Blog Posts tagged with "General"
Three Transitions in Afghanistan
I'm flying over the Caspian Sea, returning from three days in Afghanistan. It was an eventful visit, my tenth over the past twenty months or so.
I'm with AFG CHoD General Karimi at an honour guard ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan
The key impression I take back to NATO is one of progress, especially in the security sector. I am heartened especially by the addition of over 70,000 Afghan National Security Forces since the beginning of 2010. Their quality is improving as well as their numbers, with both the Army and the Police scoring over 80% in approval polls among Afghans nation-wide. Their marksmanship scores have almost tripled and their literacy rate is climbing rapidly, as over 90,000 of the 270,000 total have completed some level of literacy training.
An ANA recruit at Kabul Military Training Center said, “The Taliban wanted to keep me in the dark. The Army is teaching me to read and write so I can come into the light and make my own decisions.” This is a very inexpensive and positive part of training the Afghan Security Forces receive and will reap long term dividends for stability in Afghanistan. It was an idea Ambassador Richard Holbrooke helped me to understand a couple of years ago and it shows real promise.
While corruption and a stubborn insurgency continue to hamper progress, my sense is that three transitions are in progress in Afghanistan.
Meeting with Gen. Petraeus before he finishes his time in Afghanistan.
The first is a leadership transition among the NATO military forces. General Petraeus is departing, and is being relieved by the highly qualified and gifted Marine General John Allen. The three-star operational commander is also changing out, as is the three-star training commander. In both cases, the officers selected have extensive combat experience and impeccable records. We are carefully managing this important leadership transition within the NATO command structure to ensure it is smooth.
A second transition is the most obvious one: from coalition-led security operations to Afghan-led security operations in seven key provinces and districts, representing over 25% of the total population. This includes Kabul, where the Afghan security forces have had the lead in repelling several recent insurgent attacks. Even the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel was largely defeated by Afghan Forces, and was contained within hours, causing only a handful of casualties. As a point of comparison, the Mumbai attacks in 2008, where a similar number of terrorists struck, killed or wounded nearly 500 and paralyzed the vastly larger city for two days.
This key security force transition will be the crucial leading edge of our effort to give full, across-the-nation Afghan leadership in all security operations by the end of 2014. General Petraeus and I are both confident this transition is on track and it begins in earnest next month.
The third transition is really just beginning, and I would call this the "deep transition." This is preparing both the 48-nation coalition and the Afghan government for the post-2014 period. There will clearly be a large reduction in coalition forces from our current level of over 140,000. This will cause not only military changes, but also important economic changes. We need to think now about the bridging strategy for the Afghan economy to ensure the bottom doesn't fall out suddenly post-2014.
This leads to the need for work to define what the post-2014 period should look like in terms of partnership between Afghanistan and the coalition. With an important meeting in Bonn in December and the NATO summit next spring in Chicago, there are good opportunities to establish the plan. Certainly long term sustainability of the rapidly developing Afghan Security Forces should be part of that.
I'm watching great NCO training at Camp Ghazi, Afghanistan.
We've invested a great deal in Afghanistan, and I believe our efforts have a reasonable chance at succeeding over the next several years. There will certainly be setbacks like the current Kabul Bank crisis, terrorist attacks, and ongoing governance issues, as well as a complex situation with Pakistan to manage; but in the end, the effort will be worth it.
We must ensure that Afghanistan does not fall back into Taliban hands and again become a base for terror, and our commitments -- those of 48 troop contributing nations and more than 70 financially contributing nations -- should be honored.
It won't always be smooth sailing, but I think we're on the right course.
Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
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Meeting of the NATO Defense Ministers
We just finished an excellent two-day meeting in Brussels with the 28 NATO Defense Ministers -- including, of course, my bosses Secretary of Defense Bob Gates and Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The meeting focused on one expected challenge -- Afghanistan -- and one new issue, Libya.
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A Few Days in Afghanistan
Last week, I had a good visit to Afghanistan -- three days, including a swing through Helmand in the south.
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A Few Days in Afghanistan
The security situation in Helmand Province was significantly different this month than it was when I last visited in January 2010. I was especially struck by the continued improvement in the performance and size of the Afghan security forces down south. In 2010, there were roughly 10,000 ISAF servicemen and 2,000 ANSF in Helmand Province, roughly a 5:1 ratio. Today, there are 30,000 ISAF and 30,000 ANSF – a 1:1 ratio with Afghan forces increasingly in the lead. Afghan flags fly across the province, schools are open, bazaars are thriving. There is a sense of progress.
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Whispers on a Wall
Now, what about that third question, the one regarding career risk? Quite the dilemma, at first blush. I’ve had two “career ending” moments in my 34 years in the Navy, both of which included a tragic, but thankfully incorrect, statement from a 3-star Admiral to a far junior me, “Stavridis, your career is over!” because I took the risk of articulating an idea in print. On the other hand, maybe somewhere along the way someone noticed something I wrote and thought, “Hmmm, maybe that junior officer is worth taking the time to meet with and talk to.” Some of the best career moments I’ve had came in that positive way – and there were many more of them than the negative.
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Vitality of Turkey, a Strong NATO Ally
I attended a fascinating event on Friday night in Ankara: the change of command ceremony for the Chief of the Turkish General Staff, the senior military officer in Turkey.
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Continued Focus in Afghanistan
It’s been a busy couple of weeks since my last blog, including trips all over the NATO world. As regular followers of both US and NATO security interests, I’m sure you already know what a busy couple of weeks it has been.
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NATO chaplains work to be Stronger Together
Military chaplains from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Italy, and the U.S. comprised the group that met at the Italian Air Force (ITAF) Headquarters for the annual NATO Air Force Chaplains Conference in Rome from June 13-18.
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D-Day's legacies live today
I’m new to EUCOM, new to Europe altogether, and I cannot imagine a better time of year: we just celebrated Memorial Day and the 66th Anniversary of D-Day is here. And I’m in Europe for all of it.
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The Loss of a Great Friend
I'm flying over the deep blue of the southern Pacific Ocean -- enroute to New Zealand and Australia for security discussions about Afghanistan -- and I've just learned of the death of Polish General and Chief of Defense Franciszek Gagor, along with the President of Poland and much of the senior leadership.
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The Passing of Gen. Alexander Haig
All of us at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe were saddened to learn of the passing of the seventh Supreme Allied Commander, General Alexander Haig.
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SPP wraps up with focus on Bilateral Affairs Officers
I can’t tell you how pleased I am with the success of our 2009 State Partnership Program Conference. I heard nothing but great feedback about the conference from General McKinley and the Adjutants General who attended. While we have lots of work to do on the conference deliverables, I tip my hat to everyone who made the conference a success. It truly exceeded expectations.
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State Partnership Program Conference – Forging Ahead
We got off to a great start at the 2009 EUCOM State Partnership Program Conference. National Guard Bureau Chief, General McKinley, set the stage with his opening remarks about how SPP has matured over the past 15 years, but noted that we need to be "on a vector to make it better." That charge from the Chief opened the floor for some lively, honest and thought-provoking debate about how we at EUCOM, along with our 20 SPP TAGs (Adjutant Generals), and our Component Commands, can communicate and work better to improve the program. A take away for me and my staff is to find ways to bridge the communication gap between our TAGs and our Component Commands -- USAFE (United States Air Forces Europe) and USAREUR (United States Army Europe). The State Partnership Program is a tool of the EUCOM Commander's Theater Security Cooperation plan. It can and should be a multiplier for the component commands as well. We haven't done a great job making that happen. We're going to fix that.
Comments: 2
Good to see energy policy from DepSECDEF involves AFG activities... http://www.defense.gov//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=64729
Hello Admiral Stavridis! I think ISAF is doing a great job in Afghanistan with the Army and the police, but when NATO leaves the country, will they be prepared to defend their country? The Taliban are fanatics, and they´ll fight harder when NATO leaves Afghanistan. And corruption in government is an obstacle to security in the country. ISAF has new leader (General John R. Allen, USMC); new strategy too? Regards from Lanzarote