Showing posts with label biography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biography. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

CSTC-A Has New Commander

The Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A) conducted a change of command ceremony on October 4, 2014. The outgoing commander, MG Kevin Wendel, passed the baton to the incoming commander, MG Todd Semonite. CSTC-A is responsible for training, advising, and assisting (SFA) the Afghan national security organizations as part of the current ISAF mission and upcoming Resolute Support mission. (Source "CSTC-A welcomes new commander", ISAF NewsI, October 4, 2014.) Read more about Major General Todd T. Semonite in this biography posted on the website of the US Army Corps of Engineers. In looking at his biography it doesn't appear he has a previous tour in Afghanistan. Hmmmm . . . I wonder if that makes a difference? If he hasn't been to the wonderful country of sand and corruption then his staff will have to school him up on some basic stuff - like what the difference is between and "Afghan" and "Afghani".

Friday, October 3, 2014

Profile - BG Simon Hetherington (Canada)

The director of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) CJ7 is BG Simon Hetherington - a Canadian officer on an exchange program with the XVIII Airborne Corps based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina and now deployed to Afghanistan. NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan (NTM-A) has been folded into the ISAF CJ7. Although Canada has pulled out all of its troops there is still the occasional staff officer found working at ISAF headquarters and at one or two of the Regional Commands.

Canada was part of the Afghan War from the very beginning. It's commitment began with the deployment of CANSOF (Joint Task Force 2) working with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A) in 2002 to the significant troop deployments in Kandahar province throughout the past decade. Read more in "Handful of Canadian Forces officers till on duty in Afghanistan", Canada.com, September 25, 2014.