Irish volunteer unit mentors Afghans

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Northern Irish Territorial Army soldiers have taken on a mentoring role in the volatile Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

The Territorial Army soldiers are from Imjin Company, 2nd Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment. The volunteer Irish soldiers have taken on an important role in mentoring troops from the Afghanistan National Army in Helmand province where the Taliban is waging its insurgency campaign, the British Ministry of Defense reported.

The mentoring unit represents the only all-Territorial Army company operating in Afghanistan and defense officials say the Imjin Company has been a vital asset in the ongoing improvement of the Afghan National Army.

While on patrol, the Imjin Company has also benefited from the Afghan soldiers' ability to more effectively relate to local citizens in small villages.

"The Afghanistan National Army's main role is the interaction with the locals," Cmdr Lt. Chris Turner, Imjin Company, 2nd Battalion the Royal Irish, said in a statement.

"They can see that they are being protected by the Afghan people. The Afghanistan National Army is extremely good at interacting with the locals and getting information from them that we could not get."