JOINT COMBAT OUTPOST, HAIRATAN, Afghanistan -- Maj. Timothy Christensen, director of the Afghanistan advisory rail team, 1st Theater Sustainment Command, described on Nov. 23 how the 1st TSC's hand-selected Afghan railroad advisory team had just successfully finished mentoring a select group of Afghan railroad authority students, a one-of-a-kind core foundation training course on railroad operational knowledge and revenue resource opportunities.
Christensen's background is in railroad logistics. He has more than 19 years in the Army railroad system. He created the business model for the ARAT and the ARA course. This is Christensen's second deployment to Afghanistan in an ARAT capacity.
The ARAT has its foundation in the beginning of the Operation Enduring Freedom. Brig. Gen. Edward Dorman, the former Army chief of transportation recognized the coalitions need for a dedicated rail team to meet its strategic needs. Once the decision was made to create a team, Christensen volunteered and the process began to assemble a small team of railroad experts. Christensen and Master Sgt. Brian Hakey, the selected senior enlisted rail team adviser, and native of Boiling Spring Lakes, N.C., scrubbed about 30 Soldiers names, ultimately choosing five Soldiers.
Some of the Soldiers had actually served with each other on previous deployments which made them an excellent fit for the ARAT team. Once assembled, the team found strength and began bonding in a way that most units don't until several years of living and training together.
According to the Rail Advisory Team - Information Brief, the ARATs purpose is to provide rail mode feasibility, capability, and infrastructure assessments, and advice on employment of rail to support the redeployment of international forces and equipment, and assist U.S. and Afghan governmental agencies in developing a strategic plan for a national rail capacity.
Three ARATs have already succeeded in helping Afghanistan build a future sustainable railroad, and an additional fourth ARAT has been funded to continue the mission.
Christensen gladly accepted an opportunity to tell the ARAT teams story.
Christensen: We are developing a training model to bring them up to speed. It is a train, advise and assist mission designed to offer the Afghans railroad options and to offer a self-sustaining future capability, capacity and economic development through rail.
The train, advise and assist mission is being wrapped up into a Afghan rail authority which is a loosely modeled version of the Federal Rail Administration.
"This country in order to be a self-sustaining economy needs a railroad transportation network to export raw materials to the market," said Christensen, in a previous interview.
What was the purpose of today's training and who came?
Christensen: Today's training was the beginning of building a foundation of railroad knowledge for the Afghanistan Railway Authority.
Eight employees were scheduled to come, ten showed up. All were employees of the Afghan Rail authority based in Mazar-e-sharif, a regional hub.
How well do you think the team did today?
Christensen: I was very happy and pleased with their performance today; they drew the students into the discussions by creating an inclusive environment. They used visual aids, check on learning. The students got so involved; they didn't need the interpreter, very pleased.
What do think the employees of the Afghan Rail Authority thought of the class?
Christensen: I talked with a few after class, they really appreciated being asked questions, instead of being spoken to. They were not used to that. They really enjoyed being involved, included in the discussions… the fact that we made it a group discussion, effort.
What is your goal for the training?
Christensen: This training ends in two days, hopefully we will teach it multiple times. We are developing other classes to be based on their needs.
What is amazing to me is that they are thinking so far ahead, to interact and talk about their concerns, and ideas, to actually be involved in the planning process.
What is your end goal for the ARAT train, advise, assist mission?
Christensen: We redeploy in June, I would like to see Afghanistan have enough knowledge to be part of the development of its own railway sustainment, enduring training.
What do you feel the ARATs could do to improve?
Christensen: … It's not the ARAT's that need improvement… We deal on a strategic level with a foreign country, and we try to get them to do things that are common in the western world, but not common in Afghanistan, It's not easy…
We lean on our biggest partnership, the State Department and ISAF. They have to lead the way on the nation building mission.
Do you feel the ARATs have been a success?
Christensen: The ARAT's success, this is the third one, and they have been a success. Just look, Afghanistan now has its own railway authority. Our next step, educating them and putting them on a path, or road to continue on once the U.S. presence has left.
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