Photo By Spc. Rochelle Prince-Krueger | Senior Sgt. Rumen Zonev, a force protection soldier assigned to the 61st Mechanized...... read more read more
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Not only are 3rd Sustainment Brigade soldiers providing the war-fighters with logistical support in Afghanistan, but they are also helping to improve the readiness state of their coalition partners.
“One of our missions out here is the Lift and Sustain Mission,” said 1st Lt. Shemonia Lea, the executive officer for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Sustainment Brigade. “That is where we provide all logistical aid such as supplies, medical, and maintenance to the Bulgarian [Land Forces].”
In the maintenance bay on Kandahar Airfield, master driver and all-wheeled vehicle mechanic, Sgt. Jason Dailey, offered up his technical expertise to force protection soldiers assigned to the 61st Mechanized Brigade, Bulgarian Land Forces, April 1-5, instructing a driver’s training course for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected-All Terrain Vehicle.
“We want to get the soldiers comfortable with the M-ATV so it will lower the risk of roll-overs and damaging equipment,” said Dailey, who taught the Bulgarian forces the importance of preventative maintenance checks and services. “It is important to teach them how to properly take care of and drive the vehicles [and they in turn can] train their soldiers.”
Dailey, a Eutawville, S.C., native said teaching the class became challenging because of the language barrier. The Bulgarian counterparts understood some English, but relied heavily on Senior Lieutenant Dimitar Dimitrov to translate to his team.
Dimitrov has been in the Land Forces for eight years. He agreed that the language barrier offered some challenges, but what wasn’t understood verbally was picked up during the hands-on portion of the training. He said that after completing the course he now feels confident in his abilities to perform operator-level maintenance on the M-ATV.
“The class was very good,” said Dimitrov. “We got to know the vehicle really well with [all of the hands-on] training. We need this training for our mission here, so we are appreciative of the [3rd Sustainment Brigade soldiers] teaching us on the M-ATV.”
The driver’s and PMCS training taught to the Bulgarian soldiers is the same operator-level course offered to U.S. soldiers. Spc. Marten Sentance, HHC, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, also attended the course. He said he has taken several military classes, but this one was his first one alongside coalition forces.
“To me there is no difference in working side-by-side with other nations,” said Sentence, a Vero Beach, Fla., native. “We are all here working together, so we should help them because they help us.”
The 3rd Sustainment Brigade will continue to partner with and support the 61st Mechanized Brigade throughout the duration of their deployment.
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.07.2013 23:47 |
| Story ID: | 104771 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | ORANGEBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | VERO BEACH, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 339 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Coalition forces maintain readiness in Afghanistan through partnered training, by SPC Rochelle Prince-Krueger, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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