Afghan police training center on track for future success in Afghanistan
I SAF: KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan National Police leaders are taking steps toward maintaining long-term security in Afghanistan. An Afghan police training center is currently under construction in Sayed Abad District, Wardak province.
The center is scheduled to open in late 2011. Contractors are constructing the project as the top-of-the-line facility, using all available amenities and materials.
U.S. Army Master Sgt. John Bali, construction representative, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Forward Operating Base Airborne, is overseeing the construction. A Fostoria, Ohio, native, Bali likes what he sees regarding what the Afghan police are procuring to train their new patrolmen.
“This is supposed to be the premiere site for all of Afghanistan,” said Bali. “They are actually going to close their other training sites to focus on this facility. This will produce almost 3,000 students at one time.”
The facility has weapons qualification ranges, barracks for all the patrolmen, an auditorium, three dining facilities, a gymnasium a soccer field, a parade field, sewage and water treatment plants, and eight classroom buildings, each with a capacity to teach 250 students. “It looks like a city within itself,” Bali said.
The center will bring major advantages to the Afghan police and how they train. The training center will provide another benefit to the local economy as well, employing approximately 2,000 Afghans once it is fully operational, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer estimate.
While it is very important for the Afghan police to have this large of a facility in which to train, maintaining such a large center will not be an easy task. However, ANP Col. Abdul Khalil is excited to be taking charge of such a huge task.
“We will train the Afghan police here and we have spent a lot of money here. It is very important to us. We want to take care of this place,” said Khalil. “I want to make the academy the best in Afghanistan. I want each young man to come here and train here right, that is my object.”
Along with the Afghan police, the training center also houses Afghan National Army soldiers and an international compound for coalition forces who work there, such as French forces. To keep the Afghan police in the forefront of this facility American forces are taking a step back on operations in the facility and leaving the Afghan police to train and take care of themselves.
“Coalition forces will maintain a presence in an advisory role,” said Bali. “The Afghans will train the Afghans.”
The facility has weapons qualification ranges, barracks for all the patrolmen, an auditorium, three dining facilities, a gymnasium a soccer field, a parade field, sewage and water treatment plants, and eight classroom buildings, each with a capacity to teach 250 students. “It looks like a city within itself,” Bali said.
The center will bring major advantages to the Afghan police and how they train. The training center will provide another benefit to the local economy as well, employing approximately 2,000 Afghans once it is fully operational, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer estimate.
While it is very important for the Afghan police to have this large of a facility in which to train, maintaining such a large center will not be an easy task. However, ANP Col. Abdul Khalil is excited to be taking charge of such a huge task.
“We will train the Afghan police here and we have spent a lot of money here. It is very important to us. We want to take care of this place,” said Khalil. “I want to make the academy the best in Afghanistan. I want each young man to come here and train here right, that is my object.”
Along with the Afghan police, the training center also houses Afghan National Army soldiers and an international compound for coalition forces who work there, such as French forces. To keep the Afghan police in the forefront of this facility American forces are taking a step back on operations in the facility and leaving the Afghan police to train and take care of themselves.
“Coalition forces will maintain a presence in an advisory role,” said Bali. “The Afghans will train the Afghans.”
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