101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team meets Torkham Gate security forces that protect Afghanistan’s people

December 28, 2012 |

Written by Sgt. Jon Heinrich
1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs

Forward Operating Base Fenty, Afghanistan – Torkham Gate is one of Afghanistan’s busiest gates along the country’s border with Pakistan.

Soldiers from 3rd Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, were recently joined on a mission to the gate by the brigade’s command sergeant major.

Soldiers from 3rd Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, move into the Afghan Customs Department at Torkham Gate Dec. 20th. The gate lies on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan and is monitored by the Afghan Customs Police, Afghan Border Police and the National Directorate of Security. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jon Heinrich, Task Force 1-101 PAO)

Afghan Customs Police, Afghan Border Police and the National Directorate of Security control the gate, which is located a few hundred meters from Forward Operating Base Torkham.

“There are essentially three different agencies,” said Blaska. “You’ve got the ACP, you’ve got the ABP and you’ve got NDS that physically does the interrogations; they find shady guys off the walkway, they’ll bring them in, ask them questions and if they check out, they’ll let them on their way.”

Civilian and commercial traffic moves slowly through Torkham Gate, which lies on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jon Heinrich, Task Force 1-101 PAO)

According to Blaska, the ABP is responsible for the traffic along the road.

“They have checkpoints all along the road, they check out vehicles and direct them to where they need to be in order to control traffic,” he said. “The ACP controls the physical walkway, and deal with pedestrians coming through, pushcarts, etc.”

“It’s a myriad of different agencies working together,” Blaska said.

“Also, from a security stand-point, (the gate is an opportunity) to interdict anything trying to be smuggled from Pakistan into Afghanistan: men, weapons, equipment that the insurgents are trying to bring across. So that’s the role of the security forces there,” said Blaska.

Blaska went on to say that, aside from the security reasons, the gate also serves as a location for the collection of revenue that is dispersed between the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Transportation.

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