Eglin Airman helps give Afghans their own voice

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Patrick McKenna
  • AFCENT Combat Correspondent
CAMP STONE, Afghanistan --  Insurgents use misinformation in their quest to intimidate Afghan civilians and disrupt the progress coalition and Afghan forces have made in recent years.

Air Force Mobile Public Affairs Advisory Teams across Afghanistan teach Afghan soldiers and police officers the skills necessary to combat misinformation by getting the correct information out to the local population as quickly as possible.

"The goal of the MPAATs is to help the Afghanistan security forces public affairs officers become more productive communicators so they can tell the story of the successes of the ANSF," said Tom McCollum, director of Public Affairs Development and Training Directorate. "We do this by training them in staff coordination, planning, operations, photography, broadcasting and print journalism."

The MPAAT training in Afghanistan has evolved in recent years tailoring classes to meet the needs of the units they train while also becoming more convenient for Afghan leaders to get their troops access to the training they need.

"The training has come a long way," said Col. Abdul Ahmadi 606th Ansar Police Zone PAO. "It used to be we'd have to travel to Kabul to get it and that was difficult to do. Now, we are very happy to have mentors here locally to train our soldiers."

One of those mentors is Staff Sgt. Felicia Welch, who's deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is entering the second month of her deployment to the MPAAT at Camp Stone. She's been an Air Force broadcaster for eight years and said it's an honor to work and teach in a career field she's so passionate about.

"The Afghan professionals in public affairs are on the front line battling the insurgency for the hearts and minds of the Afghan people," Welch said. "What they're doing is showing through visual and written communication that the information they're getting from the insurgents is incorrect. They're spreading the truth about the security and stability throughout this region."

The MPAAT in Herat recognized the importance of not only training their Afghan students, but more importantly, teaching some to become trainers themselves so they'd be able to regenerate their own PA troops long after the coalition forces departed. The MPAAT was the first to initiate this "Train the Trainer" strategy in Afghanistan.

"Our Afghan professionals are capable of sustaining an educated PA corps. We've trained two trainers who are now doing all of the training for the ANA forces in the Herat region and we expect the ANP to have their own trainers by late spring."

Mentoring the new Afghan trainers gives Welch and her MPAAT teammates the opportunity to see the impact of their work first hand, both with the progress of the trainers, but also the eagerness with which the trainers are taking their new responsibilities.

"We're thankful to work shoulder to shoulder with the coalition trainers," said Master Sgt. Gulam Sakhi, 1st Brigade 207th Corps Headquarters Afghan National Army chief public affairs trainer. "It's our job to show our country the safety and security we have in place and the progress we've made as a country. After this training, I'll be able to do my job and also train others to do the job."