U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Justin Pierce (center) a civil

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Justin Pierce (center) a civil affairs team sergeant from Ocean Springs, Miss., Lt. Col. Todd Mitchell, civil military operations chief for the Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team from Bristol, Tenn., and Paktika PRT Department of State representitive Justin Kolbeck, of Whittier, Calif., discuss proposals for future projects with Gul Mohammed, the subgovernor for Sar Hawza District, inside the Sar Hawza District center Aug. 13. The PRT is a joint team which assists the Government Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with governance, development, agricultural and security initiatives. The civil affairs team is tasked with helping promote open lines of communication between provincial and district leaders and coaltion forces. Pierce and Mitchell are both deployed from 404th Civil Affairs Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve.