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FOB Apache, Afghanistan - An Afghan army truck rolled down the
long, dusty road of the entry control point of Forward Operating
Base Apache. The truck was filled with American Soldiers on their
way to deliver spare military vehicle parts to their Afghan partners
on their adjacent base, FOB Eagle, Zabul Province, Afghanistan.
In the spirit of the advise, assist and train mission, Soldiers
with 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Inf. Brigade Combat
Team, 4th Inf. Div., visited their Afghan partners June 18, 2014, to
provide them with advanced weapons maintenance training and deliver
much needed supplies.
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U.S. Army Sgt. Mitchell McClain, an
armament mechanic with Fury Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry
Regiment, 4th Inf. Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div., discusses
small arms maintenance with his Afghan army counterparts at Forward
Operating Base Eagle, Zabul Province, Afghanistan, June 18,
2014.McClain is part of a maintenance team that advises, trains and
assists the Afghan army. (U.S. Army photo by Staff. Sgt. John
Etheridge)
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Because they only had a short time available to them for
the visit, the Soldiers were raring to get started with the
training as they arrived at the Afghan maintenance building.
But first, an Afghan ritual: tea.br>
“It's
always important to have chai,” said 1st Lt. Nicholas
Dockery, a sustainment and maintenance advisor with
Headquarters Company, 2nd Bn., 12th Inf. Regt. “The Afghans
place a lot more importance on the greeting and the pre-work
ritual than we do.”
Almonds, candy and tea were
passed around as the leaders, with the help of an
interpreter, greeted each other and introduced their
associates. After a few minutes of small talk the discussion
finally turned to maintenance, the reason Dockery made the
trip.
“My main tasking is to advise and assist the
2nd Afghan Army Brigade (205th Corps) on their logistical
operations systems and also advise and assist on vehicle,
generator, and other maintenance repair,” he said.
He
explained that the U.S. Army's supply system has had decades
of trial and error to form into a system that can adjust to
deficiencies and move property and equipment efficiently
between organizations. These are the areas Dockery focuses
on when working on logistical operations with his Afghan
counterparts because, although strong in many areas, they
are still learning and gaining experience, he said.
He also advises on maintenance and tries to teach a method
for preserving equipment that has worked exceptionally well
for the U.S. Army.
“One of the things I'm trying to
push is preventive maintenance,” he said. This allows the
maintainers and command to get a better pulse on the
condition of their equipment and also allows for the
forecasting of parts and equipment that will be needed in
the future, he explained further.
“Focusing on
preventive maintenance will make up for itself 10-fold down
the line,” he said.
Toward the end of the tea-time
meeting, Dockery was handed a piece of paper with Dari
writing on it. Although he could decipher most of it
himself, he had a little help from his interpreter. It was a
list of all the vehicles in the Afghan brigade and all their
different mechanical statuses. After viewing it for a couple
minutes and looking somewhat satisfied, he folded it and put
it in his pocket. It was now time to move on to weapons
maintenance training.
The group of Afghan and
American Soldiers moved through the motor pool building and
around to the other side to a small-arms repair shop. To the
surprise of the American armament mechanics, inside the shop
a rocket propelled grenade launcher and DShK large caliber
machine gun, also referred to as a dushka, were spread out
on a work bench.
“The plan was to go over and
instruct the Afghans on preventative maintenance and
quarterly inspections of the M2 .50 caliber machinegun,”
said Sgt. Mitchell McClain an armament mechanic with Fury
Co. 2nd Bn., 12th Inf. Regt. “When we got over there they
had their Dushka out.”
He explained that often they
have to adjust their plans when working with their partners.
“Instead we looked at the problems they were having with
their other weapon systems,” he said.
For the next
hour or so McClain and his assistant worked on fixing a host
of weapons problems with the Afghans. They looked at
problems with the Dushka and assisted them with a couple of
M-16 rifles.
McClain said that he has visited his
counterparts 3 or 4 times since his arrival at FOB Apache.
On his first visit, he and his section did an assessment of
what areas they could most help the Afghans in regards to
armament repair. Since then they have been focusing on
higher-level armament training of their counterparts and
also on getting them higher-level technical manuals.
“Their armament personnel are very eager to learn,” he said.
He also said that his Afghan partners are in need of
specialized tools and gauges and he tries to help with
procuring those items but it has to be done through the
Afghan army supply system.
After the group finishes
at the armament shop they walk together back to the vehicle
they arrived in.
Dockery shows the supplies he
brought over to the Afghan commander. The rear of the
vehicle is stacked with a couple tires, a transmission, and
other military vehicle parts. The parts have been procured
and repurposed to assist the Afghan army.
As the
Soldiers talk while gathered around the rear of the truck,
another Afghan army truck pulls alongside and parks next to
them. Dockery and the other Soldiers say good bye to their
Afghan hosts and climb aboard the newly parked vehicle. They
head back to FOB Apache and will reload the truck with more
spare parts and return back through the entry control point
and bring their partners another delivery the next day.
By U.S. Army Staff. Sgt. John Etheridge
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2014
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