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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Training an Afghan Artillery Battery |
| 2005-08-04 |
| Afghan National Army soldiers recently conducted artillery live-fire training at the D-30 Howitzer range to improve their proficiency. More than 120 Afghan soldiers conducted two months of training to prepare for the annual range time. The D-30 Howitzer, which takes a crew of seven to fire, is a 3.5-ton weapon with a range of over 15,000 meters. It can fire seven to eight rounds per minute. Afghan Army Capt. Mohammed Mohsin Hamdard, artillery commander for the 4th Combat Support Kandak (Battalion), 3rd Brigade, of the ANA’s 201st Corps, said the range time gave his soldiers the opportunity to reinforce what they learned in school and strengthened their training. "Today, the soldiers are doing exercises to increase their level of readiness. They are improving what they already know," he said. "We are soldiers and we need to learn more about our profession and we want to learn modern technology..." Although the kandak’s primary mission is artillery, its soldiers are also used in support of many different missions throughout Afghanistan, such as presidential details and security patrols. "This kandak plays a large role in ensuring the stability and security of Afghanistan," said Marquart. "They are prepared to deploy to support their country at any time. This training gave them the opportunity to strengthen their skills." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #1 After they ran out of ammo the guys just didn't want to call it a day. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2005-08-04 00:16 |