Australian Defence Force (ADF) logisticians are sharing their expertise in the heart of Kabul City with their Afghan National Army (ANA) counterparts for Operation SLIPPER. The fourth and final Australian rotation of LTAT consists primarily of 11 Royal Australian Ordnance Corp soldiers who are providing mentoring at the Central Supply Depot as part of ISAF’s Logistic Training Advisory Team (LTAT). Captain Glenn Bourke, Second-in-Command of the team, said the team has a unique level of independence in theatre. “The team operates on an independent basis within the depot and within that we have to plan and execute our own road movements in armoured vehicles,” CAPT Bourke said. “We also have to provide our own force protection for our soldiers to be able to operate in the depot to undertake their mentoring, safely.” Although the role comes with challenges, particularly with language barriers, the team has seen significant progress. Major Troy Williams, Officer Commanding the ADF LTAT members, believes completion of the main goals is in sight. “We are moving towards the transition and, in fact, we are transitioning at a rapid rate,” MAJ Williams said. “The ANA is responding well to the mentoring that we’re providing and it’s very pleasing to see they’re doing a lot themselves now.” Much of this progress has stemmed from the outstanding mentoring provided by the team with junior soldiers and officers working one-on-one with ANA seniors at the depot. When asked how he’s found the training role, Lieutenant Kade Groat, an officer mentor within the team, said it has been a highlight of his career. “As a mentor to the ANA officers we’ve developed an excellent relationship,” LT Groat said. “At the end of the day they’re just officers like we are in our army that just happen to be in a war zone and trying to do a job, like us.” The team has a few months left for the rotation with the focus now on the full transition to occur in June this year. The LTAT team is just one of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) elements deployed to Kabul and Kandahar, Afghanistan, supporting the mission to train and advise the Afghan National Security Forces. A further 800 ADF personnel are deployed throughout the broader Middle East Area of Operations on Operation SLIPPER which includes the Maritime security environment.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 07:54:35 +0000
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