Ee Afghanistan Ast: Medical Logistics Mentoring in the Afghan National Army

摘要

As part of a joint medical logistics embedded training team (ETT), I spent a year in Afghanistan mentoring members of the Afghan National Army (ANA). Our 10-member team, which included 4 U.S. Soldiers, 4 U.S. Airmen, 1 Afghan civilian, and 1 ANA medical logistics officer, was assigned to the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A) Command Surgeon's Office in Kabul. The CSTC-A provides mentors to assist the Afghan Ministry of Defense in training, equipping, and employing Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) so that they can defeat insurgencies and provide security for the citizens of Afghanistan. Our mission was to facilitate the operation of the ANA Medical Stocks Command in order to ensure that its regional medical depots received proper health services materiel support, including materiel management, stock control, storage, shipping and receiving, and biomaintenance support. As mentors, we were there to train ANA personnel in the art of medical logistics so that one day they would be able to run the depots without assistance.