Training police in Afghanistan

6 October 2010, 06:00 | Updated: 6 October 2010, 07:48

An Army officer from the Thames Valley has just begun his second tour of Afghanistan, where he is leading a team of soldiers responsible for training and mentoring Afghan policemen.

Lieutenant Colonel Adam Griffiths is a dad of three from Fernham, near Faringdon in Oxfordshire, but at the moment is based in the town of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province.

Lieutenant Colonel Griffiths is the Commanding Officer of his unit 5 SCOTS, an air assault infantry battalion, which has just been put in charge of training members of the Afghan National Police and bringing the force up to a good enough standard to take over security responsibilities currently carried out by British and NATO troops.

There are currently around 106,000 fully-trained Afghan National Policemen in Afghanistan and the aim is to reach a target of 134,000 by the end of 2011. 

Since joining the Army in 1991, Lt Col Griffiths has been to in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland.

He has also had jobs and conducted exercises in Canada, Kenya, the USA, Germany, Egypt, Poland, Belize and the Falkland Islands.

He explained:

“Our role in the PDATT is to oversee the development of the capacity and capability of the Afghan National Police. This task is critical to the future of the security of Helmand Province as well as the wider Afghanistan. The police must be able to function effectively on their own.

“I am looking forward to seeing, not only the numbers of policemen increasing, but also the quality and reputation of the Helmand police developing.”

Adam lives in Fernham with his wife Sara and three children: 14-year-old Charlott, 12-year-old Mimi and Archie who's 8-years-old.