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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan— In an open field, three D30 Howitzers are covered by a tarp. In a building next to them several Afghan National Army soldiers lean over a map learning basic map reading skills with the help of several U.S. Army soldiers.
Working together with the U.S. Army, the ANA soldiers were learning basic artillery skills at Forward Operating Base Clark, Afghanistan, March 26, to help them become proficient and able to fight independent of coalition forces.
Six days a week, ANA soldiers met with soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment to learn the ins and outs of the D30 Howitzer. On that particular day, they had gathered to learn contour lines, elevation and the importance to forward observers of understanding map reading, said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Patrick Tuffy, a platoon leader with Alpha Battery, 3rd Bn, 321st FA Regt. and a native of Highland Falls, N.Y.
The class was part of a nine-week-long course designed to teach ANA soldiers the three basic skill sets of artillery. They broke the soldiers into three groups: the forward observers—the eyes, fire directions center— the brains, and the gun line— the brawn, Tuffy said.
The objective of the class was to enable ANA soldiers to fire direct and indirect fire missions without the help of their coalition counterparts, said U.S. Army Sgt. Gerald Knighten, a section chief with the 3rd Bn, 321st FA Regt. in charge of the gun line portion of training and a native of Fayetteville, N.C.
The 3rd Bn, 321st FA Regt., originally a 777 artillery battery, faced the monumental task of relearning the D30 Howitzer in order to teach the ANA soldiers.
The 777 differs from the Howitzer because it is a newer model based off a computer system. It is also a little more accurate.
The D30 Howitzer, by contrast, has no computer system and requires manual computations, Tuffy said.
That meant hitting the books and brushing up on the skill sets required to operate the older system, Tuffy said.
In addition to map reading, the course covered basic artillery knowledge, sights and crew drills. It was important for the ANA soldiers to understand job titles, chain of command and where to be at any given time, Knighten said.
“If we’re not here, they need to be able to run the operation smoothly,” he said.
One ANA soldier, Sgt. Sayed Ahmad, who attended the classes in the hope of improving his skills, wanted to better his understanding of artillery by the end of class.
To really get their point across, the U.S. Army soldiers had to see matters through their counterparts eyes and teach them in a way they understand, said U.S. Army Sfc. Eric Williams, a senior mentor for the course from the 1st Bn, 6th FA Regt., 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke and a native of Los Angeles.
“We don’t want to make them the United States Army, we want to make them the Afghan National Army,” Williams said. “We want to help them do things their way, not make them do it our way.”
One of the ways they did that is by advising them and not just talking at them. The instructors asked them how they wanted to do things and then offered suggestions on how to make things better, Williams said.
Although the language barrier was the biggest obstacle in teaching the ANA soldiers about artillery, they are beginning to understand the concepts, Knighten said.
For most classes the U.S. Army soldiers made sure an interpreter attended who had a basic grasp of artillery.
When there was no interpreter available, they used translations. The U.S. Army soldiers begin to pick up the language and vice versa, Knighten said.
“It makes me a better person to understand their language,” Knighten said. “They help me with their language and I help them with mine. We meet in the middle.”
Like all people, some learn faster than others, Tuffy said. It helps when they then explain concepts to their counterparts, circumventing the language barrier.
“We need to learn this so in the coming time when coalition forces are no longer here we will be ready for every place and every job,” Ahmad said. “This way we can fight the enemy, and we can defend our country.”
| Date Taken: | 03.26.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.04.2011 01:43 |
| Story ID: | 68209 |
| Location: | KHOWST PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 377 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 3-321ST FAR gives crucial artillery training to ANA, by SPC Tobey White, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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