13 July 2006
Afghan Army Displays Leadership Under Fire, U.S. General Says, July 13, 2006(United States to provide $2 billion in military equipment in next 12 to 18 months)
By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – One of the main challenges for Afghan security forces is to fill all of its ranks with effective leaders, says U.S. Army Major General Robert Durbin.
This will take time as Afghan National Army and police reforms are implemented, Durbin told reporters at the Pentagon July 13. Speaking as the commander of the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan, he said it is important for the Afghan Army to identify recruits who have “the right character traits and characteristics of good leaders.” (See related article.)
Some of that leadership has already been combat-tested, Durbin said, because the Afghan Army has shouldered a considerable portion of “Operation Mountain Thrust” which has been under way since spring in southern Afghanistan.
Durbin also praised the Afghan Army for having achieved a successful ethnic balance and for having avoided infiltration by hostile forces. He also said recruiting figures remain strong. The Afghan Army has a force of 30,000 and is moving toward its goal of 70,000 at the rate of about 1,000 new soldiers per month.
Durbin said the U.S. military will be providing the Afghan Army with $2 billion in military equipment in the next 12 to 18 months, including M-16 rifles and heavily armored vehicles. Recently, the Afghan forces received a large shipment of U.S.-provided body armor and protective helmets as part of a modernization effort.
The military spokesman also listed other positive developments, including the July 3 groundbreaking for the Afghan Ministry of Defense’s new National Military Command Center, and the June 3 selection of Roshan Safi to be the first sergeant major of the Afghan Army -- a significant step in developing a professional noncommissioned officer corps.
Durbin spoke two days after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld traveled to Afghanistan to view progress there firsthand. (See related article.)
The general said there has been an increase in violence in some remote areas of Afghanistan because security had been provided in the past by local forces that are now being challenged by official government security forces. He attributed some of the problems to what he called “anti-change elements” that would rather maintain the status quo.
Durbin also talked about the military challenge the Afghan Army faces along the porous mountain border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Military-to-military relationships between the United States and these two countries and tripartite efforts have improved communications and cooperation, he said, and are now having a positive effect.
REFORMING THE AFGHAN POLICE
Durbin also said the Afghan government is committed to reforming the national police. Two recent developments include the opening of the Regional Command East in Gardez on July 2 and the May 31 opening of Regional Command South in Kandahar. Durbin said the police are receiving 45,000 new uniforms, 8,000 new vehicles, thousands of weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition.
Professionalization of the force continues with training that emphasizes rule of law and anti-corruption, said Durbin. The goal is to have a trained police force of 62,000. Right now around 58,000 are trained, but not yet fully equipped, according to Durbin.
The skills of those 58,000 individuals “are not atrophying,” he said in response to a question, because they are out doing their jobs in villages and cities -- although in some cases their capacity is limited due to the absence of communications gear or the mobility that vehicles would provide.
Some of the police are unlearning their old modes of behavior, Durbin said, and some do not necessarily “understand the true essence of rule of law and [the concept] to serve and protect.”
In response to another reporter’s question, Durbin said 3,500 U.S. troops have been assigned to training Afghan security forces.
On the question of security for civilian humanitarian workers, Durbin said U.S., NATO and Afghan forces will work together to ensure their safety and “support the reconstruction efforts of the international community” leading to economic development, which, in his words, “is the true essence of success in Afghanistan.” (See related article.)
For more information, see Rebuilding Afghanistan.
