SFAT 1 mentors ANCOP staff

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN

10.15.2011

Courtesy Story

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Security Force Assistance Team 1, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, is mentoring the 2nd Brigade Afghan National Civil Order Police to improve the training of their personnel.

The 2nd ANCOP provides security for Regional Command-South, which includes several districts in Kandahar Province.

In the past, the ANCOP trained primarily on drill and ceremony. When SFAT 1 arrived they coordinated with Brig. Gen. Gullham Mohaideen, commander of 2nd ANCOP, and redirected training to focus on driver’s training, first aid, communications, checkpoint operations and improvised explosive devices.

“The training [2nd ANCOP] is currently conducting prepares [their] personnel for missions,” said Maj. James Sheffield, executive officer for SFAT 1. “This training is essential because it could potentially help save lives and it better prepares them to protect their country.”

The ANCOP leaders who were initially trained by SFAT 1 have now started passing on the training to their personnel, which will help them gain confidence and improve their leadership skills.

“The [2nd ANCOP] training has improved immensely,” said Staff Sgt. Kelly Johnson, a training mentor with SFAT 1.

Training and mentoring stem from the top. Lt. Col. Benjamin Eiser, commander for SFAT 1, and Mohaideen work shohna ba shohna, or shoulder to shoulder, daily. The commanders perform battlefield circulations to evaluate the operations being conducted throughout ANCOP’s area of operations.

SFAT 1 is still mentoring but they are stepping back to allow ANCOP to function more independently; within the next year, they will be primed to stand on their own.

• Date Taken: 10.15.2011
• Date Posted: 10.17.2011 01:55
• Story ID: 78577
• Location: KANDAHAR, AF