Sometimes I wonder if all we do is shoot ourselves in the foot. Having survived several RPG attacks and close calls, I just get nervous when I see photos of our troops training people how to use their weapons more accurately. I recognize that it’s a trust issue, but we also trained the Taliban back in the day against the Russians and look where we are now. It’s a major conflict within myself because I know WHY we’re doing it. It needs to be done. Afghans have to be able to defend themselves and we can’t expect them to do it with slingshots and bb guns. I just can’t help but wonder if we’re just training folks to kill us later.
With that said, I’m glad that the ANA is getting good training to defeat the real enemy right now – the Taliban. If they can’t stem the flow of combatants violating their sovereignty alone, we’ll never be able to leave. Firing an RPG aimlessly does no one any good. And we’re not just teaching them to shoot straight. Our trainers are teaching Afghans what the proper use of force looks like against targets and minimizing collateral damage.
An Afghan National Army soldier fires a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) during a live-fire operational training shoot at Joint Sustainment Academy Southwest, Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Aug. 24. Students in the Small Arms Weapons Instructors Course learn a range of different weapon systems, from as small as a 9 mm pistol to as large as the RPG, a shoulder-launched, anti-tank weapon.
