At the base of Camp Arena in Herat, in the presence of numerous representatives of the local military and Coalition components, the inauguration ceremony of the new was held Afghan Special Security Forces Warfare Training Center (ASSFF - WTC) made by the Rangers of the 4th Alpine Parachute Regiment and by the Alpini of Taurinense currently at the helm of the Train Advise Assist Command West (TAAC W).
The ceremony was presided over by the commander of Resolute Support (RS), General John Nicholson, welcomed in Herat by General Rosario Castellano, deputy commander of the NATO mission, and by General Massimo Biagini the commander of the TAA W - Multinational NATO-led command and Italian-led joint forces operating in the West of Afghanistan.
General Nicola Zanelli - commander of the Joint Forces Command for Special Forces Operations (COFS) - present at the inauguration of the Warfare Training Center, was able to show General Nicholson the work done by Cleaning of the 4 ° engaged in the mission RS which advisors both special units of the police and special forces of the Afghan Army Through the execution of numerous tactical exercises carried out on the wall and in the indoor training areas of the complex, the students of the Afghan Special Forces showed the skills acquired during the last Mountain Warfare course - absolute excellence and the only one of its kind in Afghanistan - positively impressing the authorities present. The demonstration also saw the use of Italian NH 90 and A129 helicopters Mongoose.
The creation and professionalization of special forces in the field of Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) was, in 2017, a priority aspect for the Afghan government and for the RS mission, and in this sense the Italian contingent was able to make a decisive contribution to the training and assistance in operation to the special units Afghans located in the province of Herat, protagonists in recent months of numerous interventions of counter-terrorism, the release of hostages, the fight against drug trafficking and the seizures of weapons and drugs.
General Nicholson thanked the Italian contingent for the work done so far, underlining the level of training achieved by the Afghan special forces and - recalling the latest successes of the "expeditionay advisory packages" (EAP) in the western region in support of the forces' commands Afghan security officers engaged in operations to combat terrorist cells - encouraged the students of the ANDSF, among them also 2 policewomen, to continue their training process to be more and more effective in defending their country.
The realization of the indoor training complex and the artificial wall is derived from the interest that the Afghan Security Forces have long shown towards the operational capabilities of the mountain troops, particularly suitable for an environment with the orographic characteristics typical of the northern area of the province of Herat. Combat training in a mountain environment, carried out so far in some natural rock walls just a few km from Herat, was immediately considered essential to implement the operational capabilities of the ANDSF.
The training area, named after "1st chosen corporal Rosario Ponziani" - who fell in Afghanistan in 2009 - was created by TAAC W thanks to the experience of Cleaning of the 4th, will henceforth provide a wide range of elements useful for the individual and platoon training of Afghan units, also allowing effective and realistic indoor exercises with evident advantages both tactical and logistic for the forces in training.
The structure, also open to soldiers of the ordinary units of the Afghan army, will soon see the activation of the first course in Mountain Warfare Basic Skills, edited by the mountaineering instructors of the 2nd Alpine Regiment in favor of the specialized Kandak of the 207th Army Corps of the Afghan National Army.
In addition, short courses will be held in the center dedicated to tactical casualty care (TCCC) in which the Italian doctors of the Camp Arena hospital will train the western ANDSF units in first aid procedures and life-saving techniques. In summary, it will constitute a training center dedicated primarily to the Afghan special forces, also open to the specialized units of the ANDSF with Italian instructors.
