In the Alasaï Valley, some 50 kilometers east of Kabul in the Kapisa province, Afghan National Army, ANA, soldiers share three bases with the French Operational Mentor and Liaison Team, OMLT. The 1,500 OMLT trainers, from 20 countries, live with Afghan forces on the front lines with one common goal: to improve the skills of soldiers in the field, part of an effort to build up the army and the police force so that they can govern the country on their own. In the morning, ANA soldiers train and learn and in the afternoon they leave the base with nine French military soldiers, often to fight. The Alasaï Valley, which has one of the richest woodlands and some 200 people per square km that leaves troops vulnerable to attack, has acted as a stronghold for the Taliban and various allied insurgent groups for the past several years.



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