Marines run cover for Afghan voters

US Marines, aided by Afghan regulars, are again on the offensive against Taliban forces in Helmand Province, as election day looms.

Kimberly JohnsonAugust 13, 2009 18:20Updated May 30, 2010 12:05

U.S Marines and an Afghan policeman patrol in the Garmsir district of Helmand province July 3, 2009. (Ahmad Masood/Reuters)

DARVESHAN, Afghanistan — Only weeks after launching a major strike against Taliban insurgents nested in southern Afghanistan — and days after a smaller-scale follow-up — U.S. Marines are preparing to take a supporting role during national elections here Thursday.

Commanders of Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines met with regional police of Helmand Province's Garmsir district, as well as Afghan National Army (ANA) command this week to solidify a game plan for the Aug. 20 election. The goal was to have everyone on the same page — or map, as it were.

Local police, Afghan soldiers and U.S. Marines, for example, chose the map they will all be using to ensure accuracy in locating the seven polling sites that are planned for this farming district of 117,000. The sites will be announced by radio broadcast the day before elections.

The Marines will focus on ensuring security at polling stations to guard against Taliban intimidation, said 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines' executive officer, Maj. Thomas Garnett.

The strategy to push Afghan forces into the inner ring of security is one all International Security Assistance Forces will be adopting across Afghanistan during the national election, and follows close on the heels of Operation Khanjar launched in this region in early July. That operation, which included 4,000 Marines fighting alongside about 650 ANA soldiers, marked the biggest air insertion of Marines since Vietnam, commanders here say.

A smaller operation launched Wednesday to rid the Nawzad region of Helmand Province of Taliban insurgents involved 400 U.S. troops and 100 Afghan soldiers. The offensive was part of the new strategy announced in March by President Barack Obama and being implemented by his commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal. The strategy calls for international and Afghan troops to secure more parts of the country, and then to stay in those areas to keep the Taliban out and allow the Afghan government to establish its authority and provide services.

The Garmsir district, a lush agricultural zone infamous for its booming poppy crops, flanks the Helmand River, which bisects the province and has proven to be a haven for the Taliban. The terrain variety, from six-foot-tall elephant grass to a system of irrigation canals, has provided cover for the insurgency.

The Helmand River Valley, bordered by Pakistan to the south, "has not been well-developed by ISAF in the past and, as a result, enemy forces have taken great advantage," said Col. George Amland, deputy commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

"For the amount of geography that we are currently securing, there really hasn't been any persistent presence established by ISAF in the past," he said.

Marines here say that has changed.