Regional Basic Warrior Training graduates 1,376 soldiers
By Air Force Master Sgt. Kristina Newton Regional Support Command-North/NTM-A Public Affairs
Afghan National Army recruits prepare for graduation from the Regional Basic Warrior Training course, Dec. 18 at the Regional Military Trainer Center, Camp Shaheen, near Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. During the two-months of training, 1,376 recruits learned the basic skills necessary to become a soldier and will now be added to the ranks of ANA forces throughout Afghanistan in support of the ongoing security transition. (Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Aaron Oelrich)
CAMP MIKE SPANN, Afghanistan – Nearly 1,400 Afghan National Army trainees graduated from Regional Basic Warrior Training, Dec. 18, during a ceremony at the Regional Military Trainer Center, Camp Shaheen, near Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan.
The 1,376 graduates completed a two-month course where they learned basic soldier skills in preparation for deployment throughout Afghanistan in support of ongoing security transition operations.
As with any new recruit, the soldiers-to-be arrived at the RMTC without a clue of what would come next.
“Upon arrival, the average recruit was a lot like someone joining back home,” said Canadian army Sgt. Keith Hodgson, a NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan tactical advisor at the RMTC. “Wide eyed, unsure what to do, pretty much the furthest thing from a soldier.”
According to Hodgson, the skills taught in the course directly reflect those learned in any average basic training course seen throughout the world.
“In this case however, it’s a bit more extreme,” Hodgson said. “They need to be instructed on a lot of basic things like [personal hygiene] and how to read.”
Learning skills such as weapons handling, tactical movements, threat reaction drills, radio operations and basic first aid are common steps to becoming a soldier.
But the RMTC takes it even further by providing training that is specialized for the environment in which the ANA soldiers will be operating.
Lessons in counter-insurgency, improvised explosive device recognition, and courses in military law and ethics are important elements of the curriculum that will help the ANA soldiers in their everyday jobs.
Even though the training is swift and there are always obstacles to overcome, Hodgson said the change in the recruits is remarkably fast and sometimes surprising.
“I would have to say watching a new recruit perform a push up for the first time – it’s 50/50,” Hodgson said. “Some are good and some couldn’t figure out the motion of bending and straightening their arms to save their life, but when conducting combative training all of a sudden they turn into professional ninja assassins.”
Though there were hiccups along the way, being given little but expecting a lot, as Hodgson puts it, the recruits did their best with the limited resources at their disposal.
“When dealing with a fledgling army, such as this, there are a lot of problems that need to be overcome,” Hodgson said. “But they have become proficient at doing what they can with what they have.
“I’m sure that knowing when they graduate they will be sent straight to the front lines is a good motivator,” Hodgson added.
Approximately 550 of the soldiers that graduated will stay on at the RMTC for advanced training in professional skills, while the remaining soldiers were immediately sent out to their new assignments.
“The newly graduated soldiers are ready to be deployed to any part of the country to provide security for their people,” said ANA Brig. Gen. Amanullah Mubin, 209th deputy commander and reviewing official for the graduation. “I am proud of you and our country.”
Category: News - Afghan National Army, News - News
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