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ticipants specifically stated that having female instructors and a good gender balance in the group was empowering for their professional ambitions and potential future involvement in the security sector. This contributes to the wider aim of the British Army and HMG to promote diver- sity and acknowledge the significance of the role of women in achieving sustainable peace, in line with the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (UNSC Resolution 1325).
In conclusion, the adoption of a flexible and adaptable approach to course delivery, the selection of a diverse audience incorporating a range of skills and experience, and the creation of an open-ended learning environment through student-focused teaching methods are funda- mental to maximising the unique opportunities offered by specialist academic contributions to UK Defence Engagement.
Recommended reading
Jacobs, A & Rossi, N (2017) ‘Educating Con- flict Management and Practicing Peacebuilding: The Case of Lebanon’, E-International Relations, online available at www.e-ir.info/2017/12/09/ educating-conflict-management-and-practic- ing-peacebuilding-the-case-of-lebanon/.
Loes, C.N., Culver K.C. & Trolian, T.L. (2018). How Collaborative Learning Enhances Students’ Openness to Diversity, The Journal of Higher Education, Issue 89, volume 6, pp. 935-960.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), adopted on 31 October 2000, online available at http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/ view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/1325(2000)
Westwood, Peter (2018). Inclusive and Adaptive Teaching. Meeting the Challenge of Diversity in the Classroom. Routledge: New York.
An Afghan Adventure: Two Years’ Mentoring at ANAOA
Dr Gregory Fremont-Barnes
Senior Lecturer, Department of War Studies, RMAS
Since the Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA) opened just west of Kabul in
October 2013, it has trained thou-
sands of cadets from across all
ethnicities and regions, preparing
them for operational service in the
war against the Taliban, which still
threatens Afghan security to this
day. The end of our combat role in
Afghanistan in December 2014 did not coincide with peace in that troubled country and conse- quently the Afghan government and its people rightly deserve our continued help and support. Part of this effort involves a small number of us from Faraday Hall playing a role in NATO’s sub- stantial commitment to Afghanistan’s security and stability in the form of Operation TORAL, a mission involving thousands of military and civil- ian personnel deployed in and around Kabul to train, advise and assist the Afghan govern- ment and the nation’s armed forces. Spe-
...preparing them for operational service in the war against the Taliban...
cifically, Sandhurst has for over five years deployed a handful of academ- ics in the capacity of mentors to their counterparts at ANAOA, whose three departments embrace many of the same basic themes and objectives of our own War Studies, Defence and International Affairs, and Communica- tion and Applied Behavioural Science. Academic Mentors, past and present,
make their home at Camp Qargha, a NATO con- tingency operating base situated a short dis- tance from ANAOA, headed by a Chief Mentor of one-star rank drawn from the British Army.
Divided between two tours over the course of 26 months in theatre, my role involved advising the ANAOA academic staff, respecting their presen- tational style, lecture content, course develop- ment and other matters relating to the delivery of material on a range of subjects, including Afghan military history, defence policy, negotiation and
78 ACADEMICS