Advising at a Historic Site

The border crossing point has been playing a very important role to the present day, being a land resupply route of Afghanistan and the coalition forces participating in the Resolute Support Mission. The goods are mainly transported by road to the airport of Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of the province, or by rail, through Afghanistan’s only currently operating rail line which was constructed with international assistance in 2011.

The advisory group of the ABP 806th zone HQ took up an old invitation and – joined by Brig.-Gen. Andreas Hannemann, the commander of the TAAC-N – visited an important battalion-level unit of the mentored police organization. Chief Advisor Col. Péter Balogh, the commander of the group told us that the aim of the visit was to see the results of the border guard zone, to gather information about the living and working conditions of the personnel executing the tasks, and to identify some further fields that require advising and training.

The commander of the TAAC-N and the group of Hungarian advisors were received by Brig.-Gen. Mir Naim Haidari, the commander of the Afghan Border Police 806th zone. In his briefing, he talked about the significance of the place, and the duties, composition and technical equipment of the organization stationed in the area. After the presentation, the guests had opportunity to make an on-site visit to meet the border and customs officers on duty in the area and to exchange information with them.

Following extensive and careful preparations, Gen. Campbell, the commander of the RSM gave permission for the visit. The planning phase of Operation “Balaton Wave" involved the whole TAAC-N staff, and the operation itself was carried out with the participation of close to 100 international troops. The task was executed with combined road transport and airlift.

The HDF Force Protection Platoon was also deployed to secure the helicopter landing zone, search the area of the border crossing point and escort the advisory group. At the end of the visit, Brig.-Gen. Andreas Hannemann thanked the Hungarian troops for their professional activity.

Photos by the author