training exercise at a mock Afgan village at Camp Atterbury, In., May 26, in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan next week.
The ADT members simulated a visit with Provincal leaders to establish relations to further develop the Afghan agriculture structure. While the agriculture team key leaders discussed operational plans, the force protection team provided security for the meeting. The unit said the training exercise gave them real life experience and combat readiness for their upcoming deployment.
Spc. Timothy Akers, Agribusiness Development Team II member, pulls security during a meeting with key leaders at a mock Afghan village at Camp Atterbury, In., May 26.
Lt. Col. Garland Goodrich, team leader for ADT II and a farmer in his civilian career, transferred from the Virginia National Guard to Kentucky specifically for this mission. Goodrich said they have learned a lot as a team and not just individual agricultural training.
“Most of our training at Camp Atterbury has been basic Soldier skills. Our primary mission is agriculture but we are Soldiers first so we got to make sure we have the skill set needed to be safe over there,” said Goodrich.
The core of the unit is 10 agriculture and marketing specialists, including farmers, range management specialists, marketing managers, animal husbandry specialists, soil and irrigation specialists, and a large animal veterinarian.
Some more facts on Kentucky ADT II:
• The mission of the Agribusiness Development Team is to help revitalize agriculture in Afghanistan. Seventy percent of Afghans earn their living from agriculture, and it produces 40 percent of Afghanistan’s gross national product. If we can improve their agriculture, we improve their standard of living; improve the stability of the provincial and central government; and decrease the likelihood that locals will find any reason to support insurgents or terrorists.
• Also included are a command and staff cell of 17 members, an agriculture engineering assessment team of two engineers, and a force protection platoon of 34 Airmen and Soldiers.
• The Agribusiness Development Team is not aiming to transform Afghanistan’s farms into modern Kentucky farms. Rather, the ADT will help the Afghans make incremental, but substantial improvements in their agriculture, and capitalize on what they already do well. For example, Afghan farms produce some of the best quality raisins in the world, but they often lose around 40 percent of their crop due to a lack of trellises. With assistance, they can improve their vineyards and their production. Another example is the business side of agriculture. The current Kentucky ADT in Afghanistan is helping pomegranate farmers obtain better prices for their fruit and juice by selling on the world markets rather than just locally.
• ADT II is following an existing Kentucky Team, ADT I, commanded by COL Mike Farley, that has been working in Afghanistan since September 2009 – so ADT II will take an existing, highly successful Kentucky operation and continue to move forward.
• There are currently eight National Guard Agribusiness Teams in Afghanistan, from Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, Indiana, Tennessee, Kansas and Oklahoma. California, South Carolina and Florida are sending teams soon.
• ADT II will work primarily supporting the Afghan Government’s existing agriculture extension service, the DAIL (Director of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock). The goal is always to train and assist, never to substitute our decisions for those of local farmers and leaders.
• ADT II is receiving agricultural training and expertise from the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, and will have the capability to reach back to Kentucky for knowledge and skills whenever expert advice is needed. For example, the University of Kentucky has a site that will allow members of the ADT II to take photographs of possible diseases or viruses, post them on the UK website and within a few days the AG team will have validated results.
• Both ADT I and ADT II have Facebook pages (links to the right of this page) chronicling their deployments.
