When Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson visited his troops in Afghanistan recently, he smiled at what he saw.
"There were children in the streets playing, women walking around freely, many of them without burkhas, and small pockets of development everywhere. It was my fourth visit to see our personnel there, and on the first two you would never see females over the age of nine out in the streets. It’s a world apart from New Zealand, but I saw amazing changes."
Air Marshal Ferguson has a policy of visiting deployed personnel as regularly as he can, to see for himself the work they are doing, the impact they are making, and the conditions in which they are working.
"I have nothing but admiration for them. And their impact is tangible. In Bamyan where our PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) is based there have been two elections - one for a parliament and one for a president. Our PRT is there to develop security and stability, and Bamyan has turned out to have the highest voter registration in Afghanistan, as well as the highest vote count, and the most number of females who have voted. Bamyan is leading the way in Afghanistan in the introduction of democracy. I take a lot of pride in the role the PRT has played in that."
Air Marshal Ferguson says one important tenet of the New Zealand contribution in Afghanistan is that the Kiwi effort underpins sustainability and ownership, and avoids at all costs the development of a "cargo cult" mentality.
"The PRT encourages the local community to undertake the work wherever possible. They provide the material, plans and incentive, but make sure the locals provide the labour so they have ownership of the project. It’s one thing to go in and provide aid, but it’s much more enduring when ownership comes from having done the work themselves, albeit with guidance." The highlands area where the PRT is based is huge and the infrastructure basic. Roads are poor, even in summer, and a new, robust 4-wheel drive vehicle lasts about 20,000 km before it is beyond repair.
"But even in those conditions, when you drive throughout Bamyan you see little villages which now have a well for the first time in decades, and towns where the schools are up and running, courtesy of the PRT. There are small municipal buildings dotted around the province. They’re very basic, but before they were built there was nothing under the Taleban regime."
Special Forces
He also spent time with the 50 or so Special Forces the NZDF has working in Afghanistan.
"They are operating at the top of the Special Forces envelope, and are regarded as among the best in their field by other coalition forces. They are doing long-range reconnaissance patrolling and are involved in direct action if required, that is, if they come across enemy forces they can engage them.
CDF, Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson meets PRT member Lieutenant Commander Tania Koberstein (top) and addresses the contingent (above).
"Their mission is to reconnoitre and report back covertly. If they are compromised at all – for example, ambushed, they must be prepared to fight their way out. After meeting them over there I’m assured our men are very capable of that. New Zealanders can be proud of the professional, motivated and determined force element it has there."
Diplomacy
Air Marshal Ferguson paid diplomatic calls to military leaders in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar to "smooth the way" should the NZDF need practical assistance with any future anti-terrorism operations it is involved in, such as basing or resupply.
"The war on terror will undoubtedly continue for many years to come, and that region is going to be the centre of gravity for most activities." The Qatar peninsula, one of the region’s wealthiest states, is where most of the allied war on terrorism activities are based.
"Our meetings in those countries were to make contact with my counterparts there, and for us to get to know each other and establish a relationship. There is very little getting down to nuts and bolts in these meetings – they’re about establishing trust and meeting people in person."
New Zealand’s contributions to the war on terrorism were "quite well known, considering our size", says Air Marshal Ferguson.
"They know about our contribution, even though we are a small player, because the force elements we send are at the top of their game and make an impact. For example, the three rotations of frigates we sent performed more boardings than any other vessel in the coalition forces, were the only ships to do night boardings, and put in more sea days than any other coalition ship."
Roads are poor, and living conditions basic, but stability is returning to Afghanistan.