This past week I had the opportunity to speak to both Lieutenant General Honore', Commander of the 1st United States Army, and Brigadier General Pritt, Commander of Joint Task Force Phoenix V. It was a chance to bring a face and direct words from the commanders that are leading this operation, to those that seldom,if ever, have had a chance to hear from these men directly. This is not the first time that the 41st Brigade under the leadership of General Pritt, has worked under General Honore'; the 41st Brigade was heavily involved with the efforts in New Orleans immediately following Hurricane Katrina, and as a result, worked directly with General Honore'. There exists an understanding and respect by each as a result.

General Honore's image and his association with the disaster of Hurricane Kartina and New Orleans are inescapable. He speaks with a Cajun flair, and will not hesitate to speak his mind frankly, even to the media. I caught up with him on the edge of the parade field here at Camp Shelby.

Q: Is the use of the National Guard for this mission structured on the community-based nature of the National Guard, or is it based on the need to balance the forces of the Regular Army's forces deployed during wartime?

A: "The National Guard is part of our national strategy. We need them. They get mobilized and get called for active duty; they have throughout the history of the Guard, from 1776 militia men all through every major war and campaign that we've fought in the nation, and this is a continuation of the use of the Guard when needed to assist in achieving our national objectives. So this is a continuation of that, and as you know since the beginning of the Afghan and the Iraq campaign we've used numerous, thousands, of National Guard troops."

Q: Does the 1st Army have a role in supporting the families of the deployed citizen soldiers?

A: "We are working with the States, and family support groups. As a matter of fact, my wife as of yesterday did a video teleconference with the various states that have soldiers that are deployed from 1st Army area... and she's dealing with those State headquarters, as well as my Deputy Chief 1, for family readiness. We collaborate, and ensure that they have all of the assets and information they need to take care of the families. We have as well mobilized soldiers who's sole role is to stay at the Armory. We mobilized them under the Title Ten; they are under Federal pay status and their sole mission is take care of the families left and the operations in and around the home town Armories."

Q: What would like to say to the families of the soldiers of this task force?

A: "These soldiers are coming here well motivated, they're in great shape, and I'm looking forward to a great training period for them. We're sending them home on block leave before they deploy and we'll have a great ceremony here right before they leave and all of the families will be invited to come, and we hope to see them down here at Camp Shelby, Mississippi."

General Pritt is the Commander of the 41st Brigade, who's headquarters is based in Oregon. For this deployment, however, the 41st Brigade is combined with the assets of other services, making this a joint task force effort; General Pritt, therefore, is Commander of Joint Task Force Phoenix V. As a commander, he trusts in the people that work for him; he prefers to let those that work for him tell the story, allowing one to capture a true picture of the operation. He speaks from a vision of what he believes he and his team can achieve. Firm, yet approachable, General Pritt builds respect as much by his actions as his presence.

Q: Have you been to Afghanistan before?

A: "I went to Afghanistan in early January for three weeks for a Leaders Recon."

Q: What is your mission in Afghanistan?

A: "Our mission to Afghanistan involves training soldiers from basic training where soldiers are entering the military for the first time, through their military schooling, from Officer commissioning to advanced military studies, and involves sending mentors, coaches, what we call embedded trainers, with the Afghan units to 53 locations throughout the country."

Q: What is your view on the lack of media coverage on the operations and activities in Afghanistan?

A: "I think the lack of media coverage is probably one of competing interests. There is a lot of activity going on in Iraq, so I think that since there is less troop involvement in Afghanistan, the media probably tends to spend more of their resources covering Iraq."

Q: What is your position on Afghanistan from a strategic point of view?

A: "I think our ability to establish a democratic government, and a country capable of protecting and governing their entire nation, and prevent terrorists from operating there is very important to our overall security, and not just ours, but the rest of the world's."

Q: What is your view on the use of the National Guard for this mission?

A: "The National Guard is training a military, and I believe the National Guard is a professional, can-do organization... very competent... and can do just that, train the Afghans in the basic military skills that they need to master to be a successful military organization... People talk about one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer, and I can tell you that it is certainly way beyond that. We train multiple weekends each month, and on extended periods of time throughout the year, not just one two-week period in the summer. So because of that experience we're able to operate in both the civilian and military realms simultaneously, and I think we're very adept at it."

Q: What would like to say to the families of the soldiers of this task force?

A: "While there is a great deal of risk, we're doing everything possible to ensure that their loved ones have the best training, that we the United States, we the American Army can put forward, and we're sparing no effort to make sure that they are as well prepared as possible for all of the dangers that they'll face when they arrive in Afghanistan."

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Copyright, Scott Kesterson- 2006

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