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MOBILE OPERATING BASE LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan - Throughout Helmand province, Marines and coalition forces have been training Afghan National Security Forces in a variety of skills. One of the most valuable training experiences being taught at Afghan training centers is explosive ordnance disposal, which teaches selected troops how to neutralize explosives, including IEDs. This training is also known as counter-IED training.
Many of the Afghan National Security Forces selected for EOD training learn their trade at a school in Mazar-e Sharif in the northern part of the country. However, the demands of the job, including a need for above average literacy and math skills, have resulted in a steep attrition rate in students at the academy.
To help solve this problem, on Oct. 12, Marines of the 5th Brigade Afghan National Civil Order Police Mentor Team and other coalition forces began conducting screenings for the Afghan EOD schools at the team’s headquarters in Lashkar Gah.
“It’s been pretty successful,” said Gunnery Sgt. Kyle Hall, the chief of Regional Command Southwest’s Afghan National Security Forces C-IED development section and a native of Lewiston, Idaho. “We’re finding quality applicants for the EOD school in Mazar-e-Sharif.”
At the primary EOD training facility in Mazar-e-Sharif there has been a sharp decline in the attrition rate of students in the EOD courses from 60 percent to 20 percent.
In the past, there was no standard aptitude test to screen Afghan EOD students before sending them to the EOD school.
Afghan policemen or soldiers who volunteered for the course could participate, but upon arrival it was discovered that many applicants were not literate or could not perform the tasks needed to succeed, according to Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer Robert Hill, operations chief for RC(SW)’s C-IED section.
The new screening features a series of tests on mathematics, reading and writing, in addition to a practical application examination of time and distance measurement.
“Screening alone has lowered the attrition rate,” said Hall.
Following the first-ever screening of applicants from Helmand province, a shura, or Afghan meeting, was conducted aboard Mobile Operating Base Lashkar Gah.
Members of the Afghan C-IED Development section joined British and American mentors in a meeting with Afghan leaders, such as Lt. Col. Sha Mah Raz, the local ANCOP deputy, and Maji Dullah, the ANCOP Special Support Kandak deputy, as well as Afghan Uniformed Police leaders.
They discussed the future of EOD courses in the country including recruiting, training and screening.
“This is like the maiden voyage of projects like this,” said British Army Maj. Mark Dix, the coalition’s Afghan C-IED Developer. “The focus of development was on the Afghan army, now it’s on the AUP and ANCOP. Hopefully we can get counter-IED underway and have more success in the reconstruction and development of ANSF.”
A large part of the shift in attention comes not only from C-IED Development, but also from the Marines of the ANCOP Mentor Team in Lashkar Gah. The Marines there don’t just train Afghans and call it a day. They live, sleep and eat alongside their trainees. They witness the day-to-day struggles of the ANCOP and guide troops and leaders alike towards creating a stable police force for the city and people of Afghanistan.
“They are out there doing the job every day in addition to talking to commanders and troops finding good applicants for the EOD program,” Hill said. “We owe a lot of the success of the ANCOP here and the screening program to the Marines in the Fifth Brigade ANCOP Mentor Team.”
| Date Taken: | 10.12.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 10.17.2011 08:20 |
| Story ID: | 78588 |
| Location: | MOBILE OPERATING BASE LASHKAR GAH, AF |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Marines, coalition forces implement tests for Afghan explosive disposal proficiency, by Cpl Daniel Wulz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
