FARAH, Afghanistan – Soldiers with “Jester” platoon, the military police element of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, taught a map reading class to Afghan Uniformed Police in Substation 2, Nov. 27.
“Teaching our AUP counterparts is no different than teaching our soldiers,” said 1st Sgt. Gorden Larsen, the first sergeant for HHC. “It takes time and it takes practice, but that is how we build competent soldiers, leaders and units.”
Each class starts with a classroom portion taught by an MP soldier and a linguist. Once the classroom portion is complete, the AUP move into a practical exercise where they are expected to apply what they have learned in class.
“The most important aspect of teaching map reading is the practical exercise,” Larsen said.
The MP platoon has conducted several map readings classes in recent months to emphasize the importance of topographical skills. The focus has been on map symbols, terrain features and plotting points.
“As we continue to train the AUP on basic map reading skills, and they continue to improve, it is our hope that reports become more accurate and timely,” said Capt. Orande Roy, the commander of HHC.
The intended end state of the training is for the AUP to be able to accurately plot grids when significant events or actions occur and report the grid coordinates to their higher headquarters and coalition partners.
“Each time we conduct training the AUP continue to improve,” said Sgt. Robert Nemeth, a team leader in the MP Platoon. “With additional training and practical exercises, they will become more proficient and confident in their map reading skills.”
“As they become more comfortable reading and plotting points on their maps, we hope to move them into increasingly challenging exercises that focus on real-world scenarios,” Roy said. “This will facilitate better intelligence sharing and response times to events in the future.”