KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Coalition Special Operations Forces conducted Afghan Local Police training in the Talukan area, Panjwai district, June 7.

Special Operations Task Force-South has taken the basic ALP course and customized the curriculum to fit the specific needs of the local population and terrain.

A portion of the training was geared specifically to the types of homes, qalats (a type of fortified compound) and grape huts encountered in the Talukan area. Instructors for the program say that training, to the terrain of these small villages, can help the candidates understand the way the villages are laid out and how they can use this to their advantage in order to provide better security and defense against the Taliban and other insurgent forces.

Coalition forces officials say they don’t want to simplify the training, but reconfigure it to ensure the specific needs of each community are met.

“Not only do we provide support on the behalf of the coalition but, more importantly, we attempt to facilitate the Afghans themselves, through their own governance, meeting the needs of their people,” said Lt. Col. Richard Navarro, the Special Operations Task Force South Commander, the training also included counter-improvised explosive device measures in order to enhance their security. Instructors say the candidates are very receptive and want to continue increasing the level of training.

This work, Coalition forces conduct area specific Afghan Local Police training, by SGT Jenie Fisher, identified by DVIDS, is free of known copyright restrictions under U.S. copyright law.