CAMP MAIWAND, Afghanistan — U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Samuel Caffrey, a Hastings, Pa., native and an armament repairer with Company B, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, trained Afghan national-army soldiers April 16 on how to disassemble and reassemble the M4 and M16 rifle, the M249 squad automatic weapon and the M240B machine gun at Camp Maiwand, Afghanistan.
The training is one of the many ways Company B, in conjunction with U.S. Army Security Forces Advise and Assist Team 1, with 4th IBCT, is assisting the Afghan national army.
Over a period of three days, Caffrey trained the Afghan soldiers on how to break down and care for weapon systems so they can operate them more efficiently.
“The main thing is they know how to operate these weapons, and they can take that knowledge to take care of their own,” Caffrey said.
His lesson plan included hands-on training that allowed ANA soldiers to break down the weapons to a level they hadn’t done before.
“This training is much more in-depth than we have had,” said Shafiullah Armani, an infantryman with the ANA 5th Kandak, 4th Brigade, 203rd Corps. “I want to learn this so I can teach my friends.”
U.S. Army Capt. John Rawlinson, a native of Kingsville, Texas, and the executive officer of Security Force Assistance Advisory Teams 1, has been actively engaged with assisting the ANA for the past two months and has seen the progress ANA soldiers have made.
“They have never seen the weapons broken down to this level, and they are eager to learn,” he said.