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Over the past 20 years, Police Inspector Steve Kose has been deployed on five overseas missions – East Timor in 2000, the Solomon Islands in 2004/05, Afghanistan in 2006, and Bougainville twice, firstly in 2009 and then again from 2017 to 2019 as the contingent commander. Of all these tours, he says Afghanistan was the most rewarding, but also the hardest. Although Steve is based in Auckland, he grew up in Warkworth and spoke to Mahurangi Matters about his Afghanistan experience and what he thinks the future might hold with the Taliban in charge …
It has been heart breaking to watch the news and see the violence that the withdrawal of the United States has led to, but I also feel there is a glimmer of hope. There are some signs that the Taliban is trying to move on from the past 20 years and I think maybe they have had enough of killing. Hopefully, this is an opportunity for the Afghan people to determine their own destiny, and they are the only ones who can. Bringing peace and stability to the country will be very hard though because there are so many different ethnic groups. But, from what I have read and seen on TV, there are some signs that it is the path that the Taliban is willing to take. I hope so.
I was in Afghanistan for six months as part of the International Security Assistance Force, which operated under a United Nations mandate. Its role was to assist the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to maintain security within its area of operation. In 2002, Germany assumed the lead role in rebuilding the Afghan National Police and I was a member of a three-man New Zealand Police team involved in getting a regional training centre up and running in Bamyan province, in the north. When we started, we were using a tent for the classes, which was a challenge in an area with such extreme temperatures. In summer it could get to 50 degrees Celsius, while the temperature could fall to minus 25 degrees in winter. So one of our first jobs was to build a proper centre and then start training police recruits.
The recruits were divided into two groups – those who could read and write and those who couldn’t, and the course was structured accordingly. For many on the course, it was the first time they had received any formal training. We covered areas such as the use of firearms and open arm combat. Most of the police work that these recruits were involved in was pretty basic – family disputes and robberies, and smuggling was also a problem. The course was designed around their laws and the response from the participants was very positive. I can’t say I never felt unsafe while in Afghanistan, but we operated under the auspices of the NZ Defence Force who travelled with us whenever we delivered training off site or even if we just went into the bazaar.
The thing that I was unprepared for when I went to Afghanistan was the beauty of the landscape, its history and the friendliness of the people. Bamyan is 2500-metres above sea level, which is a little like working on the summit of Ruapehu. It is a stopping point on the China to India leg of the ancient Silk Route and there were five World Heritage sites in the area where we lived. This included the City of Caves and the three standing Buddha statues, which were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. One of the most spectacular places we visited was Band-e Amir, which is a series of six incredibly deep blue lakes. The lakes are in the foothills of the Hindu Kush – the second highest mountain range in the world – and are replenished by a natural aquifer.
We arrived in Bamyan in a Hercules that landed on an airstrip that was just rocks and dirt. It felt like we had time travelled back to some early civilisation. The way the people dress, and the way they grow and prepare their food, hasn’t changed in centuries. They till their fields with handmade ploughs pulled by animals and still ride donkeys.
The people have few of the things that we take for granted such as running water and home electricity, and little in the way of possessions. But, they were so humble, hospitable and generous. The kids, in particular, were really beautiful. In the bazaar you could find ancient artifacts alongside pirated CDs.
It was one of the toughest tours because communication with family back home in NZ was so limited. We were lucky to speak for 30 minutes once a week. But I loved the hands-on challenges of these overseas missions. Kiwis always seem to do well when we are in these types of settings. I think it is our multi-cultural upbring and the way we are so connected with our communities. Thanks to my childhood in Warkworth, I learned respect and how not to get too big for my boots, which has served me well throughout my 35 years in the police service. I’m currently the Northern Emergency Communications Centre acting centre manager, but as retirement creeps closer, I am already thinking about moving north again to bring my life full circle. There is something to be said for the fact that some of the friendships I value the most were made before I even started school. You can take the boy out of Warkworth, but you can’t take Warkworth out of the boy!
