By Majd Othman
KUWAIT: The US Army organized a visit for local media personnel to attend soldier training of the helicopter air assault school at Camp Buehring on Thursday, as part of a 'Day in the life of American soldiers in Kuwait' tour. The tour was led by 1st Lieutenant Austin May, Public Affairs Officer for the US Army (ASG-KU), while trainer SSG Fa'aumu Sekonaia of Mobile Training Teams (MTT) gave a statement explaining the air assault training phases.
"The solider training for the helicopter air assault school at Camp Buehring extends to 10 days, with Phase 0 for physical challenges, obstacle course and 4-mile run; Phase 1 for technical knowledge, different kinds of helicopters, weights and measurements, capabilities, how to set up a landing zone and hand signals for aircraft; Phase 2 is for sling load operations, moving cargo bags, water tanks and HMMWVs through air; and Phase 3 for rappelling down walls with and without weapons," Sekonaia said.
"Every month, our school teaches in a different country around the world, while Kuwait is the only country in the GCC area that hosts this training every year, as Kuwait is the center of so much of our regional activities," he said, pointing out this is the first training for the MTT in Kuwait since the COVID-19 pandemic.
May said this training is open for soldiers not just in the US army, but also in the air force and the navy. If they have a reason and are qualified for it, they can apply for it. The tour for media representatives included visiting a Christian chapel and an Islamic prayer tent that provide religious services with professionals of the different religions for people, a meditation room, which is a place for soldiers and workers at Camp Buehring to have quiet time, and an escape room, which it is a puzzle that teaches army sexual harassment/assault response and prevention.
Camp Buehring is designed and works primarily on training exercises and maintaining a large fleet of tanks, trucks, HMMWVs (Humvees) and related equipment for future conflicts or humanitarian disaster relief needs.