NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
July 15, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By Col. Randy Pullen, OMC-A Public Affairs Officer
Newest National Army Volunteer Center Opens in Sar-e-Pul
SAR-E-PUL, Afghanistan - "This area was a desert before building the NAVC," said Sal-e-Pul Province Governor Alahj Taaj Mohammad, "but today it is a productive place for the Afghan National Army."
Governor Mohammad made this comment at the grand opening of the National Army Volunteer Center (NAVC) in Sar-e-Pul, Afghanistan, on July 7.
The governor credited the change that came with the building of the NAVC to the Ministry of Defense and to the Office of Military Cooperation - Afghanistan. He also hoped that the Sar-e-Pul NAVC would be more productive than any other NAVC in the country.
Other dignitaries at the grand opening were Maj. Gen. Aziz Rahman, Commander of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Recruiting Command; Maj. Gen. Shahzada, Chief of the Ministry of Defense's Disaster Response Department; Brig. Gen. Mohammad Amin, also from the Ministry of Defense; Col. Gary Varney, Acting Chief, Office of Military Cooperation - Afghanistan (OMC-A); and a large number of local mullahs and elders.
Arriving at the NAVC site via helicopter, the Ministry of Defense and OMC-A official parties were greeted by the province's governor and were then welcomed in song by a group of local children, dressed in their finest clothes, who gave flowers to the arriving visitors after finishing their song.
Following this welcome, the ceremony participants gathered in a tent to begin the grand opening ceremony.
The ANA Recruiting Command commander praised the people of the province for fighting against the Soviet Army for the freedom of the country and then for helping the coalition forces drive out the Taliban. These achievements were recorded in the history of Afghanistan but there was more history to be made.
"Keeping the country and making it prosperous and safe is another challenge and another fight," Rahman said. "You must encourage young men to join the ANA and keep your province, and the whole of Afghanistan, safe from terrorists."
Varney from OMC-A listed a number of the achievements of the ANA:
He said that the ANA is providing security for voter registration and would also be providing security for the upcoming elections. The army will also be deployed around the country to take over security responsibilities from militia units as they are disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated.
Summing up his comments, Varney said that the soldiers of the ANA have proven themselves to be disciplined professionals, dedicated to protecting all of the peoples of Afghanistan and that it is an army that the young men of Sar-e-Pul will be proud to join "so they, too, can contribute to the peace and stability required for the rebuilding of Afghanistan."
Responding to the calls from the Ministry of Defense and OMC-A officials, Sar-e-Pul council member Mullah Karim said, "We support this process and promise that our youth will join the Afghan National Army and serve the people of Afghanistan."
Everyone then moved over to the front of the NAVC building where a ribbon was cut to open the facility, followed by the playing of the Afghan national anthem and the raising of the Afghan flag over the center.
NAVCs, like the newest one in Sar-e-Pul, are essential for the growth of the Afghan National Army, which has increased the number of soldiers in training simultaneously from two Kandaks (battalions) of 1,500 men to four Kandaks of 3,000 men. These newly trained soldiers will soon be based in areas such as Kandahar, Gardez, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat in the regional commands being established.
Another four NAVCs are scheduled to be opened in the next two months. The goal of the Afghan government is to have at least one NAVC in every province.
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