Comments on: While the Afghan National Army Sleeps … http://www.captainsjournal.com/2009/08/19/while-the-afghan-national-army-sleeps/ News & Commentary on Warfare, Policy and Counterterrorism Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:02:46 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: BruceR http://www.captainsjournal.com/2009/08/19/while-the-afghan-national-army-sleeps/comment-page-1/#comment-28055 BruceR Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:25:36 +0000 http://www.captainsjournal.com/?p=3616#comment-28055 New mentors, as I said. They'll learn. With the ANA, you always keep one guy up, and the radio on next to your bivvy. New mentors, as I said. They’ll learn. With the ANA, you always keep one guy up, and the radio on next to your bivvy.

]]> By: Warbucks http://www.captainsjournal.com/2009/08/19/while-the-afghan-national-army-sleeps/comment-page-1/#comment-28052 Warbucks Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:19:04 +0000 http://www.captainsjournal.com/?p=3616#comment-28052 It would serve of value to us all if any WWII vets (of any service) offered their personal recollections of the disciplines metered out in WWII to warriors who were found asleep on the night watch in front line combat zones. Our vets shared a common moral vision for victory --- our vision then was shaped as democracy, freedom, liberty, justice. An army not vested around a shared moral vision, requires the consistent administration of a much different discipline. It would serve of value to us all if any WWII vets (of any service) offered their personal recollections of the disciplines metered out in WWII to warriors who were found asleep on the night watch in front line combat zones. Our vets shared a common moral vision for victory — our vision then was shaped as democracy, freedom, liberty, justice.

An army not vested around a shared moral vision, requires the consistent administration of a much different discipline.

]]> By: Herschel Smith http://www.captainsjournal.com/2009/08/19/while-the-afghan-national-army-sleeps/comment-page-1/#comment-28051 Herschel Smith Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:13:59 +0000 http://www.captainsjournal.com/?p=3616#comment-28051 If what you say is true, then the situation is even worse than I thought. It's going from extremely bad to even worse than extremely bad. With McChrystal's rules for ISAF and now (your asserted) rules for ANA, we are left to the corrupt and inept ANP to perform home searches! Good Lord! Does anyone in the chain of command have their head screwed on straight, or is this apoplectic, right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, way of conducting the campaign characteristic of the whole effort? The Brits still shouldn't have left the ANA alone to perform duty. If what you say is true, then the situation is even worse than I thought. It’s going from extremely bad to even worse than extremely bad.

With McChrystal’s rules for ISAF and now (your asserted) rules for ANA, we are left to the corrupt and inept ANP to perform home searches! Good Lord!

Does anyone in the chain of command have their head screwed on straight, or is this apoplectic, right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, way of conducting the campaign characteristic of the whole effort?

The Brits still shouldn’t have left the ANA alone to perform duty.

]]> By: BruceR http://www.captainsjournal.com/2009/08/19/while-the-afghan-national-army-sleeps/comment-page-1/#comment-28050 BruceR Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:30:30 +0000 http://www.captainsjournal.com/?p=3616#comment-28050 Hey, guy, the ANA are generally forbidden by their own high command from searching homes except under contact, as well. Only the ANP can do that. Yes, I'm well aware how silly that sounds. I suspect the Brit mentors in question, who said they just arrived in country, may not have fully understood the subtleties yet. They'll do it, if they see a clear point to it, and we ask nicely, of course: they want to capture arms and ammo as much as anybody. And to be fair, they can often pick up before we do when a house search will be an obvious waste of their time, for whatever reason. But in my time in country I never heard of a successful house-by-house search of a complete village by ANA working alone. And if it gets too hot, or too dark, or the mentors get too tiresome, they will start citing their regulations prohibiting searches and then it's over. http://www.snappingturtle.net/flit Hey, guy, the ANA are generally forbidden by their own high command from searching homes except under contact, as well. Only the ANP can do that. Yes, I’m well aware how silly that sounds. I suspect the Brit mentors in question, who said they just arrived in country, may not have fully understood the subtleties yet.

They’ll do it, if they see a clear point to it, and we ask nicely, of course: they want to capture arms and ammo as much as anybody. And to be fair, they can often pick up before we do when a house search will be an obvious waste of their time, for whatever reason. But in my time in country I never heard of a successful house-by-house search of a complete village by ANA working alone. And if it gets too hot, or too dark, or the mentors get too tiresome, they will start citing their regulations prohibiting searches and then it’s over.

http://www.snappingturtle.net/flit

]]>