KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan — A squad of Afghan national army soldiers raise their M-16 rifles and take aim at the small paper targets in front of them.
"Fire!," shouts U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jino Luna, of Embedded Training Team 7-5. A volley of gunfire erupts across Combat Outpost Honaker-Miracle, in Afghanistan's Kunar province, Nov. 2.
"The point of this training was to familiarize the ANA with [NATO-style weapons]," said Luna, a native of Laredo, Texas.
The Soldiers spent the day training on the M-16 rifle and M-249 squad automatic weapon. After that, ANA soldiers we're afforded the opportunity to fire an M-240B machine gun mounted on the Marines' humvee.
"The training helps with the professional development of our Soldiers," said ANA 1st Lt. Islamudin Safi, the unit's executive officer.
With their training and the increased accuracy and power of the NATO-style weapons, the ANA can patrol the deadly mountains surrounding the Pech River Valley to more efficiently protect their nation from insurgent forces, explained the ETTs of 7-5.
"If I go on missions, the techniques we're taught will help us keep our country safe," said ANA Pvt. Gulnoor Shahin.
"They handled the training well, and seeing them congratulate each other after hitting their targets is a big morale boost for them," Luna said.
The ANA plan to eventually replace all their Soviet-era weaponry with NATO-style weapons.
