Commander Multinational Corps Northeast, ended a two-day visit to Masar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan.
On 27th May 2007 Lieutenant General Zdzislaw Goral, the Commander Multinational Corps Northeast, ended a two-day visit to Masar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. The capital of the Balkh province of northern Afghanistan, surrounded by the mountains, welcomed General with sun, heat and hot wind bringing dust. The place is known for being a destination for pilgirimages and a trading centre for carpets and textiles but also for Regional Command North located there.
Gen. Goral was kindly hosted by Commander Regional Command North, his Deputy and Chief of Staff, and was briefed on the current situation in the north of Afghanistan as well as ongoing projects and operations and finally about Regional Command North itself. An interesting attraction was a tour round the camp, which included for example visiting a field hospital, which definately meets European standards, and modern Regional Air Operations Coordination Centre with an airport where impressive flying machines were ready to reach the sky if needed.
Regional Command North operates within nine northern provinces of Afghanistan and its main function is to assist the Government of Afghanistan and the Afghan people in the process of reconstruction, governance and ensuring security and stability in the region. The main tool for realization of these goals are so called PRTs (Provintional Reconstruction Team) and OMLT (Operational Mentoring Laison Teams), the latter being focused on advising and coordinating relations between ISAF and Afghan National Army. Gen. Goral had the priviledge to observe the work of Swedish PRT MeS (Masar-e-Sharif), which on daily basis contacts the Afghan people in order to meet their needs and provide real help by for example building a protection fence for a school for girls or supporting a local hospital. Even though this PRT is mainly Scandinavian, there was also a group of Poles, with whom Gen. Goral met and spent some time on chatting.
This short visit, in fact the fifth General’s visit to Afghanistan, was an extraordinary chance to get acknowledged with the development of situation in the northern parts of Afghanistan. However, this time was also unique for a soldier, who usually serves at Air Operations Coordination Centre / Multinational Corps Northeast, one of the very few not deployed to ISAF Headquarters in Kabul, where most of our personnel is serving, but to Regional Air Operations Coordination Centre in Masar-e-Sharif.
