(12 Dec 2002)
Kabul - 12 December 2002
1. Zoom out from Afghan army being trained by French troops to show destroyed war-torn building and mountains
2. Various of Afghan army battalion in training running outside the military academy
3. Ground level shot of same army battalion running
4. Wide of French officer giving orders through translator to Sixth Battalion Afghan Army recruits standing in front of their weapons
5. French officer talking to translator
6. Wide shot of Afghan training to learn how to fire a gun
7. Tight shot of same recruit having trouble with his rifle
8. Wide of Afghan soldier standing and taking aim without live ammunition
9. French soldier walks by to help him
10. French soldier walks by as two Afghan recruits pose taking aim with guns in the air
11. Various of French soldier giving orders to Afghan recruits
12. Afghan recruits on patrol outside of the military academy
13. French soldier talking to Afghan commander through translator
14. Tight shot of patch in colours of French flag
15. Set up shot of Colonel Bernard De Courreges D'Ustou
16. SOUNDBITE: (French) Colonel Bernard De Courreges D'Ustou, Commander of the French Military in Afghanistan:
"This new battalion is a battalion that will be trained in about ten weeks. And it is over all multi-ethnic, they are no longer just a Tajik battalion or a Pashtun battalion but they are an Afghan battalion which has both Pashtuns and Tajiks within it. So this battalion of the new Afghan army is multi-ethnic, equipped, and trained in service of the government and not in the service of a local chief."
17. French Light Armored Vehicle leaves the ISAF compound
Shakar Dara in the Shomali Plains 25 kms north of Kabul - Recent
18. French Light Armoured Vehicle driving through the Shomali Plains with mountains in the background
19. French soldier patrols the village of Shakar Dara
20. French soldier mobbed by village children who want chocolate
21. French soldiers and a French doctor enter the village clinic carrying a trunk full of medicines
22. Various of cartons of medicines destined for Afghan patients if needed
23. Various of French doctor giving a little child a medical exam
24. Pull up from severely dry hands of boy to his face
25. French soldier visiting with the local police in Shakar Dara
26. Soldiers walking through group of children
27. Wide of smiling children
STORYLINE:
As the cold weather bites down on Kabul on Thursday, Afghan army recruits spend another day being tutored by French soldiers.
The French and US military alike take turns training the recruits, many of whom are former mujahideen fighters.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai believes his country requires an army of 70,000 to ensure internal security.
The French military are involved in training some six hundred Afghan soldiers from the sixth battalion.
It is a basic ten week infantry and leadership course.
The French soldiers teaching the course say their students are eager to learn and, although many are experienced fighters, they lack the discipline of an organised military.
Colonel Bernard De Courreges D'Ustou, Commander of the French Military in Afghanistan, said that the key is to forge an multi ethnic army and therefore dilute the ethnic rivalries that have in destabilised the country in the past.
In addition to the training, French soldiers also patrol, maintain contact and assist in the security surrounding Kabul airport all the way out to the Shomali Plains.
French army doctors also routinely visit the villages administering to the sick and handing out medical supplies.
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