Story by Capt. Ian McIntyre

NTM-A Public Affairs

 

 

 

 

The Female Training Battalion, also known as Malalai, at the Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC) Kabul, Afghanistan,  were training at the shooting ranges conducting their final Performance Objective check for 9mm pistols and M16 assault rifle April 1-4.

What makes this training evolution different from any others was that the women ran the range for the most part, with Coalition members operating in an advisory role. The second day, the confidence level had clearly increased and by the end of the day, most of the women were operating their weapons with little to no direct intervention from instructors.

In most cases, this was the very first time any of the 14 officer candidates had ever fired a weapon, having only done a single firing practice beforehand.

“For the most part, they did really well and took their time,” said Capt. C.J. Farrell, FTB Advisor and Female Integration Officer. “The women were really competitive with each other and were upset if they did not fire as well as some of the others.  One candidate, after receiving advice about correcting her point of aim, did really well.  She was beaming with pride after that.”

Maj. Fahima, the battalion’s commanding officer, agreed that the women did very well. Courses like this allow the women of Malalai to get qualifications in areas of basic military skills like weapons handling. The caliber of the cadets is high and all students either met or exceeded the set standards.

“The point is that they strive hard and care about the results,” said Farrell. “When they were firing the M16, they had really small groupings. And it wasn’t just that the candidates were doing well but the instructors were doing well, too. They have just about reached the milestone where they don’t need us anymore for the Officer Course.”

NTM-A is a coalition of 38 troop-contributing nations charged with assisting the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in generating a capable and sustainable Afghan National Security Force ready to take lead of their country’s security by 2014. For more information about NTM-A, visit www.ntm-a.com.

Tags: afghan national army, afghanistan, ANA, army, education, Feature, featured, Female Training Battalion, gender, independence, Kabul, Kabul Military Training Centre, KMTC, Malalai, nato, nato training mission, NATO Training Mission Afghanistan, NTM-A, training, women

Category: Gender, News - Afghan National Army, News - General