Training Quick and Staffing Unfinished, Army Units Brace for Surging Taliban
- 6 years ago
Training Quick and Staffing Unfinished, Army Units Brace for Surging Taliban
The new brigade of advisers was formed in August and is based at Fort Benning, Ga. Two military officials said its leaders were still trying to ensure
that each small team had enough soldiers to train Afghans.
"The Afghans continue to be beat by a force that doesn’t need air power, so I’ll believe the Afghan Army is competent when they don’t need American air power." The Afghan Air Force has grown in recent years,
but still heavily relies on American troops and civilian advisers for training and maintenance.
But the Army advisers who are part of Mr. Trump’s strategy are being sent to outposts
that will put them closer to the Taliban than most American soldiers have gone since 2014, with the exception of Special Operations troops, who receive rigorous training and are usually sent to the small bases for limited visits.
The advisers will help train Afghan forces, including marshaling air support
and artillery when they are targeted by the Taliban, said one of the military officials who was familiar with the coming deployment.
Some of the force protection soldiers will deploy next month from Fort Carson, Colo. An Army officer familiar with
that deployment said the infantry soldiers were still collecting information about where they were headed.
Mr. Dempsey said that Even though they’ve been stood up and somewhat formalized, it’s still a generic answer to a problem
that requires a deep understanding of Afghan culture and politics,
The new brigade of advisers was formed in August and is based at Fort Benning, Ga. Two military officials said its leaders were still trying to ensure
that each small team had enough soldiers to train Afghans.
"The Afghans continue to be beat by a force that doesn’t need air power, so I’ll believe the Afghan Army is competent when they don’t need American air power." The Afghan Air Force has grown in recent years,
but still heavily relies on American troops and civilian advisers for training and maintenance.
But the Army advisers who are part of Mr. Trump’s strategy are being sent to outposts
that will put them closer to the Taliban than most American soldiers have gone since 2014, with the exception of Special Operations troops, who receive rigorous training and are usually sent to the small bases for limited visits.
The advisers will help train Afghan forces, including marshaling air support
and artillery when they are targeted by the Taliban, said one of the military officials who was familiar with the coming deployment.
Some of the force protection soldiers will deploy next month from Fort Carson, Colo. An Army officer familiar with
that deployment said the infantry soldiers were still collecting information about where they were headed.
Mr. Dempsey said that Even though they’ve been stood up and somewhat formalized, it’s still a generic answer to a problem
that requires a deep understanding of Afghan culture and politics,