Afghan National Security Forces progress through literacy classes
by Cpl. Katherine Keleher RC-SW
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Communication is a vital part of success for any military. To further develop their communication skills, Afghan national security forces troops partake in literacy courses at the Joint Security Academy Southwest, here.
Photo by Cpl. Katherine Keleher: Afghan national security forces recruits listen to an instructor during a literacy class at the Joint Security Academy Southwest here, March 30. During the class recruits and students at JSAS learn to read, write, solve simple math problems and about the Constitution of Afghanistan.
“The class is good for [the recruits] because it will help them perform their jobs,” said Afghan Uniformed Police 2nd Lt. Zmary Sarshar, an AUP instructor at JSAS. “They need to read and write on their reports. It’s useful for when they work on checkpoints, so they can read people’s passports and documentation.”
Aside from protecting and defending their country, uniformed ANSF also carry an eagerness to share their new education.
According to Afghan uniformed police recruit Islam Uddin, “The people of Afghanistan are mostly illiterate. But if the Afghan forces know how to read and write, we can help control a lot of bad things and become a stronger force. We can help teach other Afghans literacy and then they can do things on their own and read the news. Then they can see the Taliban are bad and will join the right side to be part of Afghanistan.”
While students at JSAS are excited to become literate, they are even more excited to take their new skills home to their families.
“I will be proud to show my family how to read, write and do math,” Uddin added. “Now we will be able to do things for ourselves, like write letters to people, and we can teach more Afghans.”
Mohammad Taher, a literacy instructor at JSAS, has been passionately teaching Afghans literacy for more than four years. He says when a new group comes in for its first literacy class, there are typically two literate students out of 100, and nothing beats seeing the other 98 students leave at the end of their course able to read and write.
“I will not allow for anybody to be illiterate in Afghanistan,” Taher said. “I will teach everybody and anybody.
“Every day at the end of my class I tell them that what they learned, they need to pass on to their families because illiteracy is like being blind.”
Every student and recruit attends JSAS for different lengths of time. Yet they all appear to leave the most excited about one aspect - their newfound literacy.
“To [the students] the literacy class is the best thing they learn here,” said Capt. Joseph Dalton, the operations officer at JSAS. “They leave here more proud that they can read and write than anything else. They give these classes the most value and the final product at the end of the course, compared to where they were when they first got here, there is no comparison.”
[WOTN note: While suggesting that providing literacy as a benefit of service in the ANA would be a great idea, more than a year ago, it is unknown to me who in the military came up with the program or if my suggestion were noted by anyone in position to implement it, or suggest it. At any rate, this basic educational benefit, will tremendously increase the chances of success in Afghanistan.]