ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Members of the 870th Engineer Company settle into their new job of partnering with members of the Afghan National Army 2nd Route Clearance Company, 205th Brigade, Aug. 23.
Members of the 870th Engineer Company settle into their new job of partnering with members of the Afghan National Army 2nd Route Clearance Company, 205th Brigade, Aug. 23.
With the 883rd Route Clearance Company’s departure from theater, the 2nd RCC now looks to members from the 870th for guidance and training to ensure they are ready to take the lead in route clearance operations in the future.
“We are very eager to go on partnership missions with the 870th,” said Lt. Basir, 2nd RCC executive officer. “We went with the previous team (883rd) and it was very successful.”
Although the 870th Eng. Company has only met with the ANA for a few days, Basir is pleased with the support his company has received.
“Even though they are new and don’t have as many supplies to help us,” started Basir. “They are trying their best so we are very happy.”
“From what we've seen of the 2/205th Route Clearance Company, they are experienced and battle-tested,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Austin McNichols, ANA partnership officer, 870th Eng. Company “They are educated in engineer tasks and have learned to do their jobs with the equipment they have.”
In observance of Ramadan, operations with the ANA came to a halt. However, with the holiday now past, members begin to perform preventative maintenance checks and services on their vehicles, in preparation for an upcoming mission.
“In one week (that the 2/205th has worked with the 870th partners), they did a lot with us and we’re pleased,” said Basir. “We lost a week of training from the holidays.”
Eager to learn and perform their duties, the ANA’s most difficult task is the maintenance of their vehicles and receiving equipment. The 870th partnership officers are working to help alleviate this issue.
“The ANA RCC will need to become better at keeping track of their supply requests and also get their soldiers trained in how to maintain their specialized equipment,” said McNichols. “Vehicles cannot be repaired if the parts are not available. We plan to assist them by providing training at the company level on better ways to maintain their paperwork when dealing with maintenance issues.”
Although the two units are still in the process of getting to know each other and work capabilities, there are high hopes for the future.
“We have faith that they can complete their missions,” said McNichols. “We only hope that we can continue to fine-tune their tactics and improve their success rates as their equipment and supplies improve.”
“I hope that things will continue to improve especially with the training modules,” said Basir. “It is very important for us so we can do our jobs better in the future.”
| Date Taken: | 09.07.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2012 10:35 |
| Story ID: | 94448 |
| Location: | AF |
| Hometown: | ZABUL PROVINCE, AF |
| Hometown: | CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | WEST POINT, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 255 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, ANA and US engineers enter a new partnership, by MAJ Jessica Jackson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
