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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (June 12, 2008) - Police mentor team
"Patriot" visits its assigned Afghan National Police stations
daily. The mentors tend to ask the same questions about pay,
personnel, weapons and equipment. They coach the police to solve
any problems on the spot, paving the way to an Afghan solution.
Patriot is one of many police mentor teams assigned to Regional
Police Advisory Command South, part of Combined Security Transition
Command Afghanistan. The team's mission is to train, advise and
mentor the Afghan National Police in 10 districts of Kandahar
City.
Team members say they aren't there to give the Afghan police
officers anything except advice, support and back-up. If the Afghan
National Police request fuel for their generators, the mentor team
asks if they have been filling out and submitting fuel-consumption
reports. If they ask about uniforms or weapons, the team asks if
they have made the request through the Afghan provincial
headquarters.
Police mentor teams play a key role in a program called "focused
district development," aimed at enhancing Afghan National Police
capabilities. The program's goals involve developing the police
into a professional, well-disciplined force for the people of
Afghanistan and the nation's interests, officials said.
Focused district development starts at one of four regional
training centers dedicated to the program. District police receive
eight weeks of training while a special Afghan police unit fills in
for them in their district. The training at the regional centers
includes basic and advanced police training, survivability training
and district-specific training. When they return to their districts
to work, the mentor teams work to help the training take root.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Judson and his team mentor the police
in 10 districts in Kandahar City; each police station employs an
average of 40 to 45 police officers. Of those districts, four have
men currently attending FDD training at the Kandahar regional
training center. When the police return, Judson and his team will
start the training and mentoring phase.
"We have a six-week plan of sustainment training," Judson said.
"We know what they are teaching them at the RTC, and we will
reinforce that training on the ground."
Judson and the rest of his team started assessing his district
police before they went to the RTC. He said it wasn't easy, because
the men had no police training. With the results of the assessment,
the police mentor team can gauge the districts' progress, he
said.
During a typical visit to a police station or checkpoint, the
mentor team ensures the police have enough men for security of the
station, weapons, uniforms and equipment. They also check on basic
needs, such as living conditions and food.
"We can't just give them what they need," Judson said. "We have
to mentor them on requesting things through their channels. We
advise them of processes that work for us, and they find solutions
that work for them."
Judson said his visits build relationships, making it easier to
mentor and advise the Afghan National Police through problems.
The teams also schedule time to work on sustainment training
with the police. Each district has a different mission. The police
mentor teams for the districts outside of the city work with police
who are tasked with a more combat-oriented mission.
Army Capt. Greg Lockhart works with police in a district in
which the primary mission is counterinsurgency. The Afghan National
Police there have attended focused district development training,
but Lockhart said there is still more work to be done.
"We have seen significant improvements in their community
policing abilities since they have returned from FDD training,"
Lockhart said. "They received some combat skills training, but they
still need some work in defending themselves against attacks."
In Lockhart's district of responsibility, the police carry more
of a combat role. The mentor team augments the police on missions
that sometimes include combat.
The mentor teams aren't training the Afghan National Police to
seek out the enemy and get into a fight, Lockhart said. "We are
trying to teach them basic combat skills to protect them once they
are engaged by the enemy."
Lockhart, Judson and the other PMT members in Kandahar report to
Regional Police Advisory Command South.
The feedback helps improve the training at the regional training
center, Judson said, but each mission is different.
"It's a different mission inside the city," he explained. "Our
ANP deal with more community policing, whereas the teams outside of
Kandahar City deal more with counterinsurgency. There really isn't
one way of doing things -- it's live and learn."
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