Sappers tap into talent
Volume 11, No. 57, November 30, 2006
By Maj Hugh Meggitt

Binding unity: WO2 John Watson gives a lesson on basic knots and lashings to an Afghani soldier during a skills-transfer training activity in Afghanistan. Photos by Cpl Ricky Fuller

Can you dig it? Sgt Russell Peel ties another sandbag while Afghani soldiers conduct a sandbagging lesson.

IN THE fading light on a dry and dusty patch of ground, adjacent to the airfield within the wall of FOB Davis in Uruzgan Province, 1RTF engineers recently completed the first stage of training with their Afghan National Army (ANA) counterparts.

1RTF Engineer Sqn members completed the first phase of the training package for ANA combat engineers that was designed to exchange skills and set the conditions for future RTF operations.

It also provided an opportunity for sappers of the two nations to meet and exchange experiences in a country where both groups are working towards a safer and more stable future.

The initial week-long training package covered topics such as basic tools and their use, knots and lashings, basic field machines, sandbagging, and mine and IED awareness.

The training incorporated theoretical as well as practical application of these basic sapper skills and was well received and thoroughly enjoyed by the ANA soldiers, who have been conducting operations against insurgent forces on an almost continual basis for the past three years.

WO2 John Watson, a 1RTF instructor, said the concept of the course provided the Afghan soldiers with a basic grasp of Aussie-style combat engineering.

“These skills will allow the ANA to work side-by-side with Australian engineers on missions within the province,” WO2 Watson said.

Sgt Jason Watkins, 1RTF Engineer Sqn, said the training “provided an opportunity to explore our own strengths and weaknesses as our sappers conduct joint operations in this environment”.

He believed that the legacy of the training and inter-agency cooperation would stand future RTFs and the ANA in good stead.

The Afghan and Australian engineers will undertake combined reconstruction tasks to bring stability and security to the people of Afghanistan.