Europe
US airmen help train Tonga troops for upcoming Afghanistan deployment
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Stars and Stripes April 17, 2013
Adam L. Mathis mathis.adam@stripes.com
Stars and Stripes April 17, 2013
Pvt. Fatafehi Tokomaata with the 6th Contingent of the Tonga Defense Services listens as U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Bieu with the U.S. 100th Security Forces Squadron from RAF Mildenhall talks about what to do after encountering an improvised explosive device during training at RAF Honington on April 15, 2013. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
Pvt. Fatafehi Tokomaata with the 6th Contingent of the Tonga Defense Services listens as U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Bieu with the U.S. 100th Security Forces Squadron from RAF Mildenhall talks about what to do after encountering an improvised explosive device during training at RAF Honington on April 15, 2013. (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. John Houston with the 100th Security Forces Squadron from RAF Mildenhall, closes a training session on military dog familiarization with members of the 6th Contingent of the Tonga Defense Services at RAF Honington on April 15, 2013. The sixth group of Tongans to go to Afghanistan, they will deploy to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan and assist British and U.S. forces with base security. Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes ()
Pvt. Paula Fonoifua with the Tonga Defense Services' 6th Contingent, looks through an Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight during a class taught by U.S. airmen at RAF Honington on April 15, 2013. The airmen helped trained the Tongans at the request of the British military, who are putting the Tongans through eight weeks of training before they deploy to Afghanistan. Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
Staff Sgt. Christopher Bieu with the 100th Security Forces Squadron waits with a military working dog, Vvonya, before starting a hands-on portion of training with the Tonga Defense Services' 6th Contingent. The Tongans, who are deploying to Afghanistan soon, needed a familiarization course on working with military dogs for providing security at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. airmen trained members of the 6th Contingent of the Tonga Defense Services how to use an Advanced Combat Optic Gunsight at RAF Honington on April 15, 2013. The sight mounts to the top of a weapon and provides magnification and a small red triangle to assist with aiming. Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
Cpl. Samuela Fifita with the 6th Contingent of the Tonga Defense Services, raises his hand to bring the unit to a stop during military dog familiarization training at RAF Honington on April 15. The 6th Contingent is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan after completing an eight week course of training with the British military. Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes (Adam L. Mathis/Stars and Stripes)
RAF HONINGTON, England – The instructor asked his students if anyone had ever used a .50 caliber machine gun. The students’ commander answered, saying that kind of expertise was out of their price range.
“We have [.50 calibers] in Tonga, but we can’t afford to fire just one bullet,” said Cmdr. John Ulakai, commander of the 6th Contingent of the Tonga Defense Service.
His comment underscored why the 55 Tongans are training at this British air base about 75 miles northeast of London.
The tiny south Pacific archipelago is one of the 50 nations participating in the 100,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Tonga first sent a 55-member unit to Afghanistan in 2010, as part of a deal struck with Britain, which assumed primary responsibility for training the troops and the cost of deployment. The Tongan unit provides perimeter security at Camp Bastion, the sprawling British base in Helmand province.
Tonga, an impoverished nation of barely 100,000 people, has an economy largely dependent on remittances from Tongans working abroad.
The Americans are also contributing to the training. U.S. airmen from RAF Mildenhall came to provide an evening of familiarization training. They showed the Tongan soldiers how to use a night-vision monocle used by U.S. forces, and how to use an aiming scope, the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, with their weapons. They also trained the Tongans on aspects of working with military dogs.
Ulakai said the training gave them more familiarization with military equipment in use in Afghanistan.
“It’s good to see what the Americans used, because we never know what kind (of equipment) we are going to have when we arrive there,” Ulakai said.
The Tongans must first complete eight weeks of training with the British military since they will be working alongside British forces in Afghanistan, said RAF Sgt. Karl Scott, who is assigned to help train the Tongans.
The training, which includes infantry skills and combat first aid, is designed to bring the Tongans up to the British military standards.
“Certainly in terms of shooting, that is one area where I’ve seen an improvement over the weeks they’ve been with us because it wasn’t that brilliant to start with,” Scott said.
The British have provided the Tongans with supplies and gear, and will transport the troops to Afghanistan.
Tonga’s contingent is one of the smallest in ISAF because the country’s entire defense force consists of less than 500 troops. A number of other countries with tiny militaries have deployed units of similar size to Afghanistan, including Luxembourg, Mongolia, Montenegro and Singapore.
The Tongan guards saw action in one of the fiercest clashes of the war in September, 2012, when Taliban commandos managed to infiltrate Camp Bastion. In the ensuing firefight they killed two U.S. Marines, wounded eight other troops and destroyed or heavily damage eight Harrier jets - the greatest single-day loss of U.S. aircraft since the Vietnam War.
Ulakai was uncertain of their departure date, but said he believed they may start their six-month deployment in May.