Day 254: Oath

OATH

a solemn appeal to a deity, or to some revered person or thing,
to witness one's determination to speak the truth, to keep a promise.

For the last several weeks the Afghan National Army has held training for new recruits here in Khowst on our base. I've had the distinct opportunity to assist in the mission readiness of these young soldiers in regards to first aid training and health maintenance. As a participant in their training, I was invited to witness an oath ceremony that the recruits participate in as a symbol of their dedication to the Afghan National Army and their allies.

The entire ceremony was in the Afghan dialect of Pashtu and was attended by several local dignitaries and high-ranking military officials. The ceremony started out with a prayer from the Koran that was sung by a soldier. After quick introductions of notable people in attendance, the oath ceremony was underway.


In front of the formation was a long table (see above) with a variety of Afghan Army weaponry (machine guns, grenade launchers, rockets). Each platoon (30-40 soldiers) marched up to the table, laid hands on a weapon (see below) and then recited, actually more like shouted, an oath of allegiance, in the presence of Allah, to the Afghan National Army. Not quite the "raise your right hand and repeat after me" approach to a military oath, but unique and frankly, pretty cool!

"Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."

II Timothy 2:3,4 NASB

Day 235: Shots

Today's Mission: Vaccinate 600 soldiers in 1 day, 4 vaccines per soldier = 2400 vaccines

This was a mission that I had discussed with my Afghan counterparts weeks ago and in great detail. My medics and I decided to pay them a visit 2 days prior to the proposed vaccination clinic day to see if they had hashed out a plan to administer the vaccines. Was there a plan? Of course not! So we huddled together and discussed a plan to run an efficient shot line, and we involved every Afghan medic we could find to prepare the vaccinations in syringes prior to vaccination day which was a total of 2400 vaccines.

Team ANA Preparing the Vaccines

Long story short, every Afghan medic in the clinic ensured that the vaccines were prepared and the clinic was ready for the soldiers. Talk about pulling together as a team. I think my US medics and I were way more panicked than the Afghan Army medics as 600 soldiers was a huge number for a small clinic staff to handle all at once. But, if they were not going to panic, then why should we? All doubts aside, on vaccination day we found that the ANA medics were ready for action with all vaccines drawn up and ready for swift administration.

BAM!!...Let's Get to Work!

ANA Medic Gul Rahman administering Oral Polio Vaccine

Mission Complete: All 608 ANA recruits were successfully vaccinated in a matter of 4 hours. Talk about a preventative medical team built on speed and efficiency. Strong work!

Day 231: RBWT

Every year we host approximately 600-650 recruits to Khowst as they are here for basic training. The official title of this training evolution is Regional Basic Warrior Training or RBWT. My role in all this is to coordinate the first aid training for the 600+ soldiers which was done in conjunction with my all-star Afghan medics. In the picture below, you see Mohammad Ayub, probably my best-trained medic, teaching the first aid class to the recruits. My US medics and I just hang in the back, and we provide teaching tips on request. The whole class was taught in Dari so I'm assuming that it was medical stuff they were talking about.


As I was watching the training class, with Ayub on a makeshift concrete platform for a stage and 600+ soldiers attentively gathered around him in a horseshoe formation...it reminded me of an outdoor church setting. The moment that I took the picture posted above, for a moment I realized how much I missed being in the calm serenity of a quiet Sabbath at church. Thankfully, the Lord has remained abundantly good on this deployment as I have had several avenues and opportunities to share my faith and encourage others through the study of the Bible. Initially, a lack of the formalized church experience had me worried...no lesson study, sermon, special music, song service...no POTLUCK :( but being out here made me realize that church isn't about the building or even fellow members...it's about a real, personal, life-altering relationship with a living God who wants his children to experience "church" all day, every day through communion with him.

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." II Timothy 4:2 NIV