Hila Hanif, U.S. EUCOM Special Assistant for Muslim Outreach

I recently had the opportunity to join Admiral Stavridis for a second time on a trip to Afghanistan. I worked in Kabul from 2005-2007 in the development field and had little exposure to ISAF operations during that time, so for me it has been a wonderfully unique experience to observe the work of the NATO Mission.

On this last trip we took a tour of the National Military Academy of Afghanistan. Years ago a friend of mine, a graduate of West Point, proudly told me about “East Point”, the military academy in Afghanistan modeled after West Point. Last week when I spoke to a professor at the military academy, as we ended the conversation, he emphasized “one important point that you should know, we are modeled after West Point.” The pride with which they both described this relationship gave me a sense of the bonds being built by the Afghan soldiers and their ISAF partners.

My family emigrated from Afghanistan to the United States decades ago, and while Afghans sometimes laugh at my Americanized accent, I was able to speak with some students and soldiers from the commando unit in Dari, one of the official languages of Afghanistan, to get their impressions of the progress of the training mission. They spoke very proudly of the development of the academy, but more importantly, they emphasized their eagerness to serve their country.

One of ADM Stavridis' military assistants and I at Forward Operating Base Morales-Frazier

It is a significant achievement that the military academy is graduating hundreds of new, well-trained Afghan military officers each year. But from what I saw, their achievements go beyond that initial goal. They are providing these students and soldiers with a quality education that is not available to a large segment of the population, and giving them knowledge and skills that will be useful for them and for their country beyond the battlefield.

Just as important as the skills they are developing is the professional ethos and unity among the students. The military academy is bringing together Afghans from different regions of a war-torn and fractured country to work together. This is no small feat in a country that spent years fighting along ethnic divisions. When I asked a few students what part of Afghanistan they were from, several of them answered “I’m from Afghanistan, just Afghanistan,” not wanting to be categorized by region. After I heard that response a couple of times I realized it was deliberate. Given the history and current state of ethnic tension in Afghanistan, it was great to hear that the students and soldiers in this program are looking to work together for a national cause and work beyond ethnic differences.

The NATO training mission has developed a great model for capacity building and it’s no wonder that the students at the National Military Academy were so proud to be part of the institution.

Hila Hanif
U.S. European Command Special Assistant for Muslim Outreach
Fellow, Office of the Secretary of Defense Presidential Management