In a briefing on Oct. 15, Caldwell cited the achievements of Turkey's
1,700-member contingent in Afghanistan, Middle East Newsline reported. The contingent, which included
medical support and military instructors, was preparing to train 500 Afghan
police cadets in Turkey.
"When you put an American soldier with an Afghan recruit, it is not the
same as when a Turkish soldier is next to an Afghan recruit," Caldwell said.
"That's just a tremendous difference. The Turkish people have more cultural
relationship with the Afghan people."
The Turkish assignment has sought to improve the logistics and medical
skills of the Afghan Army and police. During his visit to Turkey, Caldwell
reviewed the forthcoming six-month Afghan training course with the Turkish
Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry. In December 2010, a course for 500
Afghan recruits was scheduled to take place in the Turkish province of
Sivas.
In all, 27 Turkish instructors have been assigned to train an Afghan
police battalion, or 400 recruits. Officials said Turkey has been preparing
to increase manpower to enable the training of 900 Afghans per course at
Camp Gazi.
"We have made incredible progress over the last year," Caldwell said. "I
want to sustain that momentum into the next year."
ShareThis
