On November 16, 2012 DynCorp International, was awarded an $80M cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the mentoring and training of the Afghanistan National Army.
Work will be performed in Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2013.
Despite the success stories of the establishment of Afghanistan’s National Army, there is still the grim reality that it is very weak without international military assistance.
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army (ANA) is the main branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is responsible for land-based military operations and ground warfare to defend the state against foreign military incursions. It is under the Ministry of Defense in Kabul and is being trained by NATO alliance. The ANA is divided into six regional Corps, with about 200,000 active troops as of June 2012. The current Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army is Lt. Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi.
The ANA capabilities are increasing. The force has medical first responders, a growing aviation capacity, engineers, and logisticians. It is focused on professional development for both officers and enlisted soldiers. It maintains an effective kinetic special operations component and has recently added and began deploying more than 650 Mobile Strike Force Vehicles complete with trained mechanics and operators. Read more about Afghan National Army History
As of mid-2012, a steadily increasing concern over the past couple of years, while still not reflective of the readiness and state of Afghan forces and police as a whole, are the deaths of U.S. and coalition forces at the hands of Afghan forces. These individuals are either Taliban or other militant infiltrators, disaffected or disturbed soldiers, turncoats, or who were disturbed by perceived and/or actual improper conduct by coalition forces. It has worsened enough to the point where two decrees were issued by the Defense Department in the summer of 2012 stating that all American soldiers serving here are told to carry a magazine with their weapon at all times, and that when a group of American soldiers is present and on duty and Afghan forces are also present, one American soldier must stand apart on guard with a ready weapon.
Green on Blue attacks growing
Attacks on US-led troops are rapidly rising here in Afghanistan. But it is mostly Afghan security forces who target them-not the Taliban alone. These attacks are known as Green on Blue.
And so far this year, according to the US military , around 60 foreign soldiers have been killed in these attacks. Most of them were American and British. It is said to be a huge threat now for these soldiers.
But they were killed for different reasons. They say they turned their weapons on US-led forces either because of combat stress or
disrespect to Islamic values by foreign troops. These attacks have jumped, especially after the burning of the Holy Quran by American forces in Bagram Air Base this year.
But it is also mounting civilian casualties that have turned the Afghan forces against the military presence of the US and its allies in this country. According to United Nations, over 900 Afghan civilians were killed in first half of this year alone. Both US forces and the Taliban were blamed for these deaths.
Green on blue attacks have greatly affected that relations between Afghan forces and US-led troops too. They do not trust each other very much now. US forces have stepped up security around and inside their bases. Most joint military compounds have also been separated. And both US and Afghan government seem worried about this trend.
They are taking these attacks very seriously now. The Afghan government has recently revised the vetting process of local people here as policemen and soldiers and their training methods.
Now if you want to be a soldier here, you need to bring at least three letters of recommendation from key tribal leaders in your birth place. So far though, such measures neither helped to avoid the shootings nor built confidence between Afghan and US-led forces as it is not only Afghan soldiers, but also local people who are tired of foreign troops presence in their country. So it seems there is no easy way out of this, especially for the foreign troops.
