by Petty Officer 1st Class David M. Votroubek
Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan Public Affairs
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – The Afghan national army's 205th Corps soldiers are taking a step forward in both weapons technology and tactics as they replace their 60 year-old Russian designed AK-47 assault rifles with American M-16s.
To help them with the transition, soldiers from the 205th Corps are being trained as weapons trainers by Afghan Regional Security Integration Command -South's Corps Training Team, lead by Army Capt. Kevin Mercer, CTT chief. Together with a Canadian team, Mercer's six-man team is preparing the 205th to replace sheer firepower with accurate shooting.
According to Mercer, the Afghans watch the Americans with their M-4s, a shorter variant of the M-16, and most of them are enthusiastic about getting the M-16.
Some ANA veterans, like 2nd Lt. Ayamuddin, would rather keep their familiar AK-47s. But young soldiers like 19-year-old 2nd Lt. Shafiqullah, are anxious to get the M-16.
As he waited for the other trainers to finish zeroing their rifles, Shafiqullah bent down to pick up a live AK-47 round lying in the gravel. While comparing the larger 7.62 mm bullet to the M-16's 5.56 mm, he heard again that the larger round has greater punch than accuracy.
He made up his mind as he rolled the two bullets around in his hand.
"The M-16 is a good weapon," he said.
Learning about a weapon is one thing, but learning how to shoot is another. Before going to the shooting range, the 205th ANA trainers spent a few days in class learning about the rifle, then a day in engagement skills training to learn how to shoot it. The computerized trainer enabled them to see the effects that breathing, sighting and trigger squeeze can have on accuracy, without having to shoot any live ammunition.
The ANA has not placed much emphasis on marksmanship, according to CTT instructor Army Staff Sgt. John Thomas. They relied on the less accurate AK-47s sheer output of large bullets to improve their chances of hitting something and causing damage. M-16s, on the other hand, are more effective because of their accuracy.
Thomas was once a Marine drill instructor who taught recruits at Parris Island and explains that using sights to improve accuracy is a paradigm shift in Afghan tactics. But he also believes that when the veterans embrace it and pass it on to new soldiers, their "lethality" will increase. This is why he and the rest of the training team paid close attention while helping the ANA trainers "zero," or set the base sights, on their weapons.
Beyond a new weapons system and shooting skills, Mercer said the Afghan soldiers have also had to learn more about weapons maintenance than they needed before.
Cleaning an AK-47 simply involves an occasional dunking in diesel fuel, but the M-16 requires more thorough and frequent cleaning to work properly.
For their curriculum, Mercer and his team took the U.S. Army's basic rifle marksmanship field manual and created a PowerPoint presentation in both English and Dari. To make the training more interesting, they included exercises, quizzes and even games. The team also used pictures to illustrate every point they were trying to make.
Mercer said he believes the pictures were helpful for instruction, but Thomas added that putting rifles into the Afghans' hands was even better. As he explained to the students how to disassemble the M-16, he saw that some of them already had it apart. Not only that, but they were teaching their classmates how to do it too.
This is actually what the team wants, because those Afghan trainers will eventually help the CTT train the rest of the 205th Corps. As each kandak (brigade) enters its training cycle, the CTT will train its trainers for two weeks and together they'll train the kandak.
The 205th Corps should complete the transition from the AK-47 to the M-16 by August. As other ANA Corps follow, the rifle that continues to serve the U.S. military after five decades will serve their Afghan allies too.
| Date Taken: |
01.28.2008 |
| Date Posted: |
01.28.2008 10:50 |
| Story ID: |
15807 |
| Location: |
KANDAHAR, AF |
| Web Views: |
362 |
| Downloads: |
320 |
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