Sunday, July 19, 2015

Afghan War News Snippets



Report on U.S. Military Suicides. Researchers have analyzed data that identify risk factors of enlisted Soldiers and officers (Medical News Today, Jul 10, 2015).

U.S. Cultural Imprint on Afghanistan. The Washington Post has an news story (June 28th) about America's cultural influence in Afghanistan.

New USASOC Commander. LTG Kenneth Tovo is the new commander of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) located at Fort Bragg, NC. Tovo is a former commander of Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A). Many of the units and personnel that comprise the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (SOJTF-A) come from USASOC. On another note, an article in the Small Wars Journal puts forth the argument that Special Forces lost much of its ability to conduct unconventional warfare due to constant deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq (SMJ, Jun 29, 2015).

New Deputy Commander of CSTC-A. MG Daniel Hughes has arrived at Resolute Support HQs to help lead the procurement effort of the MoD and MoI. (DVIDS, Jul 10, 2015).

3rd SFG Shifts from Afghanistan to Africa. The 3rd Special Forces Group, a unit with multiple deployments to Afghanistan, will shift its focus to Africa. (Fayetteville Observer, Jul 1, 2015).

COL Shoffner. The former commander of the ISAF Commander's Action Group (CAG) and the Security Force Assistance Fusion Cell has taken command of the the Fort Leavenworth garrison. COL Andy Shoffner served in Afghanistan in 2013-2014. Read more in "Fort Leavenworth Garrison welcomes new commander"Fort Leavenworth Lamp, June 11, 2015.

Fired Navy O-6 from Kandahar. A Navy medical officer was recently fired from his position as the XO of the NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit at KAF. (Navy Times, Jul 15, 2015).

Saving Mes Aynak. An important archaeological site in Logar province, Afghanistan - Mes Aynak - is threatened by a Chinese copper mine. Learn how a film might save the mountain top historical site.

Operation Red Wings - Ten Year Anniversary. In June 2005 a Navy SEAL mission in Afghanistan went badly. The Naval Special Warfare community remembers the sacrifice of the 19 fallen heroes. (DVIDS June 28, 2015).

CSTs. The new book by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon - Ashley's War -  has generated lots of buzz about the Cultural Support Teams or CSTs that were deployed with Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan. Recently George Washington University held a conference with 22 women who deployed on CSTs as part of a research effort to document their experiences. (DVIDS, Jul 17, 2015).

RS Video. Resolute Support HQs has published a short video featuring Gen Campbell on the Afghan parliament, gender advisor issues, and the SME program (for MoI). (ISAF Facebook, Jul 14, 2015).



No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.