bobdina
11-18-2009, 01:07 PM
Drive straight, then shoot straight, for Afghan troops
Soldiers of the Afghan National Army drive on their pick-up truck while searching for pro-Taliban fighters in Kuk Cenar, Baghlan province earlier this summer. Bela Szandelszky/The Associated Press
With vehicle accidents killing more of Afghanistan's fledgling soldiers than bullets or bombs, drivers' education is a nation-building exercise
atrick White
Kandahar, Afghanistan — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 9:37PM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 3:46AM EST
A young Afghan soldier in jungle camouflage goose-steps, Russian style, to the front of the hall. “I serve for my country,” he screams, saluting his commander, a four-star general, who presents him with a certificate.
The soldier, Mujahedullah, thrusts the paper in the air. “With this, I now drive for my country.” The walls echo with his call to arms before he takes a seat alongside his fellow troops.
Afterward he explains his enthusiasm. “I used to drive to drive fast. But the Americans told me to ‘slow down, slow down.' I did and now I am a good driver. I can fight for my country.”
In what must be the world's most patriotic drivers-ed graduation ceremony, 47 Afghan National Army troops received certificates last weekend that verify they can operate a vehicle.
Why the pomp? Traffic accidents kill more Afghan soldiers than AK-47s or improvised explosive devices, according to the International Security Assistance Force responsible for training the ANA and securing the country. Courses such as this may determine the fate of the nation. With some international forces, such as Canada, set to pull out of the country starting in 2011, stability will soon rest in the hands of Afghans.
Currently just over 92,000 ANA troops patrol the country, many alongside ISAF soldiers. But General Stanley McChrystal, head of NATO operations in Afghanistan, has made it clear that he wants that number increased to 160,000 by 2010, even at the risk of inadequate training.
But for an army that's being relied on to secure the country alone when international forces leave in coming years, the sky-high vehicle accident rate is self-defeating. It's not surprising, though, considering nine out of every 10 ANA drivers have never steered a car before they're dropped behind the wheel and pushed into battle.
Hence the ISAF driver's education course, where hundreds of ANA troops have learned how to drive U.S. Humvees, both on-road and off.
“We have to do this so they all stop killing themselves,” said a trainer with MPRI, the private U.S. contractor that ISAF has hired to train classes of roughly 50 ANA soldiers. “Can't fend off the Taliban if they keep killing themselves.”
The courses cover the basics, and little else. “First, we teach braking,” said Sergeant Ramazan Nazari, an Afghan instructor hired to work alongside MPRI. “The brake is a pedal they don't know how to use.” From there, soldiers move on to more complex manoeuvres such as weaving through cones, using a clutch and driving off-road. At the graduation ceremony, each driver received a certificate, hardy applause and a new ISAF-purchased Humvee.
“My brothers, you have to love the government and you have to love your Humvee,” General Aminullah Fatehi told a the graduating class of 47 soldiers, some wearing faded uniforms and second-hand boots. “If you drive too fast or on the wrong side of the road, you will hit an IED and destroy the property of the government.”
Several hundred soldiers have graduated from the course. “They are trying to grow our army so much, but so many of us are killed by IEDs,” said Shah Nafadaar. “Or we get ambushed by the Taliban in our Rangers and we make a very easy target. With the Humvees we are much safer.”
That's assuming graduates don't revert to national habits. For many Afghan drivers, speed limits and road markings are mere suggestions.
“I try my best to teach them,” Sgt. Nazari says. “But they are so new to the road. Some I only trust to check the oil.”
Soldiers of the Afghan National Army drive on their pick-up truck while searching for pro-Taliban fighters in Kuk Cenar, Baghlan province earlier this summer. Bela Szandelszky/The Associated Press
With vehicle accidents killing more of Afghanistan's fledgling soldiers than bullets or bombs, drivers' education is a nation-building exercise
atrick White
Kandahar, Afghanistan — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 9:37PM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 3:46AM EST
A young Afghan soldier in jungle camouflage goose-steps, Russian style, to the front of the hall. “I serve for my country,” he screams, saluting his commander, a four-star general, who presents him with a certificate.
The soldier, Mujahedullah, thrusts the paper in the air. “With this, I now drive for my country.” The walls echo with his call to arms before he takes a seat alongside his fellow troops.
Afterward he explains his enthusiasm. “I used to drive to drive fast. But the Americans told me to ‘slow down, slow down.' I did and now I am a good driver. I can fight for my country.”
In what must be the world's most patriotic drivers-ed graduation ceremony, 47 Afghan National Army troops received certificates last weekend that verify they can operate a vehicle.
Why the pomp? Traffic accidents kill more Afghan soldiers than AK-47s or improvised explosive devices, according to the International Security Assistance Force responsible for training the ANA and securing the country. Courses such as this may determine the fate of the nation. With some international forces, such as Canada, set to pull out of the country starting in 2011, stability will soon rest in the hands of Afghans.
Currently just over 92,000 ANA troops patrol the country, many alongside ISAF soldiers. But General Stanley McChrystal, head of NATO operations in Afghanistan, has made it clear that he wants that number increased to 160,000 by 2010, even at the risk of inadequate training.
But for an army that's being relied on to secure the country alone when international forces leave in coming years, the sky-high vehicle accident rate is self-defeating. It's not surprising, though, considering nine out of every 10 ANA drivers have never steered a car before they're dropped behind the wheel and pushed into battle.
Hence the ISAF driver's education course, where hundreds of ANA troops have learned how to drive U.S. Humvees, both on-road and off.
“We have to do this so they all stop killing themselves,” said a trainer with MPRI, the private U.S. contractor that ISAF has hired to train classes of roughly 50 ANA soldiers. “Can't fend off the Taliban if they keep killing themselves.”
The courses cover the basics, and little else. “First, we teach braking,” said Sergeant Ramazan Nazari, an Afghan instructor hired to work alongside MPRI. “The brake is a pedal they don't know how to use.” From there, soldiers move on to more complex manoeuvres such as weaving through cones, using a clutch and driving off-road. At the graduation ceremony, each driver received a certificate, hardy applause and a new ISAF-purchased Humvee.
“My brothers, you have to love the government and you have to love your Humvee,” General Aminullah Fatehi told a the graduating class of 47 soldiers, some wearing faded uniforms and second-hand boots. “If you drive too fast or on the wrong side of the road, you will hit an IED and destroy the property of the government.”
Several hundred soldiers have graduated from the course. “They are trying to grow our army so much, but so many of us are killed by IEDs,” said Shah Nafadaar. “Or we get ambushed by the Taliban in our Rangers and we make a very easy target. With the Humvees we are much safer.”
That's assuming graduates don't revert to national habits. For many Afghan drivers, speed limits and road markings are mere suggestions.
“I try my best to teach them,” Sgt. Nazari says. “But they are so new to the road. Some I only trust to check the oil.”