page_title: Provincial Reconstruction Team
section_title: Regional Command West
hierarchical_section_title: Provincial Reconstruction Team / Afghan PRTs / Regional Command West
caption_attribution_description: from left to right: Marine Gen. John R. Allen, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF), and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, ISAF Joint Command commander, meet with Italian generals prior to the start of the Regional Command-West (RC-W) Transfer of Authority (TOA) ceremony in Herat province, Sept. 29, 2011. Italian Army Brig. Gen. Luciano Portolano, Sassari Brigade commander assumed command of RC-W from Italian Brig. Gen. Carmine Masiello, Folgore Brigade commander. ISAF is a key component of the international community's engagement in Afghanistan, assisting Afghan authorities in providing security and stability while creating the conditions for reconstruction development. Seated from left to right: Brig. Gen. Carmine Masiello, Gen. John R. Allen, Brig. Gen. Luciano Portolano, Italian Chief of the Defence Staff General Biagio Abrate, Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Michael O'Connor) (Released)
context_page_description: A Provincial Reconstruction Team was a unit introduced by the United States government, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and reconstruction subject matter experts, working to support reconstruction efforts in unstable states. PRTs were first established in Afghanistan in early 2002, and were used in Iraq as well. While the concepts are similar, PRTs in Afghanistan and Iraq had separate compositions and missions. Their common purpose, however, was to empower local governments to govern their constituents more effectively.
context_section_description: PRT Badghis (Spain)
  PRT Farah (USA)
  PRT Gower (Lithuania)
  PRT Herat (Italy)
caption: Meeting of Italian and U.S. commanders at Regional Command West HQ in Herat.
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "4288", "Image ImageLength": "2848", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image ImageDescription": "Marine Gen. John R. Allen, commander of NATO\u00d5s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF), attends the Regional Command-West (RC-W) Transfer of Authority (TOA) ceremony in Herat province, Sept. 29, 2011.  Italian Chief of Defense Gen. Biagio Abrate and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, ISAF Joint Command commander, received the Italian and NATO guidons during the TOA from out-going Italian Brig. Gen. Carmine Masiello, Folgore Brigade commander, and presented them to Italian Army Brig. Gen. Luciano Portolano, Sassari Brigade commander.  ISAF is a key component of the international community's engagement in Afghanistan, assisting Afghan authorities in providing security and stability while creating the conditions for reconstruction development. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Michael O'Connor) (Released)", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D300S", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "356", "Image YResolution": "356", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2011:10:07 17:22:55", "Image Artist": "Michael O'Connor", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "Public Domain", "Image ExifOffset": "1216", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "1932", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "2046", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9333", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Shutter Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "640", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:09:29 10:06:19", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:09:29 10:06:19", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "870723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "1485427/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "42/25", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, compulsory flash mode, return light detected", "EXIF FocalLength": "17", "EXIF SubSecTime": "16", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "16", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "16", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3560", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2848", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1900", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "25", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}