Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team Press Release: Helmand: It’s all about the con

[The Patriot]

On arriving in Helmand in March 2011, I remember being asked by a senior colleague what my first impression was. ‘It’s chaos’ I replied. I was quickly corrected – ‘I think you mean complex and challenging’. At the time I didn’t really appreciate the difference. At a glance, it’s easy to believe that we do operate in an element of chaos. Having not worked with the military before, the concept of Regional Commands, Task Forces, Battle groups and Battalions was completely alien and that was before I’d even got to the multinational, multi agency PRT, let alone the Afghans! However, as my 18 months in the PRT comes to an end, I tend to agree with the description I was corrected with. It’s all about understanding the context.

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