Embedded Airmen Mentor Afghanis: T
here are some 150 airmen, comprising 20 teams scattered throughout Afghanistan, that are mentoring members of the Afghan National Army in communications, logistics, supply, medical skills, and training and education activities. Known as embedded training teams, the airmen are working alongside other NATO trainers to foster the skills needed to build the ANA, literally from the ground up. It’s a tough job, reports MSgt. Orville Desjarlais Jr. of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram AB, Afghanistan, since many of the Afghan soldiers do not speak English and some cannot read or write.
Clearing jungle and laying asphalt in tropical heat may not sound like fun to most people, but it’s a way of life for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Airmen, who have spent the past year or so restoring World War II-era airfields on the Pacific…