Afghan National Army and Police "invade" JRTC

10.28.2006

Story by Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky 

Joint Readiness Training Center

Joint Readiness Training Center

Forty-two members of the Afghan National Army and Police arrived Oct. 23 at the Joint Readiness Training Center to train with 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers.

The ANA and ANP will be embedding in groups of ten with each of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Div. battalions. They will participate in situational training exercises through Oct. 30 and in force-on-force training Nov. 1-6.

The training will add more realism to the JRTC, which already holds the reputation of the Army's premier training center due to its tough, relevant and realistic training elements, according to a JRTC press release. The addition of actual Afghan soldiers and policeman only enhances this aspect, as it allows the 4th BCT paratroopers to coordinate and work with Afghan forces just as they will in their upcoming deployment, according to the same release.

"The Afghan (soldiers and policemen) don't operate on the same premise (as U.S. forces)," said Capt. Elijah Dreher, ANA senior representative. "This will allow the 82nd to become familiar with the Afghan culture and allow the ANA and ANP to understand how Americans work."

The training will also allow the Afghans to witness the culture in America, Dreher added.

"We hope it motivates them to fight for freedom; that seeing what we have in America stirs the fire in them (to want to have the same freedom in Afghanistan)," he said.

The United States and its coalition allies eventual goal is creating an Afghan National Security Force capable of defending and securing all of Afghanistan. This training helps meet that goal by providing an opportunity for cultural understanding, communication and military training for both the Afghan and U.S. forces, Dreher said.

Though the ANA and ANP have only engaged in a small amount of this training so far, Dreher said they are working well.

"It has been good overall," he said. "They are very receptive here."

• Date Taken: 10.28.2006
• Date Posted: 10.28.2006 11:56
• Story ID: 8167