VOA标准英语2010年-French Foreign Legion Training Ugandan

More than 1,700 Ugandan Army troops scheduled to take part in peacekeeping operations in Somalia recently completed a training course taught by French Foreign Legion instructors¹. In Singo County, Uganda, the instructors are finding that turning the Ugandans into disciplined peacekeepers is no easy task.
 
It is graduation day of sorts for the Ugandan Army's Battle Group Five. The soldiers have just completed the first part of their training for a mission that is arguably one of the toughest and most dangerous in the world. 

In May, they're headed to Mogadishu, Somalia to replace another Ugandan contingent² serving there as part of the African Union's peacekeeping mission known as AMISOM.  Uganda's Army Chief, Lieutenant³ General Edward Katumba Wamala, reminded the new graduates that ignoring what they've learned could be costly⁴.  "How much you take to the skills and ready to employ them could determine whether you come back alive, you yourself, or whether the unit itself survives the mission or the mission, in totality, survives," he said.

For the past five weeks, French and Belgian instructors with the French Foreign Legion in Djibouti have drilled the Ugandans on military basics.

Other courses were tailored more toward peacekeeping, such as convoy⁵ protection and search missions for al-Qaida-linked militants⁶. Al-Shabab has waged a fierce three year-long war against AMISOM and the U.N.-backed government in Mogadishu. 

The Ugandans also learned about improvised⁷ explosive devices, or IEDs. They have become increasingly more sophisticated in Somalia, thanks to knowledge shared by militants in Iraq and Afghanistan.  

The French military has trained Ugandan peacekeepers since their first deployment⁸ in Somalia in early 2007.  Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Rouselle says the Ugandans have made significant progress toward becoming one of the top armed forces in Africa. "This army is very serious -- maybe not as European forces are professional.  It is not easy to compare.  But UPDF has good discipline and the soldiers and the officers are very willing," he said.

But in Mogadishu there are plenty of critics who complain that Ugandan troops in Somalia often lack discipline and blame them for hundreds of deaths. They say Ugandans rely too much on artillery⁹, tank and rocket fire to defend themselves. The Ugandans say such reports are wildly exaggerated.

Private military contractors¹⁰ from the United States will soon arrive to complete the Ugandans' training. The U.S., A.U. and European European count heavily on the Ugandans for the peacekeeping mission in Somalia. They make up half of the 5,300 member AMISOM force there.

 

1 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

2 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

3 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 convoy   

vt.护送，护卫，护航；n.护送；护送队

参考例句：

• The convoy was snowed up on the main road.护送队被大雪困在干路上了。
• Warships will accompany the convoy across the Atlantic.战舰将护送该船队过大西洋。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

8 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

9 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

10 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》