PARWAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - About 70 members of the 6th Afghanistan National Army Military Police Guard Force, or Brigade, took part in a command conference here Nov. 21 and 22.
The conference focused on several topics including leadership, planning, training management, respect for others, education, religious duty, professional ethics, problem solving and decision making.
Members of the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435 Afghan Detention and Corrections Assessment Team were also on hand to support the ANA.
Day one provided the 6th ANA MP Brigade commander, Brig. Gen. Safiullah, the chance to talk to his company and kandak (battalion) commanders about his vision, highlighting education.
“There is always time for education. We are like a baby who is learning to walk. After we fall a few times, we will learn to walk on our own, so that one day we will be able to stand without help from our American friends. We must be able to take the lead,” he said.
Participants were introduced to Ministry of Defense guidance that governs them, learning about the information that applied to the MP brigade. They also discussed the unit’s mission essential task list, a document which combines the most important tasks a unit needs to train on during the year.
Safiullah also gave his leaders an overview of the Tashkil, the list which outlines what kind of manning and equipment requirements it would take to keep the brigade functioning.
Near the end of the day, the group held an open discussion about issues currently facing the ANA MP brigade, discussing possible causes and determining some solutions. Such self-generated problem solving is crucial, according to one ADCAT officer.
“It doesn’t do us any good to give the Afghans a solution, because we don’t see it from their perspective,” said U.S. Army Maj. Rahsaan Jackson, ADCAT training officer. “Junior leaders gave their insight on how to not only curb the issues, but to plan and create more effective operating procedures for the future in areas such as leave management, respectful treatment of the soldiers, the ANA-level recruiting policy and developing stronger ties with the MoD.”
Day two of the conference provided the groundwork for applying what had been learned the previous day. Each kandak split into their group and devised their kandak’s annual guidance and training calendars, which was briefed at the end of the day to the commander.
To help build teamwork and communication skills, Jackson said he came up with a practical exercise scenario that simulated an attack on an Afghan National Detention Facility. Attendees were put into two teams – one developing a defensive plan and one an attack plan based on the scenario – and worked throughout the conference on their strategies.
Several times during the exercise, Safiullah imparted small bits of wisdom such as the importance of flexibility, following procedures – especially in the area of searching for people – and training to engage an enemy.
ANA Lt. Col. Najibullah, commander of the 1st Kandak, also explained, “The role of intelligence in preparing prisons for attack by disseminating information in a timely manner is important.”
After both groups briefed Safiullah on their respective strategies, Col. Sheardel, 6th ANA MP Brigade cultural and religious affairs director, emphasized even though the scenario threat was challenging, it was also a realistic threat – one they faced on a daily basis. Sheardel implored the attendees to remain vigilant, because it was their “religious, personal and national duty to do so.”
Jackson said the conference was a collective effort between ADCAT and TF Protector here to provide a product the ANA would be able to continue doing on their own.
“It will build team cohesion within the brigade … instead of thinking of themselves as individual kandaks not part of a bigger group, conferences will reinforce the fact they are one unit, one family,” he said. “It will also allow the commander an opportunity to state his priorities throughout the year, sharpening their planning and training management.”
During the year, several conferences are scheduled that will focus on personnel, logistics, legal matters and other topics, according to the ADCAT training officer. The next conference is scheduled to take place around March.
Headquartered at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan, CJIATF 435 partners with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and U.S. interagency and international partners to conduct operations in detention, corrections, judicial and biometrics in order to transition detention operations to Afghan control and promote Rule of Law.
CJIATF 435 includes U.S. service members from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, as well as coalition partners and civilian members from the following agencies: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan.