Ramadan Has Started…
Szöveg: WO Ferenc Csoma | 2013. július 18. 10:12Ramadan has started in Afghanistan. The faithful abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, cleaning, sex and violence from dawn to dusk. Ramadan – one of the five pillars of Islam – is obligatory for all Muslims. This year, it is from July 10 to August 9.
60 days ago the personnel of 1st rotation of the the HDF Military Advisory Team (MAT) started executing its tasks in the area of operations. The recent period has left its mark, and the kilometers covered on the roads of Mazar-e Sharif as well as the sweat dropped in the heat in the interest of maintaining effective relations with the Afghan partners have borne their fruit: today the MAT has excellent relations with the key leaders of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) and the Afghan Border Police (ABP).
The gathering of the information and its transmission to the ISAF Regional Command North (RC-N) is a smooth and continuous process. There is a sense of trust between the two partners working in close cooperation. Besides the advisory and liaison tasks and the daily routine duties (column marches, transportation missions), the Military Advisory Team carries out other tasks as well, just like it did in the last days of June when a five-member committee from the Department of Homeland Security of the Embassy of the United States in Kabul paid a two-day visit to Mazar-e Sharif. During their visit to the ANCOP and ABP commands operating at the seat of Balkh Province as well as the hospital of the Afghan National Army (ANA), the Military Advisory Team was tasked with providing escort, transport and protection for the delegation.
The support to the visits was well-organized, the personnel of the close protection and escort team performed their tasks very professionally, ready to take action any time. As a result, the head of the delegation thanked the personnel for the cooperation, praising their high professional standards. The Muslims’ religious feast entails that the Afghans are working with lower intensity for shorter periods, but it should not negatively affect the trust or the quality of the relations under any circumstances.
The execution of the tasks continues, but the next period will be a little easier for the members of the Military Advisory Team, who can now focus on the skill retention and training of their own personnel during target and driving practices.
Photos by the author
