Afghan War Blog

Sunday, October 5, 2014

First Afghan A-29 Super Tucano Delivered to Moody AFB

The United States invaded Afghanistan the the fall of 2001 (13 years ago) and within months found itself in a counterinsurgency fight. It is a doctrinal truth that the best counterinsurgency forces are those from the host nation - the country where the insurgency is taking place. In this case - that is the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). One important aspect of countering an insurgency is having an aerial platform that can deliver effective close air support for troops in contact with insurgents. Currently the Afghan Air Force (AAF) has about six CAS aircraft. These six aircraft, of which at any given time only 2 to 3 can fly, are the aged Mi-35 HIND Attack Helicopter. It is estimated that the service life of these helicopters ends at the end of 2015. So after 13 years the Afghans still do not have an effective aerial COIN platform in sufficient numbers with which to provide close air support. Does anyone see anything wrong with this picture?

The first close air support aircraft that the Afghans will be able to use is still a year or two away from being fielded. In September 2014 the first A-29 Super Tucano (1st of 20) was delivered to Moody Air Force Base in preparation for the Afghanistan pilot and maintenance training mission. The A-29 is a light air support aircraft that the Afghans desperately need now and could have used several years ago; long before the U.S. air support got withdrawn. Read more in "A-29 Super Tucano arrives at Moody AFB", U.S. Air Force news release, September 26, 2014.

Afghan MD 530F Aircraft Contract

Photo by TSgt Quinton Russ USAF

It looks like the Afghan Air Force will be getting a bit of an upgrade. A contract was recently awarded to MD Helicopters, Inc. for $44 million for work on seventeen MD 530F helicopters. The MD 530F is used primarily for helicopter pilot instruction at Shindand Air Field in western Afghanistan. However, it appears some weapons systems will be put on the aircraft as well. That makes sense since the Afghans have very little close air support capability. Their Mi-35s (all six of them of which 1-3 are usually down for maintenance) are reaching the end of their service life and the Super Tucanos won't be up and running until sometime in 2016.

Read the contract specifications for the MD 530F in the text below taken from www.defense.gov/Contracts/Contract.aspx?ContractID=5388.

"MD Helicopters, Inc., Mesa, Arizona was awarded a not to exceed $44,200,000 firm-fixed-price, foreign military sales (Afghanistan) undefinitized contract action for the integration, testing, procurement, modification and installation of a weapon system onto the seventeen MD 530F aircraft. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona with an estimated completion date of Sept. 29, 2015. One bid was solicited with one received. Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $21,658,000 are being obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-14-C-0081)."

BSA Made Simple

There has been lots of conversation in the media about the Bilateral Security Agreement being signed (and, oh by the way, something called the NATO SOFA). But, other than knowing that the agreement allows us to keep up to 10,000 U.S. troops in the country for another year, most people would be hard-pressed to explain the fine details of the arrangement. So . . . read all about it in "Explainer: Key Points in U.S.-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement", Radio Free Europe, September 30, 2014.

Paper - Women, Peace, and Security (EDP Sep 14)

The non-governmental organization known as Equality for Peace and Democracy (EDP) (www.epd-afg.org) has published a paper entitled "Women, Peace, and Security in Afghanistan: Looking Back to move Forward". The paper, published in September 2014, revisits the Peace Process Roadmap to 2015 from the High Peace Council as a means of looking back in order to determine how to move forward. The paper outlines the major challenges to women's involvement in peace and security. The Equality for Peace and Democracy organization " . . . recommends that the political, international and civil society actors focus on mechanisms that allow for a greater grassroots contribution to the peace process". Read an Executive Summary of the report . . . and read the report online or download at ReliefWeb.

Afghan Interpreters Still Wait for VISAs

The State Department seems to be still having some difficulty in the issuing of visas to Afghans who worked for the military over the past decade. Although state did a better job in 2014 than in previous years there still is a backlog of interpreters waiting on their visas. In years past the State Department did a horrible job. "In 2009, the Afghan Allies Protection Act allocated 7,500 visas for Afghans employed by the US government, the majority as military interpreters. But, by 2011, the US embassy in Kabul had not processed a single visa". (Quote is from news article linked to below). Many interpreters who filed an application for a visa were denied because they were "blacklisted". One could get blacklisted for a number of minor reasons. Read more in "Afghan interpreters demand promised US visas", Yahoo.com, October 1, 2014.

ISIS in Afghanistan

Observers are carefully watching the international moves that the Islamic State (or ISIS or ISIL) is making in regards to Afghanistan (and Pakistan). Read more in "ISIS Makes Inroads in Afghanistan, Pakistan", Foreign Policy, September 30, 2014.

U.S. Hands over FOB Lightning to Afghans

FOB Lightning in Gardez now belongs to the Afghans. Lightning, located adjacent to the home of the 203rd ANA Corps, is also the home to Train Advise and Assist Command (TAAC) Southeast. Read more in "Americans Hand Over Base Keys to Afghan Military", The Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2014.

ANA Soldiers Missing in U.S. Now Detained

The three Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers who went missing during a training event at Camp Edwards, Cape Cod have been found. They were stopped by Canadian border authorities when the three attempted to cross a bridge leading to Canada. Two of the three spent at least eight months in the United States in a training school on a military base. It seems their ability to soak up the culture during that time frame was limited. The three paid $1,600 to take a taxi from Cape Cod to Niagara Falls. A quick online search at Greyhound would show that individual bus tickets were only $137.50 each. But then . . . how many American Soldiers know how to go to the Kabul bus station to catch a ride to Kandahar? (not recommended by the way!). Read more in "Afghan soldiers who fled Cape feared death at home", The Boston Globe, October 1, 2014.

Retrograde Opns - 4th Sustainment Bde at Work

Soldiers from the 4th Sustainment Brigade are now working at Bagram Air Field (BAF). They are based at Fort Hood, Texas when not deployed. Their mission is to provide sustainment and retrograde support throughout Afghanistan. A part of their mission is the tearing down of old buildings, B-huts, and tents on BAF. Read more in "Wranglers take the reins in Afghanistan", Fort Hood Herald, October 1, 2014.

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Saturday, October 4, 2014

Afghan Tactical Air Coordinator's Course

The Afghan Tactical Air Coordinator (ATAC) course has been graduating ANA soldiers who can do live vectoring and talk-on coordination with close air support aircraft. The main program of instruction includes classes on special equipment required by an ATAC, map and communication skills, aircraft capabilities, surface-to-air threats for the aircraft, and other considerations for air support. Read about the recent graduation from a 15-day long ATAC course in Laghman province, Afghanistan in "Afghan soldiers graduate from ATAC school", DVIDS, September 26, 2014. (Photo by MAJ Josh Jacques, Combined Joint Task Force 10, FOB Gamberi, September 21, 2014.)

Afghanistan: How Soon Should We Leave?

Now that the Bilateral Security Agreement is signed the worry about having to go to the "zero option" goes away - as well as the concerns of how Afghanistan would go it alone without the help of the international community. The next big question is how soon should we leave? Republicans are asking President Obama to reconsider his withdrawal plan. The example of the escalation of violence in Iraq has many pointing out that the same can happen in Afghanistan if we leave too soon. Current plans are to have the troop levels down to 9,800 by the end of 2014. Those troops that remain will conduct the Security Force Assistance mission and counterterrorism operations. Read more on this topic in "Afghan deal rekindles questions on how soon US should exit", Stars and Stripes, October 1, 2014.

Lanmark Technologies Gets $12M JIEDDO Contract

Lanmark Technologies, Inc. has been awarded a $12 million contract to provide JIEDDO deployable ORSA expertise in support of C-IED operations overseas. The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) leads DoD actions to rapidly provide counter-Improvised Explosive Device capabilities in support of overseas commanders and to enable the defeat of the IED as a weapon of strategic influence. LMT provides a wide range of services to the defense department.

"Landmark Technologies, Inc., Vienna, Virginia, is being awarded a $12,467,465 time-and-materials contract for J9 Operations Research System Analysis support services. The J-9 ORSA will provide rapidly deployable ORSA expertise in all aspects of counter-improvised explosive device operations to support U.S. forces within and outside of the continental United States. Landmark Technologies, Inc., will perform support services at the primary location in Reston, Virginia, and overseas locations. If all options are exercised, work is expected to be completed by October 2017. Fiscal 2014 overseas contingency operations funds in the amount of $4,000,000 are being obligated at award. This contract was competitively procured, with 10 bids received. The contracting activity is the Joint IED Defeat Organization Contract Operations, Arlington Virginia (HQ0682-14-C-0006)."

www.defense.gov/Contracts/Contract.aspx?ContractID=5386

AAF Receives 3rd C-130

The Afghan Air Force (AAF) has received delivery of its third C-130 cargo aircraft. The AAF has had a troubled past - stories of drug running, poor maintenance, untrained personnel taint the gains the AAF have made in recent years. Many observers question why the Afghans are getting the C-130s. The Afghans could not get the smaller, less complicated, and easier to maintain C-27A's to fly (the C-27As are currently sitting on the ramp at Kabul Airport and are slowly being dismantled). Read more in "Gift Horses: Afghanistan's C-130 Fleet", Defense Industry Daily, September 28, 2014. View a ISAF HQ Public Affairs video (DVIDS) on the delivery of C-130s in October 2013 here.

Our Afghans Have Gone AWOL Again

Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army officers rarely get the chance to travel. Very few are offered the opportunity to travel to Europe or the United States as part of a training program of educational course of instruction. Not all of them return to Afghanistan as they tend to go "missing". For instance, an ANA colonel with the Ministry of Defense delegation to the NATO conference recently held in Wales went missing - and very quickly asked for asylum. Afghan groups going to the Joint Forces Training Center (JFTC) in Poland or the Joint Multi-national Readiness Center (JMRC) in Germany usually return with a few empty seats on the plane. The same is the true of Afghans visiting the United States. Recently two went missing while attending a DEA training event and three went missing while participating in training on Camp Edwards, Cape Cod. Read more in "Pesky Questions About Those AWOL Afghans", by Michelle Malkin in Townhall, October 1, 2014.

Afghan Civil Service Pay for Oct on Hold

Afghanistan has run out of money. The country will delay paying salaries to hundreds of thousands of civil servants because it does not have enough cash. Afghan military and police pay comes from a separate fund (courtesy of the U.S.). Afghanistan has asked for $537 million in emergency funds from the United States; no word on whether we will fork over another 1/2 billion dollars. U.S. officials say that it would not provide "new money"; but may provide an advance of $537 million from next years allocation. Read more in "Cash-Poor Afghanistan Will Delay Paying Civil Servants - Finance Ministry Official", The New York Times, September 27, 2014.

Battlefield Correspondent Writes and Sketches in RC East

I am not sure what Regional Command East is calling itself these days. It might be called a "Train Advise Assist Command" or TAAC. RC North has transitioned to TAAC North (going from a two-star to one-star command) and soon the other RCs will do the same. Anyway . . . a correspondent and "sketcher" is traveling through RC East and as he travels around eating chow, finding cots to sleep on, and taking up seats on helicopters he does a little writing and sketching. His latest visits were to a small outpost called COP Koh-e-Safi and then later to a larger base called FOB Fenty. Read his observations and check out his artwork in "Where pencils dare", The Washington Post, September 30, 2014.

Kabul Bank Investigation Re-Opened by Ghani

President Ghani is stepping up to the plate having just assumed office. He signed the Bilateral Security Agreement the day after his inauguration. And true to his word of coming out against corruption. He has reopened the investigation into the Kabul Bank scandal. Over $1 billion dollars went missing - much of it to relatives of former President Karzai; to include two of his brothers. Neither of the brothers served time in jail and very little money was paid back to the bank. The re-opening of the investigation is a step in the right direction. Now let's put some of the crooks into jail! Read more in "New Afghan president re-opens inquiry into Kabul Bank scandal", Thomson Reuters Foundation, October 1, 2014.

Military Auxiliary Radio (MARS)

If you were in the service in "the old days" before Roshan minutes, mobile phones, Twitter, Facetime, Skype, AOL IM, E-Mail, Sniper Hill, and the many other communications devices now available then you may recall the Military Auxiliary Radio System or MARS. Soldiers used to go on year-long deployments (Vietnam and Desert Storm come to mind) and never get to make a phone call. Mail (yes, snail mail) could take months to arrive. However, as cumbersome as it seems looking back, MARS offered quite a morale boost on long deployments. MARS is still around. Read more in "MARS volunteers supporting Soldiers with radio communications", Army.mil, September 30, 2014.