1st Battalion 'Warrior' Soldiers train Afghan police

By Capt. Wesley Gideon, 1st Bn, 353rd Inf RegApril 2, 2010

1st Battalion 'Warrior' Soldiers train Afghan police
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT POLK, La. -- In February, eight Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 353rd Infantry Regiment, 162nd Infantry Brigade, deployed to Afghanistan with Task Force Tiger to assist in the Afghan National Police training mission. Two of these personnel, Capt. Jonathan Silk and 1st Sgt. Jerry Horn, were sent to the Central Training Center in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The CTC is one of the largest ANP training facilities in Afghanistan. Silk and Horn are the command team for Alpha Company, 1st Bn, 353rd Inf Reg, where they serve as small group advisors responsible for assisting in the training of combat advisors deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Silk and Horn are the only U.S. military personnel on the base, which is operated by DynCorp, a civilian operated contracting firm that specializes in police force training. The Italian Carabinieri are located at the CTC as well. The Italian Carabinieri are a para-military organization that regularly provides military police functions and training for the Italian military, but in Afghanistan, the Carabinieri are sharing their expertise with the ANP to increase capability and capacity.

Upon arriving at the CTC, Silk and Horn were eager to begin their primary mission of mentoring ANP trainers.

Their primary mission was to serve as liaisons between the CTC and the Combined Advisory and Training Group-Police out of Camp Eggers in Kabul. Now the mission is rapidly changing to assist with the training and readiness of the ANP. The Carabinieri are responsible for training at the camp, and welcomed Silk and Horn's expertise. Silk and Horn are assisting the training deputy of the CTC in resource, administrative and logistic issues.

Additionally, they are assisting in the development of AK-47 and 9mm training instruction for the ANP recruits. "The key is to train them the way they will train in their districts," said Silk. He and his Italian counterparts worked together to develop a night fire range concept. The ANP do not have night observation devices or tracers, so Silk developed an alternate night fire method so they can bring that training to their districts to train other ANP personnel. The concept involves using vehicle lights to illuminate targets at 10-15 minute intervals. "That will be similar to the old days when I was a light infantryman and we would fire an M203 grenade launcher flare and engage while targets were illuminated," said Silk. He and Horn will continue to assist in the advising and training of Afghan leadership. They are just two of 41 members of the 162nd Infantry Brigade making a positive impact in Afghanistan.

Task Force Tiger Soldiers continue to partner with allied and coalition forces to improve ANP development through aggressive and comprehensive training concepts and a detailed training regime. Task Force Tiger will redeploy later this year.

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