threeze three provinces so that we can slowly transition the security governance and development lines of operation over back to the capable hands of the afghans. >> logor province is hunally critical area. >> just south of kabul. clearly, great increases in all lines of operation. the security forces here in logor in particular are making great strides both in the police, the afghan national army and their intelligence direct >> from my point of view over the last five months or so that we've been here, incredible progress has been made with the police. specifically, in logear and word yak provinces. what the afghan government is

attempting to do is get security back to the people. and that is the afghan local police is a program by which communities are stand up their own police force, they get training by the afghan national police, the afghan uniformed police, local communities hiring from within their communities to defend their communities so they get training by the afghan national police, they get partnership through us and mentorship. they get oversight again through both forces. and they are paid, equipped, uniformed by the ministry of interior. so it is essentially exactly where the afghans need to be. . .

out to the east and some other locations where police are able to go out and do civil policing.

beat cop things we've seen in the states in larger cities. it is demonstrating to people that your government is working for you. we are doing it government based on the funding we have and showing them that we have cable forces that allow for transition at some point in time. i think that security overall is a positive trend in baraki barak. we are making improvements. on the local and village level, people getting fed up with violence. not only coming to us to seek assistance, but also, in some cases, working always to take care of themselves, because nobody can take care of people as well as they can take care of themselves. when you start to see that sort of stuff happening, which we are starting to see success is down the road. there is a local sound that is near a major road. it is a battleground at times.

when we move through that area, which is necessary, the enemy comes from outside and uses that location to right. people in this town are uninvolved and are seeing the negative consequences of that sort of fighting. what we see is encouraging that the people in the town are coming here to the district center to see the sub-governor and the other agents we have here and think it's them, ask for help, and bring a potential ways -- and engage them and ask for help. that is a sign of progress. the government is going to solve their problems and look for help. that is a signal the can step. >> have there been any security setbacks?

>> it's not -- there's an ebb and flow, is the way i describe it. it is not as though everything is on a positive trend, where you pay more attention and one area, sometimes you take a few steps back in another area. it is a constant reassessing what you need to do from unsecured perspective as well as all the other efforts we made. from a security perspective, it is a reassessment of where you need to go, what you need to do, and what the next step is. >> how would you gauge the opinion of the local people regarding the taliban and the coalition and u.s. army? >> a lot of the local people are tired of fighting.

a lot of them are not involved and this. i think the insurgency is a minority of people. a lot of people are fed up with the day to day danger to themselves and their families. i do not think that the people want us to provide their security. i think people understand that they need us right now to provide security, because we are assisting their forces. but what the people really want and what i see from people in baraki barak as they want afghans to provide their security. a positive step in my mind. much better that we are really working to the afghan security forces, and the people want them to provide for their needs versus us. that is another step in the

right direction. >> one of the old adages of warfare is the hearts and minds. winning hearts and minds. it has become a cliche. but do you think like that, trying to win over the local populace? >> we don't. what we tried to do is facilitate the army and the police doing that. our number one priority is protecting the populace above all the things. so the important for us is to provide protection, but the way we go about it is by working through our partners. so it is not as providing something they need. it is not us a helping build a speed bump in their village. it is us setting conditions to allow the afghan security forces to do that. >> what about the afghan security forces in baraki barak?

how are things? >> the army is doing well. they live right here with us. the police are here as well. pretty much everything we need is in one spot as far as governments -- army and police. the army are very capable here. we are just getting into the warmer months, so we expect activity to increase from an insertion perspective and from a security forces perspective. -- they can communicate. they can provide security. their leaders plan pretty well. >> what do they still need from you? >> what they really need from us is kind of the next step. what we can provide them that

they are not as good yet is, for example, is planning and logistical operation. you want to conduct a week-long operation? we can help you organize a way to resupply yourself so that that operation is a week-long and not two days long. those are the kinds of things that we are applying right now. input, not just on an advisory level, but on a partner level. we are on patrol with them. about the same number of them, same number of us. they operate and lead, but we can contribute experience because our army is older than theirs. on how to conduct operations, and of the logistical operations. >> what about the police? >> the police in baraki barak are actually pretty well. the main issue is the number of police.

some we have a district with about 180.000 people in it and we have 43-45 police to secure that operation. that is our primary consideration is increasing the manning of police. >> how did you go about doing that? >> they do community policing here. so just like back home, if there is an altercation in a neighbor heard, people will call the police. if it is something nearby, with a number of guys that have on the ground, they can handle them. if it is further away, they need our support to handle that so they have enough security. but it's very important that they are able to fulfil those

things. if somebody calls them, they need to be able to provide assistance. they do not, they will lose the trust of the people and that is paramount, especially right now. every month, a couple of additional policemen are arrive, and the numbers keep increasing. we work with what we have as far as facilitating them and helping them secure their district. and then from the afghan government side and the ministry of justice, a ministry of interior, they work to increase those numbers. whenever you have quantity, unique quality. it may be a better thing to have a few fewer guys. -- whenever you have quantity, you have quality. >> i understand there are pockets where the taliban has gotten stronger.

how does that factor into your assessment? >> a couple of different ways. it can go a couple of different ways. because of the resources we have, we have to set certain priorities. we have do it set parties. you can only be so many places at a time. pick those priorities and move forward and reassess and make sure that next week you still think you are doing the right things. we focus for the population centers are, because our primary task is to secure the populace. our idea is, if we can provide security to the populace, they buy in to afghan national security forces. once we have that, we can start moving out in less populated areas and conduct a similar sort of method.

>> what do think is the most difficult part of your mission here? not for you, personally, but for the company? >> i think a lot of times part during is a challenge, -- partnering is a challenge, because our armies are different. a lot of times it can be frustrating when you do not have an understanding of why and how things are being done. it is frustrating that things are not going the way you think that they should. that is one of the challenges we face here, is we have cultural gaps we cross. and the soldiers get that pretty well. folks get frustrated. it is a normal function.

>> [unintelligible] >> like patrols like today, where we go into bazaar, it is more secure. it is a good way for them to practice. they have a foundation of what to talk with when they talk to the people. like gary says, as policemen, our whole job is relationships. showing the people that trust we

build. even one hour or two hours a day, it will still make a difference. >> how you think your men did today? did they talk with the people? were there any problems? anything you would have them do differently? >> today was very good because the people -- give them -- they are happy now. that is very good.

>> roads and -- >> as policemen, i would encourage them to use the sub- governor for that. security issues. we have to talk to the chief. when it comes to issues within the populace or, him as a police officer would do good by talking to the sub-governor. >> i believe it's my number one

task to stand up the afghan national security forces through training, partnership, side by side, shoulder to shoulder operations so that, like i told you, you cannot have an effective government and development and a counterinsurgency without first securing the people. they are much more effective at it then we are. if we can get them the training to allow that -- that allows them to go out and operate effectively as a military or police or security force, they will then be able to take that piece of it over. we can go in a mentorship role. we can assist and pushing into areas that are now secure yet. the more we can stand up the

afghan security forces, the more we can push into areas that are more unsecure. >> delegation is an important part of your task. a lot of what you do is to establish a climate for operations. so what is the philosophy you what your subordinate commanders to ascribe to? >> number one, i think extremely satisfied with our level of training before we came here. i talked to, even down to the soldier level, they come back to me and say, i know what is important. it is very satisfying when i hear soldiers talking about the

same things that i talk about. you've heard stories of the strategic corporal. our soldiers, u.s. soldiers, makes strategic global decisions every day. something that they decide to do could affect president karzai's decision making, president obama's decision making. so they understand the importance of what we are doing here and they understand the importance of the decision making they do every day. probably the answer to your question is -- respect and getting every soldier to understand that they are here to protect the afghan people, and that is their mission. the afghan national security forces -- and that can only be

done that through mutual respect of the afghan people, the afghan government, and understanding they have a different approach. and we have to understand where they come from, because they are from a different culture. as a matter of fact before we came here, we did a lot of training down at the social level on afghan culture. because it is very hard to transplant a 19-year-old man or woman to a different country for the first time and say, go operate. oh, by the way, you are not in america anymore. so it is very challenging for all those. and the important thing is, we are all human beings and mutual respect, and you have to understand live in a different culture.

we have all heard, i guess, the decisions that have to be made on cutting back on resources. i have not seen that. i have everything i need to do as a brigade commander to accomplish my mission here in afghanistan. of course, this summer, as things begin to change, obviously, my government will tell me where i have to cut back, but honestly, i do not see that. i have everything i need to accomplish my mission. >> last question. if you could tell one thing to the american public that represents our viewership, what with that one thing be? >> i think first of all, i'm going to give you two. first of all, the support given

by the american people to the soldiers is usually critical to the moral and, thus, the success of u.s. armed forces in afghanistan. the second thing that is that it is going much better than is normally portrayed in what i see in the media. it's a tiresome war, as you see in and the media these days, that many more people are saying, it is not worth fighting any more. but i'll sit here and say that i believe that it is. i believe we are going in and the right direction. -- in the right direction. with a focus that we have been given to this, we will be able to accomplish the strategic goals of the nation here in afghanistan.

>> the threat to security in afghanistan depends on where you are. my experience is mostly in the east. i understand in the south there is open combat. after all, the headquarters -- kandahar province is the headquarters of the taliban. the provinces just south of kabul that used to have strong relationships with kabul, providing food, a lot of traffic moving between them -- places like logar are what i call bombing galleries where coalition troops are trying very hard to lock those provinces

down and order to protect kabul, but every step they take they are threatened by i.e.d's, that are killing hundreds of nato troops and many times that amount of afghans every year. a few days before i was caught up in a i.e.d explosion, i accompanied a patrol, a team of u.s. army engineers whose job it is to find the i.e.d's before they hit the other troops. >> my name is captain brand -- commander. >> what we doing here today? >> today's mission is to conduct ground clearance. our purpose is to provide clear maneuver on the ground and clear these roads for any possible obstacles such as i.e.d's. so the forces can move freely throughout the battlefield and protect the afghan nationals as they traveled this road. >> why is this important?

>> it is important keep our guys safe to conduct their mission and the local population, to provide them the ability to move freely on their roads. >> so what these guys do is they roll out every day in these gigantic robotic vehicles. a tall one called the buffalo. another has a scanner on the front for scanning for bombs underneath the ground. and then support vehicles. they roll out in a convoy. and depending on the nature of the roads, if it is a good enough road, the kind of road where it's practical to conceal a bomb, then there will crews up and down the road and try to hope that it blows up their

vehicle instead of the vehicles of other patrols. they are better protected. the buffalo trucks are very tough. it's hard to destroy them. even so, route clearence patrols take a higher proportion of casualties than most units. >> buffalo, go ahead and move up. >> roger. >> the roads that are less accessible was where the other troops might even travel on foot. the route clearance patrols will get out of their vehicles and walk up and down the rows. probe the roads with bayonets

and scan with world war ii style metal detectors. if they hear a beep, they get on their hands and knees with a bayonet and try to gently on cover whatever is lying underneath. if it is an i.e.d., they back away and call in a bomb squad. a czech army explosive ordnance disposal team. they will properly dispose of the bomb by wiring up with c4 and blowing it up in place, sometimes using a robot. it is a very tedious and very dangerous work. these guys travel from base to base, hitting all of the major roads, walking up and down these dirt, the smaller roads. and they kind of live this nomadic, a homeless existence that can be kind of lonely.

route clare's patrol i accompanied, did not find any bombs. went back to base unharmed. a few days later, they were struck by an i.e.d. insurgence follow that up with rockets and gunfire, and two soldiers were killed. >> the clearance like we just conducted has proven to be successful with the threat we see in afghanistan, with boots on the ground. our guys using their mechanical tools they have available and our eyes on the ground, we are finding more i.e.d's this way than any other way. this is a proven technique that we use. the disadvantage is there is greater risk. we have to change our t.t.p's to prevent the enemy for

watching our habits and trying to attack us. >> you talk about dismantling the network rather than just going after the bombs. what does that mean? >> we have to go after the guys that are placing the i.e.d,'s, paying for these things. you can clear them all day long, but if we're not taking the guys off, the guys that are building them, then we are not having a great effect. we are living day to day, trying to clear out i.e.d's. >> how were you able to contribute to dismantling efforts? >> at my level, plan company operations. we do analysis. we look at the intelligence and try to determine the best way to attack the enemy based off of what we have seen. through the things that we read