Somali soldiers finish US training course

[Deeq A.]

MOGADISHU (Caasimada Online)- Somalia’s especial forces known as Danab (Lightning) Advanced Infantry Battalion in the country have compeleted training course offered by US Soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division, based out of Ft. Drum, New York.

Lt. Chris Smith says it was the second year U.S. soldiers provided logistics training and equipment to Somali army forces in the capital of Mogadishu.

This training was aimed to assist building the logistics network of the country’s army forces.

He says “the training was a multi-faceted logistics course focused on beginner level logistics, we also talked about things like waste management all the way to pulling security”.

Smith added its forces tailored future exercises and in-depth training to what Somali Especial Forces “Danab” wanted to work on.

He also attributed how close his team and the Somali soldiers worked together to speed up war on Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab.

The U.S. provides training to the Danab battalion and provides logistical equipment, such as forklifts, tractors and fuel trucks, totaling roughly $6.5 million of heavy equipment.

The U.S.-lead training builds off of the ground work laid back in May 2017, when the 101st Airborne Division conducted the inaugural iteration of the course. During the 2017 training, the course graduated 60 Danab soldiers as logistics specialists.

This year, the course had 31 soldiers, but the length has more than tripled from four to 14 weeks, with a more intimate class size to dive deeper into the specific skill sets.

Caasimada Online
Mogadishu News Desk
Caasimada@live.com