MASOOD, Afghanistan
The bursts of automatic weapons fire caught them in an open field. There was no cover. They hugged the earth, shot back at Taliban gunmen they could see and slowly extricated themselves as a second squad of infantrymen farther back in an orchard laid down covering fire with rifles and shoulder-fired rockets.
“They started shooting as we were leaving the area we wanted to check out,” said 1st Lt. Alar Karileet. “It was well planned. The Taliban were in three positions of four to five men each, one of them in a village compound. I don’t know how many we killed, but artillery we asked for made a direct hit on one position, and no one shot at us from there again.”
The troops were from Estonia, one of NATO’s newest and smallest members. The Estonians’ numbers in the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are few, with just 289 men and women in Afghanistan. Yet in proportion to the size of Estonia’s National Defense Force, the Afghan deployment represents nearly 10 percent of the nation’s full-time military.
The 20-minute firefight occurred slightly more than a half mile from Patrol Base Masood, a small compound of dust and earthen barriers in Helmand province.
“In general, the Estonian people support our being here,” said Maj. Janno Mark, commander of the contingent. “The people in Estonia understand we’re a member of NATO. We can’t just consume security; we have to contribute to it.
“Looking at who is our neighbor, you can understand why we have to be a good and active member.”
Estonia, located along the Baltic Sea, was once part of the Soviet Union. It regained its independence after the fall of communism and is a full member of NATO and the European Union.
Its population is about 1.4 million. Its professional military numbers about 3,300. About 30,000 other Estonians serve at any given time in its territorial force — a sort of National Guard — or its 10,000-person reserve.
Some served in Afghanistan in the 1980s as conscripts in Soviet occupation forces, Maj. Mark said.
According to ISAF statistics, other non-U.S. contingents in southern Afghanistan as of September included 8,371 Britons, 1,978 Dutch, 853 Romanians, 116 Belgians, 664 Danes, 250 Bulgarians, 238 Slovaks, 248 French and 3,550 Canadians. U.S. troops in the south numbered 17,490.
More than 30,000 soldiers from other countries have joined U.S. forces throughout Afghanistan, which is nearly the size of Texas. By the end of the year, there will be 68,000 U.S. forces in-country, and the U.S. commander here — Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal — has asked for more.
“We have to encourage the people and keep their confidence on security,” Maj. Mark said of ISAF efforts. “We’re still in a clearing phase in many places. In others, we had enough forces to clear but not to hold. So it was pointless. We need more forces, including [Afghan National Security Forces]. They’re the right forces for the holding task.”
Clear and hold are two legs of a three-legged counterinsurgency strategy that worked well in Iraq. Troops physically clear an area of enemy fighters, establish a 24/7 presence to keep the enemy from re-infiltrating and thus create a sense of security for the local population, which will be given a stake in security and hopefully turn against the insurgents.
Afghan Army Gen. M. Ghorbi, a brigade commander in Helmand, also wants more troops — troops who are fully trained. “We need a lot more troops, we need to increase the [Afghan National Army] a lot more,” he said. “The Marines and British are helping, us but I need more Afghan soldiers. We need 3,000 to 4,000 more [in Helmand] to do the job right.”
There are more than 90,000 Afghan government troops in varying states of proficiency. The international community is helping train them, and the government hopes to increase the number to about 130,000 by late next year.
The Afghan officer, however, indicated that bodies in uniforms and trained in combat skills would not be enough. What he needs, he said, are troops in tune with counterinsurgency doctrine so they can move “out of the camp and talk and work with the people.”
A small contingent of the Afghan National Army (ANA) shares Patrol Base Masood with the Estonians and accompanies them on missions. There also are about five U.S. Marines in the encampment, coordinating air and artillery support if needed.
Maj. Mark said the Estonian contingent is divided into two groups. One works with British troops in the northern and central areas of the province where gunbattles and explosions of improvised explosive devices are a daily occurrence. It’s a hotbed for Taliban gunmen, who, he says, move freely in the countryside.
Three Estonians were killed there recently, and about a dozen were wounded.
“I haven’t seen any real improvement in central Helmand” over the past six months, Maj. Mark said. “We (ISAF) don’t have enough forces to improve things significantly. Down south it’s a bit different.”
South means areas like Masood and nearby Shamshad, where, Maj. Mark says, village elders are stronger-willed in resisting Taliban threats but still need encouragement from a strong and active security force presence. The company of Estonians works its small areas as best it can.
“The tribal mix here definitely makes things difficult, complicated,” he said. “You have to approach every village differently to track the situation and understand the dynamics.”
The attack on the Estonians late last month in the Masood district was the first in many weeks.
“We know they are there now,” Lt. Karileet said. “Now it’s up to the commanders to decide when and where we deal with them.”
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