This is my first blog posting that is not required for a college course. Before I continue, if anyone who is subscribed to this blog as a result of a class we shared together, you are more than welcome to stay on or you can choose to delete access to it. It's completely up to you. Alot of people wonder what I do over here. I have a very unique mission that is both rewarding and frustrating. I work with Soldiers from other countries and specifically advise Afghan National Army Military Instructors on how to effectively and safely train their Soldiers who just graduated from their country's basic training course. I am the Senior Instructor Advisor, while my Soldiers are advisors to the rest of the instructors. My first day out at the training site was surreal. My Soldiers and I went (and still do) out in "full kit" which means we wear every type of body armor issued to us with our weapons loaded. The previous unit we replaced wore the basic armor vest and a patrol cap (the baseball looking hat for those not familiar with military jargon) and carried a loaded weapon. Their unit intent was to convey the message of "we work together and as show of trust we won't wear all of our gear since we know you got our back". Our unit message is "we work together but we don't know you that well and we will be ready to defend ourselves if needed. Hopefully, it won't have to come down to that". Quite frankly, my belief and alot of other smart leaders is simple. If you wear one piece of body armor, you wear ALL body armor from head to toe. Yes, it gets hot out with it on, but you have piece of mind in case something happens that you are ready to react. The Afghan Soldiers looked at us like we were rock stars. I viewed them as dangerous and if they were plotting against us. It is not uncommon to see a Soldier who used to be in the Taliban and "reformed" and join his country's Army. A few of them have actually reformed, again in my opinion, some have not. Some stand out when they just look at you like Charles Manson. We look right back at them until their instructor comes over and smacks their head to pay attention to the block of instruction they are giving. To not be a distraction, we stay in the back out of respect for the instructor. We have interpreters who are local Afghans. Some were children when the Taliban ruled in Afghanistan, while others left with their families and stayed in Pakistan while the country was at war with the Russians. They speak english very well, actually alot better than some of my Soldiers.lol. Things I learned real quick. Take off your sunglasses, shake hands and never turn down tea. I stopped wearing sunglasses and wear clear lenses so they can see that I can look into their souls.lol. Really, it's out of respect and drinking tea out of their cups is hard because they don't really wash the cups. It's rinse and put new liquid in. I probaly drank from a cup that 20 people before me drank out of. I tell my Soldiers, if I'm drinking, you are too. Just remember, the chi (tea) has to be hot. If not, you will be sick as one of my Soldiers found out one day. The big thing is respect. If you treat them like you're better, they see right through it. The Afghans are not dumb. They are very smart. They will act however you want. Be pushy and agressive and force them to do something, they will embarass you when you least expect it and it's usually in front of your command group. Fortunately, since we treat them with respect, they made us look real good on all occasions. It's a partnership for sure. The main thing to have is patience and to remember, it's THEIR army. They will do what you recommend however it may take a week or two until it becomes the standard. Again, we don't train the students, just help the instructors be better leaders.
Within a few weeks of being in Afghanistan, reports started coming down about Afghan Soldiers turning and killing their advisors at the training sites across Afghanistan. I could not imagine the horror of being in that situation. We did have a close call the first month there. There was a range that was used nearby by friendly forces at the training center. Behind the range and all over the training site are junkyards of old Russian tanks and outposts that were destroyed during Afghanistan's war with Russia in the 80's. Well, some of those bullets ricocheted and landed in different areas and missed one of my Soldiers by five feet. My Soldiers thought they were getting attacked, put their weapons on red (meaning bullet in chamber and weapon from safe to fire) and got behind their armored vehicles, while the Afghan students and instructors ran for cover. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the range was moved away from the training range. The outgoing unit, "forgot" to tell us of a situation that happened a month before we arrived as verified by reports found in computers while I was doing my story board. Gee, thanks. My Soldiers prior to this incident, started grumbling about being in full kit. Ever since that day, no one has complained about being in full kit.lol.
Well, now you know what my job entails of. I will share more in future posts. Talk to you later.
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