Thurmond formed peacekeeping unit

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Don Fowler, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former commander of the 360th, said Thurmond organized the unit while he was governor.

"It was a different era, when you could do that and the Army would recognize it," he said. "Strom Thurmond the individual went out and recruited people to serve in this unit and then the Army recognized it."

Thurmond organized what was then called the military government unit in 1950. When Fowler was the commander, it was named the Thurmond Brigade.

Fowler said he frequently saw Thurmond during his Reserve career because he was always attentive to matters affecting national security and the military.

"He frequently would attend ceremonies and he was always available to us to help protect and support our unit and other National Guard and Reserve units," Fowler said.

Fowler said military government units were widely employed in World War II.

The Thurmond Brigade has been deployed in American campaigns outside the nation's borders, such as in Grenada, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

"That unit went to Grenada when I was commander. We were the last uniformed troops in Grenada," Fowler said.

"The people who serve in that unit take a great deal of pride in it. There's always a link of loyalty connected to Sen. Thurmond," said Fowler.

One of those is Doug Lange, a lieutenant colonel in the Thurmond Brigade, with 26 years' service in the Army and Army Reserve.

In civilian life, Lange is director of facilities services at Furman University. His avocation is riding a motorcycle. But he's currently serving with a battalion of the Thurmond Brigade in Afghanistan, working to win the peace after his colleagues overthrew the Taliban.

In e-mail correspondence with The Greenville News, Lange said he has no illusions about the difficulty he and his fellow citizen-soldiers face.

"It is a very ambitious program with early successes and potential for use in other nations like Iraq," Lange said.

"I have no illusions that I am saving the world, but I am making new friends and learning to appreciate and respect a rugged, hearty people. We build relationships based on trust, one person at a time," Lange said.

The Thurmond Brigade has had a presence in Afghanistan since January 2002, and has three Provincial Reconstruction Teams fully operational in Gardyez, Bamyan and Konduz.

Lange said the most ambitious project yet is the Rabia Balkhi Women's Hospital. NATO provided a medical waste incinerator, a Japanese organization built a new waiting room and many other agencies contributed. The hospital reopened on April 21.

The Army is funding and managing the reconstruction of a clinic building.

Lange said so far, the military assistance teams have administered more than 350 projects valued at $13 million. Local Afghans also benefit by being employed on the projects.

Lange's unit also finds individual ways to help the people of the war-ravaged land.

On the route between Bagram Air Field and Kabul, a young boy of the Kuchi tribe, a herding group from the nearby mountains, was hit by an Afghan bus. Anxious tribespeople at first were suspicious of American combat medics' efforts to help the boy.

As the scene appeared ready to spiral out of control, another group of soldiers with an interpreter arrived and quieted their anxiety.

"Using their interpreter we were able to explain the situation and that we wanted to take the boy to the military hospital for treatment. At least one of his legs appeared to be broken," Lange said.

Three days later, the Americans took the boy back to the hospital for a checkup. They returned him to his village with a cast, crutches, several "Army One" ball caps, candy and other trinkets.

"We didn't change the lives of the clan. But we did convince a small group of Afghan nomadic shepherds that we are sincere, caring people worthy of their trust and friendship," Lange said.

The Reservists of the 360th were commanded until June 1 by Col. Jim Harrison, a Columbia attorney, state representative and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The unit has its headquarters at Fort Jackson and subordinate battalions in New York, Maryland, North Carolina and Tennessee. One battalion was attached to the Army's 3rd Infantry Division as it punched through Iraqi irregulars and Republican Guards in the Euphrates valley south of Baghdad.

"During combat operations, their primary mission would be to reduce civilian interference on the battlefield. Those civilians can block supply routes, endangering the troops and themselves. We saw this in An Nasiriyah and Basra," said Harrison, who saw duty in Haiti in 1994, Bosnia in 1996 and the 1991 Gulf War.

Civil affairs units are unusual in the Army because those soldiers use civilian skills to restore transportation, sewer and water facilities, police services and the minimum level of government necessary for combat-ravaged zones to resume and continue day-to-day life.

"That's why 95 percent of civil affairs is in the reserves," Harrison said. "We develop those skills in private life.

"We have experts in every discipline: bankers, teachers, engineers, financial experts, police officers, judges and lawyers and transportation experts," Harrison said.