Afghan War Blog Snippets

Ford Pickups - Right Country; Wrong Paint Job. Last month (May 2017) a freelance journalist took a photograph of Ford Ranger pickup trucks with the Afghan National Army's (ANA) logo on them. A lot of speculation occurred in the media on how that could happen. Rumors about corrupt Afghan officials selling them, to cross-wires on shipment orders, and other conspiracy theories soon were abundant. The U.S. DoD did a little investigation and found that the pickup trucks did arrive at the right destination - but just with the wrong paint job. The Iraqi MoD decided not to paint over the ANA logo . . . it seems. Read "Mistaken paint jobs blamed after dozens of U.S.-funded trucks surface in Iraq with Afghan logos", The Washington Post, June 14, 2017.

'Insider Attack' Victim Speaks Out. Webster Shipley, a civilian project engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, talks about the insider attack on August 5, 2014 at Kabul's Camp Qargha where he was shot twice by an Afghan soldier. Read "Victim of insider attack says US must remain committed to Afghanistan", Stars & Stripes, June 16, 2017.

Guam's 368th MP Company Completing Tour. The U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from Guam's military police company will soon complete their 9-month tour. They performed two different missions while in Afghanistan. One was a customs mission on Bagram and Kandahar Airfields and the other was a protective detail for COM RS. See "A long way from home: Guam sentinels serve in Afghanistan", DVIDS, June 12, 2017.

Report by Stability Journal on NGO's in Afghanistan. Stability: International Journal of Security & Development has published a research article entitled "NGO Presence and Activity in Afghanistan, 2000-2014: A Provincial-Level Dataset", June 13, 2017.
www.stabilityjournal.org/articles/10.5334/sta.497/

Report by Conciliation Resources on Peace. Conciliation Resources is an independent international organization based in London that works in the conflict field attempting to prevent violence, resolve conflicts, and promote peaceful societies. It has published a new 2-page report (June 2017) entitled Processing peace in Afghanistan.
www.c-r.org/resources/processing-peace-afghanistan

Afghan Interpreter Joins the USMC. Mohammad Nadir worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Marines in Helmand province for three years. Now he is serving in the U.S. military. Read "Afghan interpreter fulfills dream of becoming a U.S. Marine", Marine Corps Times, June 13, 2017.

Jail Time for 219th Corps Leaders. The 209th Corps military court found 34 Army personnel guilty of negligence in relation to the Camp Shaheen attack that left over 100 ANA soldiers dead. Read "34 Army Personnel Get Jail Terms Over Shaheen Corps Attack", Tolo News, June 14, 2017.

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