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 Texas Guard's Afghan ties growing roots By Army Sgt. 1st Class Sean McCollum
                National Guard Bureau
 WASHINGTON - Agriculture involves trial-and-error that later blossoms, as does building relationships; a Texas National Guard Agribusiness Development Team learned much about both in Afghanistan – and today they demonstrated both skills at the National Arboretum. Kicking off a larger program, Texas Guard members joined Afghan leaders to plant a tree that, with a little help, can grow strong independently. Army Maj. Gen Darren Owens, special assistant to the director, Army National Guard; the Afghan director of Ghazni's agriculture, irrigation and livestock; the district governor of Jaghori and others were on hand to plant a Deodar Cedar here. "This is the first exchange we've been able to make between agricultural development teams and provincial leadership," Owens said. "They're working to develop the future of Afghan agriculture." Afghan leaders and ADT members will tour the Agriculture Department and meet with government officials here before traveling to Texas, where they will see the yields American farming practices produce. ADT members hope Afghan leaders will take these practices home and teach others, eliminating the need for Army advisors who rotate out of the country each growing season. "We're only in-country about 10 or 11 months," said Army Staff Sgt. Justin Mitchell, an animal science specialist who speaks using agricultural terms and runs more than 300 cattle on his East Texas ranch. "In the agricultural cycle, that's not very long. If we bring them over here where it's already being implemented and practiced, it's a lot easier to show them." The symbolism of trees is not lost on the team: ADT members planted trees in Ghazni, a practice which promotes the local government's legitimacy. According to unit members, the Taliban discouraged planting trees, and their presence is a visual embracing of the legitimate Afghan government. "From my understanding, it was very shunned by the Taliban," said Army Lt. Col. Brian Stevens, ADT commander. "The Taliban's strict conservative interpretation didn't want any things that weren't directly tied to Islam." While crop yields improve over years, the trees are immediate proof of a government that can deliver services. "I think the agricultural programs we are helping to implement with the government and with the people will take many, many years to have the full effect," Stevens said. "The district-level governments have demonstrated the growing capacity of the government and have planted some lasting symbols in those districts that people see every day." Those symbols grow every day, and team members are hopeful that through the relationships they build through this trip, the trees, along with their owners, can stand on their own. "The yield that's going to be produced by this trip will be longer lasting – longer than American forces will stay in Afghanistan."
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