Canadian Combat Engineers train ANA Sappers
- Thread starter McG
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Congrats on the promotion Wade and gl in the sandbox.
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How many were in Pakistan 20 years ago, teaching Afghan refugees the same skills?
Seems like we're going in circles...
Seems like we're going in circles...
McG
Army.ca Legend
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I would certainly would not say that. You are referencing a time when we trained humanitarian deminers. Today we are training Combat Engineers that will fall into the larger ANA organization. The spectrum of skill sets are different as is the role of the pers being trained. Additionally, back then we were not making an effort toward COIN, Stability Ops or reconstruction. The only way this is going in circles is if you only focus on a single incomplete part of the puzzle and do not put it in context of the greater picture.dapaterson said:
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I he still making all the new sappers learn all the engineer songs? ;DSprCForr said:
Nothing wrong with that. But that is one thing I remember about him, a MCpl back then when I left, at every function or gathering he would go to the new sappers and ask them to sing one of the many songs...
I wonder what songs he is teaching the afghans.
About the job, it must be pretty difficult with the language barrier and illiteracy that is common over there.
cheers,
Frank
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ANA sappers train with ISAF mentors
NATO news release PR# 2008-741, 26 Dec 08
News release link
The military engineers of 1 Brigade, 205 Corps, Afghan National Army, have completed an important program of training in the use and safe handling of explosives and related materials with mentoring from the ISAF Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT). The training was conducted at Camp Hero in November 2008.
The Afghan sappers learned to use plastic explosives for destroying unexploded ordnance such as mines and roadside bombs. Canadian Warrant Officer Wade Osmond, of 2 Combat Engineer Regiment in Petawawa, and Master Corporal Marcus Wisotzki, of 33 Combat Engineer Regiment in Ottawa, also taught search and clearance procedures for dealing with mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and techniques for building fortifications.
The explosives course at Camp Hero was one of the first delivered to ANA field engineers. The techniques taught on the course are important because insurgents often use roadside bombs and IEDs to disrupt the work of Afghan government authorities, the International Security Assistance Force, and relief agencies.
“Combat engineering is an essential task and a key enabler of any army,” said WO Osmond. “The trained sappers will be able to help fellow soldiers move around the battle space more effectively in order to defeat the enemy.”
The course began with a formal review of the basics. A measuring tape, for example, is a foreign object to most Afghan soldiers, but it is an essential tool for working with explosives. If your explosive charge is to detonate at the right time, and neither too early or too late, its time fuse must be cut to precisely the right length, for the length of the fuse determines the length of time from ignition to detonation. The simple class on using a measuring tape also came in handy during the construction phase of the course.
Using trust, patience, ingenuity and a healthy dose of outside-the-box thinking, the Canadian instructors worked hard to build a rapport with their Afghan students. They had to use language assistants to convey their knowledge and skills, and interpretation slowed the teaching process a little, but the Afghan soldiers’ high motivation and eagerness to learn ensured results as good as the instructors would achieve with new Canadian sappers.
The explosives course at Camp Hero demonstrated the great respect that runs both ways between the ISAF mentors and their Afghan students, and this positive learning experience has fostered lasting friendships between allies.
“Afghan National Army soldiers are learning to become a 21st century military fighting force,” said MCpl Wisotzki. “These men risk their lives, and the lives of their families, to do something they believe in — to create a safe and stable Afghanistan.”
NATO news release PR# 2008-741, 26 Dec 08
News release link
The military engineers of 1 Brigade, 205 Corps, Afghan National Army, have completed an important program of training in the use and safe handling of explosives and related materials with mentoring from the ISAF Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT). The training was conducted at Camp Hero in November 2008.
The Afghan sappers learned to use plastic explosives for destroying unexploded ordnance such as mines and roadside bombs. Canadian Warrant Officer Wade Osmond, of 2 Combat Engineer Regiment in Petawawa, and Master Corporal Marcus Wisotzki, of 33 Combat Engineer Regiment in Ottawa, also taught search and clearance procedures for dealing with mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and techniques for building fortifications.
The explosives course at Camp Hero was one of the first delivered to ANA field engineers. The techniques taught on the course are important because insurgents often use roadside bombs and IEDs to disrupt the work of Afghan government authorities, the International Security Assistance Force, and relief agencies.
“Combat engineering is an essential task and a key enabler of any army,” said WO Osmond. “The trained sappers will be able to help fellow soldiers move around the battle space more effectively in order to defeat the enemy.”
The course began with a formal review of the basics. A measuring tape, for example, is a foreign object to most Afghan soldiers, but it is an essential tool for working with explosives. If your explosive charge is to detonate at the right time, and neither too early or too late, its time fuse must be cut to precisely the right length, for the length of the fuse determines the length of time from ignition to detonation. The simple class on using a measuring tape also came in handy during the construction phase of the course.
Using trust, patience, ingenuity and a healthy dose of outside-the-box thinking, the Canadian instructors worked hard to build a rapport with their Afghan students. They had to use language assistants to convey their knowledge and skills, and interpretation slowed the teaching process a little, but the Afghan soldiers’ high motivation and eagerness to learn ensured results as good as the instructors would achieve with new Canadian sappers.
The explosives course at Camp Hero demonstrated the great respect that runs both ways between the ISAF mentors and their Afghan students, and this positive learning experience has fostered lasting friendships between allies.
“Afghan National Army soldiers are learning to become a 21st century military fighting force,” said MCpl Wisotzki. “These men risk their lives, and the lives of their families, to do something they believe in — to create a safe and stable Afghanistan.”
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Just gotta say how proud of I am of My Sapper he is there and doing this I am proud of all of you 
Thank you...... :yellow:
Thank you...... :yellow:
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20 yrs ago was totally different. The emphasis was on teaching civilians how to recognize and avoid getting hurt by mines and EO. Now they are teaching the sappers how to do it properly in a combat environment in addition to the other things sappers do.dapaterson said:
Chimo
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PanaEng as one of those that was there 20 years ago, I can tell you the program had two aspects; one being delivered by the female Engineer Officers along the lines you indicate, and the other taught to Afghan males (the majority of which were Mujahideen), which basically was a full program covering all aspects of mine and UXO clearance on the full range of ordnance prevalent in Afstan. This included live ranges. The proper term was MCTT, Mine Clearance Training Teams (US/Brit/NZ/Aus and Cdn) ..there is no doubt that the training the Muj were given helped them immensely....I will leave it there.
Old fart out.
Old fart out.
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Still, the official line was to teach civilians how to avoid and clear their fields - I have no doubt that it went beyond that however; thanks for the reminder (that was one of the most exciting missions for a long time and every sapper would have cut their left n** to go; there are pictures of mr. A***t, still in circulation, wearing a shalwar-kameez and local hatold fart said:
). Had it been stated that the purpose was to train the Muj. the Soviets would have vetoed the UN mission (it was a UN mission)
So, it is possible then that some of the skill that were taught then are used against us now?
cheers,
Frank
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