By U.S. Army Lt. Col. Susan H. Meisner
KABUL, Afghanistan - Ft. Jackson, S.C., recruiter Army Master Sgt. Tracy L. Cutler and Portland, Ore., recruiter Army Sgt. First Class Kirk E. Kobak received Bronze Star Medals at an Oct. 25 award ceremony.
Chief, Office of Military Cooperation -- Afghanistan Air Force Maj. Gen. Craig Weston presented the awards, citing Cutler's and Kobak's outstanding service in establishing the first Afghan National Army Recruiting Command and Afghan National Army Recruiting Academy.
Cutler, a Puyallup, Wash., native, served as the noncommissioned officer in charge of the recruiting mobile training team, recruiting assistance team at OMC-A. He deployed from the Soldier Support Institute at Ft. Jackson's Recruiting and Retention School, serving in Afghanistan, from March 22 to Nov. 2, 2004.
Kobak, a San Diego, Calif., native, served as the recruiting master trainer for training and doctrine development, recruiting mobile training team, recruiting assistance team at OMC-A. He deployed from the Portland Recruiting Battalion, and also served from March to November 2004.
When Cutler and Kobak (and a third recruiter, Army Sgt. First Class Richard Webre, who departed in June) arrived in country, three National Army Volunteer Centers were open and construction under way on others. They traveled extensively around the country, assisting in the planning, stand-up and staffing of the new centers.
Today, 18 NAVCs are open, and the Afghan National Army is well on the way to its planned total of 35 by January 2005.
The recruiting mission is essential to the development of the country, which plans a 70,000-man national army to secure its stability and security. Today, 16,000 of these planned soldiers are in uniform, serving proudly around the country. Sergeants Cutler and Kobak were instrumental in getting them there.
"We set up the systematic approach to recruiting, transitioning the Afghans from a conscripted to a volunteer army," said Cutler. "We came up with the policy and doctrine, from what the [recruiting command] general and his staff do, down to what the individual recruiter, kandak [battalion] commander and national army volunteer center commander does."
And Cutler, Kobak and Webre developed and implemented the training program that stood up the recruiting academy, training the trainers who would train future classes of ANA recruiters.
"We came here with a blank sheet of paper," said Cutler. "We set up the program of instruction and the standing operating procedures for how recruiting works. We trained the first 100 Afghan recruiters in 90 days.
"Kobak and Webre developed the courses. They translated everything using three different translators, and then compared notes to make sure everything was correct."
Their partnership with Maj. Gen. Aziz Rahman, Commander of the ANA Recruiting Command and his Chief of Staff, Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Ahmad Zai, was key to their success.
"These two [Cutler and Kobak] are recruiting experts and had very good experience in recruiting in the U.S.," said Ibrahim. "When they first got here they jointly conducted the first academy, and since then we have conducted three. As a result of their hard work we graduated 300 officers and NCOs that right now are in the field and recruiting young men for the ANA.
"They also had good relations with the command staff. We really appreciate the work they have done for our army."
The first recruiting academy graduates completed training in June, filling positions on the recruiting command staff and at NAVCs across the country.
Cutler and Kobak, with respectively six and 14 years of U.S. Army recruiting experience, noted soldiers in Afghanistan join the army for many of the same reasons they do in the United States.
"They join for service to their country and to support their family," said Kobak. "Pride in nation runs deeper than in any other country I've seen."
Soldiers also join the army, said Cutler, for the "opportunity to become literate."
Positive character traits in the Afghan soldier persist. "The soldiers are dedicated, loyal," added Cutler, "and hard-working."
"They have a willingness to learn and break away from the norms," said Kobak.
But recruiting"and retention"in Afghanistan include some unique challenges. Modern technology and its support infrastructure are largely missing. While direct deposit of your Army pay check is a requirement in the United States, there is no national banking system in Afghanistan.
"The guy who draws the short straw goes home and takes the pay to all the soldiers" families in his village," said Cutler. This can entail walking cross-county, as public transportation is not widely accessible. It also means soldiers leave their units for weeks"unaccounted"at a time.
While the army is all-volunteer, someone has to bring those young soldiers in. That person is the recruiter. "There has to be a recruiting system to turn the light on for that young man or woman," said Cutler.
Without recruits"and the recruiters that bring them in'there wouldn't be an army.
"It was an honor to come here," said Cutler. "We've played a small part"at a historic moment"in helping stabilize the country.
| Date Taken: | 11.23.2004 |
| Date Posted: | 11.23.2004 13:09 |
| Story ID: | 644 |
| Location: | KABUL, AF |
| Web Views: | 205 |
| Downloads: | 132 |
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