WEBVTT 00:06.040 --> 00:08.460 your name ranked and duty title please ? 00:08.840 --> 00:12.350 My name is Brent beckley . Okay , 00:13.040 --> 00:16.020 Commander of maybe 35 nangahar 00:18.740 --> 00:20.550 charlie decoration . 00:24.040 --> 00:26.151 Okay sorry I'm gonna do that one more 00:26.151 --> 00:28.373 time to get a good audio . No problem . 00:28.373 --> 00:30.596 You ready ? Yes sir . Okay name's Brent 00:30.596 --> 00:32.750 beckley . I'm lieutenant colonel and 00:32.750 --> 00:36.240 commander of a Bt nangahar and you can 00:36.240 --> 00:37.962 just look at me for all of you 00:40.040 --> 00:42.560 Sir . What is the mission of the 80 DT ? 00:42.940 --> 00:45.430 Okay , in just plain english terms , 00:45.430 --> 00:47.541 the mission is we want to come here , 00:47.541 --> 00:49.486 we want to partner with all of the 00:49.486 --> 00:49.440 people that have anything to do with 00:49.440 --> 00:52.760 agriculture . We want to try to educate 00:52.760 --> 00:56.030 them and either better methods and 00:56.030 --> 00:59.960 practices , educate them in 01:00.540 --> 01:02.830 ways to manage resources , manage 01:02.830 --> 01:05.700 people , manage monies , do things 01:05.700 --> 01:08.070 better . We want to build their 01:08.070 --> 01:10.610 confidence in their own systems and 01:10.610 --> 01:12.721 processes and programs that they have 01:12.721 --> 01:15.290 here in Afghanistan and then have them 01:15.290 --> 01:17.401 take this education , this training , 01:17.401 --> 01:19.568 this knowledge and pass it down to the 01:19.568 --> 01:21.600 people of Afghanistan , Down to the 01:21.600 --> 01:25.430 individual farmers And how are the 01:25.430 --> 01:28.750 members selected for the 80 TT . Okay . 01:28.760 --> 01:31.530 The the there's some basic business 01:31.530 --> 01:33.750 rules that our state headquarters will 01:33.750 --> 01:35.917 go by our our mobilization office will 01:35.917 --> 01:38.300 use for the largest majority of the 01:38.300 --> 01:40.680 people on the team . Their their 01:40.680 --> 01:42.847 individual skills or army or air force 01:42.847 --> 01:44.847 skills will apply to the position . 01:44.847 --> 01:46.958 Admin person into an admin slot , you 01:46.958 --> 01:48.902 know that type of deal uh security 01:48.902 --> 01:50.736 forces members obviously filling 01:50.736 --> 01:52.736 positions within the security force 01:52.736 --> 01:54.736 platoon where it gets a little more 01:54.736 --> 01:54.620 specific is when we start filling the 01:54.620 --> 01:57.700 positions within the ag team . You know , 01:57.700 --> 02:00.550 there is no army or Air Force skill for 02:00.560 --> 02:02.727 agriculture . So what we're looking at 02:02.727 --> 02:04.782 is we're looking at people that have 02:04.782 --> 02:06.949 civilian acquired skills . Either they 02:06.949 --> 02:09.116 are farmers , you know on their own or 02:09.116 --> 02:11.004 working some aspect of farming or 02:11.004 --> 02:13.060 agriculture , they have some form of 02:13.060 --> 02:16.060 formal agriculture education , maybe 02:16.060 --> 02:18.227 forestry , maybe it's you know , large 02:18.227 --> 02:20.620 animal health , maybe it's uh you know , 02:20.630 --> 02:22.741 border culture , some other aspect of 02:22.741 --> 02:25.040 agriculture , identify who those people 02:25.040 --> 02:26.818 are and then we board for those 02:26.818 --> 02:28.770 positions and then based on the 02:28.770 --> 02:30.937 outcomes of those board results , they 02:30.937 --> 02:33.290 get placed within the AG team trying to 02:33.290 --> 02:37.250 shot , I'm gonna talk 02:37.250 --> 02:39.472 with my hands guy , you're fine , sir , 02:39.472 --> 02:41.472 Okay , it's perfectly fine . I just 02:41.472 --> 02:43.694 like to change it up that way . You get 02:43.694 --> 02:46.220 it all right , out . We make everybody 02:46.220 --> 02:50.200 looks great . Okay . And 02:50.200 --> 02:52.256 what specifically does the air Force 02:52.256 --> 02:54.380 and the army individuals bring to the 02:54.380 --> 02:56.324 fight . They give you a little bit 02:56.324 --> 02:58.380 about how the Air Force is doing the 02:58.380 --> 03:00.713 security love , the army is running Yes , 03:00.713 --> 03:02.991 well and not necessarily because again , 03:02.991 --> 03:05.158 it goes back to that civilian acquired 03:05.158 --> 03:07.269 skill portion . I mean we have people 03:07.269 --> 03:09.213 from the Air Force who are filling 03:09.213 --> 03:11.324 positions within the Ag team based on 03:11.324 --> 03:13.324 their civilian acquired skills . So 03:13.324 --> 03:15.436 it's not necessarily just all about , 03:15.436 --> 03:17.547 hey Army does this and Air Force does 03:17.547 --> 03:19.713 that now , but again , there are a lot 03:19.713 --> 03:19.140 of positions within the team that 03:19.150 --> 03:20.872 everybody has their own unique 03:20.872 --> 03:22.710 specialty skills . Air Force for 03:22.710 --> 03:24.932 instance a lot of the guys that we have 03:24.932 --> 03:27.099 have done the Security force mission . 03:27.099 --> 03:29.210 So that's why they're on the security 03:29.210 --> 03:31.321 team because of that particular skill 03:31.321 --> 03:33.432 set . But really it does come down to 03:33.432 --> 03:35.266 the unique part about it is that 03:35.266 --> 03:37.266 individual person's skill that they 03:37.266 --> 03:39.321 have and and everybody may have some 03:39.321 --> 03:41.488 particular background that might apply 03:41.488 --> 03:43.488 in just that particular instance on 03:43.488 --> 03:45.599 that particular day . They may become 03:45.599 --> 03:47.766 the resident expert . You don't know . 03:47.766 --> 03:49.877 But that's the unique thing about the 03:49.877 --> 03:51.988 guard in general is you not only have 03:51.988 --> 03:54.099 their military specialty but you have 03:54.099 --> 03:53.590 whatever knowledge and skills they 03:53.590 --> 03:55.757 bring with them from the civilian side 03:55.757 --> 03:57.979 as well . That was the perfect dancer . 03:58.350 --> 04:00.800 I know because I just see me I've done 04:00.800 --> 04:04.730 this before . I know I know I know I 04:04.740 --> 04:08.600 know department and I know all about 04:08.630 --> 04:11.150 advertising , marketing make it sound . 04:11.940 --> 04:13.870 Can you give me one example of a 04:13.870 --> 04:15.814 success story from the A . T . T . 04:15.814 --> 04:18.037 Where they've gone in the community and 04:18.037 --> 04:20.092 they've made a difference . Sure and 04:20.092 --> 04:22.314 really for us and you'd have to go back 04:22.314 --> 04:24.537 to the evolution of all the adults when 04:24.537 --> 04:26.648 we when we started on the original as 04:26.648 --> 04:28.648 they were I'm not going to say they 04:28.648 --> 04:30.759 were all focused but it was a primary 04:30.759 --> 04:32.814 focus on working with the individual 04:32.814 --> 04:35.037 farmer as we've moved along through the 04:35.037 --> 04:37.037 years . It's not that we're getting 04:37.037 --> 04:36.480 away from the farming it's just we're 04:36.480 --> 04:38.480 trying to make contact with all the 04:38.480 --> 04:40.813 people that have aspects of agriculture . 04:40.813 --> 04:42.924 So as we've moved up the line , we're 04:42.924 --> 04:45.180 getting to wear farmer to agriculture 04:45.180 --> 04:49.070 extension agent to his boss to 04:49.080 --> 04:51.800 that next higher level boss . Probably 04:51.800 --> 04:53.800 the the most significant thing that 04:53.800 --> 04:55.967 we've done here during this deployment 04:55.967 --> 04:58.189 is working with the dale , the director 04:58.189 --> 05:00.411 of agriculture , irrigation , livestock 05:00.411 --> 05:02.650 and empowering him with knowledge , 05:03.140 --> 05:05.900 like I said , based on things that they 05:05.910 --> 05:08.132 should already be doing here , but they 05:08.132 --> 05:10.299 don't necessarily know how to do it or 05:10.299 --> 05:10.190 have the confidence that it's gonna 05:10.200 --> 05:13.790 work . So we've seen his uh knowledge 05:13.790 --> 05:16.570 and skills grow and then to the point 05:16.570 --> 05:18.792 that he was confident enough to be able 05:18.792 --> 05:20.903 to produce a five year strategic plan 05:20.903 --> 05:22.737 that lays out the development of 05:22.737 --> 05:25.530 agriculture based on his vision for the 05:25.530 --> 05:27.808 next five years for this province . So , 05:27.808 --> 05:29.919 I mean , that's an important document 05:29.919 --> 05:31.919 because everything else is going to 05:31.919 --> 05:34.141 evolve around that strategic plan , his 05:34.141 --> 05:37.380 annual budget , the the projects and 05:37.380 --> 05:39.602 efforts that his individual staff works 05:39.602 --> 05:41.769 on , which then carries down to the ag 05:41.769 --> 05:43.991 agent which then impacts the individual 05:43.991 --> 05:45.880 farmers out in the community . So 05:45.880 --> 05:48.047 that's just , that's that's a very big 05:48.047 --> 05:47.950 example , is one that that's one big 05:47.950 --> 05:50.210 major accomplishment is that strategic 05:50.210 --> 05:53.130 plan . The other side that we've found 05:53.130 --> 05:55.350 here , this uh been a particular niche 05:55.350 --> 05:58.580 that we've tapped into is value chain 05:58.580 --> 06:01.560 development and the use of a microgram 06:03.240 --> 06:05.700 mhm We're trying to stay within the 06:05.700 --> 06:07.980 scale of what we can impact . We can't 06:07.980 --> 06:09.900 impact big business , we're not 06:09.900 --> 06:12.011 organized that way . We're not funded 06:12.011 --> 06:14.067 that way , but we can't impact small 06:14.067 --> 06:16.233 scale individual owned businesses . So 06:16.233 --> 06:18.300 we seek out those smaller businesses 06:18.370 --> 06:20.592 that have a direct impact on the farmer 06:20.940 --> 06:23.051 and we try to help them improve their 06:23.051 --> 06:24.996 business through either buying new 06:24.996 --> 06:28.000 equipment , upgrading modernizing their 06:28.000 --> 06:30.056 small facilities in some way to make 06:30.056 --> 06:32.278 them more productive , which then has a 06:32.278 --> 06:34.333 return back on that farmer . If this 06:34.333 --> 06:36.333 business owner is more productive , 06:36.333 --> 06:38.222 he's going to be able to buy more 06:38.222 --> 06:37.820 produce from the farm , which is gonna 06:37.820 --> 06:39.931 make him more productive , which then 06:39.931 --> 06:41.987 he will buy other goods and products 06:41.987 --> 06:43.931 from other business owners , which 06:43.931 --> 06:45.987 makes them more productive . So on a 06:45.987 --> 06:48.098 small scale , that's how we're trying 06:48.098 --> 06:51.260 to grow the agribusiness and it's 06:51.640 --> 06:54.500 Why is it so important to keep the 80T 06:54.500 --> 06:57.560 mission going and to keep it alive 06:57.570 --> 07:00.270 right now in Afghanistan ? Well , there 07:00.270 --> 07:02.437 are tons of people here that are doing 07:02.437 --> 07:04.659 ag mission , but I think the one aspect 07:04.659 --> 07:08.220 that the adults bring is that direct 07:08.230 --> 07:11.130 and personal contact down to the 07:11.130 --> 07:13.550 individual level . We're not here to 07:13.550 --> 07:16.370 try to change the entire country and 07:16.370 --> 07:18.537 one fail swoop . You know , you got to 07:18.537 --> 07:20.648 start with each individual person and 07:20.648 --> 07:22.814 work your way up through that change . 07:22.814 --> 07:24.926 So right now I really view the DTs as 07:24.926 --> 07:27.148 being the only asset that provides that 07:27.148 --> 07:30.310 direct hands on personal contact and 07:30.310 --> 07:32.310 development . And the other part is 07:32.310 --> 07:34.532 quite honestly , we're not a business , 07:34.532 --> 07:36.588 we're not here to try to promote our 07:36.588 --> 07:38.366 stakeholders and increase their 07:38.366 --> 07:41.000 earnings and prove our worth by how 07:41.000 --> 07:43.640 much money we spend . You know , we're 07:43.640 --> 07:46.460 small scale were personal , were direct 07:46.460 --> 07:48.950 contact and that's what makes us unique . 07:49.740 --> 07:51.629 And so you touched on this just a 07:51.629 --> 07:53.796 little bit . Um , but maybe you can go 07:53.796 --> 07:56.018 into the little further , how does this 07:56.018 --> 07:57.740 mission impact the lives of an 07:57.740 --> 08:00.018 individual citizen here in Afghanistan ? 08:00.018 --> 08:02.240 What ? Right . And that's just , it was 08:02.240 --> 08:01.640 a building block , you know , the 1st 08:01.640 --> 08:03.862 80 t like I said , and we built up from 08:03.862 --> 08:06.030 there , we've branched out , we're now 08:06.030 --> 08:09.060 focusing more on on government building 08:09.440 --> 08:11.480 because really , I mean if if the 08:11.480 --> 08:13.970 government can't manage and control and 08:13.970 --> 08:16.940 provide basic service , then the 08:16.940 --> 08:19.051 individual farmers is hugely impacted 08:19.051 --> 08:21.260 by that . So trying to develop that , 08:21.740 --> 08:24.000 that base that knowledge base at the 08:24.000 --> 08:26.500 Jarrow or government level is our 08:26.500 --> 08:28.611 particular focus , but you know , how 08:28.611 --> 08:31.950 it impacts everyone is quality of lies , 08:32.340 --> 08:34.910 You know , furthering your education 08:34.910 --> 08:37.250 and knowledge of how to do things . 30 08:37.250 --> 08:40.490 years of war and you know , they've 08:40.490 --> 08:42.712 lost a tremendous amount of people that 08:42.712 --> 08:44.879 had the knowledge of how to do stuff . 08:44.879 --> 08:46.879 So there's really a lot of them are 08:46.879 --> 08:49.046 just starting over from scratch . They 08:49.046 --> 08:51.268 only know what they've either been told 08:51.268 --> 08:50.470 or what they've seen other people do . 08:50.470 --> 08:52.470 They don't know if it's right , but 08:52.470 --> 08:54.581 that's just what they see happening . 08:54.581 --> 08:56.692 So I mean that's how we are impacting 08:56.692 --> 08:58.748 and you just literally have to do it 08:58.748 --> 08:58.550 one person at a time .