As I’ve said before, Female Engagement Teams are a necessary and vital important to reaching out to Afghanis. They provide a vital link to a segment of society marginalized for centuries. This story was written by SPC Darryl L. Montgomery of the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade on a recent meeting at the Spin Boldak District Center (Photo by Pfc. Andreka Johnson). SPDC is located near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I’m proud of the work our troops are doing here. We had a rough start when we first got here, but our efforts had paid off since arriving a few months ago and are making a difference. Our troops are professional Soldiers who believe in the mission and leaving Afghanistan a better place than we found it. Our leadership is dedicated to saving lives, both American and Afghan. Successful missions tailored to projecting that desire and end state serve to emphasize that strategy.

Soldiers from the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade’s Female Engagement Team meet with a local doctor in southern Afghanistan.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan – Soldiers from Combined Task Force Viper helped organize a women’s shura at the Spin Boldak District Center, Sept. 18, to interview local women and learn about their the areas of concern in the community.

The 2nd Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment of the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade attended the shura after an invitation was offered from the Spin Boldak District Gov. Abdul Ghani.

Approximately 140 Afghan women and 40 Afghan children attended to discuss issues of concern with local leaders, according to Capt. Katherine Redding.

Other notable attendees included the Provincial Directorate of Women’s Affairs, Mim Roqiyah Achackyzi; the District Health Officer, and local midwives.

Afghan Uniformed Police, along with International Security Assistance Forces, provided security during the meeting. Among the security detail were one female AUP officer and 16 females from United States Army wearing colorful scarves to help identify them.

The female soldiers involved are part of the Army’s new Female Engagement Team program designed to help reach out to the women and children of Afghanistan.

As the local women started arriving for the meeting, Redding said several of them stated how thankful they were to be given the opportunity of having a female shura. They also mentioned not believing the International Security Assistance Force would really be there.

“They didn’t know there would be so many women in the ISAF,” Redding said. “They commented how nice it was that we all had scarves on because it is hard for them to identify our females from our males without them.”

Redding said the issues of identification have been brought up multiple times in the past, and in order to assist locals in identifying female soldiers from male soldiers, the system has been implemented.

The women’s main issues of concern were health and education. They said their biggest worry was for the health of their children due to the lack of food and water.

These women were willing to risk their lives, and face intimidation, dishonor, and persecution by attending the shura to make a difference for the women in Spin Boldak.

During the meeting, the Ghani, spoke to the women about the importance of education and health for the children of Spin Boldak, who, he said, are the future.

The Directorate of Women’s Affairs, Mim Roqiyah Achackyzi, also discussed how important it is for these women to have a place to go for their troubles in the district.

At the conclusion of the meeting, lunch was served and the women were given humanitarian assistance.