mfr nara- na- 9-11 commission- cjtf phoenix- 10-22-03- 01207

8/14/2019 MFR NARA- NA- 9-11 Commission- CJTF Phoenix- 10-22-03- 01207

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MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

Interviewee: Impressions of CJTF PhoenixDate: Wednesday, October 22,2003Location: Kabul, AfghanistanParticipants: Colonel Milley;

Staff: Philip Zelikow, Kevin Scheid, Mike Hurley;Dylan Cors (White House Representative)

Drafted by: Mike HurleyReviewed by: Philip ZelikowAdditional: None

Staff was taken to CJTF Phoenix, where the Kabul Military Training Center is located.KMTC Deputy Commander Colonel Milley was our host. Milley and some of hissubordinates walked us through the facilities. KMTC is now a fully functioning base. Itsoffices are well-established in a rehabilitated building. It contains rooms for the staff,including offices, internet connections, and entertainment areas. The Center has a PXand a superbly equipped gymnasium for staff. The colonel noted the military personnelpull guard duty and the gym is seen as a welcome way to stay fit. Mess facilities areequally impressive, with contractor Brown & Root ensuring the troops are well fed.

After the walk-through orientation, Colonel Milley briefed us on the role ofKMTC, andthe composition and training of the Afghan National Army (ANA). CJTF Phoenix, amultinational effort, has the task of standing up the ANA, an Afghan national elementthat is widely viewed as central to the stability of the Afghan government and the future


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Goals:

Plans call for the ANA to have 8,900 fully trained soldiers by June '04. These soldiersare projected to be "mission ready."

Colonel Milley said that Afghanistan had a warrior culture and was "leader-centric".Consequently, Afghan soldiers have never really been system-oriented. Operating aspart of systems and teams needs to be reinforced in them.

Vetting of ANA Personnel:

There is a system of vetting the recruits for the ANA. It is important to note, however,that Afghanistan hadlhas no national database. Vetting is somewhat more informal andappears to be working. Essentially, Afghan leadership vouches for individuals. In thisculture, former mujahedin commanders, for example, know who fought with them, whowas a good soldier. Local leaders and commanders also know who was in the Taliban,who was an al-Qaida sympathizer or who has a criminal background. That type ofinformation helps ensure that "bad elements" are weeded out.

Status in Afghanistan

According to Colonel Milley, ANA members are highly regarded in Afghanistan. Thereis competition to get into the force. Moreover, the Afghan people, who have enduredyears of abuse under the Taliban and local warlords, see the ANA as important to thecountry's future. Local newspapers regularly play up the theme that when the ANA isdeployed to an area peace breaks out. Most of the population shares that optimistic andwelcoming view. Early indications are, therefore, that the ANA could become a sourceof deep national pride.

The Difficulty of the Task


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ANA Leadership:

Colonel Milley commented that the commander of the ANA was not particularly able.He believes this commander was selected more due to his connections in the Karzaigovernment than on account of his soldierly and leadership skills. He is not animpediment, he just lacks vision and driving force. The battalion level commanders arebetter, as are the company commanders. In fact, Colonel Milley said they compare veryfavorably to other Third World national militaries. When they complete the training,Colonel Milley said, they will be by far the strongest and most effective indigenous forcein Afghanistan and will overshadow any of the forces of the regional warlords.

Comments on Morale of U.S. Forces Assigned to CJTF Phoenix

Colonel Milley said that the morale of the U.S. personnel under his command is thehighest he has ever witnessed in his career. These soldiers, he said, know precisely whythey are here and why the work they are doing is so important. He personally wants tostrike the enemy, not so much for vengeance but our of a deep and ingrained sense ofjustice. He said he has a son and daughter, both teenagers. "I don't want them to have todeal with this problem when they are adults," he said. "We need to finish this on ourwatch."


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-OALITION JOINT TASK FORCEPHOENIX

Romania Bulgaria

Afghanistan

..Canada Mongolia Germany \-

United States

France

Greece Italy

United Kingdom


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Mission e-====-

Coalition Joint Task Force PHOENIX executes a

broad-based training, mentoring, and

assistance program in order to enable the

Afghanistan National Army (ANA) to field a

mtsston-ready Central Corps NLT June 2004.

l~r

v f f p


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w :I ANA CentralCrps e

o "Quick Reaction" Brigade~ Infantry Battalion~ Armor Battalion~ Mechaniz~d Infantry Battalion~ Combat Support Battalion~ Combat Service SupportBattalion

o 2 x Light Infantry Brigades~ 3 Infantry Battalions~ Combat Support Battalion~ Combat Service SupportBattalion


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Essential Tasks e- = = = = = = -

o Assist in the development of doctrine and traininginstitutions

o Enhance and refine sustainable institutional trainingprograms

~ Individual Training

~ Unit Fieldingo Conduct follow-on training for fielded units

~ Collective Training~ Functional Training> Leader Development

o Conduct daily coaching and mentoring of leaders atcompany through Corps level~ Management ..~ Administration~ Training> Maintenance


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Task Organization

CJTF PHOENIX HQ

~

- = = = = = -

ANA TRAININGASSTGRP

CENTRAL CORPSASST GRP

MPRI-------,

I MOBILE TRNG I

TEAMS SPEC TRNG I

-------IIIIE3 _. ..'.'.'.'.'.'."'."".'.'..'.'.".....:.','.~ ~

Uii

BSB


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Key Program Elements e- = = = = : . . . .

o Doctrine and KMTC Assistance Group

~ Staff mentors

~ NCO education program (UK)

~ Officer education (FR)~ Contractor support

o Embedded Training Teams

o Base Support Battalion

o Mobile Training Teams~ Programmed

~ Opportunity"

o Confidence missions

o Integration missions (OSG)


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~ Medical Training (Germany)

-===- Opportunity Trainin9--===-


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-===-IKey Program Element..a:s-===--o Doctrine and KMTC

Assistance Group

~ Staff mentors

~ NCO education program

(UK)~ Officer education (FR)

~ Contractor support

D Embedded Training Teams

D Base Support Battalion

D Mobile Training Teams

~ Programmed

~ Opportunity

D Confidence missions

o Integration missions (OSG)


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ANA Support Concept e-=====-

o Training area development, construction, and maintenance

o Barracks renovation and construction

o Soldier pay (!)

o Sustainment on all classes of supply (!)

o "Donation management" (!)


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Recent Donations ~-=====-

o Romanian SPG-9, ammunition

o Poland Mortars, small arms

o Belgium Sleeping Bags

o Bosnia 82mmMortars, PKMs,ammunition, BOUjackets

o Russia 80 trucks (Kamaz), 40 Jeeps (GAZ)

o Spain Blankets, BDUs, pistol belts, sleeping bags


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POL-E-CHARKHICENTRAL CORPS HQ

ANA 2ND & 3RD BDEsETT Camp

,- ,


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Camp Phoenix Population e-====-

ITOTALS REPRESENT POPULATION AT PEAK (OCT 03) IU.S. FORCES 726

ROMANIAN FORCES

FRENCH FORCES

BRITISH FORCESBULGARIAN FORCES

CANADA 19

AAFES 02

INTERPRETERS (FULL TIME) 01

KBR SERVICE PERSONNEL 119[USAID 120]

TOTAL 1105 \-


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e=====-

Lessons Learned Phoenix I

Embedded trainers must have the experience base tomentor their counterparts (need right number and rank)

Coalition trainers are key - technical expertise. Timely equipment donations are critical to mission

Officer and NCO Corps integration training is essential LOG for ANA is a m ajor effort MTTs are significant value added OC approach (coach - teach - mentor) is the correct

method ANA is a force multiplier; ANA can replace US forces on

selected missions (WARRIOR SWEEP, MOUNTAIN VIPER) Creating an army takes time: quality over quantity


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Way Ahead~

-======-

Long Haul M ission

Quality and quantity of embedded trainers key to success

Acceleration means more trainers: must maintain rank,

experience, and density

Equip trainers to accompany ANA in order to reduce SOF

requirements

Consider formerly creating an OCONUS TSB like unit


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Camp PHOENIX

mfr nara- na- 9-11 commission- cjtf phoenix- 10-22-03- 01207

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