By Artur Weber
GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Afghan cadets graduated from the police course at the Troop Sustainment Site on Forward Operating Base Ghazni Oct. 5.
Polish, American and Afghan instructors conducted the 10-week, intensive training for 126 students. It included reading and writing, personal hygiene, drill, shooting, and introduction to law and Afghan Constitution.
The main part of the training was focused on how to conduct typical police activities, which included retaining people to control them, area patrolling, setting up checkpoints, convoy attack repulsing, acting with found, using handcuffs and truncheon, and suppressing riots.
Cadets came from all regions of Afghanistan and they will serve in Ghazni Province.
“Some of them had their baptism of fire during the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections. They secured pooling stations, but also many of them had fire contact with insurgents who were trying to disrupt voting processes,” said Polish Military Police Staff Sgt. Leszek Olejniczak, police instructor.
This course was unique compared to others – part of the course ran during Ramadan. But cadets managed to combine their religion duties with course lectures due to personal commitment and morale.
“It is clear, this group came here to learn something new, something useful and to make their work better,” said Olejniczak.
This course offers the chance for some cadets to get a promotion, and for some to later attend the officer’s school in Kabul. An Afghan student who graduated from TSS school only six months ago is now one of the current instructors.
So far, more than 450 policemen have graduated from TSS at FOB Ghazni.