"The activity of the Italian instructors in addition to a concrete contribution in the planning phase of the operations, is showing its effects on the field, with the successes obtained by the National Army that led to the disarticulation of some terrorist cells and the dislocation of new advanced bases , useful for greater control of the territory". With these words, the commander of the 207 ° Afghan corps has commented on the consultancy activity in favor of the Afghan National Army's departments, carried out by a team of Italian military instructors in the district of Kushk-e Kohna, about 80 km north of Herat. The activity ended on 12 Friday and was intended to provide support to the Afghan military in the planning and command and control of a delicate operation to combat a terrorist cell.
Periodic Train Advise Assist (PTAA), is the acronym used to indicate the activities of training and assistance to the security forces, performed "at home" in areas distant from the base Camp Arena - home of the national contingent - that can not be carried out on a daily basis and then are organized periodically on the basis of the requests that the Afghan security forces address to the Italian instructors. These requests for consultancy, which exclude the employment of the Italian military in kinetic activities, coincide with the planning and conduct phases of the operational activities against the local insurgency.
The presence of a representative of the village leaders of the district during the PTAA also confirmed the approval and the sense of gratitude of the population for the work that the Afghan security forces are carrying out to counter the onset and guarantee a prosperous future at the whole country.
The work of the Italian advisors - which also includes the activities of PTAA - develops within the mission of Resolute Support (RS) with the main task of training, advising and assisting the army and the police which, although they have assumed responsibility for the safety of their country, they need to continue to benefit from those consultancy and assistance activities through which they can progress and become increasingly autonomous and effective for the function they cover.
