Sometimes the casualties of war aren’t easy to see. After decades of war, Afghanistan’s agricultural base had been largely destroyed. The natural resources on which 80 percent of Afghanis depended were destroyed or rendered unusable. And, without modern farming practices to support conventional crop production, people were turning to illegal crops such as poppy to generate sufficient income to sustain themselves and their families.

To help Afghan farmers better develop an agricultural system for legal crops, increase yields and income, the U.S. National Guard Agricultural Development Teams (ADT) deployed to the country. The Monsanto Vanguard Network, established in 2009 to assist Monsanto with attracting, developing and retaining talented employees with a military background and comprised of mostly veterans and National Guardsmen, worked with ADT to assist the personnel upon their return home and to help teams stationed in Afghanistan promote sustainable agriculture and modern farming techniques.

Vanguard Operation Resupply drive in Spring 2012

Operation Resupply

On April 15, 2012, the Taliban attacked the forward operating base for the Agriculture Development Team (ADT). During the attack a fire broke out, destroying the barracks and all the personal belongings of the team.

Our Vanguard Network, made up of veterans and military dependents, immediately went to work. After all, these were our friends and people we knew. It became a mission for us to help. Our team obtained a list of the needs of the unit’s 102 men and women from Operation Homefront, a not-for-profit organization that works to support troops and their families.

For a week, our team collected donations from employees, plus refurbished laptop computers. We packed 49 boxes and shipped them only 17 days after the attack.

This effort earned the team the National Guard’s Minuteman Award, given to individuals or organizations that that embody the National Guard’s commitment to, “answer the nation’s call at a moment’s notice.”