April 6 -7, 2009, Fort Polk, Louisiana
Contact: Andrew Strike, Department of Defense Liaison Officer
email: strikeap2@state.gov
Ten foreign press visited Fort Polk, Louisiana to cover soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division trianing to deploy to Afghanistan later this summer. Media interviewed soldiers and Afghan-American role-players who played the parts of villagers, tribal elders, and Afghan National Security Forces. Both Gen. Yarbrough, the Ft. Polk Commander, and Col. Drinkwine, who commands the 82nd's 4th Brigade Combat Team, stressed the crucial importance of such cultural and linguistic knowledge for the success of the mission in Afghanistan. The FPC media were the first to witness this training being carried out at the small unit level.
