ANA brings cooperation, realism to JRTC

Photo By Jon Arguello | Two Afghan policemen prepare Eid feast after Ramadan. These policemen celebrated Eid, a Muslim holiday comparible to New Years and Christmas rolled into one, after arriving at Fort Polk to participate in a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.  

10.23.2006

Story by Spc. Jon Arguello 

22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

by Spc. Jon H. Arguello
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORT POLK, La. – Spending Christmas and New Year's away from home is common these days for Soldiers in the U.S. Army. Every Combat patch you see is a testament to the sacrifice our Soldiers have made away from home and family. Monday however there was a group of Soldiers who spent their holidays away from home here on U.S. soil.

The Muslim holiday of Eid, celebrated at the end of Ramadan, is comparable to Christmas and New Year's rolled into one. This Eid 42 Afghan National Army Soldiers and policemen celebrated their holiday on U.S. soil. The ANA and ANP sent the contingent to the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, La. to participate in a rotation with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

Five of the six battalions in the 4th BCT will host a squad sized element to incorprate into their training.

"They are here to work with the 82nd, to get them familiar with the capabilities of the ANA, to let them have the opportunity to go to country with an idea of what they are going to see," said Capt. Elijah Dreher, the American liaison for the group from Moretown, Vt. "This will give them a nuance of what they are going to deal with from a logistical and tactical perspective."

There is another benefit to this integration of ANA Soldiers pre-deployment, said Maj. Karl Linderman, the American ANP liaison, from Cuba, N.Y.

"The second benefit to doing this is that it gives the [4th BCT] initial contact and allows them to form relationships between the nations' forces," Linderman said.

Although the Afghans are spending Eid away from home, they are happy to be here, said Afghan National Army Maj. Adam Khan, executive officer of the 201st Kandak out of Kabul, and officer in charge of the ANA element.

"We hope to get good training and return to our country to use this training and continue to progress and improve our tactics," Khan said.

The joint training operations, beyond adding realism to training, are demonstrating progress and commitment on behalf of the U.S. and Afghanistan to this campaign.

"I don't think two or three years ago we would have even thought of this," said Dreher.

• Date Taken: 10.23.2006
• Date Posted: 10.27.2006 13:27
• Story ID: 8164