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Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Search Search: Chai and combat: French train Afghan army at frontline AFP - Tuesday, December 23 FORWARD BASE SAYED ABAD, Afghanistan (AFP) - - Tea breaks are sacrosanct in Afghanistan, but at the forward operating base in Sayed Abad outside the capital Kabul, they can be a matter of life and death. Each day, French military advisers meet with Afghan army officers at this outpost over a cup of traditional chai to plan joint NATO-Afghan military operations against Taliban insurgents active in the area. The command room where they congregate is nearly empty, with just a few mismatched chairs, a folding table and a wood-burning stove. The only thing on the soot-blackened walls is an ordnance survey map provided by the French. The 50,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) under NATO command, which is deployed here alongside a separate US-led coalition, hopes that meetings like these will help Kabul create an effective, autonomous army. "Many important things are decided, but not in a hurry," says one French lieutenant colonel, Jean-Bruno, who can only be identified by his first name according to military rules. "We are laying the cornerstone for something much bigger." The Afghan National Army currently has almost 70,000 soldiers, but the goal is to create a force of 130,000. International troops say they hope their training programmes will one day allow the ANA to fully defend its own soil. At Sayed Abad, located 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Kabul in Wardak province, several dozen US and Afghan soldiers live side-by-side with about 10 French military advisers. The French are deployed as part of an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT). Of France's nearly 3,000 soldiers in the country, 310 of them are acting as advisers to the ANA. The camp bears all the tell-tale signs of years of war. The courtyard is filled with vehicles riddled with bullet holes and the scars of rocket fire, their windows shattered. They used to patrol Highway One, the road between Kabul and Kandahar that has fallen prey to Taliban violence. On November 8, US guards opened fire on a suicide truck bomber heading for the camp. Windows were blown out and walls cracked across the camp by the massive blast, but, luckily, only two people were slightly injured. After 18 months of hard-fought effort here, ISAF has certified one kandak, or Afghan battalion -- which means it is officially ready to plan and carry out its own operations in concert with international forces. But Jean-Bruno, a member of the Third Naval Infantry Regiment based in the western French port of Vannes, says more progress is needed from the ANA. "What works well is how we conduct operations, the coordination between the forces to ensure there are no friendly fire incidents," he explains. "But when we walk into an ambush, we have to keep everyone calm in order to protect the civilian population -- this is not a given, and so we still need the OMLTs on the ground." Thierry, a French colonel working with the ANA here, also aired concerns. "What still is not coming together is the medium- and long-term planning, the management of ANA forces -- who sometimes disappear from their posts for personal reasons -- and a tendency to shoot blindly in combat," he says. Afghan General Abdul Razig, who commands the first brigade of the ANA's 201st Corps here, says his men are working "as a team, like brothers" with the French advisers, but admits training is not all the ANA needs. "My soldiers have very high morale, but they keep asking for better weapons and armoured vehicles," he says. Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Recommend this article Average (0 votes) Sign in to recommend this article » Most Recommended Stories » Related Articles: Asia Pacific China ready to use force on Somali piratesAFP - 40 minutes ago Road diversion trial at Woodlands Centre Road to be extendedChannel NewsAsia - 1 hour 1 minute ago Fiji expels New Zealand ambassadorAFP - 1 hour 11 minutes ago China pandas lift off for TaiwanAP - 1 hour 12 minutes ago China to make millions more eligible for poor relief: reportAFP - 1 hour 15 minutes ago Enlarge Photo Chai and combat: French train Afghan army at frontline Most Popular – Asia Pacific Viewed OECD forecast deepens gloom as world stocks slip Quake zone hero pig named China's animal of the year Tata gives Jaguar cash boost pending bail-out decision: FT Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine New Year's hangover? Take two eels and call me in the morning View Complete List » Search: Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular

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