WARDACK PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Afghan National Army engineers work alongside U.S. Army engineers to expand facilities at Combat Outpost Jaghato throughout March and April.
This is one of many examples where a partnership training program is in place that allows Afghanistan National Security Forces to partner with coalition forces in order to help defeat the insurgency throughout Afghanistan.
The expansion project is part of a training phase that will enable the ANA to conduct independent missions in the very near future.
On this particular mission, ANA soldiers were divided into a horizontal construction team and a vertical construction team and were partnered with soldiers from the 661st Engineer Company from the Illinois National Guard and soldiers of 236th Engineer Company from the Texas National Guard.
“Due to the weather, the project took a little time to get started. At one point we thought that the project would get delayed until the snow was gone sometime in April,” explained U.S. Army Sgt. Jarrod Brummett, 661st Engineer Company horizontal construction engineer from Rockford, Ill.
Brummett assisted the ANA engineers with accountability of their supplies and ensuring all necessary equipment was available before proceeding with the training.
“I am satisfied with the pace that the ANA is training. When this project is over, I feel confident they will be able to do projects like this on their own,” said U.S Army Cpl. Alexander Serpas, a vertical team leader of the 236th Engineer Company, from Fort Worth, Texas.
“We were able to help them with the first wood platform where the building would be set up and with all the cuts and measurements, but then we stepped back and let them work on their own. We only supervised and gave guidance when it was needed,” said U.S Army Spc. John Minton, 236th Engineer Company, a vertical construction engineer from Plano, Texas. “They have come a long way from the first days when we first started our partnership.”
The horizontal team had many challenging days as the weather influenced the pace of work. U.S. Army Spc. Brandon Meuth, a horizontal construction engineer from Jerseyville, Ill., of the 661st Engineer Company, said: “Many of the challenges were the elements that we didn’t have any control; but with these challenges, we were allowed to train on other aspects of the horizontal process.”
”My soldiers are learning a lot from the American soldiers, and I am grateful for their training and look forward to continue to train,” said 2nd Lt. Ahmad, an ANA platoon leader.
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.28.2012 05:32 |
| Story ID: | 87522 |
| Location: | AF |
| Hometown: | FORT WORTH, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | PLANO, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 341 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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