Reconstruction of Afghanstan: A Civil Affair

PANZWAYI, Afghanistan -

Acting as a liaison between the United States Army and the Afghan people, Sgt. Carlos Banchs, 33, aids the provincial reconstruction of Afghanistan outside Kandahar in the Army Civil Affairs.

Banchs lives in Tucson. He was deployed with the Army Reserve 492 Civil Affairs unit out of Phoenix in April. Four other soldiers from Phoenix are in Afghanistan with Banchs.

“Our goal is to never come back this country because they don't need us,” said Maj. Alan McKewan, 36, from Phoenix.

“Ninety-four percent of the Civil Affairs are reservists,” said Banchs. “You have to think outside the box.”

Typical military thinking would not work in this job, said Banchs. Balancing military needs and civilian needs is the key to Civil Affairs, and why reservists work best in the position.

Banchs provides security when the unit goes out to meet with the people of Afghanistan. That could be in open markets, remote villages or gatherings of elders called Shuras.

“The Major's safety is my main concern,” he said. “He is my first and last responsibility.”

McKewan oversees distribution of reconstruction money. Schools, clinics and wells are some of the projects funded. The Civil Affairs team meets with the local people at public meetings and gathers assurances from the village elders that the contracted workers and the projects will not be attacked by anticoalition forces.

“The guys you are shaking hands with in the day is the guy shooting at you in the night,” said Banchs.

“The hardest thing is you start getting comfortable with people,” said McKewan. “You think that anything is permissible and it is not.”

Back in Tucson, Banchs is an assistant manager at Kevin Jewelers.

“Kevin Jewelers are the best employers I ever had,” said Banchs. “I do love the military. Nowhere you are going has the camaraderie you have in the military. You build bonds that last though time.”

McKewan is an expert negotiator. His job requires that he deal directly with tribal leaders in Afghanistan that think and act differently. Sometimes, situations can be deadly.

“We can go from Civil Affairs to uncivil affairs in less than a second,” said Banchs. “It's making sure we come back alive.”

Last month, while in Maywand, the provincial governor fired the local police chief and all the Afghan National Police. The fired police refused to give up their automatic weapons and grenade launchers. A battle ensued, leaving at least four Afghan rebels dead.

“That was my first time in a close quarters fire fight,” said Banchs. A few weeks later, McKewan and a security detail walked into the local bazaar to talk to some of the local people and see how things were going.

“The Afghan People are not the enemy,” said McKewan.
“Let's find the enemy and kill the enemy.”

The Civil Affairs unit often travels with the 82nd Airborne's Team Delta. Capt. Jeremy Turner is the company commander of Team Delta. Mckewan and Turner often meet with officials together. “He could sell ice to Eskimos,” said Turner. “He understands people and what motivates them.”

Another job of Civil Affairs is to smooth things over with the local people. If goats or other farm animals are run over by convoys, Civil Affairs compensates the farmers. The same with unnecessary crop damage.

Banchs served in the Army for 8 years on active duty. He worked as a generator mechanic. In 1999, he got his BA in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, and left the Army to work in civilian world.

At 32, he decided to reenlist in the Army Reserve. He knew he would be deployed.

“War is a way of life in my family,” he said. His father volunteered to serve in Vietnam, his great uncle in the Korean war and his grandfather in WWII. “I thought it was my duty to follow in the family tradition,” he said. “These anticoalition forces don't care who they kill.” People of all ages and religions have been affected by this terror, said Banchs. For the people against this war on terror, he has a message.

“I would tell those people to come over here and look at the children and their families,” he said. “They can't grow enough crops to feed everybody.”

Dealing with the malnourished and injured children that need help is one of the hardest parts of being in Afghanistan for Banchs. He has two daughters of his own.

“The one thing people back home need to remember is to keep supporting us—the troops. Keep putting those ribbons out. That is what keep us going.”


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