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The Marine Corps' Turf War; Paying For The Ground We Gain
(April 22, 2011) | 
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CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan (4/19/2011) – The Marine Corps' mission in
Afghanistan not only revolves around gaining ground and defeating the
enemy, but also depends on gaining the trust of Afghans. |
Gunnery Sgt. Jaren R. Wright, Land Acquisitions Chief for Regional Command Southwest, and Capt. Charles M. Olmsted, Staff Judge Advocate of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, participate in a shura with local land owners to sign a lease agreeing to payment for use of land for a Marine patrol base, April 15,
2011 aboard Combat Outpost Rankel. As the Land Acquisition Chief, Wright is the only Marine within RC (SW) that can physically pay the land owners.
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Last year an entirely new billet was created for just this purpose.
The Land Acquisitions Chief compensates Afghans for the land Marines
inhabit while in the country.
“This is a behind-the-scenes
billet that no one has ever heard of, but it provides an important
function in building patrol bases and forward operating bases,” said
Gunnery Sgt. Jaren R. Wright, the Land Acquisitions Chief for
Regional Command Southwest, from Valdosta, Ga. “We as the United
States are doing the right thing by compensating the land owners.”
Coalition forces developed a process by which Afghans lease
their land to the Marine Corps. Afghans are paid annually for the
use of the land and also for damage to any legal crops lost in the
process of building a patrol base. |
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When Marines decide upon a location to build a patrol base, the
Staff Judge Advocate and Marines operating in the local area
determine who owns the land selected for use. |
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From there, the SJA sends a package to Wright and the RC (SW) Engineers
Section, confirming the identity of the land owners and information on
the land. Next, the package is sent through US Forces Afghanistan to
start the process of ensuring the land owners are properly compensated
and the land is occupied legally by the Marine Corps.
Realty
specialists from Camp Shorabak then decide the price that will be paid
for the land, depending upon its size and the presence of crops or
buildings.
“Christopher Borton, a realty specialist at Kandahar
Airfield, reviews the price negotiation memo and lease that has been
drafted,” said Wright. “He also ensures that we have the funding to pay
the land owners.”
Once the lease has been fully approved and
funding has been acquired, Wright coordinates with the SJA to deliver
payment to the landowners. The SJA is generally present to make sure all
legal documents and leases are signed and the land is properly paid for
in these exchanges.
Even after paying the land owners, the job of
the Land Acquisitions Chief and SJA isn't complete. Land owners commonly
dispute the amount and value of their land as well as the punctuality of
paying them, after they have been paid.
“It's important to tell
people that we will pay them, and make sure they are okay with the lease
agreement,” said Capt. Robert M. Christafore, company commander of Echo
Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, from Oceanside, Calif. “We
lose a little bit of face when the process of paying them takes time,
but we regain it overtime by keeping our promises. Keeping promises is
very important to the Afghans.”
Traditionally, military forces
have never paid for the use of land in a foreign country. This makes the
new process of paying locals and the billet of Land Acquisitions Chief
very unique to the Marine Corps.
“The people here understand that
we're going to put things wherever we [have to],” Christafore said.
“It's easy to clear an area. It's much harder to hold an area and build.
That's why these patrol bases and leases are so important. We don't want
to sour relations with the locals, [Marines] want to keep providing
[Afghans] protection and they want to keep receiving protection.” | |
Article and photo by USMC LCpl. Daniel Wulz
Regional Command Southwest
Copyright 2011
Provided
through DVIDS
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