Brig. Gen. James Champion, Combined Joint Task Force-76 Deputy Commanding General, and the 205th Kandak Commanding General display the streamer signifying the completion of Operation Atal Wali Nov. 20 at Kandahar Airfield. (U.S. Army photo)
November 21, 2005
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Afghan National Army soldiers wrapped up a major training exercise called Operation Atal Wali near Kandahar last week.
They concluded with a sense that the Afghan soldiers had gained experience in marksmanship and ground combat operations and that their leaders are now more experienced with headquarters operation.
"This training was an important building block for the Afghan Army in their step toward spearheading in the fight for democracy in Afghanistan ," said Brig. Gen. James G. Champion, Combined Joint Task Force-76 deputy commanding general for operations. "U.S. forces use realistic situations and training exercises to enhance the knowledge of the Afghan forces as they take on today’s modern battlefield and enemy."
The Afghan Army leadership was placed under the same standards of performance that U.S. forces are held to in the same types of exercises.
The two-part exercise started Nov. 12. It consisted of a live-fire training exercise for Afghan soldiers functioning in different sized elements from squad level and up to battalion level. The objective was for them to learn to fire their weapons in a coordinated manner and therefore be more effective in their operations.
The second part was a command post exercise aimed at teaching the Kandak battalion staff the military decision-making process and how to react to different combat situations. The battalion staff officers from the 1st Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 205th Corps had never had training this involved and as detailed before, according to Afghan Maj. Azm ul-Din, the Kandak operations officer.
At the conclusion of the training, Afghan officers developed a battalion-level operation and briefed their plan to Afghan Maj. Gen. Muslim Amed, the 205th Corps commander.
The exercise involved more then 500 Afghan soldiers and nearly 100 U.S. forces.
Source : COMBINED FORCES COMMAND - AFGHANISTAN COALITION PRESS INFORMATION CENTER KABUL, AFGHANISTAN