Showing posts with label ANASF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ANASF. Show all posts

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Paper on SOF in Afghanistan

RAND Corporation has published a paper (121 pages, PDF) entitled Building Special Operations Partnerships in Afghanistan and Beyond, July 2015. The paper is extremely detailed and wrote by some long-term observers (and participants) of special operations forces in the Afghan War.
"Building the capacity of Afghan special operations forces (SOF) is a key goal of the United States and its coalition partners. In February and March of 2013, RAND analysts conducted extensive battlefield circulations in Afghanistan and visited multiple training sites for Afghan SOF. The mentors at these sites hailed from a variety of International Security Assistance Force contributing nations, including the United States, Lithuania, Romania, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom. This report summarizes key partnering practices across these international partners and presents findings from SOF partnership case studies in Iraq and Colombia. The goal is to identify best practices for SOF partnership that can benefit the development of the Afghan special operations capability. These best practices also have broader applicability for special operations partnerships beyond Afghanistan."
Building Special Operations Partnerships in Afghanistan and Beyond

Monday, November 17, 2014

Video - Afghan Commandos Helmand

NATO Channel TV has released a 5-minute news video about the 7th Commando Kandak at Camp Shorabak, Helmand province. The video discusses the heavy fighting in the northern districts of Helmand province (Sangin district) and capability of the commando kandak. View Afghan commandos respond to call of duty, NATO TV, posted on YouTube, November 13, 2014.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFsGn5QQ27c

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

ANASF Trains for Future after U.S. Exit

The Afghan National Army Special Forces (ANASF) are hopeful that they will be ready once the United States military finally leaves. While many of the U.S. SOF units have significantly trimmed down their force structure in Afghanistan - there is still an advisor capacity in country. This commitment will continue to scale back as time goes on. But the ANASF leadership is hopeful. Read more in "Afghan National Army trains to hold off Taliban after U.S. exit", The Washington Times, October 28, 2014.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Afghan Special Forces at Work in Panjwai District

The Afghan Army Special Forces are deeply involved in the progress being made in Panjwai district, Kandahar province. Panjwai has recently been an area where local uprisings against the Taliban have occurred. The ANASF are ideally suited to capitalize on this event and are working many lines of effort to solidify the gains made - not only in security but also in development and governance. Read about some of the benefits the ANASF bring to the community in "Afghan National Army special forces, villagers complete well project", DVIDS, March 22, 2013.

Monday, February 25, 2013

ANASF Integrates Women Into Force

The Afghan National Army Special Forces or ANASF is integrating women into its force. One of the greatest benefits of having ANASF women members is having a female who can segregate and question Afghan women during night rights by the special operations forces. Night raids conducted by Afghan and ISAF forces are generally disliked by the Afghan population. More important, it is culturally insensitive for Afghan men to talk with or question Afghan women. So the addition of women to the ANASF to help out during these night raids is a big plus.  Read more in "Afghan army trains women as special forces soldiers to fill vacuum when foreign troops leave", Fox News, February 14, 2013.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Village Shura in Afghanistan

Villagers and representatives from the Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army Commandos, and the Afghan Local Police conduct a shura in Pul-e Khumri district, Baghlan province, Afghanistan in February 2012.  (Photo credit CJSOTF-A Media Operations Center - Spc. Robin Davis).