Yavoriv, Ukraine - US paratrooper Gregory Crocker is giving a group of Ukrainian soldiers lesson one in dealing with an unexploded bomb: don't touch it until the experts arrive.
In a mock-up of a house rigged with explosives, the Ukrainian trainees set off alarms when they fiddle with the fake devices -- part of their preparation for fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east.
"Don't neutralise the bomb!" Crocker cries, debriefing them afterwards.
"But..." replies one of his trainees. "It's in the Ukrainian mentality to do just that."
The US 173rd Airborne Brigade started on April 20 training troops of the Ukrainian National Guard at this military base in western Ukraine.
Among the 300 US paratroopers and 900 members of Ukraine's National Guard in Operation Fearless Guardian, there is laughter and camaraderie -- but also language barriers and mutual cultural bafflement.
Ideas differ on everything from how to handle explosives to how to hold a gun.
"We get on well with the Americans. We train together, we eat together, we play sports together in the mornings," says one 32-year-old Ukrainian soldier, who gave his name as Dmytro.
The training is tricky, however, as few of the Ukrainians speak English. Some of those serving as interpreters at times struggle to make sense of the discussions.
"Yesterday we had our first day of training and it was really difficult, and now it is (still) difficult," said one of them, Artem Matza, a 19-year-old National Guard cadet.
"It is hard to understand the Americans because they speak so fast," he added.
"But I think that when we have had one week of training it will be simpler," he added. "We just need practice, that's all."
AFP
