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http://www.omniture.com --> Email Story to a Friend June 13, 2006 Afghans treat Guard soldier with hospitality By paul fattig Mail Tribune Picture the high desert of southeastern Oregon, with its rugged mountains and dusty brushland punctuated by a stream and rare green shrubbery. Throw in more than 30 years of warfare and an insurgency fighting a fledgling government, and you have a sense of what is Afghanistan, observed Matt Angelucci, a major with the Oregon Army National Guard. "It's roughly comparable to places in southeastern Oregon," he said during a late Monday night — Afghanistan time — telephone interview from Mazar-e Sharif. "A lot of mountains are bare," he continued. "The higher elevations are brown. Any place where there is a stream is green with lots of agriculture." But spring brought a crop you won't find in Oregon, he said. He was referring to increased violence recently by remnants of the Taliban, the conservative religious sect that ruled that country until U.S. forces invaded after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "Because the winters here are very harsh, you have, in effect, a spring campaign season," he said of the insurgency. "The enemy comes out then. The enemy is doing its best to win, just like we are." Angelucci, 40, a 1983 graduate of Medford Senior High School, made the observation as part of an advance team which arrived in country nearly a month ago ahead of the Guard's 41st Brigade Combat Team, whose roughly 950 members landed over the weekend. The major will serve as chief military adviser for the Afghanistan National Army's 9th Infantry Battalion. Back in Oregon, the major's main job is serving as the liaison officer between the brigade and the regular U.S. Army. He is the son of Pat Angelucci of White City. His father, Ray Angelucci, died in early April. Some 100 citizen-soldiers from Jackson and Josephine counties attached to the Guard's 1st Battalion of the 186th Infantry headquartered in Ashland have volunteered to augment the brigade based in Tigard. In addition to training that country's young army, they also will provide security. Members of the brigade are being posted throughout Afghanistan. Mazar-e Sharif is about 200 miles north of Kabul near where the borders of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan intersect with Afghanistan. Angelucci estimates the town's population at more than 100,000. Speaking on a military service satellite phone, Angelucci, a graduate of the University of Oregon, said the mission, expected to last a year, would be a challenge. "When you are advising people from another culture, you have to minimize any display of personal weakness while maximizing the parts of your job you are really good at," he said. "You have to develop communication skills and increase cultural awareness." Angelucci, who has served more than 20 years in the Guard as well as one hitch in the regular Army, has already been getting to know the local Afghans. "They are hospitable to the nth degree," he said. "You won't be invited to a place where they won't have tea and snacks served. "I just had dinner with the Afghan Army guys — lamb and rice," he added later. "It was pretty good. I asked them if they ate like this every night. They said it was a special occasion." That hospitality has survived some 35 years of war, beginning with the invasion by the former Soviet Union, he said. "These people are working very hard to put things back together," he said. "Not only do they have to deal with physical destruction, but they had also had a breakdown of institutions, starting with families. They have to rebuild everything." However, the Afghans take Friday off because it is an Islamic holy day, he said, noting the Guard has adjusted its schedule accordingly. The Oregonians work six days a week. "Friday is when we slow down," he said. Like the Rogue Valley, Afghanistan is just about to enter the summer season, he said. However, there have been no rain showers. "Right now it's hot, dusty and sunny every day," he said. "Last week it got up to 105. I think it's a little cooler today but not much." Yet he figures it's more pleasant than the weather his unit experienced during three months of training at Camp Shelby, Miss., before heading to Afghanistan. Meanwhile, he couldn't think of anything the Oregonians are short of in terms of toiletries or other items loved ones could send. "I'll probably have to be on the ground several months before I figure that out," he said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] . Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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