Alumna follows unforeseen career path abroad
Karen Chandler, 1998 graduate, works for the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan
Chandler, political officer for the PRT, helps local officials solve problems in the Farah province.
By Caleb Sommerville (Contact)
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
When Karen Chandler graduated from the University of Kansas in 1998, she had no idea that she would be in Afghanistan 10 years later, eating goat and drinking tea with village elders.
“If you would have given me a blank map without country names on it when I graduated from KU, I’m not sure I could have actually picked Afghanistan on it,” Chandler said.
Chandler serves as the political officer for the Provincial Reconstruction Team, which is part of the U.S. Embassy. She works in the province of Farah, Afghanistan, which borders Iran. The city of Farah, where Chandler is based, is about 75 miles from the border.
Chandler graduated from the University with a degree in human biology. After graduation she didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do, so she studied abroad at the University of Kent in England.
During her time in England, she realized she wasn’t interested in science as much as in international affairs. She took several classes on the subject.
After returning to Lawrence and then attending graduate school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Chandler worked in the counter-terrorism office of the U.S. Department of State.
When her boss retired, Chandler wanted something new. There was an opening in the PRT in Afghanistan, so she applied.
“I was very intrigued by it because it’s a very unusual assignment for the State Department,” Chandler said.
The assignment in Afghanistan lasts about one year, and is essentially embedded with the military. Chandler has been in Afghanistan since May.
Chandler’s job as the political officer is to work with local officials in the Farah province to help them solve problems.
She tries to mentor them and help them do their jobs better, as well as listen to problems from the people.
“I was very intrigued by it because it’s a very unusual assignment for the State Department.”
—Karen Chandler, political officer for the Provincial Reconstruction Team
She also keeps the embassy updated on what’s going on.
“Without people like me reporting back to them, they aren’t really aware what’s going on out and about,” Chandler said.
When Chandler heads out into the province, she is not allowed to travel without a military escort. Soldiers are with her at all times and they travel in armored Humvees.
She wears civilian clothing and is not armed but has to wear a Kevlar helmet and body armor.
“It’s taken a while to get used to, because the helmet actually weighs a couple pounds, and after getting rattled around in a Humvee for a few hours, you start to get a headache from it,” Chandler said.
She hasn’t had any close calls yet, though. She’s very fortunate that her team hasn’t run into any trouble, she said.
In fact, last week, one of the PRT teams went out to deliver some humanitarian goods to one of the districts and was attacked by a suicide bomber on its way back to Farah.
Fortunately, the team had only minor injuries.
Chandler said the soldiers that she worked with were extremely professional and nice guys. She has soldiers continuously around her until she is in a “safe” location, like during a meeting with town elders. Then, they are right outside the doors.
She has had some unusual experiences, though.
Chandler’s team went to an area that had been attacked by the Taliban the night before. She could see the mortar holes and burned-out buildings from the attack on the local police station, she said.
She even saw blood on the ground from the fight.
Then, only 12 hours after the attack, Chandler said that she was with the local police officers who had defended the station, some with their kids and all with their rifles propped against the wall, drinking tea and talking about the attack.
The PRT also arranged a midwife training program at a local hospital and Chandler was affected by one of the girls who had graduated from tenth grade. The girl was about 18- years- old.
Chandler said the girl wanted to be a midwife to save lives and give herself courage. For most of the girl’s life, Chandler said, the girl had seen war and had not even been allowed to attend school except for the past five years.
Chandler has been struck by the bravery of the people there and said that the locals appreciate the American presence in Afghanistan.
The local people are positive about the military and even want more of a presence. It helps them feel safer, Chandler said.
The embassy sent seven local students on an embassy-sponsored trip to see how the American government worked. When the seven came back, they were amazed that Chandler and her team had left America to come help them in Afghanistan.
Chandler is glad she took the assignment.
“I knew it was a very unique opportunity to be able to make a contribution,” Chandler said.
Her time at the University definitely helped her prepare for this job. She had a great time going to school here and still follows KU basketball. Chandler only missed two games her entire college career and those were because of night chemistry tests.
In addition to getting the degree in human biology, Chandler was also on the editorial board of the University Daily Kansan and a captain on the rowing team.
Without that experience and appreciation for teamwork, Chandler said, she would not have learned how to work in the environment she’s in now.
Her time studying abroad through the University’s program definitely shaped her future, she said.
After she finished graduate school in Washington D.C., she wanted to get a job and live a normal life after being in school for so long. She never imagined she would end up in Afghanistan.
“This is definitely not normal,” Chandler said with a laugh.
— Edited by Katherine Loeck
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