A conversation with Jacob McFerren

Who the heck is Jacob McFerren? He’s the political advisor to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan. As you know, our military commanders are having to not only conduct military operations, but also standing up peaceful governments in foreign lands that are friendly to the US. For that reason, our Generals need political advisors. This was a pretty good read and I wanted to share it with you so you can see how our commanders on the ground do what they do so successfully.

As the political advisor to the top commander in Afghanistan, Jacob McFerren is responsible for helping foster international relations with the 44 countries that currently make up the coalition forces, both NATO and non-NATO contributing nations. McFerren and General McChrystal, along with the Afghan Minister of Interior and Minister of Defense traveled to Helmand province Feb. 15, where Afghan National Army, alongside U.S. Marine and British forces, are in the midst of a major operation to rid the province of Taliban presence.

Their trip took them to Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, and to Showa, a village outside the capital, where they reviewed the progress being made during the last two days of the offensive. After meeting with many village representatives and local government members, McFerren was asked to describe the reception they received and the general feeling of the villagers.

“When we were walking back from the helicopter, I said to the general, ‘That was good’ and the boss said something was different and I said I think it was the confidence, the confidence you could see in these people, in their eyes. They actually, it looked like they believed. They were seeing Afghan soldiers, Afghan police and Afghan leaders.”

McFerren said that the local elders offered not only to help guide Afghan security forces through the villages to show where IED’s [improvised explosive devices] were hidden, but to point out people who didn’t belong and to show them where caches of weapons were hidden.

“Essentially what happened was the mid-level and lower-level fighters put their weapons down and tried to melt into the local community. And as we know here in the communities of the Afghans, especially down south, you’re either known or you’re not and if you’re not know to them, you’re a foreigner. That type of decision by the local leaders, by the elders, to provide guides to the Afghan forces is just an incredible gift really to the Afghan leadership in Kabul which is borne about, I think by them seeing with their own eyes.”

One of the most moving scenes from the day for McFerren came when the group went to see where the ANA soldiers had replaced a Taliban flag with the Afghanistan national flag, which is now flying over the village.

“The Afghan soldiers were securing the town at every intersection, on the roofs there were Afghan and British soldiers and you could see the partnership there. People started coming out of their homes and coming up to the governor and kissing his hand and putting his hand to their forehead. It was moving the governor incredibly and he said to the police chief, after four years I didn’t think they would recognize me, but not only did they recognize him, they came out to show their respect and to thank him.

Their eyes told a story, the eyes and the smiles; it was incredible walk actually, and it happened not just once, and not just twice, but at almost every block. So you had just on so many levels this obvious outward emoting of confidence of yes, we can do this, which actually we hadn’t seen beforehand so that is what I think is different.”

In addition to the positive response from the local population, McFerren said the cooperation between the ANA and the Afghan National Police was a welcome change from the often tension-filled relationship between the two military organizations.

“In the past, at almost every level, there’s been friction between the ANA and the ANP; the ANA being much further along in training, resourcing and respect than the ANP, but there were three different instances that the ANA leader would brief and right behind him was a police member and they were sharing how the ANP would take over the security. There was no sign at all of the past friction we have seen; everyone was sharing in the moment and that what was so incredibly touching. Everyone was sharing in what was a national moment, although there a lot of people who don’t believe that this is a nation because of all the different tribes and ethnic groups. I guess you could have made that same argument about us a long time ago. You’ve got to start somewhere.”

Although this is a positive step forward for the security of the country, McFerren understands that there is much more to be done to build a safe, secure and thriving Afghanistan. Already the area is slowly returning to normal; children playing, people tending to their gardens and herds and traffic in the streets.

“We’ve got a long way to go. This is just the beginning. The truth is going to be seen in the international resolve to actually help them build what they need to build and in many instances the Afghan people aren’t certain what they need to build because it’s never been here. They’re going to need a lot of help but it’s not doing it for them it’s doing it with them. It’s going to take a long time but it takes a long time to build especially in a place where nothing has been built prior. That all takes time, all takes resolve and an international resolve to move forward to make things safer.”

Most importantly, McFerren said a permanent Afghan security presence is needed not only in the south but throughout Afghanistan, in order to prevent insurgents from occupying villages and halting economic development.

“They did before; they will again, it is their intent to do so. The worst thing we could do right now is to leave; to give them that opportunity. There needs to be a permanent security presence throughout the country. They [ANA] know that the fight isn’t over, but they know they have done something which no one was actually sure that they could, and not only doing, it but doing it well. They know they have a long way to go and they know that this is just the beginning, but they did it. Their own people saw that they did it. This will be huge for them.“

This interview was performed by SSgt Sarah Brown, USAF.