Marine police advisors celebrate Afghan New Year with Afghan Uniformed Police

News: Marine police advisors celebrate Afghan New Year with Afghan Uniformed Police

Regimental Combat Team-5, 1st Marine Division

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Sgt. Michael Cifuentes

U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Brian Stirrat, the Police Advisor Team senior enlisted advisor, Delta Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, shares a joke with Abdul Hamid, a patrolman with the Afghan Uniformed Police, after a day of patrolling in Khan Neshin district, March 22, 2012. Stirrat trains and mentors AUP in Khan Neshin district, while building friendships with his Afghan allies. Stirrat is from Wichita, Kan.

COMBAT OUTPOST CASTLE, Afghanistan – U.S. Marines serving with the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion Police Advisor Team rang in 1391, the Afghan New Year, with the Afghan Uniformed Police here March 22.

The celebration involved a cookout where the police prepared a traditional Afghan meal of lamb, rice, fresh vegetables and tea. Gunnery Sgt. Brian Stirrat, the senior enlisted advisor for the PAT, said the celebration is one of the many perks of being an mentor to his Afghan allies, “and best way to be good police advisors is to be with them 24/7.”

To the Marines, being with the Afghan police around the clock means building good rapport and new friendships.

“To truly make an impact you have to embed yourself with Afghans,” said Stirrat, a native of Wichita, Kan. “To do that you have the live amongst them. It’s a proven technique that really helps out. It really takes a lot of rapport building. They have to trust you before they accept you and do things with you.”

Since Stirrat and his team of 20 advisors, made up of Marines and sailors, deployed to southern Helmand province in September 2011, they’ve lived in the same compound with the Afghan Uniformed Police, trained them, patrolled with them, ate with them, and learned their languages.

“They really made an effort to become friends with us, not just teachers,” said Bismullah Khaliq, a patrol leader with the AUP in Khan Neshin.

Stirrat, a 15-year veteran of the Marine Corps, said the Afghans were quite standoffish when the advisors first arrived, keeping off-duty interactions to a minimum.

“Now it’s ‘friend, hey, how are you doing?’” Stirrat said. “These guys really do accept us now.”

Before the friendship began to develop, the advisor team trained and mentored the Afghan police in combat and logistical operations. From marksmanship training to fixing generators, the Afghan police learned how to sustain themselves as an independent force.

“After we were trained, we worked together and patrolled together,” said Mohammad Nasim, a patrolman with the AUP here. “We’re with each other all day. That’s how we become friends. They respect us, and we respect them. We’re here working like brothers.”

Editor’s Note: The 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion Police Advisor Team is currently assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5, 1st Marine Division (Forward), which works in partnership with the Afghan National Security Forces and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The unit is dedicated to securing the Afghan people, defeating insurgent forces, and enabling the ANSF assumption of security responsibilities within its operations in order to support the expansion of stability, development and legitimate governance. 1st LAR is based aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.