Showing posts with label generals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label generals. Show all posts

Sunday, July 23, 2017

New Commanding General for CSTC-A

U.S. Army Major General Robin Fontes is now the commander of the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A). She assumed command on July 15, 2017. Read some news reports on the new commander responsible for working with senior Afghan leadership in the security force assistance mission. The outgoing CSTC-A commander, MG Kaiser, says gender issues remains one of the biggest challenges but he believes progress will be made under MG Robin Fontes. The TwitterSphere is alive with robust statements about how the new commander is the highest ranking female general officer in Afghanistan.

"First Female Commanding General at Resolute Support, Afghanistan", DVIDS, July 15, 2017.

"New Commander is Highest-Ranking Woman Officer in Afghanistan", Military.com, July 16, 2017.


Monday, March 2, 2015

ISAF / RS General Officer Assignments

A number of general officers (with ties to ISAF or RS or SOF) have received new assignments according to a recent DoD news release (Feb 13, 2015).

MG Scott D. Berrier, currently the deputy chief of staff for Intelligence of the Resolute Support (and the Director of Essential Function 7 - Intelligence), will go to Fort Huachuca to be the commanding general/commandant for the Intel school and center.

MG Mark R. Quantock, deputy for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in Virginia goes to be the deputy chief of staff for Intelligence, Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan; and will likely become the Director of EF7.

MG James B. Linder, currently commander of Special Operations Command Africa, heads to Fort Bragg to command the USAJFKSWCS which, among other things, conducts Special Forces training.

BG Donald C. Bolduc - with many Special Forces deployments to Afghanistan - has been selected to be the commander of Special Operations Command Africa. He is currently deputy director for operations at U.S. Africa Command headquartered in Germany. (Fayetteville Observer, Feb 22, 2015).


Saturday, September 20, 2014

BG Vollmecke to be DCG CSTC-A

Brig. General Kirk F. Vollmecke will be assigned to be the Deputy Commanding General (DCG) of the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A). Read the DoD news release making the announcement.
www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=16942

Sunday, February 23, 2014

MG James McConville Promoted to LTG

MG James McConville - the commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and of Combined Joint Task Force - 101 (Regional Command East in Afghanistan) has been selected for promotion to the rank of LTG and assignment as deputy chief of staff, G-1, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. Read the news release in "General Officer Announcements", DoD Press Operations, February 18, 2014.

Friday, February 21, 2014

LTG Anderson (IJC Cdr) and His Good Buddy Abdul Raziq

The newly arrived ISAF Joint Command (IJC) commander LTG Joseph Anderson was recently photographed with a 'colorful' personality in Kandahar province  - Abdul Raziq. Raziq is the Provincial Chief of Police (PCoP) for Kandahar - and is also suspected by many to be a warlord with strong ties to drug smuggling, corruption, and other illicit activities. Major General Raziq started out as a militia leader in Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar along the Pakistan border. Read more in "US general criticised over photo-op with Afghan cop accused of human rights abuses", The Telegraph, February 20, 2014. (U.S. Army photo by SGT Antony S. Lee, ISAF RC South, Feb 11, 2014).

Thursday, February 20, 2014

General Officer Assignments (Afghanistan)

The Army chief of staff has announced some general officer assignments in a recent press release. A few of the assignments concern general officers moving into or out of assignments in Afghanistan. BG James E. Kraft, deputy commander of the Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan, will move to the Joint Special Operations Command, USASOC at Fort Bragg, NC. BG James Rainey, deputy commander of Regional Command South in Afghanistan, will become the commandant of the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA. (source "General Officer Assignments", DoD, February 14, 2014.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

BG Rothstein to Head NATO ATC-Afghanistan

Brig. Gen. Michael D. Rothstein, commander, 56th Fighter Wing, Air Education and Training Command, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., to commanding general, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Air Training Command-Afghanistan, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, and commander, 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, Air Combat Command, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Read the news release by the U.S. Department of Defense dated February 6, 2014 here.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Former DCOM CSTC-A to be Promoted (MG Michael Williamson)

Army MG Michael Williamson has been selected for appointment to the rank of Lieutenant General and assignment as military deputy/director, Army Acquisition Corps in Washington, D.C. He most recently served as deputy commanding general, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan. Read the news release "General Officer Announcement", U.S. Department of Defense, February 10, 2014.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

"A Closer Look: The Turning Point"

LTG Mark Milley, command of the ISAF Joint Command (IJC), is interviewed by Gail McCabe about Afghanistan. In this 16 minute-long video posted on YouTube on January 23, 2014 the general talks about a wide spectrum of topics about the Afghan War. Milley says that the ANSF achieved tactical overwatch against the Taliban this past (2013) fighting season but have much work to do at the ministry level in C2, training, combined arms integration, and logistics. He compares 2002 Afghanistan with 2014 Afghanistan and says there has been vast improvement in government institutions, medicine, education, and women's rights. He sees the greatest threats to Afghanistan in two forms. The first is the psychological uncertainly (in the absence of a Bilateral Security Agreement, NATO SOFA, and the Afghan elections) and the armed threat by the Enemies of Afghanistan (I guess we don't call them insurgents anymore!). He states that the ISAF mission has transitioned from combat operations to the use of advisors in Security Force Assistance or SFA. The interview is a a good overall picture of the current situation (with a tinge of optimism).
To view "A Closer Look: The Turning Point" click on the link below:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_cUSG4aFX8

ISAF General Officer Assignments

ISAF General Officer Assignments and Moves. The Army Chief of Staff has announced that the following general officer assignments will be made for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Leaving Afghanistan: MG James Richardson departs USFOR-A to command U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command. BG Christopher Ballard, DCoSINT ISAF departs to an Intel assignment in Korea. BG James Blackburn departs ISAF Joint Command (IJC) for 3rd ID.
Arriving Afghanistan: MG Jeff Smith departs Fort Knox to be deputy chief of staff for operations ISAF. BG Mark Schwartz departs USASOC Fort Bragg to be deputy commander, Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (SOJTF-A).

Press release here: www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=16500

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Special Forces Officer Assignments

Two Special Forces officers have received new assignments. MG Chris Haas and COL Kurt Sonntag have been picked for new positions - the announcement coming from the Chief of Staff of the Army (see link to news story below). MG Hass will be the Director of Force Management and Development at the U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. His previous assignments include commander of SOCAFRICA, CFSOCC-Afghanistan, and US Army Special Forces Command. COL Sonntag has been a long-time member of the Special Forces community and has been selected for the rank of brigadier general to be Deputy Commanding General of U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=16468

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

General Officer Assignments for Afghanistan

The DoD has announced several general officer assignments. A couple of them affect billets in Afghanistan.

MG Richard Longo, currently the director of Task Force 2010 and Commander of the Combined Joint Inter-Agency Task Force - Afghanistan, will be heading to U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army. MG Longo's bio can be read here on the ISAF website. Task Force 2010 and CJIATF-A have attempted to curb the rampart corruption that takes place in almost all aspects of Afghan life; to include the persistent covering up of corruption within the government by President Karzai. A thankless endeavor to be sure as little progress has been made on that front.

COL James Kraft has been selected for BG and will be assigned as Deputy Commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan (SOJTF-A). The SOJTF-A was formed up in 2012 and is headed by a two-star general officer. You can read more about SOJTF-A in a news article published August 19, 2012 in USA Today entitled "U.S., Afghan elite forces merge".  SOJTF-A oversees many different types of special operations to include the Village Stability Operations (VSO), Afghan Local Police (ALP), training of Afghan Commandos and Afghan Special Forces, conduct of kinetic operations, and advising many of the Afghan National Police Provincial Response Companys (PRC) and special police units.

You can view the press release here.
www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=15813