The interviews about the training mission of NATO with the Afghan National Army and Police continued with Col. John Ferrari, deputy of programs for NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan.

Col. Ferrari talked with us about the logistics and contract management for both the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Afghan National Police (ANP). It is very clear to NATO that the ability of Afghanistan to support and sustain its security forces must be encouraged and assisted. Little native industry survived the past thirty years of war and the Afghan First policy is intended to change that situation.

One of the ways that NTM is growing the Afghan economy and its ability to support the Army and National Police is by purchasing from local vendors. Brig. Gen. Gary Patton talked talked about the sole Afghan boot factory in his March interview. That factory has now produced its first 2,000 pairs of boots made to U.S. Military specifications and they are being field tested.

Col. Ferrari said that this effort has prompted at least two other companies to build factories to compete for the Army contract to provide boots. Uniforms for the security forces are also sewn in Afghanistan, though the fabric is imported. Several businesses are building in the hopes of entering that market, as well.

Ferrari also told us that in the next few weeks contracts would be let to women owned Afghan businesses for the provision of blankets and poncho liners. This is obviously something new for this generation of Afghans.

A company is setting up a furniture factory, with the hope of winning a contract to supply the security forces.

An army marches on its paper and the Afghan army is no different. Paper is imported but there are both public and private printing firms. The Ministry of Defense has its own printing plant. Local Afghan companies are printing materials such as pamphlets used in retention and recruitment efforts locally in Kabul.

Col. Ferrari pointed to the dates and goals which have been announced for staffing. This has enabled NTM and the Afghan ministries to project equipment needs and to plan contracting and ordering well into the future. Certain commodities may fall short in quantity due to unforeseen conditions but the logistics of equipping the new forces are planned and being prepared for.

The Afghan security forces buy their own food. With mentoring and training from NTM, other needs such as fuel, concrete and barrier materials, as well as water systems for base camps, will be moved to the Afghan ministries for contracting and purchasing by next summer.

As part of the forthcoming operations in the Afghan south in and around Kandahar, NTM is assisting with generating the necessary Afghan forces for the 205^th Corps, in units and not piecemeal. They are involved with refurbishing police stations in the city.

Ferrari told us about two large construction projects in the Kandahar area that will create local jobs and enhance the Afghan government’s ability to provide security in the region. They are:

• a joint regional Afghan police center which will be a state-of-the-art police center that houses the Border Police, the uniform police, the Afghan Civil Order Police and a brand-new regional logistics center that will support all the police in southern Afghanistan.
• a new regional military training center in Kandahar, where basic training will be done down the road.

Col. Ferrari recalled how the men who fought World War II brought their skills and discipline home with them and built the America we grew up in. They became “America’s Greatest Generation” out of the crucible of war. He likened this to the hundreds of thousands of Afghans who are or will serve in the National Army or National Police. They are learning skills, including literacy, that they will bring home when they finish their service. He feels we are potentially creating an “Afghan Greatest Generation” and through this uplifting the entire society.

June 7, 2010, represents the conclusion of the 104^th month of military activity by the United States in Afghanistan. That makes it America’s longest war, eclipsing the 103 months of the Vietnam conflict.

Our NATO allies have been with us since the beginning. This is NATO’s war, as it responded to the request of the United States under the NATO treaty shortly after September 11, 2001. NATO in in charge of the reestablishment and sustainment of a free Afghan government. NATO trains the Afghan army and police. NATO provides the overall command of much of the military in Afghanistan, sets strategy and tactics within the framework of the many nations involved in the effort.

The governments of the United States and Great Britain have determined to withdraw their forces in Afghanistan sometime in 2011, with the assurance that the Afghan national government can begin providing security and safety in the country. In order to permit this changeover, the NATO training mission has changed markedly in the last six months. A number of officers from NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan have spoken with bloggers in the last several days to explain those changes and the progress made in the last six months.

Those officers were:

• Brig. Gen. Gary Patton, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan Deputy Commander – Army Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan
• Maj. Gen. Mike Ward, deputy commander-Police, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan
• Col. John Ferrari, deputy of programs for NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan, Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan

The NATO Training Mission (NTM) was established November 21, 2009. In a previous interview, in March, 2010, Brig. Gen. Gary Patton talked about the reasons for its creation, and its goals. We have now received an update.

The current manning goals for the Afghan National Army are to have a force of 134,000 by October 2010, and a force of 171,600 by October, 2011. As of his interview with us on June 1, 2010, General Patton was able to state that the ANA had 125,694 men and women on its roster.

Patton told us that the attrition rate for the Army has been reduced from 3% per month in November, 2009, to 1.2% per month. Attrition is made up of those soldiers dropped from rolls for being AWOL, those permanently disabled and those killed in action. The reduction in the rate of attrition has been among those dropped from rolls. The General attributes that drop to increased pay, better Afghan leadership, improvements in base living conditions and an effort to create a predictable operational cycle.

The creation of various training academies with NATO assistance in staffing has allowed for a huge increase in the numbers of officers and non-commissioned officers who have been trained in a traditional Western manner. The officer corps training has gone from a capacity of about 1,600 per year to 4,500 per year. NCO training has gone from 1,900 yearly to 15,000. Driver training, a necessary but non-flashy training, has gone from 1,000 to 9,500 yearly.

Patton told us that one way they are increasing the number of NCO’s is by sending the top 150 Afghans completing recruit training on to an NCO course.

The Afghan National Army is presently an infantry heavy force, by design. It does not have the capacity to sustain itself. General Patton called 2011 “the Year of the Enabler”, as he talked about the establishment of national and corps level supply depots, creation of various branch schools such as engineers or artillery and establishment of the processes and procedures that move supply requests up and down the chain of command.

A success story is the creation of a consolidated fielding center. This is where Afghan army units are put together and trained as units. The training cadre for this school has gone from 65 to 300 personnel, reflecting greater emphasis on unit cohesion and experience.

This is the first of a multi-part series on the NATO training mission-Afghanistan, and the results after six months of operation.

An Afghan national army soldier sends signals to an Afghan national army Air Corps Mi-17 as they conduct recovery efforts on May 21. (Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Michael Tateishi)

On May 21, Afghan national security forces worked side-by-side in facilitating the recovery efforts of the Pamir Airlines AN-24 that crashed in the Salang Pass May 17.

During the 40 sorties to a landing zone about 1,000 feet below the crash site early May 21, Afghan national army and Afghan national police were ferried up the mountain on Mi-17 transport helicopters flown by the Afghan national army Air Corps and the Ministry of Interior’s Air Interdiction Unit.

At least 200 mountain climbers and ANA soldiers were airlifted to the landing zone in the mountain and then hiked up the 70 degree angle to the crash site that spanned four to five football fields. In addition to recover crews, family members were escorted by ANP Mi-17′s to the site to pay their respects.

“I cried for a while”, said Kabul Wing Commander, Brig. Gen. Muhommed Barat who flew a number of those missions to the mountains. “I really felt bad when I saw their bodies”, said Barat.

At least 33 sets of identifiable remains were recovered and other remains are pending analyses. 44 passengers and crew were killed when they hit the side of a mountain in the Salang Pass between Bagram and Kabul on May 17.

“I give thanks to all my partners and all my brothers that helped us find the bodies and we were able to submit them to their families”, said Barat.

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By Tech. Sgt. Michael Tateishi

Afghan National Army soldiers board their C-17 cargo plane for their flight to Turkey at the International Security Assistance Force airport in Kabul. These soldiers are flying to Turkey for training in leadership and the military skills required to operate as a special operations unit. The transportation and training is part of joint cooperative training and funding agreement with Turkey and Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan. US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Quillen

Afghan National Army troops boarded a C-17 cargo plane at the International Security Assistance Force airport for a flight to Turkey to take part in the first of a series of extensive training opportunities in securing the development and defense of Afghanistan.

The 119 ANA troops are the first group to take part in military training for several weeks of specialized operations. It will be conducted primarily by Turkish forces with assistance from American forces and includes courses in leadership along with the skills necessary to perform in the capacity of a special operations force unit.

“I already have 30 years of experience, but when the army told me about this training and that I would participate, I was excited,” said Col. Abdullah Nuri, the senior ranking officer of the 119 troops. “This is a strong opportunity to develop my skills, as an officer and as a soldier, and come back to Afghanistan to teach what I have learned to others.”

Once their training is complete, the Afghan soldiers will be split up and sent to all regions of Afghanistan to develop and conduct their own courses with their fellow soldiers.

The Afghan soldiers were selected for a variety of reasons including experience, demonstrated leadership and competent military skills, academic performance and a strong desire to perform at their best.

“This is the first time that we have worked with such a diverse force,” Nuri said. “So many nations have come to Afghanistan to help us and teach us. We need to take advantage, and use the skills they teach us to make ourselves strong, so we can be a true partner on the world stage.”

Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan funded the transportation with training provided by Turkey. The training will be ongoing with a new group of soldiers being flown to Turkey each month.

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Quillen
NTM-A

Afghan and international forces seized enemy weapons and killed insurgent attackers in operations in Afghanistan in recent days, military officials reported.

The Afghan National Army, supported by an international security patrol, destroyed 16 rockets and a mortar round in Kandahar province, Feb. 7-8.

The Afghan soldiers were patrolling near Darivshan village when they received a tip about a weapons cache from an Afghan civilian. The soldiers went to the site and recovered 16 107 mm rockets. The following day, the same patrol element found an 82 mm mortar round in a garden near Shotor Gardon village.

An Afghan-led patrol in Paktika province, Feb. 8, found a large weapons cache after receiving a tip from a local resident in the Wazah Khwah district. The cache contained 54 artillery rounds, four mortar rounds and 18 fuses.

Also yesterday, a combined Afghan-international patrol discovered more than 20 mortar rounds in the Garm Ser district of Helmand province. Another combined patrol found 11 hand grenades and a rocket-propelled grenade round in the province’s Kajaki district.

In a Feb. 6 operation in Helmand’s Garm Ser district, an International Security Assistance Force patrol found 83 artillery rounds in a field.

On Feb. 5, an Afghan-international security force in the Musa Qaleh district of Helmand province killed two insurgents who attacked them with small-arms fire. Later, the force was engaged by more small-arms fire from different locations. A sniper supporting the patrol returned fire, killing another insurgent.

In another operation, Feb. 5, a combined force found about 1,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition, a belt of shotgun rounds, assault-rifle magazines and binoculars in the Garm Ser district of Helmand province.

DVIDS