The Helmand PRT Sample Clauses

The Helmand PRT. The Helmand PRT forms an interesting case in the constellation of various PRT models that operated in Afghanistan. Initially, the Helmand PRT was commanded by the deputy commander of TFH and overseen by the PCRU. In the Joint UK Plan for Helmand, the PRT was to be responsible for fostering governance and development, while TFH was to provide security. Concurrently with the initial plan, the civilian component of the British mission had been resourced to work around Lashkar Gah and Gereshk, with less than ten civil servants from FCO and DfID. The rest of the positions were filled by the military.1382 As such, the PRT was dependent on the resources provided by the military such as transport and force protection. With this configuration, the PRT was to be a conduit for the integrated approach.1383 However, as the plan was subsequently discarded in the spring of 2006, the civilian contribution was naturally affected.1384 1382 Rodwell. Theory and the reality, p. 24. 1383 FCO. Capturing the Lessons, p. 4. 1384 Interviews British civil servant 2; British civil servant 3. As a result, the PRTs operations were marred from the outset, as the civilian members were not allowed, due to security considerations, to venture beyond Lashkar Gah. This drew some ire from the military as this undermined an integrated approach to operations. At the same time, the heavy fighting in the early rotations precluded constructive work on development and governance. Consequently, the PRT had limited contact with the population.1385 An additional impediment to integrated working was the cultural differences between the military and civil servants from the FCO and DfID. This divide manifested itself in the planning processes: where the military plans for relatively short periods of time with concrete objectives, their civilian counterparts tend to take a more longitudinal view with an iterative approach. Given the predominance of military personnel in Helmand, their planning procedures prevailed.1386 Moreover, in the early Herrick-rotations, the incoming TFH-commanders generally brought their own six-month plans that were not coordinated with the PRT.1387 This is not to say that the civilians in the PRT were themselves always of the same mind. By design, the civil servants from DfID and FCO reported back to their own departments instead of PRT-leadership. Of course, all these organizational barriers hindered unity of effort within the PRT. As the mission progressed, the coordination betw...