Flying Dragons Support RC South

The 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) is also known as the "Flying Tigers". The Flying Tigers are located at Kandahar Air Field (KAF) and supports Regional Command South. They have multiple missions to include troop transport, re-positioning of equipment, resupply, MEDEVAC and more. They accomplish all of these missions at the same time that they are assisting in the retrograde of equipment and personnel in the transition to the Resolute Support mission. Learn more about this unit in Flying Dragon's adaptability valuable to RC-South, DVIDS, September 10, 2014. Photo by SSG Whitney Houston shows an Afghan National Army soldier aboard a CH-47F Chinook flying out of Kandahar Airfield.

SFAATs Train 205th Corps on Class IX Management

Photo of RC-South advisers checking "warlord" shipment
of class IX supplies for 205th Corps (photo CPL Mariah Best)

Security Force Assistance advisers working in Regional Command South are assisting and training their Afghan counterparts on how to manage and distribute class IX supplies from the 205th Corps down to the four brigades of the corps. The upcoming Afghan elections to be held in April 2014 are an important event. The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the electoral process with the intent of discrediting the election and the legitimacy of the newly elected president. The Afghan National Army, along with other elements of the Afghan National Security Force, will need to keep the Taliban at bay. To do this their equipment and vehicles need to be operating at a high state of readiness - and this is dependent on repair parts and supplies.

Unfortunately the class IX system for the Afghan National Army is broke. The push system provides parts from the national warehouse down to the corps and then the corps push these supplies down to the brigades. What is pushed is not what is usually needed. The established system for ordering parts that are required is not utilized effectively (despite many years of advisers trying to fix that). The end result is a glut of unneeded parts and supplies and a lack of critical items.

With the recent logistics training by the SFAATs in RC-South it is hoped that the class IX supply issue is alleviated. Read more in "ANSF and ISAF work logistics for upcoming elections", DVIDS, January 24, 2014. www.dvidshub.net/news/119602/ansf-and-isaf-work-logistics-upcoming-elections

U.S. Drawdown Proceeds as Afghan Forces Become More Competent

The Regional South Commander, MG Abrams, recently stated that U.S. troop levels in the south are going down as the ISAF forces move from joint operations with the Afghan National Security Forces to an advise and assist role (SFA). Read more in "U.S. Troops Advise Afghan Forces as Drawdown Proceeds", American Forces Press Service, March 13, 2013.