Division Commander Reflects on Afghanistan Tour

By Jian DeLeon

Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2011 – When Operation Moshtarak in Marja, Afghanistan, was not meeting its security and development goals according to plan, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills was brought in to help in moving the situation along.

Mills served as commander of the International Security Assistance Force’s Regional Command Southwest in Afghanistan from April 2010 until last month. He now serves as the commanding officer of 1st Marine Division.

During his tenure, Mills kept intense pressure on insurgents while nurturing close working relationships with Afghan allies in Helmand and Nimruz provinces, ensuring their involvement and commitment in developing national security.

“The year that we were there, I think we saw a remarkable change in the situation on the ground,” Mills said during a “DOD Live” bloggers roundtable yesterday. “I inherited a situation that was improving every day.”

Mills’ eclectic command was made up mainly of British forces, with support from forces from Georgia, Estonia, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Tonga.

“During the year that we were there, I saw a remarkable increase in the capability and confidence of the Afghan security forces -- both the police and the army -- and when we left, the Afghan army forces were about three brigades, all capable of semi-independent operation,” Mills said.

Among the successes of Operation Moshtarak were the force’s victories against insurgent operations, pushing them back and separating them from society to lessen their influence on the population and empower the burgeoning security force.

“Highlights of our time over there were the culmination of the battle of Marja, the battle of Sangin, and several other fights that took place along the Helmand River to push the insurgents away from the final areas they occupied [and to] separate them from the population and reduce the impact that they would have,” he said.

The victory at Marja was important for several reasons, Mills explained. From a psychological standpoint, it is Helmand’s provincial capital, so holding the city meant the insurgents had less of an influence on the Pashtu community and general population. It also served as a great resource of funding the insurgency, as Marja sits in an area with a high volume of drug production.

By targeting areas where drug production was taking place, Mills said, his forces slowly but successfully pushed insurgents out of downtown Marja and took the fight to the enemy, building on momentum and turning the tide of battle by getting the insurgents on the defensive. They also worked with local elders to establish a good working relationship with the police force and security forces, he added, and eventually these well-nurtured relationships led to establishing local police forces.

Over time, Mills said, he saw development improve in roads, phone systems and other areas important to infrastructure and self-sustainability, as well as a decrease in poppy growth that undermined insurgents’ opium trade.

The general said he also saw several positive elections take place, including national parliamentary elections in September and five district community councils elected throughout the province. And thanks to an education program, he said, 125,000 students are now enrolled in school, about 20,000 of them female.

And the gains show signs of sustainability, the general said.

“I think some of the indicators that these gains would be long-lasting was the commitment by the Helmand population to the government of Afghanistan, as exemplified by their support of the education initiatives,” he said. “I think that indicated a real investment by the population in the future of the province.”

Strikes Degrade Libya's Defenses, But Threats Remain

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2011 – While the attacks on Libya’s integrated air and missile defense system have been successful, thousands of anti-aircraft artillery emplacements and portable missile launchers still pose threats to coalition air crews, the director of the Joint Staff said today.

On the second day of Operation Odyssey Dawn, Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney said the coalition cruise missile strikes against selected air defense systems and facilities were successful, and that coalition ships and submarines launched 124 Tomahawk missiles against these targets.

“We judge these strikes to have been very effective in degrading the regime’s air defense capability, to include their ability to launch many of their SA-5s – their long range missiles – their SA-3s and SA-2s,” Gortney said during a Pentagon news conference.

Moammar Gadhafi’s regime has not launched aircraft, and the coalition has not detected any radar emissions from the air defense sites targeted, the admiral said.

“There has been a significant decrease in the use of all Libyan air surveillance radars,” he added. “These seem to be limited to the areas around Tripoli and Sert.”

Air Force B-2 bombers also attacked Libyan airfields, flattening the hardened shelters Libyan fighter-bombers use, Gortney said. Coalition tactical fighters also hit Gadhafi’s ground forces on the outskirts of Benghazi, where 15 U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, French and British aircraft participated in the action about 10 miles south of the opposition stronghold. “We judge these also to have been highly successful at halting the regime ground movement in this region,” Gortney said.

Libya’s fixed surface-to-air missile threat and early warning radars are gone. The threat that remains comes from mobile surface-to-air missiles -- SA-6 and SA-8 systems – as well as thousands of shoulder-fired SA-7 missile launchers, the admiral told reporters.

The coalition has not directly targeted anti-aircraft artillery, Gortney said, because many are near homes and there are thousands of these guns.

The coalition has grown and will continue to increase, Gortney said, noting that it includes the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Italy, Qatar, Belgium, Norway and Denmark. More nations will directly participate in the coalition, he said, and other nations will provide overflight rights, basing and logistics. Gortney said those nations will make their announcements at their own times.

The United States leads the coalition effort now, but that will change, the admiral said.

“Our intent is to be a part of the coalition throughout, and transfer the command to a coalition command,” he said. The United States would shift to more of a support function that would include aerial tankers; electronic warfare aircraft; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft; and logistics.