California National Guard troops help Afghan farmers

Source: Los Angeles Times

Army Spc. Kathy Tanson, who grew up on a farm in Corning in Northern California, is wrestling goats and sheep into submission so they can be vaccinated against parasites and anthrax.

Spc. Jose Lopez, who worked at his uncle's irrigation company in Tulare County, is putting headlocks on cattle so they stand still for their shots, one for rabies and another one to provide a vitamin boost to help them through the brutal Afghan winter.

And Col. Eric Grimm, who attended veterinary school before joining the military, is demonstrating the proper way to subdue a balky donkey without getting kicked: Grab it by the head with one hand, and lift up its tail with the other.

Tanson, Lopez, Grimm and other members of the California Army National Guard's 40th Infantry Division have deployed to this isolated, mountainous section of Afghanistan to win the hearts and minds of rural Afghans -- traditionally deeply distrustful of outsiders -- by helping them improve their farming methods and livestock management.

The division's agribusiness development team is the first group from California to participate in the Pentagon's agribusiness program, begun four years ago. Seven National Guard units from farm states are now in Afghanistan doing similar work; two more are expected after Jan. 1.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghan-calguards21-2009dec21,0,73688.story

If they did more of this instead of going out "on patrol" to see what they could shoot up, maybe they would be seen as helpful. I bet they could even do this without some $200K a year contractor riding shotgun for them.