Written by U.S. Army Spc. Kimberly K. Menzies
Task Force Currahee Public Affairs
Paktika Province, Afghanistan – Two Afghan National Army soldiers began two weeks of hands-on training on generator maintenance from two Soldiers with 801st Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, at Forward Operating Base Boris March 14th.
The two ANA soldiers recently completed a power generation certification course and began their two weeks of scheduled additional hands-on training.
“We have learned lots of things,” said Mai Deen, the other ANA generator maintenance soldier. “We have learned things like how to properly change the oil and the oil filter and how to start and shut down the generators.”
The consensus is that the ANA soldiers have proven to be attentive learners and hard workers.
“We started showing them the basics of power generation maintenance,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Troy A. Boutin, generator shop noncommissioned officer in charge for Co. B, 801st BSB and native of Milledgeville, IL. “Later in the week, we will show them how to pull apart, fix and put back together a generator.”
“So far things are going very well,” said Boutin. “The ANA soldiers want to learn and are willing to work hard. These two are very quick, always asking the right questions.”
“It is important for me to learn this, so in the future we can be able to do it without help,” said Khan.
There are many jobs that make an army successful and both parties have a full understanding of the importance this training holds.
“We need to understand and learn all of this so we can better serve our country,” said Deen.
“This (training) is important because it will enable the ANA to maintain the power generators which will be another step in them being enabled to stand on their own,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Bradley D. Gosnell, maintenance shop foreman from Co. B., 801st BSB and native of Rushville, IN.
