Afghan War Blog

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Pub - AOC, Win in a Complex World, TRADOC Pamplet 535-3-1, 7 Oct 14

Training and Doctrine Command has published TRADOC Pamplet 525-3-1, Army Operating Concept: Win in a Complex World 2020-2030, 7 October 2014. The AOC describes how future Army forces will prevent conflict, shape security environments, and win wars. The AOC guides future force development by identifying first order capabilities that the Army needs to support U.S. policy objectives. The pub provides the intellectual foundation and framework for learning and applying what we learn to future force development under Force 2025 and Beyond. There are four chapters in this publication.

Chapter 1. "Introduction" covers purpose, references, abbreviations and terms, relationship b/t Army doctrine and concepts, and assumptions.
Chapter 2. "Operational Context" covers continuity and change, Army's missions, threats, future operational environment, future conflict, etc.
Chapter 3. "How Future army Forces Operate". Military problem, central idea, how the Army operates, tenets, core competencies, etc.
Chapter 4. "AOC Conclusion".

Should be great Sunday morning reading for all you doctrinal Nazi's . . . and for all others who want to know what the doctrinal experts are talking about.

www.tradoc.army.mil/tpubs/pams/TP525-3-1.pdf

Analysis - "Do Drones Have a Future?"

A lengthy analysis was posted on October 7, 2014 on the War on the Rocks website entitled "Do Drones Have a Future?" The bottom line is that the future ". . . looks less favorable". The article states that budget cuts and bureaucratic resistance are cutting back on the growth of drones. The article provides a summary of the drones within each service (Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines) and some of the needs, gaps, and issues associated with the services. Some snippets of the article follow. The Air Force, despite training a huge number of drone pilots, does not have good promotion futures for drone operators. The Navy is having some problems with the roll-out of its Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft. (I think the acronym hurts the program!). The Marines need a sea-based system similar to the Predator or Reaper to support their expeditionary operations. The Army, surprisingly, seems to be in the lead in terms of innovation - take note of its manned-unmanned teaming concept pairing up UAVs with Apache helicopters. The article also addresses some of the cultural aspects of drone deployment and future technologies to be on the watch for. Very informative and worth a read!

4 More ANA Officers Go AWOL (Italy)

Four Afghan National Army (ANA) officers have gone missing from a warfare course in Italy. They were among 20 Afghan officers attending a course provided by the Italian Army. The good news is that only 25% of the class went missing.

Final GDP-ISAF Rotation w/ Republic Georgia Armed Forces

"KRTSANISI NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER, Republic of Georgia – Marines and Sailors from Georgia Training Team, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, are nearing the end of their six month deployment supporting the Georgia Deployment Program- International Security Assistance Force. They are the final GTT to train a Battalion from the Georgian Armed Forces to support the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Combat operations will conclude in Afghanistan later this year, and the mission will transition from ISAF to Resolute Support Mission. The RSM will focus on training, advising and assisting Afghan forces marking the beginning of a new chapter in ensuring that stability and security returns to the region."

An Analysis of Afghan War (Stephanie Gaskell)

Stephanie Gaskell, deputy editor and senior reporter for Defense One, provides us with her October 6, 2014 analysis of the Afghan War in Will Afghanistan Become the 'Forgotten War' Again?. She provides us with some facts and figures (how many deaths, how much money spent, etc.) and discusses the transition of the U.S. military from combat operations to the "train, advise, and assist" mission.

13 Afghan War Statistics

A newspaper in the United Kingdom, The Telegraph, has published an article with some facts and figures (statistics) on the Afghan War. Entitled "Afghanistan war in numbers" the October 7, 2014 news article cites 13 statistics about the war on the 13th anniversary of the start of the international campaign in Afghanistan (October 7, 2011). Figures include number of international troops that have died, # of troops still in Afghanistan, # of students enrolled in schools, etc.

Times Reporter Allowed to Return to Afghanistan

A New York Times reporter, Matthew Rosenberg, was expelled from Afghanistan this past summer because of some news that he reported that was unfavorable to Afghanistan. The new president, Ashraf Ghani, has reversed the decision and he is now allowed back in Afghanistan. President Ghani has certainly broke away from the former President Karzai in his actions and decisions. Within his first week he has signed the Bilateral Security Agreement (Karzai refused to sign), re-opened the Kabul Bank fraud investigation (one of Karzai's brothers was granted immunity by the former president), visited the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command (Karzai did not like the spec ops guys), and has come out strongly against corruption (Karzai, of course, was the biggest crook in Afghan history).

President Ghani Visits ANASOC

The new president of Afghanistan - Ashraf Ghani - paid a visit to the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command (ANASOC) along with Maj. Gen. Abul Sayed Karim during a visit to Camp Commando, Afghanistan. Camp Commando was at one time called Camp Morehead. The visit occured on October 6, 2014 just one week after the new president took office. Learn more about the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command. (Photo by SFC Daniel Shapiro, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan, October 6, 2014).

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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Afghan Air Force is Growing

The Afghan Air Force is growing but not to the extent that it can cover the gaps left by ISAF's air support going away. Its Mi-17s are still not able to perform the various types of air support in the amount needed by the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police - MEDEVACs, personnel movements, air resupply, and aerial ISR. The close air support aircraft is the Mi-35 HIND Attack Helicopter - of which there are eleven and only half of those can actually fly. The Mi-35s are old and will reach the end of their life by 2016. Most pilots don't fly at night (they lack the night vision and training required). Maintenance is still a concern - much of it is contracted to foreign mechanics. The fixed-wing transport part of the Afghan Air Force is negligible - with only three C-130s and a handful of the smaller C-208 Caravans. The fleet of C-27As never really got into the air and they are now being scrapped. Read more in "Mustering the air power for Afghanistan", Defense Update, October 5, 2014.

Another Drone Book

It seems that there is an abundance of recently published books on drones. It is hard to keep track of them. I never realized just how many drone experts there were in the world. Yet another one is entitled Predator, the Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution by Richard Whittle - the book was released in September 2014. Whittle has also wrote a book called "The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey". Read a book review of Whittle's drone book here.

Pakistan Drone Attacks Continue

The United States is continuing drone attacks against targets in Pakistan. Two more drone strikes occurred in North and South Waziristan recently. Both areas are Taliban-controlled tribal agency areas. The drones, operated by CIA pilots, have been targeting al Qaeda and other insurgent targets in Pakistan. There have been only 11 drone strikes in Pakistan in 2014; all taken place in the last few months (none prior to June). Read more in a news article by The Long War Journal dated October 6, 2014.

5 Priorities for Afghanistan

Now that President Ghani has taken office various commentators, analysts, and observers are providing input as to what he needs to fix and in what order! Ahmad Majidar is a senior research associate at the American Enterprise Institute (www.aei.org). He also teaches senior U.S. military officers on security and politics in Afghanistan. He provides us with 5 priorities for Afghanistan.

1. Fostering national unity
2. Improving governance
3. Bolstering economy
4. Combating narcotics
5. Improving security

In his article he discusses the topics above in detail. He closes with ". . . the Obama administration, too, must avoid repeating the mistake of Iraq and reconsider its plan to pull out all troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2016".

Read the full article, "5 priorities for Afghanistan", Global Public Square Blog, October 7, 2014.
Learn more about Ahmad Majidar
www.aei.org/scholar/ahmad-k-majidyar/

A-10 Thunderbolt Provides CAS for Troops Below

The A-10 Thunderbolts, a 43 thousand pound machine, operate out of Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. The jets provide close air support and overwatch for ground forces operating below. In the hyperlink article an A-10 pilot, Maj Vincent Sherer, describes mission preparation and the daily life he experiences in Afghanistan flying his aircraft. See "Safeguarding ground troops from above", DVIDS, October 6, 2014. (photo by Staff Sgt. Evelyn Chavez).

Kabul Bank Scandal Revisited

The brother of former President Karzai still owes millions of dollars to the Kabul Bank. Mahmud Karzai was listed as owing $22 million on loans from the Kabul Bank and has only paid back $13 million. As part of his immunity from prosecution he was supposed to pay back the entire loan to avoid prison time. He was spared prosecution under a decree by former President Karzai (his brother) as long as he returned the funds. So . . . does he cough up the other $10 million or does he go to jail? The new president (Ghani) has re-opened up the Kabul Bank investigation. Read more on this topic in "Afghan Watchdog Says Ex-Leaders' Brothers Owe in Bank Scandal", Radio Free Europe, October 7, 2014.

Millions $ Missing from Afghan Police Trust Fund

Millions of dollars are missing from an Afghan police trust fund that is used to pay Afghanistan's police force. The United Nations agency in charge of the funds seems to be unclear as to where the money went. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has conducted an investigation and has some pointed questions about "irregularities" - and possible mismanagement and corruption. (Corruption in Afghanistan? A shocker!). There is some concern that some of the money is being used to pay 'ghost employees'. Read a news story for more info on this topic - "Millions of dollars go missing from Afghan police trust fund", MSNBC, October 6, 2014. Read a letter sent by SIGAR on September 17, 2014 to the head of the Combined Security Transition command - Afghanistan Ministerial Advisory Groups concerning this matter. It is not a pretty picture. The Afghan's are taking us for a ride!

Three Challenges Facing Afghan Government

There are three challenges facing the newly formed Afghan government (according to one observer). The first challenge is the question of legitimacy of the new government. The disappointing results of the presidential election (not in numbers of voters but in how the votes were tallied and the fraud committed) puts the validity of the government at stake. A second challenge is the relationship between the President and his appointed "Prime Minister". The PM job is not authorized under the constitution and it will be a few years before any amendments to the constitution are approved by a Loya Jirga. The third challenge is the redefinition of Afghanistan's foreign policy. It is dependent upon foreign aid and needs to keep the international community engaged in Afghanistan's future. Read more in "The Afghan Unity Government's Three Perils", The Diplomat, October 6, 2014.
http://thediplomat.com/2014/10/the-afghan-unity-governments-three-perils/

CJIATF 435 Shuts Down

Combined Joint Interagency Task Force (CJIATF) 435 has deactivated. The deactivation ceremony was held on September 29,2014 at Bagram Air Field (BAF). Its four-year mission training, advising, and assisting the Afghans in development of rule of law functions is over. It was also assisting the Afghan National Army in maintaining secure custody and humane treatment of detainees and U.S. Law of Armed Conflict detention operations during its five-year mission. Rule of Law (RoL) operations is not in the forefront of combat operations but is essential to create a stable Afghanistan. CJIATF 435 played a role in the establishment of the Afghan National Security Justice Center (NSJC) in Parwarn - a centralized location for pre-trial confinement, investigation, prosecution, and post-trial incarceration of insurgents threatening Afghanistan's national security. A Rule of Law Development Team (RoLDT) will assume many of the functions of CJIATF 435 - but on a smaller scale. The RoLDT will continue to mentor Afghan investigators, prosecutors, judges, and military police at the NSJC through 2016. (Source "CJIATF 435 holds inactivation ceremony", ISAF News, September 29, 2014).

PTSD in Australian Military

A recent news article states that Australian veterans of the Afghan conflict have yet to show the effects of PTSD and that the " . . . true impression of the psychological impact was yet to be revealed". Sometimes PTSD takes over 10 years to reveal itself as a problem that veterans will cope with. Read more in a news article by the Herald Sun.