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Monday, May 16, 2011

Afghanistan's 'Sandhurst in the sand' to bring square-bashing to Kabul (Guardian, 16 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Guardian, UK", 16 May 2011
Afghanistan's 'Sandhurst in the sand' to bring square-bashing to Kabul
Head of Afghan army wants officers to be trained at replica of college he hopes to build with support from Britain
Nick Hopkins in Kabul
The school is a cornerstone of the British military establishment – revered by those who survive it, feared by those who don't. But Sandhurst may soon have a rival in a rather unlikely place.
The head of the Afghan national army, General Sher Mohammad Karimi, wants to build a replica of the Royal Military Academy, which has been churning out officers for the British army since 1741.
General Karimi attended Sandhurst in Camberley, Surrey, in the 1960s and has never forgotten the experiences he had there. They would have included basic training on military tactics and leadership, as well as being bawled at by sergeant majors, boot polishing and square bashing.
So-called "beasting" which involves pushing cadets to their physical limits with a tough regime of cross-country runs, boxing and route marches, would also have been in operation. And this is exactly the sort of thing Karimi wants his own high-flyers to go through in an effort to bring Afghanistan's army up to scratch.
In Kabul the idea – dubbed "Sandhurst in the sand" – has already won the approval of American and British commanders with Isaf, the international security and assistance force. President Hamid Karzai now has to sign off the idea.
General William Caldwell, head of Isaf's army and police training, told the Guardian: "General Karimi would very much love to build Sandhurst in Afghanistan. I'm supporting him. He thinks so highly of Sandhurst, he would love to model it and build it here. I know the UK government is looking at it in terms of providing trainers to help if we were to do this."
Caldwell added that Karimi had returned to Sandhurst last month as a guest of honour and found the trip very moving.
Three Afghans have been training at Sandhurst over the past year, while another three are due to arrive soon.
"When he was there in 1967 you did a two-year course, not a one-year course," said Caldwell. "He thinks today's cadets have got it easy. When he was there he knew very little English, and had to study and study. He was the only trainee not from the UK."
During his recent visit to the UK Karimi praised the level of training at Sandhurst. He said: "[It] provides the ideal preparation for candidates to return to the Afghan national army as really good quality officers."
The school at Sandhurst was established in 1947, but the army has had a military academy since 1741.

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