Story by Lt.j.g. Matthew Stroup

Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah

Secure roads, safe lines of communication and freedom of movement are crucial for the safety of both soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan. Several Allies are working together to identify the best equipment for route clearance operations, including remote-controlled robots. This is one of a package of multinational ‘Smart Defence’ projects launched at NATO’s Chicago Summit in 2012.

Following the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia, Georgia faced the task of rebuilding affected areas of the country. On top of the reconstruction efforts, Georgia faced an additional problem: legacy minefields and extensive unexploded ordnance contamination. In response to this, Georgia turned to NATO for help. At the government’s request, NATO designed and funded a project focused on strengthening the Georgian Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Company.

Foreword

The L.I.F.E. Concept was born out of CJOS COE‟s participation to the U.S. Navy relief efforts following the earthquake in Haiti reinforced with experience in humanitarian operations in Somalia and Sudan. This operation clearly underlined the pressing requirement for better mechanisms and processes to improve the coordination between the military and humanitarian entities working together to assist victims of natural or industrial disasters during Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.

By Air Force Staff Sgt. Nestor Cruz International Security Assistance Force

KABUL, Afghanistan (July 6, 2012) — Medical professionals from International Security Assistance Force locations across Afghanistan banded together to donate medical supplies to the Isteqlal Hospital here for the treatment of burn victims.

The supplies were gathered and donated in response to a July 4 gas explosion that left many Afghans in critical condition.

Story by Tech. Sgt. Patrick O'Reilly
ISAF Regional Command South

DAYKUNDI PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Afghan National Army, Air Force and International Security Assistance Force personnel worked in a cooperative effort to provide much-needed relief to the people of the town of Nili in the Daykundi province April 22 through May 22.

Read the Human Rights Watch report

NATO conducted the campaign for Libya with unprecedented care and precision and to a standard exceeding that required by international humanitarian law. The mission was fully consistent with the United Nations mandate and saved countless lives.

NATO did everything possible to minimise risks to civilians, but in a complex military campaign, that risk can never be zero. We deeply regret any instance of civilian casualties for which NATO may have been responsible.

Story by Capt. Lawrence Carmack 319th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

NILI, Afghanistan — Members of the High Peace Council from Kabul traveled to Nili to meet with Daykundi’s Provincial Peace Council and local leaders, and formally integrate them into the national peace planning.

A committee of nine government officials flew in from Kabul, including members of parliament, the National Department of Security, and the National Directorate of Security, to meet with Governor Qurban Ali Oruzgani and other local leaders, to send a message of peace to the rest of the country.

Afghan culture is based primarily on trust. To build an effective partnership with the people in Afghanistan is to earn their trust. The same can be said about working with explosives, as the team relies on an enormous amount of trust.

In a successful operation on 15 March, members of the Afghan National Army and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops safely disposed of unexploded ordnance.