Posted on 09/24/2007 4:53:40 PM PDT by SandRat
GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Sept. 24, 2007 With the help of American and coalition forces, the Afghan national security forces are gradually earning the respect and acceptance of the Afghan people.
Embedded tactical trainers spend their days training and coaching Afghan national army and police how to conduct themselves during and outside operations.
We are the ANPs mentors; making sure they are being professional at their jobs and not exploiting their power. Capt. Jason E. Knueven
Our biggest job is showing ANSF what right looks like, said Army National Guard Maj. Chris P. Guziec, ANP ETT district commander. We take what they think is right and mold it into something that is workable. This helps them better understand the steps to take and the reason for the changes.
Guziec said this type of training requires flexibility for both groups, along with consideration for Afghanistans cultural and religious foundation.
We are the ANPs mentors; making sure they are being professional at their jobs and not exploiting their power, explained Army National Guard Cpt. Jason E. Knueven, ANP ETT district team chief.
With the mentoring, Knueven said he notices positive changes in the Afghan security forces in each of the missions he oversees.
The most recent mission involved the ANA and ANP securing several villages and searching houses based on intelligence gathered by coalition forces and ANSF.
They were being professional at their job, Knueven said. They werent going in and stirring up the houses. The people took it really well because the ANSF was doing it the right way.
American soldiers working with ANSF in operations and exercises also see improvement in their Afghan colleagues performance.
The local populace needs to be able to build that trust with its own military and police, said Army 1st Lt. Brian M. Kitching, 2nd Platoon Leader, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. ANA and ANP working to catch the bad guys will do that. Its a slow process and a gradual process, but I definitely see an improvement in the way they plan and execute missions and control their forces.
But Kitching said the ANSF has to do more than catch bad guys to earn the trust and respect of the Afghan people. Afghan civilians need to know they can rely on their military and police to protect them, he said.
The good people want the bad people out, too, but they have to trust the people searching their homes, Kitching said.
Based on the Iraq experience, and the need for both security and employment in Afghanistan, an effort should be made to hire many times more soldiers than are practical for the eventual Afghan army.
Unlike Iraq, whose entire army is active duty, an emphasis in Afghanistan should be on creating an Army Reserve and a National Guard. Since their wages are low, for many this would simply be a source of income, with an opportunity for training, maybe more money and active duty in the future.
There are several things of value by doing this. The first is that they are in the pay of the government, and to a greater or lesser extent in some way affiliated with the government. To some degree, this makes them targets, so it is in their interest to inform on any hostile activity in their area as soon as possible.
It also gives them some authority in their home town. Another channel by which the locals can communicate with the government.
Since wages are still tiny in Afghanistan, with an average income of $300/year, and far less in the countryside, a meager $1M could employ about a brigade of Afghan men for a year. $10M an entire military Corps of over 30,000.
No reason we couldn’t hire 300,000 men ($100M). If nothing else would come of it, it would be a tremendous stimulus to their economy, which in turn would provide much employment.
And still only a small piece of what our military operations are costing there right now.
Okay Hadsi, if you’re going to rough this guy up, take him behind that building.
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