US Army Network Proves Mettle In Afghanistan

Integrated Team: Soldiers integrate Nett Warrior into their training during the Network Integration Evaluation 13.1 at Dona Ana Range, N.M. Budget cuts may slow the network exercises.

Despite some changes, one of the most celebrated innovations in soldier communication and situational awareness to hit the battlefield over the past 12 years of war is working just fine in Afghanistan, US Army leaders insist.

But leaders are concerned about the availability of funding to upgrade the network next year.

At the moment, Capability Set 13 — a suite of radios, smartphones and vehicle-mounted data terminals linked by a robust on-the-move network — is working well with elements of the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, which is tasked with training and advising the Afghan Army.

While the systems had been tested for several years in brigade-sized exercises at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., the 4/10 deployed with about half its combat strength as it focuses more on advising than war fighting.

They’re also one of the last units to deploy, as US troops prepare to pull out by the end of 2014.

So while the size and scope of the mission is much different from what the capability sets were tested for, commanders say the technology is just as useful in a smaller environment.As US forces leave — there are still about 50,000 soldiers deployed to Afghanistan, which will drop to about 33,000 by the 

spring — the capability sets “are also enabling our retrograde operations so that we don’t have to leave that infrastructure in place. We can take it down” while still giving the 4/10 full situational awareness, said Col. Mark Elliott, director of the Army’s LandWarNet/Mission Command Directorate.

“The mission that we had planned for Capability Set 13 was a brigade mission,” Brig. Gen. Dan Hughes, program executive officer for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T), told Defense News. But since that mission no longer exists in Afghanistan, the brigade commander uses the assets a bit differently.

For instance, vehicles equipped with gear to allow them to function as mobile tactical operations centers are called points of presence. Col. Mario Diaz, the 4th Brigade Combat Team’s (BCT’s) commander, used his point of presence “more than he is using the lower pieces of [the network], because he needed to go deeper through some valleys” where communications were only possible through satellites, Hughes said. “He didn’t put in the pieces that we thought. He uses the point of presence and got enough bandwidth out of that to do his mission.”

As US Aid Dollars Flow, Afghanistan Closing Off to US Oversight

The US government-funded watchdog that tracks billions of dollars worth of American development aid to Afghanistan says much of the country is too dangerous for inspectors to check in on US-funded projects. And when NATO forces leave, things will get even worse.

According to a Monday letter from the head of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) to US government officials, the percentage of the country accessible to US civilian oversight personnel has been quickly shrinking from about 68 percent of the country in 2009 to about 45 percent.

And that area is expected to constrict even further to about 21 percent by the end of 2014, when most US and NATO troops are scheduled to complete their withdrawal, SIGAR chief John Sopko wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Rajiv Shah, head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

“We have also been told by State Department officials that this projection may be optimistic,” Sopko warned, “especially if the security situation does not improve.”

Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and the waste and abuse involved in reconstruction projects has been a problem that has proven too widespread for NATO forces and their civilian partners to crack.

Last year, the United Nations predicted that Afghans pay about US $3.9 billion a year in bribes to public officials.

Despite the fact that the United States has allocated more than $96 billion for Afghan aid and reconstruction over the past 12 years, Washington’s anti-corruption activities in Afghanistan “are not guided by a comprehensive US strategy or related guidance that defines clear goals and objectives for US efforts to strengthen the Afghan government’s capability to combat corruption and increase accountability,” SIGAR reported in September.

Sopko’s letter asks the Pentagon and State Department for help in planning oversight missions outside of what he called the “oversight bubbles” that exist around major population centers such as Kabul, Kandahar and Herat where US civilians can operate with some degree of security.

Anything outside of those bubbles is essentially off-limits. American military officials have told the SIGAR staff that they will provide civilian access “only to areas within a one-hour round trip of an advanced medical facility,” Sopko wrote, making any aid projects outside of those bubbles a mystery, even though US dollars continue to be spent on projects there.

The tightening restrictions have already had some real effects. This year, SIGAR inspectors were unable to visit $72 million worth of projects in northern Afghanistan, Sopko wrote.

The oversight chief didn’t merely write his letter to complain, however.He is asking the Pentagon and State Department for help in finding ways to break free from the bubble.

NATO Defense Ministers Agree on Regular Exercises From 2016; Discuss Future Afghan Role

 NATO defense ministers meeting here Oct. 21-22 agreed to hold regular major training exercises with a broader scope under what it calls its “connected forces initiative” beginning in 2016; announced progress with plans for its post-2014 support mission in Afghanistan; and discussed cyberdefense and missile defense.

With regard to the connected forces initiative, “there will be more troops, assets and command structures. The idea is to keep up the interoperability between NATO nations built up in Afghanistan so that this does not suffer when the Afghan mission ends. It is also to encourage partner nations to stay involved,” said a NATO official.

“An even more rigorous and systematic approach to our training and exercises is key in reaching our goal of NATO Forces 2020: Modern, tightly connected forces, equipped, trained, exercised and commanded so that they can operate together, and with partners, in any environment,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a press release.

Rasmussen also announced that the alliance will hold a major live exercise in 2015 that will involve numerous deployed forces on land, sea and in the air. Spain, Portugal and Italy offered to host the exercise.

“From 2016 onwards, we will conduct such major live exercises on a regular basis, with a broader scope and covering the full range of alliance missions,” the secretary general said at a press conference. He added, “we have also agreed today to draw up a broader concept for training and exercises up to 2020.

“We have agreed on the key elements of that program. And we have agreed that our experts will now work on it as a matter of priority, ahead of next year’s NATO Summit in the United Kingdom.”

Post-2014 Afghanistan Mission

NATO allies and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) partners discussed with their Afghan counterparts planning for the post-2014 mission to train, advise and assist Afghan Security Forces.

US secures Romanian air base for Afghan pullout

The United States agreed a deal Friday with Romania allowing use of an air base on the Black Sea as a transit point for American troops departing Afghanistan, officials said.

The agreement allows the US to shift its flight operations to Romania’s Mihail Kogalniceanu air base from an airport in Kyrgyzstan, which charged steep rental fees and had ruled out a lease beyond July 2014.

The arrangement, approved in talks Friday at the Pentagon between US and Romanian defense chiefs, resolves a crucial logistical challenge.

The United States is preparing to pull out most of its combat forces and equipment from Afghanistan by the end of next year. The cost of using the Manas air field in Kyrgyzstan proved a recurring problem for Washington.

Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel and Romania’s Defense Minister Mircea Dusa “finalized an agreement for Romania to support logistics into and out of Afghanistan, including both personnel and cargo movement,” press secretary George Little said in a statement.

“Secretary Hagel praised this agreement, which is particularly important as the US prepares to wind down transit center operations at Manas, Kyrgyzstan next year,” he added.

In Friday’s talks, the United States also agreed to transfer technology that will allow Romania to buy 12 used F-16 fighter jets from Portugal, he said.

The two sides discussed progress on setting up a site for US anti-missile interceptors as part of a NATO ballistic missile defense system. A groundbreaking ceremony for the site at Deveselu is scheduled for next month, officials said.

Officials did not release the details of the terms for access to the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in eastern Romania, which would serve as the main hub for flying troops out of Afghanistan back to the United States, as well as some equipment.

Five US military personnel are currently stationed at the air base and the number of American troops and contractors would dramatically increase if the agreement goes ahead. In Kyrgyzstan, about 1,500 US troops and contractors work at the base.

The United States has about 51,000 troops in Afghanistan and almost the entire force will be pulled out — along with huge quantities of vehicles and weapons — by the end of 2014.

Mini helicopter drone for UK troops in Afghanistan

British soldiers in Afghanistan have become the first to use miniature surveillance helicopters in frontline operations.

The Ministry of Defence plans to purchase 160 of the mini drones

The drones can fly around corners and obstacles to identify potential hidden dangers, the Ministry of Defence said.

The Norwegian-designed Black Hornet Nano features a tiny camera and relays video and still images to a handheld control terminal.

It measures about 10cm by 2.5cm (4in by 1in) and weighs 16g (0.6oz).

The MoD, which also operates more than 300 larger-sized unmanned air vehicles in Afghanistan, said the Black Hornet is carried easily on patrol and works in harsh environments and windy conditions.

They have been in use in Afghanistan since 2012, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Surrey-based Marlborough Communications has a £20m contract with the military to supply and maintain 160 of the drones, which were originally developed by Prox Dynamics for search and rescue operations.

Mini drones can be piloted directly or programmed to follow co-ordinates using GPS.

Powered by battery, the Black Hornet is reported to have a range of about half a mile (800m), a top speed of 22mph (35kph) and can fly for up to 30 minutes. 

They can help soldiers on the ground pinpoint hidden Taliban fighters and explosives.

Sgt Christopher Petherbridge, of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force in Afghanistan, said: "We used it to look for insurgent firing points and check out exposed areas of the ground before crossing, which is a real asset. 

"It is very easy to operate and offers amazing capability to the guys on the ground."

Defence minister Philip Dunne said intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems were a "key component" of the MoD's investment in new equipment over the next 10 years.

Spending outlined last month also includes almost £36bn for a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines, almost £19bn for combat aircraft, and around £17bn for Royal Navy warships.

Pakistani and Afghan Taliban clash in Kunar

Pakistani and Afghan Taliban clash in Kunar

In Afghanistan’s Kunar province that left three militant commanders dead, a British media report said on Thursday.

The report quoted eyewitnesses as saying that dozens of Afghan Taliban launched an attack on the Pakistani Taliban based in the Ghaziabad area of Kunar. The report further said three militant commanders were killed and several others injured.

According to the report, the slain commanders belonged to Swat, while sources also claimed that Mullah Fazlullah alias mullah Radio, fugitive chief of Swat Taliban, was also killed in the attack.

The Pakistani Taliban confirmed that the clash had taken place, but denied reports that any commanders had been killed.

Pakistan has long been demanding Afghanistan to take action against Pakistani militants, who took shelter in Afghan areas after Islamabad launched a military campaign against them.

The Swat Taliban based in Afghanistan also claimed high profile assassination of Pakistan Army's Lt. Gen Sanaullah Khan Niazi in an IED blast in Upper Dir.