DEFENCE MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by Ministerial Support and Public Affairs, Department of Defence, Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6127 1999, Fax: 02 6265 1545
MSPA 005/10
Tuesday, 05 January 2010
COMBINED PLANNING LEADS TO AFGHAN SUCCESS
The 2nd Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-2) has taken another step
towards cementing its mentoring
relationship with the Afghan National Army
recently.
Key personnel from the ANA’s 4th Brigade met with members of MRTF-2 for a
series of combined planning groups for an upcoming operation.
MRTF-2 Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Hocking said combined
planning is central to the effective mentoring and development of the ANA.
“We are building on the strong foundations we have already established with the
ANA at the tactical level with our respective Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams
and the numerous
successful mentored
operations we have conducted,” said
Lieutenant Colonel Hocking.
“At Battle Group level it has been good to openly discuss our concerns about a
particular area based on intelligence and look at different ways of together addressing
those concerns.”
Lieutenant Colonel
Hocking found the challenges of combined planning were far
outweighed by the benefits of a shared understanding of how the civilian population
was affected by insurgent fighters and how to disrupt this influence.
“Obviously having a good interpreter is essential for facilitating joint planning. Using
two different languages to exchange information takes four times longer to discuss
things. This challenge is significantly offset by the delivery of a robust plan,” he said.
4th Brigade Operations Officer, Colonel Abdul Qahar, was thankful for the combined
planning opportunities.
Commanding Officer of the 4th Kandak, Lieutenant Colonel Shur Mohammed, said
he enjoyed being involved in planning.
“We like doing this with our Australian mentors, they are good,” said Lieutenant
Colonel Mohammed.
Lieutenant Colonel Hocking was able to back brief Brigadier General
Abdul
Hamid
on the concept of a planned operation after initially meeting with his staff.
“I think this operation will be good for the area and the people of Afghanistan,” said
Brigadier General Hamid.
Media note: Imagery is available at:
Media contact: Defence Media Liaison: (02) 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664
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