Afghan army gets new academy

[October 23, 2013]  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The Afghan army will from now on train at a brand new academy modeled after a famous one in Britain and popularly dubbed "Sandhurst on the Sand" by British troops in Afghanistan.

The facility in Kabul was unveiled on Wednesday and will be inaugurated on Oct. 28.

Britain has been leading the effort to open the academy for aspiring Afghan officers.

Cadets will study for 42 weeks and the academy will train up to 1,350 male and 150 female students every year. The British military, which will be helping train the Afghans, says there were over 10,000 applicants for a slot of 270 students.

The academy will train Afghan military officers who will be part of the country's fledgling 350,000-strong security forces.

[Associated Press]

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