Kentucky Guard prepares for ADT mission

By Spc. Tegan Kucera
205th Infantry Brigade Public Affairs

Lt. Col. Ruth Graves and Lt. Col. Ewing and Sgt. Jo Lisa Ashley look at the different canned foods that the Amish have stored for their family in the root cellar. Graves, Ewing and Ashley are all part of the Kentucky Agribusiness Development Team that is at Camp Atterbury, Ind., learning more about agriculture before going to Afghanistan, where they will use their knowledge to help the people there. (U.S. Army Photo by Capt. Robert Cavaniss, Kentucky National Guard)
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CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind., (7/31/09) -- Before their deployment to Afghanistan, troops with the Agribusiness Development Team (ADT) from the Kentucky National Guard, are undergoing some very non-traditional training to fulfill their mission of helping the Afghan people learn better agricultural techniques that will benefit their economy.

Growing grapes at a local vineyard and learning food preservation techniques were among the few skills that the team picked up.

The ADT is a specialized National Guard unit that has both Army and Air Force members who, in addition to their military occupation specialties, are using their civilian skills for this military deployment.

Staff Sgt. Ray Norris, an engineer with the Kentucky Air National Guard assigned to the ADT, believes the National Guard is best suited for ADT missions, because its Warrior-Citizens have many different experiences as civilians that they are bringing to the task at hand.

“More knowledge is being brought to the table because a lot of these people [in the unit] are farmers in civilian life,” said Norris. “They just know [so] much more and not just their [military] job alone, but a vast knowledge overall.”

Sgt. Jo Lisa Ashley, the women’s empowerment coordinator for the ADT, is looking forward to working with the Afghan people and said the team’s trip to Oliver Vineyards, right outside of Bloomington, Ind., was very educational.

“We learned how to grow grapes and also what helps to yield a good crop at the end of the season,” Ashley said. “Overall, we learned quite a bit.”

While at the vineyard, they spoke with experts in the field including the vineyard manager and a Purdue University professor. They learned about how to grow grapes and keep healthy crops.

Later, the ADT went to an Amish farm in Kendallville, Ind., where they learned about operating a farm without using modern-day technology. The farmers taught them about some of the animals used to operate the equipment, how to harvest crops, how to preserve food, or canning, in addition to storage techniques.

Ashley said this was good information because the equipment is going to be similar in Afghanistan. She took an interest in the canning training.

“At home both my mom and I still can all of our vegetables from our garden,” she said. “We hand off that knowledge from generation to generation, and I want to bring that knowledge to help the people of Afghanistan.”

The ADT servicemembers feel proud to be part of this unique mission and are excited to see results in helping the people of Afghanistan. They are, however, keeping a realistic but optimistic outlook on the year to come.

“It will take several years to see their food production and marketing in order to see better results,” said Maj. Jim Rush, ADT horticulturist/agronomist.

While it may take several years to see the fruits of their labor, the ADT is learning what it takes to plant the seeds to grow a great economy one vineyard at a time.

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