Language barrier hampers Afghan army training

While the Afghan National Army (ANA) has a continuing need for modern weapons and supplies, the more urgent priority for the service is language training, particularly in English, according to the second-in-charge officer of NATO's Joint Force Training Centre in Kabul.

The paucity of Afghan officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) with a passing knowledge of English "makes it difficult for NATO to even identify the most suitable candidates for language and technical training", said Brigadier General Ryszard Wisniewski, deputy director of the training centre, who added that many of the training, technical and operational manuals of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan - and all of NATO's - are in English.

The Polish official spoke from Kabul to reporters in Brussels during a 17 September video-conference at NATO headquarters.

Though not directly responsible for training, the Kabul centre co-ordinates ISAF training initiatives in support of the ANA. The centre works hand-in-hand with the US-led military post known as Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, which sponsors overall training and equipment programmes for the ANA's benefit. 180 of 585 words