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 Delaware Guardsmen help to build Afghanistan's thin blue line By Staff Sgt. Whitney Hughes, Combined Joint Task Force 101
 BAMYAN, Afghanistan - "Weekend warrior," is a term sometimes used to refer to National Guardsmen and Army Reservists, who drill once a month. With about a quarter of the force currently serving in Afghanistan from the reserve components, the term simply does not apply. However, it's not only additional numbers that reservists bring to the fight; many also bring expertise from a completely different profession than their Army Military Occupational Specialty. That civilian experience is exactly why the Soldiers of the Bamyan Embedded Training Team were hand selected. Their civilian law enforcement backgrounds were perfect for their role in training and mentoring the Afghan National Police. "The experience that these mentors have in their civilian occupations is absolutely critical," said U.S. Army Col. Mike Berry, the Bamyan ETT Commander and 22-year veteran of the Delaware National Guard. "The team is very mature, and they all make good decisions based on the experiences and their maturity level. And that's what you have to show the ANP so they understand the role of law enforcement in a community." Berry, a Delaware State Trooper for the past 20 years, explained that his Soldiers' roll in training the ANP is currently hands-on but also in support of the European police, a multi-national law enforcement organization. Currently, the Bamyan EET Soldiers go out on community patrols and mentor the ANP directly. However, his group is scheduled to be the last to do this before the EUPOL takes over and sends European police officers to work one-on-one with the ANP in the mentor roll. This is exactly why the Soldiers from reserve components with full time law enforcement jobs are a perfect fit for this transitional period, said Berry. "It's obviously easier to talk the language of law enforcement with people that are doing it full time," said Berry. While Berry and other members of his team help mentor and support EUPOL and the ANP at the provincial level, he relies on his team of Soldiers who are all civilian qualified law enforcement officials to do training at the district level. The Soldiers also have the advantage in Bamyan of working with an established police force. "We're lucky in Bamyan; pretty much all of the ANP have completed what they call their basic eight. In a lot of other provinces they get hired and start doing the job before they go to basic [training]," said U.S. Army Maj. Timothy Drake, a probation and parole officer and ANP mentor with the ETT. Drake is the officer in charge of one of the districts teams of the ETT, responsible for the Shibar district, which patrols with the ANA and conducts sustainment training to help them hone the skills they learn at the Regional Training Center.. The training lead by the Soldiers, who are also civilian law enforcement professionals, is comprised of 12 core classes that were determined by the ANP Provincial Commander, and were developed so that the policemen would sustain and improve the basic knowledge they learned at the training center, said Drake. During their short time working in the Shibar district the Soldiers have seen the results of their efforts. "Since we started the training we have seen their heads pick up and chests puff out a little bit and they are proud to wear their uniforms," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Tony Matthews, a deputy with the Marion County Sheriff's Department in Indiana, and ANP mentor with the ETT. Matthews, who was called back from the Individual Ready Reserve for the deployment, recently graduated out of the police academy, giving him a fresh perspective on law enforcement training. While his team does the hands on training, Drake works directly with the district chief of police. This task has provided a challenge as that role has been filled with different personnel during his time here, but he has been able to establish a good rapport with each of them. Building this relationship, and understanding the police's role in the community is a key to the team's success. To establish these relationships, Drake drew on his probation and parole experience. "Making a good presence in the community, building trust with shop owners and people within the community; they know that you're looking out for their best interests. That's all stuff I've done in my [civilian] career," said Drake. Although their law enforcement knowledge is key, the Soldiers also draw on their military backgrounds to ensure that the ANP are fully prepared for their job in the Bamyan province. The Bamyan ANP, much like their American mentors, play dual roles. "I am also throwing in a little bit more military style patrolling, because in our district, the ANP has to perform the duties of not only police but also what the ANA would normally do," said Matthews. "They have a great enthusiasm for this kind of training, because they are very eager to prove that they can do both jobs and be just as good as the ANA." For this, Matthews draws more on his military background from his time on active duty as an observer controller for urban operations and live fire at Fort Irwin, Calif. for two years. "Training new officers gave me a really great perspective on how to train the new Afghan police, because they are both so new to the job," said Matthews. The experience that these "weekend warriors" bring to the mission gives them the ability to play the roles of Soldier, law enforcement official, and mentor. Their ability to play those roles makes them the perfect fit to bridge the gap between the military and civilian law enforcement role, and they will ultimately be a part of history as they hand the mentorship of the ANP back to their civilian colleagues.
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