PAKTYA, Afghanistan – The two intelligence officers studied the map, identifying and marking known insurgent occupied or controlled areas in eastern Afghanistan.
The analysis was then provided to operational planners, who prioritized the enemy threat in each location, and then one by one the 2nd Commando coys, or companies, eliminated the insurgent presence.
The intelligence officers analyzing and assessing the map were an ANA Commando and a staff officer from the ANA’s 203rd Corps, completely without coalition guidance.
Seven months ago, the intelligence and operational plan would have been handed to the Commandos by their U.S. partner for them to action, but that has changed.
This shift towards self-sufficiency has not been unique to the intelligence section alone. It is a trend across the entire Commando Kandak staff, breaking their dependency on their partnered element and becoming self-reliant.
If you were to look up the word partnership, you would probably find a definition along the lines of: "a relationship involving close cooperation between parties having specified and joint rights and responsibilities."
That definition looks good on paper, but it isn’t often the case when put into practice. One side is always stronger than the other or one controls every aspect of the relationship. Regardless of the situation, in a partnership problems almost always persist.
This is not the case, though, in the Paktya province in eastern Afghanistan. The province, which sits just south of Kabul and borders Pakistan to the east, is home to a partnership between the Afghan National Army’s 2nd Commando Kandak, or battalion, and U.S. Special Forces.
The two units, who have been partnered together since 2006 in varying capacities, operate throughout the Paktiya, Paktika and Khowst provinces. Operations until the last couple of months consisted almost exclusively of targeting insurgent leadership who were disrupting stability in the area.
Over the last couple of years the Commandos have become very good at this mission.
But simply put, a certain level of dependency on the Americans had been created that was limiting the Afghans from moving forward.
The dependency didn’t exist operationally; it existed in the Commando’s lack of experience in planning and coordinating operations.
“Tactically, they were a very effective combat capable force, but there was a major delta in the Commando staff’s ability to plan, resource, track and respond at the Kandak [battalion] level,” stated Capt. Derick Taylor, U.S. Special Forces team leader partnered with the 2nd Commandos.
Taylor and his team sergeant, Master Sgt. Shannon Swain, recognized this during their train-up in the States before coming over to become the new partner with the 2nd Commandos.
“During our pre-mission training the [Special Forces] team recognized this missing element and proposed the decisive operation in our rotation would be mentorship of the command and staff,” said Taylor. “By doing this we would free the Commandos from relying on the ODA for each and every need, making them more capable to resolve their own problems.”
When Taylor’s team arrived in theater they went right to work training and advising the Commando staff, with the ultimate goal being an Afghan organization that could plan and execute its own operations with minimal advisement by its partner.
What they found was a unit, led by Col. Ghulam Nabi Kate, the 2nd Commando Kandak commander, whose goal was exactly that; a unit that could operate unilaterally in support of the populace.
“He [Col. Nabi] had a clear and decisive vision that was aligned with ours,” said Taylor. “He represents the future of the Commandos through his embracing of a partnership without fences and his understanding of the mission.”
The concept of partnering without fences means exactly that, there are no barriers to either partner. Afghans, mentored by the SF team, have been given the tools to not only execute the mission, but more importantly to coordinate, plan and support logistics, communications, and intelligence requirements for that mission.
Growing successes can be seen already. A new Afghan facilities maintenance section, stood up by the Kandak staff, has all but eliminated routine work orders that used to be submitted on an average of 13 a month. During operations briefs, Afghan staff members brief the plan with little to no input from their U.S. partners. These are just a few of the many examples of different Afghan staffers assuming increasing responsibility for their organization.
“Our Special Forces partners have very high standards and are the best qualified to train us,” said Nabi. “They treat the Commandos as equals and support the staff with what we need to grow and get better in all areas.”
With success, of course, come failures. When needed, Taylor’s team will step in to correct a mistake or if a good learning point is identified will allow the Afghans to fail so that they can learn from it and apply it to a similar situation in the future.
“We operate on the principle of small failures, large successes,” said Taylor. “Meaning, we allow the Commandos to fail in small ways so that they will grow through failure, obviously not allowing it to impact the men or the mission in a negative manner.”
Taking ownership of the entire process changes the way the Commandos view their own significance. Keeping key staff members from leaving the unit was once an issue, but as the success of the kandak increased, the unit’s personnel strength stabilized.
“Each and every mission the response from the Afghan populace was overwhelming in their regard for the professionalism, care, and kindness the Commandos exhibited while clearing the area of any threats or providing help,” stated Taylor.
Being able to see the results of their hard work was extremely beneficial.
“Each soldier joined the Commandos so that they could make an impact on this fight. I am no different,” stated Nabi. “I have served in this unit for four years so that I can be a part of the process of gaining peace for our people. That is our goal and everyone sees the benefit of the work they are doing.”
That work is paying off. They have been able to achieve not only a safer place for Afghans to live, but they have and strengthened relationships within the community. They have also supported the goal of achieving stability in Afghanistan.
The abilities of a staff are often difficult to quantify. Military success is gauged by the tactical achievements of a unit in combat. The primary focus of unit leaders is on the training of the companies to ensure battle drills are refined, that appropriate tactics are used, and contingencies are rehearsed. In a counterinsurgency environment, this assessment is amplified by the fact that the foreign trainer quantifies success by its ability to work itself out of a job.
Often overlooked or forgotten are those key members that sustain the force through their planning and resourcing - the staff.
Understanding that they were working with a combat effective organization like the 2nd Commando Kandak, Taylor and Master Swain, with their partner Nabi, didn’t overlook or forget about that key aspect. Instead, they have ensured the future success of the unit and the future security of the communities by continuing to refine and develop its soldiers long after this partnership ends.
| Date Taken: |
03.04.2011 |
| Date Posted: |
03.04.2011 10:09 |
| Story ID: |
66477 |
| Location: |
PAKTYA, AF |
| Web Views: |
198 |
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