Feral Jundi

Friday, January 1, 2010

Afghanistan: Seven American Agents And Five Canadians Killed In Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Canada — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:44 AM

   This was a terrible day and my heart goes out to all of the families and friends of the fallen, both in the U.S. and in Canada. Rest in peace. –Matt

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Seven US agents killed in Afghan suicide attack: CIA

12/31/2009

WASHINGTON — Seven CIA agents were killed and six wounded in a suicide attack on a US base in eastern Afghanistan, the Central Intelligence Agency said on Thursday.

The US spy agency said the employees were killed Taliban bomber managed Wednesday to penetrate the defenses of a base in the province of Khost, detonating an explosives belt in a room described as a gym.

CIA chief Leon Panetta told the agency that “seven of their colleagues were killed and six others were injured on Wednesday at a forward operating base in Khost Province, Afghanistan. The casualties were the result of a terrorist attack,” the CIA said in a statement.

The agency did not reveal the names of those killed, citing the sensitivity of their work in Afghanistan.

The Pentagon said the base, used by the CIA as well as one of many provincial reconstruction teams that dot Afghanistan, was located close to the Pakistan border. Teams operating at the facility were tasked with delivering humanitarian assistance and stabilizing difficult areas.

“Those who fell yesterday were far from home and close to the enemy, doing the hard work that must be done to protect our country from terrorism,” Panetta said in his message Thursday.

The CIA director said US military doctors and nurses managed to save the lives of other agency workers wounded in the attack, and ordered flags at CIA’s Virginia headquarters outside Washington flown at half-staff to honor those who died.

“Yesterday’s tragedy reminds us that the men and women of the CIA put their lives at risk every day to protect this nation,” he said.

“Throughout our history, the reality is that those who make a real difference often face real danger,” Panetta said, adding that the loved ones those who died “are in our thoughts and prayers — now and always.”

The attack appeared to have killed more US intelligence personnel than have died since the start of the US-led invasion in 2001. The Central Intelligence Agency has acknowledged the deaths of four CIA officers in Afghanistan since then.

Story here.

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Canadians killed in Afghan attack

12/31/2009

Four Canadian soldiers and a journalist have been killed in an attack in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar.

The Taliban has reportedly claimed responsibility for detonating the roadside bomb used in the attack.

The journalist has been identified as Michelle Lang, 34, from the Calgary Herald, who had just arrived on her first assignment in the country.

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Sunday, December 27, 2009

Germany: Unleash The Germans In Afghanistan, Please!

Filed under: Afghanistan,Germany,Military News — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 7:00 AM

   This pisses me off.  First off, the German soldier is an extremely capable soldier, if we allow them to do what they are trained to do.  The awarding of the ‘Iron Cross’ to some German soldiers last summer for actions in Afghanistan, are a prime example of what they are capable of.

   So when I hear of their country taking a giant dump on their soldiers for fighting the war in Afghanistan, I get pissed.  You’re either in, or you’re out.  If you don’t want your soldiers in that war, then pull them out.  If you want to send soldiers there, but really don’t want them to be soldiers in that war, then the message you are sending to the rest of the world and to your soldiers is a confusing one. It shows that you are confused about the realities of war and you could really care less about combating terrorism or defeating the Taliban. You want to play, but you don’t want to risk anything, and that does no good to the rest of soldiers in Afghanistan fighting the ‘just war’. If anything, your just taking up space and eating up food and fuel by being an ineffective army.

    You do not win wars, with half measures and bad language.  It takes extreme violence and serious resolve to defeat an enemy and break their will to fight. It sounds like the only war the politicians and a few people in Germany are wanting to fight, is the one against their own soldiers.  Pfffft. By the way, I am thankful for the sacrifice and good work of the German soldier in Afghanistan. –Matt

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Germans Make War Over War

December 27, 2009

Strategy Page

There’s another military scandal playing out in Germany. Senior officers are being accused of lying. Although the lies were told to save German lives, many Germans don’t want their soldiers involved in combat, and are seeking to punish army commanders as much as possible for any activities related to combat.

All this began earlier in the year when the phrase, “the use of deadly force is prohibited, unless an attack is underway or imminent,” was quietly dropped from the NATO rule book for troops in Afghanistan. This particular rule meant that you could not shoot first, even if surrounded by armed Taliban. The Taliban knew all about this rule, and increasingly exploited it. The NATO contingents that followed this rule (not all did), were stationed in parts of northern Afghanistan where there were no Taliban. But in the last few years, Taliban moved into parts of the north occupied by Pushtun tribes, and proceeded to terrorize these tribes into tolerating, or supporting, the Taliban presence. The local NATO troops, there to provide security, were unable to do so. The Taliban knew the NATO rules, and exploited them.

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Jobs: Physical Security Officer, Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Jobs — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:18 PM

   This might make for a nice job for some folks out there, looking to do some work in Afghanistan.  I am not the POC or recruiter for this, and please follow the links below in order to apply.  Good luck. –Matt

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Requisition/Vacancy No.39405BR

Position Title Physical Security Officer (612) – Afghanistan (AGS)

Capability Government Services Office

Region Middle East

Office LocationUS – Afghanistan

Education Required Bachelors

Job Description

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Administration and maintenance of the 3-401stAFSBn physical security program in accordance with AR 190-13, The Army Physical Security Program, Appendix F, FM 19-30, Physical security and CENTCOM OPORD 05-01 within the 3/401st Eastern Regional Command area of responsibility (RC North / East). Conduct physical security inspections and surveys in accordance with AR 190-13, CENTCOM OPORD 05-01, and as required by the ACO or his/her designee. Prepare and update the 3-401st AFSBn physical security plan in accordance with AR 190-13.

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Industry Talk: Two Perspectives On Wartime Contractor Cost Effectiveness

Filed under: Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 9:13 AM

   What I did was put up two perspectives on contractor cost effectiveness with one article written by Doug Brooks and the other one by David Isenberg. Check it out and tell me what you guys think. Both Doug and David have a lot to say about the subject.

    My take away on all of it, is that the true cost effectiveness should be determined by the ones that are actually paying for the product or service. Until then, folks on both sides of the debate of contractor cost effectiveness will continue to argue and debate over who is right or wrong. My take away on all of it, is that governments will do whatever serves them best both politically and militarily, and not necessarily what is most cost effective. –Matt

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Think Globally. Hire Locally

Journal of International Peace Operations

Nov/Dec 2009

by Doug Brooks

The Benefits of Employing Local Nationals in Conflict And Post-Conflict Operations

LOCAL nationals make up the majority of the personnel on the ground in the stability operations industry, a fact too often overlooked by media and pundits. Not only do these locals offer enormous advantages to our industry in terms of costs, language capabilities, local knowledge and skills, but at the policy level they contribute to rebuilding the economy and vastly benefit larger stability policies. Nevertheless, some important concerns and caveats remain when hiring locals; and thus certain essential policies should be adopted by all companies setting up business in conflict and post-conflict operations.

Personnel working for the stability operations industry are generally divided into three categories:

* Local Nationals (LNs, also known as Host Country Nationals, or HCNs) who originate from the country of the operation.

* Third Country Nationals (TCNs) who come from a country not involved in the intervention or peace operation. Most TCNs are from developing countries, attracted by salaries far above what they could earn at home. Some, however, are drawn from developed countries as well.

* Finally, Western expatriates, who are usually hired for management, contractual compliance or oversight tasks; although for some contracts they may be engaged in work from security to truck driving.

LNs represent the bulk of this industry’s personnel. For example, as of June 30, 2009, LNs made up 69 percent of U.S. Department of Defense contractor personnel operating in Afghanistan – and 95 percent of security contractors in the operation. TCNs account for most of the remainder, with citizens of Western nations making up a relatively small minority. The LN proportion can be even higher for contractors supporting UN operations, and that number only increases with the duration of the operation as local hires learn new skills, gain the trust of companies and clients and earn management positions.

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Industry Talk: US To Switch Afghan Police Training from DoS CIVPOL, to DoD CNTPO, DynCorp Protests

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Law Enforcement — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:50 AM

   This is big news, because there is a lot of money riding on the current set up, and DynCorp was sitting all fat and happy on the CIVPOL contract as the incumbent.  Now that DoD is taking it over and issued a new task order, only companies that are pre-qualified contractors for CNTPO get to participate.  Those companies are Lockheed, NG, Raytheon, Xe, and ARINC.

   The general feeling I am getting about this latest move, is that the DoD wants to have more control over the training of the Afghan police, and give them training that is more military-like.  The reason for this, is so these poor guys can actually survive the war, so they can go on to be effective in their normal police work.

   The Afghan police are already fighting more war, than doing police work, so it makes sense to harden them up a little.  Not too mention that when you have cops teaching Afghan police forces to shoot PKMs or RPGs, then the realm of police work skills gets trumped by war fighting skills.  So yeah, DoD would be a better choice.

   The other one that was interesting, was the hearing at CSPAN about Afghan National Security Forces.  Executives from Dyncorp, MPRI, and Xe all made a showing at this thing, and they all had something unique to say about their little chunk of the war.  Which further emphasizes the CNAS report as to the importance of contractors in the war effort.

   One thing that was mentioned by Xe, which I think is a great suggestion, is to integrate military trainers with Xe trainers, to insure a quality product.  That way, there is no blaming Xe for a poor job, when in fact, there is direct military oversight and integration into the training.  This makes sense for unity of effort, and totally makes sense about getting everyone on board with the strategy of the war.  I say mix that chocolate with the peanut butter! lol

   Probably the best part of military integration with programs like this, is security.  It is big military that has the guns, the air support and the communications necessary to make any enemy’s day, a bad day.  So for these sites that are located up in the hills, where training and security go hand in hand, having some military folks around with the big guns, would be a nice insurance policy for the defense.

   Be sure to check out the thread on this subject at SOCNET, and I look forward to any input from the readership about this. –Matt

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Afghan National Security Forces Contract Training

Friday, December 18, 2009

The December 18, 2009, hearing of the Commission on Wartime Contracting reviewed the adequacy and oversight of contract training for Afghanistan’s national army, national police, and border police — organizations critical for stability as the United States moves toward its newly stated goal of beginning withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country in July 2011.

At the end of November 2009, Afghan National Army strength was about 96,000; it is expected to grow to 134,000 by the end of October 2010 (40% growth) and is targeted reach 240,000 by 2013 (80% growth). The Afghanistan National Police was near 94,000 and is expected to be almost 97,000 strong by the end of 2009. While there is no programmed end strength set for 2010, the U.S.-led Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan has proposed growing the ANP to 160,000 by 2013 (65% growth).

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