By Airman 1st Class Robert Hicks
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan national army soldiers began an eight-week Afghan-led combat engineer training course at Camp Shaheen in northern Afghanistan recently.
The course, which includes instruction in combat engineering and construction engineering techniques, focuses on unexploded ordnance discovery, land-mine detection techniques, and heavy machinery operation.
ANA instructors just completed a "train the trainer" course in April and are now putting the skills learned from their German Bundeswehr troops and ISAF mentors to use. "From the beginning we realized they were really open for our assistance and support," said German Army Col. Eckart Keller, senior mentor. "The teamwork between us and the instructors is great - we're working together to make the course even better."
Although the course is taught by ANA soldiers, they receive mentoring from ISAF service members.
"They're doing a good job; we have never received quality training such as this before," said ANA Engineer School commander, Lt. Col. Ahmadullah.
The mentoring program at Camp Shaheen is scheduled to continue for approximately five years, according to Keller.
"Within the next five years we want the ANA to be able to run the school on their own," he said. "So as time goes on we will do less and less and encourage them to do more."