AFGHANISTAN: U.S. Army gives medals to Afghan soldiers to boost morale.

While top officials in the U.S. look for new large-scale strategies to combat the
resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, a U.S. army commander hopes he's found a small way to improve the morale of the Afghan army: medals.

Army Maj. Brian Gary handed out medals to 30 soldiers from the Afghan army's 1st Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 207th Corps during a ceremony at Camp Zafar in the western province of Herat.

"The reasons we are decorating these soldiers are the same reasons we recognize U.S. soldiers: to build up their confidence [and] show them they achieved something," Gary told the American Forces Press Service.

U.S. soldiers say their Afghan colleagues conducted themselves well during a recent ambush.

"My truck was shot,  but we didn't lose our morale," said Afghan Sgt. Mahmood Mohammadi, a fuel truck driver.

Tony Perry, San Diego

Photo: Afghan soldiers. Credit: U.S. Department of Defense.

Comments

[Nathan O.]

Although the media constantly barrages the general public with a drilling amount of negative information, few hardly hear or see the little amount of good “things” that actually happen. Now this event may not be significant its something that general public should know about.