Arkansas Marines Bond With Afghans Through Cultural Similarities

Two United States Marines serving in Afghanistan have not only forged a bond with each other, but also with the Afghan people and the Afghan troops with whom they train.

Maj. John D. Cowart and Cpl. Matthew R. Pope are Arkansas natives currently serving in the 2nd Marine Division’s Provincial Police Adviser Team in the Afghan city of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, according to a statement released by the Marine Corps.

Cowart is the executive officer (essentially the second in command) of the team, while Pope serves as the unit’s operations noncommissioned officer. The mission of the Police Adviser Team is to mentor and train the Afghan uniformed police in Helmand in the fields of operations, logistics, communications, and administration. It is a job in which being an Arkansas native gives the two Marines an edge, says Cowart.

The reason he has found it easy to bond with the Afghan people and the Afghan policemen that he trains is due to the similarities between the cultures of his native Arkansas and that of the Afghans, he says. According to Cowart in a statement released by the military, both Arkansas and Afghanistan are places with strong rural and agricultural traditions, and both areas are populated by people with strong religious beliefs.

These commonalities have made it much easier for two Arkansan Marines to form relationships and identify with those whom they train; a useful ingredient in the Marines’ push to increase the competency and professionalization of the Afghan police.

The U.S.’s military intervention in Afghanistan is in a transitional period. President Barack Obama has announced that the United States has largely achieved its military and political objectives in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the death of Osama bin Laden. He plans for the U.S. military to begin a phased withdrawal from the country, seeking to largely end American involvement in Afghanistan by 2014.

To that end, U.S. military forces, including Cowart and Pope’s Provincial Police Adviser Team and similar units, are focused on training the Afghan national security forces, which include the Afghan national army and the Afghan national police. These forces are being prepared by the United States for a handoff of responsibility for security within the country within the next few years.