TARIN KOT, Afghanistan - Forty Afghan National Army soldiers from the 4th Combat Support Kandak, 205th Corps, recovered a vital piece of heavy construction machinery in Sarab, Afghanistan, Nov. 2, 2012.
Soldiers convoyed from Multinational Base Tarin Kot to Patrol Base Ismael, loaded the broken heavy construction excavator and returned the equipment to the 4th brigade headquarters for repair.
The operation marked the first solo ANA convoy recovery mission for the brigade.
"We have been working for two years to bring it back, but we couldn't do it," said Capt. Abdul Fatah, 4th Kandak convoy commander.
Maj. Patrick Davison, the mobility support combat team commander of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment Task Group said poor route conditions and lack of experience in ANA combat support roles led to previous failed attempts.
Coalition advisers provided four days of training before the mission. The training consisted of improvised explosive device reaction simulation, first aid and casualty evacuation, and familiarizations with trucks, trailers and routes.
ANA soldiers drove a M916 light-equipment transporter and M870 trailer to transport the 75,000-pound excavator. Led by high-risk search engineers, the convoy traveled 80 kilometers without incident.
"This convoy was very important for us because it was our first time without the mentors," Fatah said.
The training gave the 4th Kandak the ability to search the route for IEDs and reduce the explosives when found.
"Any worse-case scenario presented, they had practiced here before going out there," Davison said.
The recovery mission proved 4th Kandak capable of equipment self-recovery and improved confidence in their salvage skills.
"I gained confidence with this mission," said Askar Khan Mohammad, an excavator driver.
Although the convoy encountered several obstacles on the mission, including flat tires and bad weather that contributed to poor road conditions and limited driving visibility, the mission proved to be a success.
"We had a little trouble on this convoy -- we had some flat tires but our Soldiers fixed it," Fatah said.
Before returning to MNBTK, soldiers also filled thirty Hercules Engineering Solution Consortium barriers with rocks and dirt to improve security at PB Ismael.
"People need to know the hard work that the 4th Kandak has done on this mission," Davison said.
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