Afghan army gets approval on first base

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, July 8 (UPI) -- A British mentoring team in Afghanistan has approved a new forward operating base built and operated by the Afghan National Army.

Forward Operating Base Attal, located in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province, received a seal of approval from the British troops acting as mentors in the region. Officials say Attal is the first forward operating base of its kind in Helmand designed, built, manned and patrolled by the Afghan National Army, the British Ministry of Defense reported.

British troops in the past have built the Afghan patrol bases and then turned over control to the Afghan army. Attal is the first Afghan National Army-led project designed, built and operated by Afghans. Officials are calling it a positive move in the direction of a self-sustaining army capable of protecting civilians from Taliban militants without extensive foreign involvement.

"In five days, under the constant threat of indirect fire attack, they built the infrastructure for the base, including a protected helicopter landing site, 218 yards of ballistic protection wall … and they did it to a very good standard," Capt. Rosco Wendover, British 23 Engineer Regiment, said in a statement.

"Mentoring the Afghan National Army is absolutely what we should be doing, and it's very rewarding to see the project finished."