OEF Update, Feb. 23, 2010: Operation Moshtarak

Dispatches from the Front:

KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 23, 2010 -- Signs of steady progress in development and governance are being seen in central Helmand province. Bridges, roads and culverts are being repaired, bazaars are re-opening and attracting customers, and a variety of initiatives are being planned or implemented.

Six projects are ongoing and 18 are planned in Northern Nad-e Ali under the Afghanistan Vouchers for Increased Production in Agriculture Plus program. Educators and school officials are also discussing an ambitious training program that will promote reading, writing and arithmetic skills among young people who are addicted to drugs or have previous affiliations with the insurgency.

Afghan and combined forces continue to encounter small, but determined pockets of resistance, often from bunkers or other fortified positions. IEDs remain the greatest threat to security forces, but the combined force continues to make headway in clearing operations to enable improved governance and development. New patrol bases are being established as Afghan forces assert greater authority in Marjah and Nad-e Ali. A new patrol base is operational at 5 Ways Junction and a new police base is being built in southeast Marjah.

Clearing operations are on track and enabling greater freedom of movement for civilians and security forces alike. Task Force Helmand's engineers continue to upgrade roads in their area of operations, enabling more effective delivery of stabilization supplies.

(From a NATO International Security Assistance Force news release.)