CASR
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Afghanistan
NATO~ISAF
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Canadian Defence Policy, Foreign Policy, & Canada-US Relations - |
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Opinions & |
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Government |
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Afghanistan – NATO ~ ISAF – 2008 |
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Afghan War
– New Defence Priorities – Acquisition Reforms
– December 2008 New Model for Defence Procurement: Low-cost, Multi-purpose Platforms – Coupled with Cooperation 'Across the Services' US Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates, seeks to reform the Procurement Process 
Robert Gates, empowered by a mandate from the
US President-Elect, Barack Obama, to continue serving as Secretary of Defense,
is turning his attention to the thorny issues of
' acquisition
reform ' and the trade-offs involving the fleet sizeof the various military services. A reform-minded president-elect backed by Democrats controlling both Chambers of Congress, means that military officials are not likely to oppose efforts to fix the current acquisition system. Gates' initiatives may lead to the termination of some costly programs, shifting the priorities of US defence spending. Read edited excerpts - US Defense Secretary Gates interviewed in Aviation Week |
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Counterinsurgency
– Lessons Learned – Strategy & Tactics –
November 2008 General David Petraeus: New Commander of US CENTCOM Turns his Attention to the Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan ' Lessons Learned ' in Iraq may help bring focus to the incoherent Afghan campaign 
The statistics tell the bulk of the story: In Iraq ,
there are currently about 165,000 coalition troops.In Afghanistan, there are only about 65,000 troops, split between NATO's ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), under one Commander, and the 19,000-strong US-led Combined Joint Task Force 101 which oversees security operations in the east under Operation Enduring Freedom [OEF], commanded by a different US general. This is going to change. One US general will take command of both Forces, but the operations will still remain separate endeavours. Read edited excerpts from an article by the defence editor of The Times ( UK ) |
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Army Aviation – Counterinsurgency Lessons –
Strategy & Tactics – June 2008 Counterinsurgency Legacy – US Army Aviation Supports its Own US Air Force turns out to be too Tardy to be Tactically Useful In Iraq, the US Army quietly decided to 'go it alone', especially in the surveillance missions 
The US Army has cobbled together small civilian aircraft, including
the Beech C-12, fitting them with advanced reconnaissance sensors
[infrared and radar ].
Small, medium, and large remotely piloted surveillance vehicles, including
Warrior and Shadow UAVs – carrying
infrared cameras for night operations and full-motion video cameras – have
also been assigned to TF ODIN.Read edited excerpts from an article published in The Sunday New York Times |
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Afghan National Army – Special Forces
– Eastern Afghanistan – May 2008 Commandos: The US Combined Security Transition Command Trains selected Afghan soldiers to become ' the Best of the Best ' US Training of Afghan Commandos aims to create an Elite, Quick - Reaction Force 
The new Afghan commandos are distinct from the regular Afghan National Army. They are
trained to be ' the best of the best ', who fight in riskier, more
complex political and military environments. For example, they
might confront a popular tribal leader aligned with the Taliban. At the same time, they are
expected to help define the image and abilities of the Afghan
security forces as a whole. It's a crucial addition for an uneven US -
NATO mission that many military and civilian leaders agree has evolved in a
way that has allowed the Taliban to resurface.Read Edited excerpts from an article published in The Christian Science Monitor |
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NATO~ISAF – Multinational Helicopter Unit
– Southern Afghanistan – April 2008 Turning the NATO Helicopter Trust Fund Scheme into a Field Force: How to Create a New ISAF Multi-National Helicopter Unit (IMNHU) Commentary by Lieutenant-Colonel James Dorschner (US Army Reserve, Ret. ) ISAF Multi-National Helicopter Unit (IMNHU) – Envisioning a Scenario with NATO Mils If enough money was pumped into the Helicopter Trust Fund for Afghanistan proposed by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown – say US $75-to-100 million – NATO could establish a helicopter wing with the International Security Assistance Force. This ISAF Multi-national Helicopter Unit or IMNHU would require at least six medium-lift aircraft, support equipment and logistics at an in-theatre Forward Operating Base (FOB), plus common training in Europe. Currently, the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, and Australia all have Chinooks based at Kandahar Airfield. These CH-47s are overstretched and it seems unlikely that others could be in-theatre by this summer. The only NATO medium-lift helicopter available to augment the hard-pressed Chinooks are Mils. Older Mi-8s require too much refurbishing and updating to warrant the effort. However, there are newer Mil Mi-17s in Eastern Europe and the Balkans ...
Read Lt-Col Dorschner's recommendations for an ISAF Multi-National Helicopter Unit |
Targeted ~ Trackable |
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