Afghan troops learning to become modern army
Updated Tue. Mar. 20 2007 1:37 PM ET Canadian Press
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PANJWAII, Afghanistan -- "Come on, spread it out,'' Warrant Officer Chuck Graham says as a platoon of Afghan National Army troops and their Canadian advisers begin a patrol.
There are reports that up to 12 Taliban insurgents are operating in nearby villages and fields.
ANA troops, backed by a handful of Canadians such as Graham, have been sweeping the area for weeks, speaking with village elders and farmers, showing them with their presence that the Panjwaii district is Afghan government turf.
The Canadians are members of the Observer Mentor Liaison Team. They hang back, allowing the Afghan platoon commander and his men to make the decisions -- to take the lead.
A bearded machine-gunner is out in front, his crisp new camouflage body armour criss-crossed with belts of oily bullets for his old Soviet-era weapon.
Troops armed with battered AK-47s, some held together with red duct tape, scan the flanks as the column slowly snakes its way by ramshackle shops and into a labyrinth of back alleys, open sewers and mud-brick compounds.
A soldier, his eyes gleaming above a black scarf tied around his face, brings up the rear toting a rocket- propelled grenade launcher.
Villagers sit impassively but stare hard.
"Right now their formations and movements are being well executed, but their spacing is too tight for this area,'' says Master Warrant Officer Wayne Bartlett as he follows closely behind, keeping an eye out for trouble.
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Updated Tue. Mar. 20 2007 1:37 PM ET Canadian Press
Article Link
PANJWAII, Afghanistan -- "Come on, spread it out,'' Warrant Officer Chuck Graham says as a platoon of Afghan National Army troops and their Canadian advisers begin a patrol.
There are reports that up to 12 Taliban insurgents are operating in nearby villages and fields.
ANA troops, backed by a handful of Canadians such as Graham, have been sweeping the area for weeks, speaking with village elders and farmers, showing them with their presence that the Panjwaii district is Afghan government turf.
The Canadians are members of the Observer Mentor Liaison Team. They hang back, allowing the Afghan platoon commander and his men to make the decisions -- to take the lead.
A bearded machine-gunner is out in front, his crisp new camouflage body armour criss-crossed with belts of oily bullets for his old Soviet-era weapon.
Troops armed with battered AK-47s, some held together with red duct tape, scan the flanks as the column slowly snakes its way by ramshackle shops and into a labyrinth of back alleys, open sewers and mud-brick compounds.
A soldier, his eyes gleaming above a black scarf tied around his face, brings up the rear toting a rocket- propelled grenade launcher.
Villagers sit impassively but stare hard.
"Right now their formations and movements are being well executed, but their spacing is too tight for this area,'' says Master Warrant Officer Wayne Bartlett as he follows closely behind, keeping an eye out for trouble.
More on link
