From January 9 to 23 a new rotation of the Military Advisory Team (MAT-3) preparing for deployment to the multinational mission in Afghanistan attended training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Centre (JMRC) in Hohenfels, Germany. The MAT-3 will be deployed to Afghanistan where they will provide training for the Afghan National Security Forces in May along with the final rotation of the Provincial Reconstruction Team of Ghor (PRT-17).
12 Lithuanian military service members attended training at the JMRC where other countries' troops also undergo pre-deployment training before NATO operations along with troops from Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
According to Captain Vadimas Jeriominas, commander of the MAT-3, such international training is a higher level of preparations for the mission in Afghanistan aimed at proper training of military advisors who will train local Afghan security forces.
"The training was oriented at the specific tasks of the MAT. Experienced instructors of the U.S. Army shared experience with the attendees while the training environment was made as realistic as possible," the MAT-3 Commander said.
The 15-day training covered a wide spectrum of operations: from theoretical lectures on the peculiarities of communication with local population to practical completion of diverse tactical tasks. Through generation of a scenario based on multinational operations in Afghanistan instructors familiarised the training audience with the particularities of military mentors' work in cooperation with local military, instructed them on force protection, the finer points of counter-IED actions, combat tasks, etc. Over 200 Bulgarian troops assisted the Lithuanian trainees in the completion of practical tasks.
The MAT-63 training focuses on the Train the Trainer principle: instructors of the course delivered theoretical lectures, later a demonstration was conducted, and then practical training took place. A tactical situation arranged at the end of the training tested the trainees' knowledge and skills acquired during the course under observation and control of their instructors.
The objective of the MAT to be deployed to Ghor in May is to provide mentoring and training to the Afghan National Security Forces in Ghor province and to share with them experience and knowledge. The unit includes 12 members from across the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
The PRT-17 and the MAT-3 will be accompanied by the Operational Coordination Centre Advisory Team (OCCAT-2) on pre-deployment training at the moment as well. The team normally comprised of eight Lithuanian servicemembers trains, mentors and renders advice to the personnel of Operational Coordination Centre of the National Security Forces in Ghor so that it was capable of planning, coordinating and controlling independently the operations completed by Afghan troops.
The MAT-3 are planned to deploy to Ghor after the completion of their pre-deployment training in May.
Approximately 350 Afghan troops have been serving in a kandak (a battalion-sized unit) deployed in Ghor since 2011. Its main objective is to ensure security situation in Afghanistan in collaboration with local police.
The Lithuanian-led civilian-military Provincial Reconstruction Team of Ghor province has been functioning as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan since 2005. As the process of the transition to Afghan security lead is being gradually implemented in Afghanistan, and with regard to the inclusion of the entire province of Ghor into the process late last year, the responsibility for security is being gradually transferred onto local forces in the province of Ghor. The objective of the Lithuanian-led Chaghcharan PRT - is to enhance the capabilities of local government and to train the Afghan National Security Forces concurrently focusing on the mentoring function. Lithuania has scheduled a full transfer of its national capabilities from Ghor and the closure of Chaghcharan PRT mission to be completed till the end of 2013.
POC - PIO for the PRT-17 Capt Ainaras Jonaitis, cell phone no. 00370 699 36 793, e-mail: ainaras.jonaitis@mil.lt
Photos by the Joint Multinational Readiness Centre, JMRC.
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