Lt. Col. Timothy McGuire, commander of 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, plants one of the first trees of a reforestation project in Afghanistan's Paktika province on Tuesday. McGuire and the mayor of Orgun planted 10 trees at Zama Dam Park, where a total of 1200 will be planted. The 1-508th from Vicenza, Italy, is deployed to Forward Operating Base Orgun-E. (Michael Abrams / S&S)

Lt. Col. Timothy McGuire, commander of 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, plants one of the first trees of a reforestation project in Afghanistan's Paktika province on Tuesday. McGuire and the mayor of Orgun planted 10 trees at Zama Dam Park, where a total of 1200 will be planted. The 1-508th from Vicenza, Italy, is deployed to Forward Operating Base Orgun-E. (Michael Abrams / S&S)

Following the tree planting ceremony at Zama Dam Park, soldiers of 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment enjoy a meal with the locals to celebrate the event. (Michael Abrams / S&S)

Mayor Sadar of Orgun, right, listens as Lt. Col. Timothy McGuire, commander of 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, gives a speech following the tree planting ceremony at Zama Dam Park. (Michael Abrams / S&S)

ZAMA, Afghanistan — To Western eyes, it doesn’t look much like a park. There’s dirt, dozens of tree stumps, a dilapidated stone structure in the middle and a low perimeter wall made of dried mud.

But to local villagers, Special Operations civil affairs soldiers and the commander of the 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, Zama Dam Park is a success story.

The park, owned by the federal government, used to be filled with fruit trees and was a prime destination for families to come and have a picnic. But that was 30 years ago, before the Russians invaded the country and way before the Taliban took over.

Capt. Brian Orlosky, who heads Civil Affairs Team A415, said the park fell into disrepair during the Russian invasion and most of the trees died. Residents in need of firewood cut the trees down.

On Tuesday, that changed to a small degree. Thanks to money from the Special Ops guys and the Red Devils, more than 1,000 fruit trees will soon be planted in the park. A pond is planned. A caretaker will live in the stone building, with a water pump and a generator behind it. A new perimeter fence will surround an area that families might once again visit.

Ten trees were planted Tuesday before a small ceremony featuring speeches by the local mayor and Lt. Col. Tim McGuire, commander of the Red Devils. The Vicenza, Italy-based battalion has been on the ground less than a month and is headquartered a short-distance away at Forward Operating Base Orgun-E.

“My unit has just arrived here,” McGuire told villagers. “But there is no place in Afghanistan we would rather be. We want to work alongside you to build a lasting peace and prosperity here in Afghanistan.”

McGuire said he hopes to provide funds for about 10,000 trees to be planted throughout Paktika province. It’s an area in eastern Afghanistan, bordering Pakistan, and devoid of much in the way of large cities or modern civilization.

Orlosky said residents are taking charge of the work and are interested in rebuilding their communities.

“There is momentum here,” he said. “People are ready to go forward and take care of things themselves.”

He has high hopes for the area. Above the park, the German government once started work on a dam. He’s hoping that another agency will soon pick up the work and finish a project that would boost agriculture — and life in general — in the area.

Orlosky’s team will visit 22 area schools in the next few days, handing out small backpacks with basic supplies to every child. They estimate they’ll see more than 10,000 children. They had just come from donating about 150 pounds of blankets nearby.

“Winning the hearts and minds,” Orlosky said with a smile, quoting one of the command’s mottos.

Sgt. 1st Class David Dickson, a member of Orlosky’s team, said the area once showed a lot of support for the Taliban. But he said that locals appear to be happy to control their own destiny.

“This park is a good example,” he said. “It’ll take years before the trees are large, but they’re willing to work hard to get this done. They are interested in making things better for the next generation.”