Training Tasks in Afghanistan

Szöveg: MAT-2 | 2014. február 18. 9:00

The first month of 2014 had a lot of tasks in store for the second rotation of the HDF Military Advisory Team (MAT-2) deployed in Afghanistan, both in the fields of mentoring and the retention of their own skill level.

Galéria

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Besides the day-to-day advising tasks, the contingent carried out its next live fire exercise, and held a basic-level armourer course for the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) as a supplement to the advisory duties.

The series of tasks commenced with the armourer course, which the MAT had already launched in the second half of 2013. The Hungarian contingent was requested to hold this course because in the northern region there are no other ISAF nations equipped with Russian weapons and having professional skills in handling them. The participants of the course included policemen from the Afghan National Civil Order Police 3rd Brigade (ANCOP 3 BDE), the Afghan Border Police 5th Zone (ABP 5 Zone) and the Afghan Uniformed Police North (AUP North).

Armourer course for the members of the Afghan civil order and border police

The trainees learnt all the tricks of the trade from WO V., a weapons technician serving with the MAT-2. The warrant officer had an assistant to help his work, a Hungarian–Dari interpreter with many years of experience and knowledge of military terminology. The course was closed on January 21 in a ceremony, where the commander of the contingent and that of the ANCOP Brigade presented the attendees with certificates of successful completion of the course.

In mid-January the soldiers of the second rotation conducted a two-day peace support operations target practice and special live fire tactical training exercise. Already during their pre-deployment training in Hungary, the personnel had laid great emphasis on developing high-level marksmanship skills, and they continue to do so in Afghanistan as well. The objective of the range days was to simulate one of the main threats, the so-called “green on blue" assaults (when insurgents infiltrating the ANSF attack ISAF forces), and to practice in the countermeasures.

Preparing for the live fire exercise…

During the task execution, the attendees practiced how to cover each other, change magazines and deal with problems if needed. The marksmanship training was based on a combination of pistol situational target practice and a special live fire tactical training (LFTT) exercise executed by fire-and-maneuver teams and supplemented with local characteristics as well as the fire cover of a ready machine gun. The result was a live fire exercise which meets tactical requirements and everyday real-life situations, during which the advisor and the person assigned to cover him are executing the task in close cooperation.

The joint practice has achieved harmony, and, what is even more important, increased the trust between mentors and their teammates providing covering fire. If something goes awry in the execution of daily “routine tasks", they will know that their teammate is there behind the door, on his toes.

The members of the MAT carried out the live fire exercise together with the personnel of the HDF National Support Element. The event gave the Hungarian soldiers a good opportunity to return the wide-ranging support they receive in everyday life.