I am now three weeks an active duty sailor and have completed phase 2 of NATO pre deployment training in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The training covered the roles and organizational structure for the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, as well as methods to advise the Afghans on how to sustain their new government, military and police forces.
The org charts are absurd, NATO has their own language of acronyms, the Afghans are painfully slow to progress, security dangers are as prevalent as ever, if not more so due to troop reductions over the past few years… it was hard not to be a little discouraged by the training. The SMEs were all either very recently redeployed or brought out of theater for the training and still have to return to finish their tours, so the insights provided were also a little jaded. Plus, death by powerpoint for 10 hours a day for 10 days straight made the training that much worse.
But, in retrospect – even only a few hours removed – I am very thankful to have gone through the training as the learning curve when I get into theater will be far less steep and I will be met with some familiar faces.
Next stop, South Carolina to be issued gear and shoot guns.