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BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The sprawling city of Kabul, Afghanistan curves up the Hindu Kush mountains, surrounding the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) where countless U.S. Soldiers, coalition forces, civilians and contractors work to support ongoing operations in the country.
Amid the locals, fruit stands and donkey-driven carts, a team of 3rd Infantry Division Resolute Support Sustainment Brigade Soldiers go out into the city to tackle their train, advise and assist mission. These Soldiers are invaluable in enabling a capable, credible and sustainable force for the long-term defense of Afghanistan.
Seven Soldiers make up the TAA team for HKIA. They constantly conduct missions outside the wire to advise the Afghan National Army Soldiers on various logistics elements including supply, water purification, transportation and maintenance. They recently went to the new location of the ANA’s Central Workshop (CWS) to tour the facility.
“The CWS is where all ANA vehicles, weapons and equipment go for repairs,” said Sgt. Nikita “Ivan” Ivannikov, a water treatment specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Inf. Div. RSSB. “It has better living conditions, brand new facilities and larger workshops and equipment.”
Ivan also goes out to New Kabul Compound to advise the National Engineer Brigade on how to use water treatment equipment. Every member of the TAA team has a certain military occupational speciality and will advise the Afghan Soldiers utilizing their knowledge.
“I advise the water purification platoon and taught them about cleaning water buffaloes,” said Ivan. “We established equipment and showed them how to use it, so when they go out they can support their troops with clean water.”
Since the RSSB Soldiers arrived in theater in October, they have worked to establish relationships and build trust between themselves and the ANA Soldiers. Every deployment rotation introduces new troops into the TAA mission, and these Soldiers were no different. They had to learn their job quickly to ensure they could fully support the ANA.
“They had to learn, on the fly, their roles and what they had to do,” said Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Moody, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the TAA team with the 3rd Inf. Div. RSSB. “They are operating at a level way above what they’re used to and they’ve adjusted well to the scenario.”
The TAA team is a small piece of the Resolute Support puzzle, said Moody. They are an important part of the strategic piece that influences the Combined Joint Operations Area - Afghanistan. Through their efforts, the Afghan forces can continue to improve and eventually thrive.
“We help them to help themselves to build self-sustained forces,” said Ivan. “The same stuff we teach them we see progress in. They learn and use skills the advisors teach to make their army better.”
| Date Taken: | 01.17.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 01.23.2018 00:10 |
| Story ID: | 262876 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 518 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Train, Advise, Assist, Sustain: 3ID RSSB Mission in Kabul, by SGT Elizabeth Clark, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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