2-44th ADA leaves lasting impression in Afghanistan

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Army Spc. David Israel, Spc. Michael Hawn, Darrell Saxton, a DynaCorp employee, and Cory Espinoza, a Defense Department employee, stand at attention during the opening of an Afghan National Police graduation ceremony at Regional Training Center– Bamyan May 19. Israel, Hawn, Saxton and Espinoza are deployed to Afghanistan in support of NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan. (Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Quinton T. Burris)

By Master Sgt. Quinton Burris
Regional Support Command-East
NTM-A Public Affairs

RTC–BAMYAN, Afghanistan – Members of the Army’s Charlie Battery, 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment from Fort Campbell, Ky., are helping to build a stable, secure and progressive future for the Afghan people.

Second Lieutenant James Snyder, Staff Sgt. John Hamilton, Spc. David Israel and Spc. Michael Hawn are currently deployed to the Bamyan region of Afghanistan in support of the NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan.

“We are here to assist the Regional Training Center–Bamyan team as they train and develop Afghan National Police that will serve the Afghan people,” said Snyder, RTC – Bamyan ANP mentoring team chief. “Our mission is to aid the RTC–Bamyan staff in their efforts to establish comprehensive training that will provide ANP programs that are capable of sustaining the security of Afghanistan.”

The mission of NTM-A is to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, in coordination with NATO nations and partners, international organizations, donors and non-governmental organizations, as it generates and sustains the Afghan National Security Force, develops leaders, and establishes enduring institutional capacity to enable accountable Afghan-led security.

Army 2nd Lt. James Snyder, Regional Training Center–Bamyan Afghan National Police mentor team chief, discusses some changes in the program of instruction with Afghan National Police Col. Hafizalla Payman, Regional Training Center – Bamyan commander May 17. Snyder is deployed to Afghanistan from Charlie Battery, 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Campbell, Ky., in support of NATO Training Mission-- Afghanistan mission. (Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Quinton T. Burris)

Snyder and his team have been deployed to Bamyan for nearly a year and will soon begin transitioning their duties to an Army replacement team, but the time they spent will not be forgotten. The magnitude of their efforts and impact is widely known at the training center.

“The U.S. Army mentors have been vital to our success at RTC–Bamyan,” said ANP Col. Hafizalla Payman, RTC–Bamyan commander. “The aid that we’ve received from our mentors has been quite significant in our ability to smoothly run our basic, NCO and Crime Scene Investigation programs. The logistic program progress we have achieved would not be possible without the guidance of Sergeant Hamilton and the specialists.” 

“The ANP instructors grasped the program of instruction early on which allowed us to focus our efforts elsewhere like TTPs,” said Israel. “The trainees really enjoyed our hands-on sessions; they loved that fact that we joined them during their hands-on training.”

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