News on Afghan War Everyday

You can receive the Afghan War News Daily Newsletter each day. It should arrive in your e-mail inbox at 5:00 am Eastern Standard Time. It is easy to subscribe. Send an e-mail to staff@afghanwarnews.info or go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box in the top of the right hand column. It is easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

16 Hardly Used C-27s Scrapped for 6 Cents a Lb

The C-27A fleet of aircraft - 16 located at Kabul International Airport - have been scrapped for 6 cents a pound or a total of $32,000. These 16 aircraft (plus four more at a USAF base in Germany) were part of a $486 million program to upgrade the Afghan Air Force (AAF). The aircraft, which had been parked at the ramp at Kabul International Airport, were towed to the far side of the airport and scrapped by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). An Afghan company took the aircraft away. This controversial aircraft program is a glaring example of waste by the Department of Defense. The U.S. Air Force seems to have switched in mid-stream by deserting a program (that admittedly had some maintenance and contract issues) of 20 perfectly good transport aircraft ideally suited for the Afghan Air Force and the terrain in Afghanistan for a new program of four C-130s. The C-27s were put aside because of some maintenance and parts issues; only to be replaced by the more complicated C-130. The more one reads into this whole issue the more confusing it becomes. Thus far the U.S. Air Force has not come up with a good explanation of why the C-27A program failed (and why they didn't fix it), why they thought that four more complex airplanes (C-130s) were better than 20 less complex airplanes (C-27As), and why they scrapped 16 planes instead of finding buyers for the planes (or parts of the planes - such as the engines?). Things that make you go "Hmmmm". Read all about it in Stars and Stripes, Reuters, Defense News, The New York Times, and Bloomberg News.

Ron Paul Comments on Afghanistan

Ron Paul, a former Congressman and Presidential candidate, has provided us with his thoughts on the Afghan War in "The real status of forces in Afghanistan and Iraq", Daily News Opinion, October 8, 2014.

Intelligence Programs Under Review

The $80 billion U.S. intelligence community is currently being reviewed by staffers on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The review will develop a comprehensive list of all the collection programs from the U.S. intelligence community. I think there is about 16 different intelligence organizations in the intelligence community (IC); so that sounds like lots of work! The Senate committee has done a good job reviewing and providing oversight over new programs but has been surprised with revelations of legacy programs that it apparently was unaware of until recently. Read more in "Congress Scouring Every U.S. Spy Program", The Daily Beast, October 10, 2014.

Reasons for Soviet Union Invasion (1979)

A recently published tract provides us with an explanation of why the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. This paper is unique, so the author says, in its assessment of ". . . nuances of the Soviet decision-making process and account for those unique developments within the theatres of intervention". Read the article by Uday Rai Mehra entitled Why Did the Soviet Union Invade Afghanistan in 1979?, posted on E-International Relations on October 9, 2014.

Book - "War Dogs"

A new book is coming out entitled "War Dogs". It is wrote by Rebecca Frankel and include "tales of canine heroism, history, and love". Read more in "Review: The many roles of 'War Dogs' in Iraq, Afghanistan", Tampa Bay Times, October 8, 2014.

Mrs. Ghani - A Force for Gender Equality?

The election of President Ghani has been welcomed by many as a step forward. One aspect of his election to President that has not been discussed in great detail is the role of Ghani's wife. Rula Ghani is a Lebanese American and a Christian. She will certainly be playing a more active role than conservative Afghans will be used to. Should be interesting to see what type of influence she will have on gender issues and the plight of women in Afghanistan. Read more in "Will Afghanistan's new first lady push for gender equality?", AOL.com, October 9, 2014.

Daily Afghan War News

You can receive the Afghan War News Daily Newsletter each day. It should arrive in your e-mail inbox at 5:00 am Eastern Standard Time. It is easy to subscribe. Send an e-mail to staff@afghanwarnews.info or go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box in the top of the right hand column. It is easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

Toll on Drone Pilots

Here is another article providing us with the line that drone pilots suffer from PTSD and depression. It lets us know that drone warfare still produces casualties on the U.S. side. I suppose it is tough working 12 hours a day in that air conditioned room in Nevada and then getting home every night to your family eating steak and drinking beer. I am not sure it is the same type of PTSD that the Army SPC4 gets after having spent a year-long tour at a place like COP Jaghato in Wardak province or a Marine's time at Camp Dwyer in Helmand province. But then what do I know - I have seen Jaghato but my experience in Nevada is four short trips to Las Vegas. Read more in "Stop Pretending Drone Warfare is Casualty-Free for America", Time.com, October 7, 2014.

Bases Closing in Afghanistan

The number of bases in Afghanistan has dropped dramatically. It is reported that there are less than 30 bases occupied by ISAF as of October 2014. This will drop even further as we get closer to December. Some bases will remain - Mazar-e-Sharif in the north, Herat in the west, Kandahar Air Field in the south, and FOB Gamberi, Jalalabad, and Bagram in the east. Of course, there will be an ISAF presence in Kabul as well. FOBs like FOB Shank (nicknamed "Rocket City" for the incoming rockets that came in almost every day) are a small remnant of their past. Shank at one time had over 3,000 personnel stationed there. Most of these bases, large and small, are being transferred over to the Afghans. However, many of the smaller ones were just leveled with bulldozers and "returned to their natural state". (Photo: A Puma UAV is launched by a 6/8 Cav Soldier at FOB Shank, Logar province, Afghanistan; credit U.S. Army. The UAV helps keep U.S. and Afghan soldiers safe by providing an eye in the sky and finding threats to the Soldiers.)

Amnesty International Protests Hanging of Five Afghans

Amnesty International is calling the recent hanging of five Afghan men an "affront to justice". The five men were convicted of armed robbery and zina (sex outside of marriage) - the crimes were committed against four women who were raped within earshot of their captive husbands. The executions were the first in Afghanistan in 2014. The trials proceeded rather quickly, some critics say in response to the public demand for a speedy resolution, and Amnesty International is questioning the proceedings. The men were first sentenced on September 7th. Their sentence was upheld in an appeals court on September 15th and by the Afghan Supreme Court on September 24th. Of course, Amnesty International is opposed to the death penalty no matter how fair the trial is so  . . . Read more in "Afghanistan: Execution of five men an affront to justice", Amnesty International, October 8, 2014.

13 Year Anniversary of Afghan War

America's longest war just had its 13th anniversary. On October 7, 2001 the United States commenced combat operations against the Taliban regime. The first day of the war involved airstrikes by US and British forces against Taliban installations, communications nodes, and training camps. Cruise missiles were launched from three U.S. Aegis cruisers and one destroyer as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles from British and American submarines. In addition, F/A-18s, B-1s, B-2s and B-52s conducted bombing runs. There were small detachments of U.S. Army Special Forces (and the occasional CIA agent) infiltrated to work alongside elements of the Northern Alliance. Read more in a news article posted by the Business Insider on October 7, 2014.

1742nd Transportation Company Completes Afghan Tour

The 1742nd Transportation Company of the South Dakota Army NG returned home from their long tour in Afghanistan. Their nine-month deployment involved providing transportation and convoy security support, supply and service functions, and assisting with the draw down and retrograde across Afghanistan. The majority of the Soldiers were stationed at Kandahar Air Field (KAF) in southern Afghanistan. Read about the Soldiers accomplishments in "1742nd Soldiers welcomed home from Afghanistan", DVIDS, October 8, 2014.

Afghan Death Toll at 13 Years

As of Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at least 2,207 members of the United States military had died as as a result of a deployment to Afghanistan (count by Associated Press). 1,826 of those deaths were the result of hostile action. Over 20,000 were wounded in Afghanistan; some very seriously with life-long injuries. See "US Military Deaths in Afghanistan at 2,207", ABC News, October 7, 2014.

Fate of 3 AWOL Afghans Still Undecided

The three Afghan soldiers who left training in Cape Cod in an attempt to travel to Canada are awaiting their fate in an immigration court. They are being held in the Federal Detention Center in Batavia, New York pending their hearing. See "Bail hearing in Batavia for Afghan soldiers", WIVB.com, October 8, 2014.

German Soldiers 'Stranded' in Afghanistan

The German military's ability to transport equipment and troops is getting some bad press. Seems the Luftwaffe is hurting with problems getting its jet fighters into the air and mechanical breakdowns of its cargo and troop transports. Many of the German Soldiers stationed in northern Afghanistan are having difficulty taking their mid-tour leave and that is causing some problems (Their tours are 4-6 months long and they can head home for a break from the action; usually in the middle of their long tour). Read more in "German soldiers 'stranded' in Afghanistan as more planes breakdown", The Telegraph, October 1, 2014.

U.S. Airstrikes Increase in Afghanistan

The air war in Afghanistan has been heating up. More airstrikes were conducted during the month of August than in any single month in the past two years. There are probably many reasons for this. ISAF is closing a lot of bases so the increase in convoys conducting retrograde of personnel and equipment required additional air support. July and August are typically the most active for the Taliban (something about fighting in hot weather) so the number of airstrikes to support ISAF and Afghan security forces would naturally be high. In addition, the Taliban (far from being defeated on the battlefield) were taking it to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) this year. 2014 saw a 30% increase in casualties for the ANSF. There were 436 weapon releases for August 2014 compared to an average of 150 in the previous seven months. Read more in "US intensifies Afghan airstrikes as drawdown nears", The Boston Globe, October 8, 2014.

Daily News on Afghanistan in Your Email

You can receive the Afghan War News Daily Newsletter each day. It should arrive in your e-mail inbox at 5:00 am Eastern Standard Time. It is easy to subscribe. Send an e-mail to staff@afghanwarnews.info or go to www.afghanwarnews.blogspot.com and submit your subscription request in the "Follow by Email" dialogue box in the top of the right hand column. It is easy to unsubscribe. At the bottom of the newsletter click "unsubscribe" and you will be automatically unsubscribed.

4th C-130 for AAF On Hold

The 4th C-130 scheduled to be deployed to the Afghan Air Force (AAF) is now on hold pending a review by the Department of Defense (DoD) of the AAF's medium-airlift requirement and its ability to fully use the existing C-130s before providing the additional capabilities. An investigation conducted by the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found that the utilization rate of the first two C-130s delivered was at 48 percent of their flight-hour capacity. This prompted an evaluation of whether a third (and fourth) C-130 was needed. The potential savings to the U.S. taxpayer of not delivering the 4th C-130 is over $40 million. Read a letter from SIGAR to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on this topic (October 6, 2014).

AAF's Light Air Support (LAS) Aircraft

Daniel Goure, a military correspondent and Vice President of the Lexington Institute, has penned an article about the Afghan Air Force (AAF) and the acquisition of twenty Light Air Support (LAS) aircraft. He provides some background on the real need for air support for the Afghan ground forces and some of the problems associated with getting the personnel trained up and the aircraft off the factory floor. You can read his article entitled "The Afghan Air Force Rises from the Ashes", Real Clear Defense, October 7, 2014.