Posted on 04/12/2006 5:00:05 PM PDT by SandRat
HERAT, Afghanistan (NNS) -- A Sailor is using his skills as a chief petty officer as a valuable leadership tool for Afghan forces at Camp Victory near Herat, Afghanistan.
Chief Storekeeper Archee Santos, an individual augmentee, has the unique responsibility of mentoring one of the Afghan National Army’s (ANA) kandak's, or battalion's, company commanders, executive officers, and first sergeants for Higher Headquarters Company (HHC).
“The ANA is only three years old,” said Santos, “so that means the most experienced person in the whole army only has three years under their belt. It’s a young army and they need strong mentoring. Being a Navy chief, I’m prepared to fill that role for them.”
According to Santos, the ANA had no standard of values like the Navy’s core values of honor, courage and commitment. Their military leadership, he explained, was based on the old Soviet style, which did not make use of non-commissioned officers as leaders.
“Before, there were officers and enlisted, and that was it,” said Santos. “You had no chain of command. You only had the commander. There were no checks and balances like our chain of command.”
Santos quickly instilled a sense of pride, responsibility and hierarchy based on the Navy’s leadership structure.
“I taught them that as leaders, it is their job to look after their soldiers first and foremost,” said Santos. “Once the soldiers saw that their leadership cared about them, that they were going to be there for them every day, there wasn’t anything the soldiers wouldn’t do for their leaders. It’s a basic leadership principle, but it’s one that they simply didn’t know.”
As a mentor in a foreign land, the language and culture barriers have proved to be the toughest obstacles in Santos’ way.
“As a leader, I’ve learned that you can’t come down hard on these guys,” said Santos, "because doing that to them, especially with other soldiers around is considered shame, and shame has far-reaching effects in the Afghan culture. It can shut a soldier down.”
Santos credits his own chief’s initiation as the primary teacher for how to develop ANA soldiers.
“My chief’s [transition] was all about overcoming discouragement,” said Santos. “I had it drilled into my head how to overcome being discouraged and motivating people who were discouraged. That has been very useful here.”
All American military mentors in Afghanistan have access to interpreters who serve as the primary means of communication between mentors like Santos and his students. But he doesn’t rely on just his interpreter.
“I’ve learned some Dari and try to use it as often as possible,” said Santos. “It’s very flattering to people in a foreign land when you try to use their language, and I want them to know I care.”
In kind, his soldiers have learned some English words both out of practicality and respect.
Dari isn’t the only thing Santos has been able to learn while deployed to Afghanistan.
“One of the things I can definitely say I’ve learned from being here,” said Santos, “is that you have to learn to do the best with what you have because sometimes that’s all you will ever get. Here, that’s the rule more than the exception, and as a storekeeper, not being able to get what I want is something new to me.”
Kabul, Afghanistan (April 2, 2006) - Storekeeper 1st Class Melvin Hayden inspects athletic shoes Afghan National Army recruits want to exchange at the central issuing facility (CIF) at the new Kabul Military Training Facility (KMTF) located in Afghanistan. U.S. Navy storekeepers are deployed to Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) Phoenix to provide logistical support for one of the world's newest armies. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 1st Class James G. Pinsky (RELEASED)
The US Navy ashore in Afghanistan.
BTTT
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