An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | April 9, 2012

Afghanistan: Nebraska Air Guard members hand over nursing program to local Afghans

By Erika Stetson U.S. Forces Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - Two Nebraska Air National Guard officers are wrapping up the U.S. role in an Afghan military nurse training program in Kabul and handing the initiative over to coalition forces.

The program, which has graduated 100 nurses, has been "one of the most successful" for NATO's training mission at Kabul's Armed Forces Academy of Medical Science, said Air Force Lt. Col. Shawn Zembles, chief regional adviser with the training mission and a Nebraska Air Guard member.

He and a fellow Nebraska Air National Guard officer, Air Force 1st Lt. Nicole Hansen, are the last two in a series of Nebraska Army and Air Force National Guard officers who launched and then served as advisers to the program for the last two years. Canadian Forces already serving as AFAMS mentors now will take over the guard's role with the nursing program, which graduated its third class of students on April 3.

"The nursing program has actually been one of the most successful programs in AFAMS because for the most part they're self sufficient," Zembles said. "We have Afghans teaching Afghans. We have Afghans directing the program."

The program began after officials with the University of Nebraska, which has a Center for Afghan Studies and boasts a years-long interaction with the country, invited the state's National Guard to help improve Afghanistan's health system.

The Guard agreed to support the effort after a series of meetings, by bringing a condensed version of an 18-month military nurse training program to Afghanistan.

The first Nebraska Guard team arrived in Kabul in January 2010 for a program assessment, and decided to phase the training into the existing, multifaceted AFAMS medical training mission at the Kabul National Military Hospital.

Since then, Nebraska's Army and Air National Guard have deployed nursing experts in six-month rotations, bringing the training program up to its current level.

When the Guard first began working, Afghans performing many different jobs were being called nurses, Zembles said.

"Nurse ambulance driver, nurse barber – just about everyone in the hospital was being called nurse," he said. "We discovered there was no common understanding of that term. We called that role confusion."

Guard experts helped Afghan leaders define what professional role they wanted nurses to fill, assembled a series of skill requirements and began fine-tuning the training.

"We re-did the whole curriculum," Hansen said. "That included streamlining it to eliminate redundant or unnecessary material and standardizing the presentation and language over the entire course, which is a 12-month, compressed version of the 18-month U.S. military program."

The team also created a skills-lab process to give students hands-on experience.

"Before they were just lecturing," Hansen said. "We've helped them get assessment tools to use in the clinical area so they can assess how far the students are progressing each week."

She said she's seen the process move along well during her six-month deployment.

"I've really enjoyed working with the nursing program and the Afghans and seeing them take what we've given them and run with it," she said.

Zembles estimated work on the program involved combing through about 1.2 million words, including lectures, lesson plans, skills lab checklists and other materials.

He said mentors also developed validation and internal assessment tools for the program, including a tool to evaluate the readiness of potential regional expansion sites for training.

"The validation process took a long time because we looked at every lecture," Zembles said.

The validation and assessment tools collectively help ensure the program is sustainable as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization scales back its mentorship role for the program to an advisory one, he said.

"The nursing students that we've seen and the previous graduates are very highly praised - praised by leadership within the hospitals themselves – physicians," Zembles said, calling the students "extremely motivated."

 

 

Related Articles
Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief, National Guard Bureau, joins Gen. Fayyad Al-Ruwaili, chief of general staff, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces; Army Maj. Gen. Thomas Mancino, Oklahoma’s adjutant general; Army Brig. Gen. Lawrence Muennich, Indiana’s adjutant general, and senior enlisted leaders for a ceremony to formalize the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s entry into the 115-nation Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 21, 2025. Under the SPP, Indiana and Oklahoma National Guardsmen will train with Saudi Arabian Armed Forces counterparts to build collective readiness to enhance regional stability and advance global security.
U.S., Saudi Arabia Strengthen Ties Through State Partnership Program
By Master Sgt. Zach Sheely, | Aug. 22, 2025
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expanded its strategic ties with the United States by formally joining the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program, or SPP, during a ceremony...

Staff Sgt. Hannah Bentley, member of the Oklahoma National Guard wildland firefighting program, digs a handline during an operational readiness exercise at Camp Navajo, Arizona, Aug. 14, 2025. The operational readiness exercise tests the OKNG WLFF program members’ ability to activate, deploy and conduct wildland firefighting operations. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Anthony Jones)
Wildfire Response During Training Proves Oklahoma Guard Ready to Fight Fires
By Sgt. Anthony Jones, | Aug. 22, 2025
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Twelve Oklahoma National Guard members training in Arizona proved the Oklahoma National Guard’s wildland firefighting program is ready to respond to wildfires when they were called Aug. 15 to battle a...

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Harry Siegel and Sgt. 1st Class Nikolay Bashko talk with Metropolitan Police Department officers near Nationals Park, Aug. 19, 2025. The President of the United States uniquely commands the D.C. National Guard through the Secretary of Defense. Guard members were activated under the Joint Task Force–District of Columbia as part of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force to support District and federal partners in safeguarding property and ensuring the functions of government.
D.C. National Guard Supports Law Enforcement at Nationals Park
By Spc. Carrol Walter Hughes IV, | Aug. 22, 2025
WASHINGTON – Soldiers and Airmen assigned to Joint Task Force-District of Columbia walked the concourse of Nationals Park Aug. 19 as part of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force with an ongoing mission to support local law...