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Trainers needed for Afghan security
Source: Agencies |
February 14, 2011, Monday
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MORE nations are pledging support, yet NATO still faces a shortage of 740 trainers needed to get Afghan soldiers and policemen ready to take the lead in securing their nation, the coalition's top training official says.
Needed most are 290 police trainers, including those to work in new training centers opening in Afghanistan this year, said US Lieutenant General William Caldwell, the commander of NATO's training mission.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants his nation's police and army to take the lead in protecting and defending their homeland by 2014, a deadline that will be reached only if the training effort - already on a fast track - gets even more support from NATO and other nations. Caldwell said the coalition wants to have the additional 740 trainers in place by this summer.
"The NATO secretary-general has said, 'No trainers, no transition,'" Caldwell said. "He is exactly right. If you don't have sufficient numbers of trainers, then we can't set the conditions for -transition in 2014."
The Afghan security force added more than 70,000 police and soldiers last year and now is 270,000-strong. It is well on its way to meeting Karzai's goal of reaching 305,600 by the end of October. Karzai is expected to announce his next target for growth soon.
Besides filling training slots, however, the training mission faces challenges. Corruption within the ranks has been eased, but not eliminated, by raising salaries, issuing paychecks electronically and awarding promotions based on performance, not cronyism or favoritism. Increasing numbers of policemen and soldiers have been enrolled in literacy courses, but the inability to read and write continues to stifle efforts to professionalize the force.
The Afghan army and police still need thousands more officers trained and there still is a critical shortage of trainers who can teach skills such as how to manage military hospitals and clinics or fly and maintain Mi-17 aircraft.
At a ceremony on Saturday in Kabul, Latvia and Lithuania together pledged up to 23 trainers to mentor the Afghan Air Force in southern Afghanistan. Their commitment raised to 32, the number of nations involved in the training mission.
"In Kandahar the Afghan Air Force has five Mi-17 helicopters and we desperately needed an air-mentoring team to work with them to help them continue to grow and professionalize the air force," Caldwell said.
"We have had sufficient numbers of trainers to get where we are today, but we know that we need to accelerate this in 2011," Caldwell said. "We're going to open up five more major police -training centers in 2011 and that's why we need 290 more police trainers."
Needed most are 290 police trainers, including those to work in new training centers opening in Afghanistan this year, said US Lieutenant General William Caldwell, the commander of NATO's training mission.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai wants his nation's police and army to take the lead in protecting and defending their homeland by 2014, a deadline that will be reached only if the training effort - already on a fast track - gets even more support from NATO and other nations. Caldwell said the coalition wants to have the additional 740 trainers in place by this summer.
"The NATO secretary-general has said, 'No trainers, no transition,'" Caldwell said. "He is exactly right. If you don't have sufficient numbers of trainers, then we can't set the conditions for -transition in 2014."
The Afghan security force added more than 70,000 police and soldiers last year and now is 270,000-strong. It is well on its way to meeting Karzai's goal of reaching 305,600 by the end of October. Karzai is expected to announce his next target for growth soon.
Besides filling training slots, however, the training mission faces challenges. Corruption within the ranks has been eased, but not eliminated, by raising salaries, issuing paychecks electronically and awarding promotions based on performance, not cronyism or favoritism. Increasing numbers of policemen and soldiers have been enrolled in literacy courses, but the inability to read and write continues to stifle efforts to professionalize the force.
The Afghan army and police still need thousands more officers trained and there still is a critical shortage of trainers who can teach skills such as how to manage military hospitals and clinics or fly and maintain Mi-17 aircraft.
At a ceremony on Saturday in Kabul, Latvia and Lithuania together pledged up to 23 trainers to mentor the Afghan Air Force in southern Afghanistan. Their commitment raised to 32, the number of nations involved in the training mission.
"In Kandahar the Afghan Air Force has five Mi-17 helicopters and we desperately needed an air-mentoring team to work with them to help them continue to grow and professionalize the air force," Caldwell said.
"We have had sufficient numbers of trainers to get where we are today, but we know that we need to accelerate this in 2011," Caldwell said. "We're going to open up five more major police -training centers in 2011 and that's why we need 290 more police trainers."
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