European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 28, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 stars and stripes june 2007 cultural advisers give teams an Edge soldiers Are coached in afghan tribal etiquette to gain respect of Village elders by Monte Morin stars and stripes Kuz Afghanistan amid the Maze of mud walled villages and min Laden trails of Afghanistan Dusty High Aaron White Esti mates that roughly half the popu lation harbours some degree of sympathy for Taliban crushing poor Educa government corruption and tribal blood relations Are key fac tors stoking a lingering insurgency in Eastern territories like the Andar District of Ghazi prov where afghan and forces Are now conducting a month Long operation against Taliban fighters and encouraging local allegiance to president Hamid Karrais struggling its an environment where and afghan military vehicles Are destroyed by insurgent antitank mines after delivering bags of school sandals and other humanitarian assistance and where Village elders balk at assisting local police for fear they will be targeted by Taliban fight yet for the first time in his afghan the 29yearold White said Hes never been More Hope Ful of turning a Village As he is now of tiny Kuz a Sun seared Hamlet of roughly 300 Lashtun tribe much of the West virginians Confidence conies from the help of a newly established team of cultural who Are As sisting White and other task Force 2 fury commanders in their daily interactions with afghan villagers during operation the or human terrain is the first of its kind in either Iraq or and is composed partly of civilian anthropologists or sociologists with deep knowledge of the Region and its social one of the teams goals is to help ground troops avoid the sort of cultural miscues and mistakes that have severely damaged efforts to establish functioning democracies in Iraq and Afghani it comes As the result of a lot of mistakes and a lot of one hit member said of the unit re the five member which consist of two civilians and three military were created to research the economic and cultural terrain of a specific area of to help com Manders conducting stability and counterinsurgency i cant Tell you How beneficial they said commander of company 2nd 508th Parachute infantry regi Treyve got in this they know All the cultural such was the Case recently when White called an Impromptu meeting of the villages or what officers refer to As a Street photos by Monte and stripes above Aaron of addresses Village elders at a shura recently in Kuz while seated Between his afghan interpreter and the Village right an afghan at the shura listens As the Village Mullah of Kuz Kha Rokhel makes a the meeting was called Over the tinny loudspeakers of the Vil Lage and within moments roughly three dozen turbaned elders assembled on the red carpet and floor Cush ions of a mullahs a civilian adviser who identified herself Only As Tracy if you want something from youve got to show Good one of Whites goals in tiny Kuz Kha Rokhel is to Reform local perceptions of the afghan nation Al a Force troubled by Cor officers say that it is not uncommon for untrained to consistency is there tired of hollow if you want something from youve got to show Good f f Tracy the civilian adviser coaching Aaron White on How to read the body language of tribal elders during shura As Well As How to identify the villages most influential elders coached White on How to read the body language of tribal elders Dur ing the As Well As How to identify the villages most influential among other Tracy told White that it was Best to stand when addressing the shura on key and that conferring with fellow officers during the meeting in some be construed As weakness and under Cut the commanders consistency is she told there tired of hollow lice officers to steal household items during searches or to de Mand Cash and other valuables at vehicle who belongs to the 4th brigade combat 82nd air borne called the meet ing so that he could ask Village elders to offer up the names of 10 trustworthy men to enlist in the police in the the elders have been reluctant to offer they worry that they will be singled out for punishment by sever Al Taliban insurgents who have been intimidating a group of area this White hoped to allay their fears and offer the Village tangible compensation for putting itself out on a this was easier said than what the Village wanted elders was a paved Road connecting Kuz Kha Rokhel to afghan stans main Highway it was a difficult request for White and members of the Ghazi provincial reconstruction team to make Good Road projects Are extremely expensive roughly per Kilometre and involve at least a two year what White could offer though was to Grade the existing dirt roads and cover them with gravel a temporary solution that might eventually Lead to a paved White said he could also pro vide a visit by the arts Mobile medical clinic and possibly the construction of a deep Well for crop after almost two hours of Dis translations and debate Between the White and local army and police command they had a the elders agreed to provide White with a list of 10 police re pleased yet somewhat wearied by the White got some More parting advice from his and you needed to show Good Faith and you Tracy told you have to remember now not to show any weakness or Indecki youve placed yourself As the Goto Guy and if you appear weak  he cant do Tracy also told White that the four elders who approached him to Chat Fol lowing the meeting revealed that they in the key Village members he would need to Deal with Over the coming if you develop a relationship with those four i think youll turn this she email Monte Morin at