Catamount soldiers train Afghan soldiers on carpentry skills

ZHARAY DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN

12.14.2011

Story by Sgt. Melissa Stewart 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division

ZHARAY DISTRICT, Afghanistan – Soldiers with Combined Task Force Spartan’s 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, taught their Afghan Army counterparts the basics of carpentry skills in a two-day class, Dec. 7-8, while increasing their hands-on knowledge of power tools and basic construction.

The training class, known as “Operation Warrior Carpenter,” trained the Afghan soldiers from the 3rd Kandak of the 3rd Brigade, 205th Afghan Army Corps, on basic carpentry skills and building structures. During the class’ first day, the soldiers learned how to build a guard shack for their compound located at Forward Operating Base Pasab. For soldiers from 2-87 Infantry Battalion, the hands-on training was both tangible and useful for a real-world purpose.

“This served two purposes. First, soldiers learned how to build a basic structure,” said Maj. Arieyeh Austin, executive officer of the 2-87 Infantry Battalion. “Second, they actually built one that was intended for them, to be manned and utilized by their own.”

The guard shack, made over the course of one and a half days, will house at least two soldiers who man the checkpoint to a storage yard on the FOB.

On the second day, the Afghan soldiers learned that if they did not have certain equipment, that they could build it. The class was taught how to build basic furniture, such as desks and chairs. The students were provided time, tools and supplies to create furniture for their own living areas and workspaces, further reinforcing those lessons learned throughout the course.

Each of the companies that sent soldiers to the carpentry class received a new power tool kit that consisted of: a hammer drill, circular saw, impact driver, flexible flashlight, reciprocating saw, and cut-off tool.

“In this way, [coalition forces] provided them not only the ‘fishing lessons,’ but the ‘pole’ as well,” said Austin. “Skills without the proper tools can be a setback when one is trying to accomplish a task.”

Soldiers with the 2-87 Infantry Battalion will continue teaching their Afghan counterparts in other vital

• Date Taken: 12.14.2011
• Date Posted: 12.14.2011 11:24
• Story ID: 81350
• Location: ZHARAY DISTRICT, AF