Austin: Afghan Government ‘At Risk’ Without International Forces

By Nick Simeone

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Mar. 6, 2014 – If U.S. and NATO forces are required to leave Afghanistan at the end of the year in the absence of a security agreement, the Afghan government’s long-term viability “is likely to be at high risk,” the commander of U.S. Central Command told Congress yesterday.

Of all the conflicts and security issues on his watch, Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III told the House Armed Services Committee, operations in Afghanistan remain his top priority -- in particular, ensuring that the progress achieved during America’s longest war is not lost.

But despite repeated urgings by U.S. officials, Afghan President Hamid Karzai refuses to sign a bilateral security agreement negotiated with the United States that would allow for a continued post-2014 U.S. military presence to train and advise Afghan forces and to conduct counterterror operations, a presence Austin described as being vitally important to Afghanistan’s future.

“We have invested lives and other precious resources to improve security and stability in that country,” he said. “Going forward, we want to do all that we can to preserve those hard earned gains,” among them, an Afghan security force numbering nearly 344,000 and leading nearly all security operations in the country.

“If the United States and Afghanistan are unable to achieve a BSA, we will move rapidly to consider alternatives for continuing a security cooperation relationship with Afghanistan,” Austin told the committee in prepared testimony.

Ultimately, he added, Afghanistan’s future will be in the hands of the Afghans themselves, with an important milestone being national elections set for next month.

“If the Afghan leadership does not make the right decisions going forward, the opportunities they have been afforded could easily be squandered,” the general said.

Austin’s testimony covered the range of issues and threats facing the United States across the Middle East and South Asia, including the civil war in Syria, which he called the most difficult challenge he has faced in his nearly 40-year military career. The conflict, which has claimed several hundred thousand lives, has reached a “dynamic stalemate,” Austin told the House panel, with neither President Bashar Assad’s government nor rebels fighting to topple him able to achieve their objectives.

In addition to creating regional instability, the flow of foreign fighters into the country, which Austin put at upwards of 7,000, remains a concern, given that many of them will eventually return home. And while Assad pledged last year to turn over his stockpile of chemical weapons, Austin said, the Syrian government has missed milestones for their removal and destruction.

In neighboring Iraq, Austin described a security situation that has deteriorated significantly, with levels of violence reaching those seen at the height of sectarian conflict in 2006 to 2008.

“The principal cause of the growing instability has been the Shiia-led government’s lack of meaningful reform and inclusiveness of minority Sunni and Kurds,” the general said, adding that the situation is exacerbated by the active presence of al-Qaida and a steady influx of jihadists from the war in Syria.

The United States has expanded security cooperation with Baghdad by supplying the government with small arms, rockets and Hellfire missiles, Austin said, but it is going to take “major internal political reform and the sincere inclusion of the Sunnis and Kurds into the political process” to make a significant difference in levels of violence.

In Iran, Austin cited progress in negotiations over halting the country’s nuclear program, but said significant concerns remain about the behavior of the Iranian government. “We are seeing a significant increase in Iranian proxy activity in Syria, principally through Iran’s support of Lebanese Hezbollah and the regime,” he said.

In Egypt, Austin said, the interim government, despite making some strides toward more democratic and inclusive rule, has yet to take up the dire economic problems affecting the country. Still, he said, the United States will continue to work with the Egyptian military to advance mutual security interests.

Overall, while the United States has made progress in countering terrorism in the region, Austin said, al-Qaida and its affiliates continue to pose the most significant threat to the United States and its allies. The region’s explosion of unemployed young people demanding political change and increased opportunity, combined with increasing ethnic and sectarian violence, continue to drive instability and recruitment by terrorists, he said, creating what he called “underlying currents” that may not be possible to halt or reverse.

Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Caleb L. Erickson, 20, of Waseca, Minn., died Feb. 28, while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

For more information, media may contact the 2nd Marine Division Public Affairs Office during duty hours at 910-450-6575 or after duty hours at 910-372-2736.

Air Force Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Master Sgt. David L. Poirier, 52, of North Smithfield, R.I., died Feb. 28, from a non-combat related incident currently under investigation.

He was assigned to the 157th Operations Support Squadron, Pease Air National Guard Base, N.H.

For more information, media may contact the Pease Air National Guard Public Affairs Office during duty hours at 603-430-3461 or after duty hours at 603-430-2459.

Official Sees Hope in U.S. Willingness to Let New Afghan Leader Sign BSA

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

BRUSSELS, Mar. 1, 2014 – President Barack Obama’s recent statement of willingness to let Afghanistan’s next president sign a critical bilateral security agreement may give hope to Afghans who feared NATO-mission troops would withdraw from the nation by Dec. 31, a senior U.S. military official said this week.

On the sidelines of the NATO Defense Ministerial here Feb. 26, the military official spoke on background with several U.S. reporters.

“Yesterday was the first time I’d ever heard our government say there would be a willingness to sign the BSA with another president,” the official said.

Inside Afghanistan there is concern about Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign the BSA and a potential U.S.-ISAF shutdown of the 2015 mission there, and great fear that the United States would not wait to deal with another administration, he observed.

“We’ll have to see what the Afghan people say,” the official said, but added that U.S. willingness to deal with a new administration after Afghanistan’s April 5 presidential elections could help relieve uncertainty among people there.

Karzai won’t be running for re-election as president because of term limits.

The senior military official said he would advertise this willingness among his Afghan counterparts and make sure they know this offers hope “that might not have been there the day before yesterday.”

The official said at the time of the interview he hadn’t seen Obama’s directive but had read news reports about the White House readout of a Feb. 25 telephone call between Obama and Karzai.

The United States requires the Afghan government’s approval of the BSA before committing troops to a post-2014 NATO train-advise-assist mission in Afghanistan called Operation Resolute Support.

The BSA, along with a separate NATO Status of Forces Agreement and agreements with non-NATO nations that contribute troops to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force mission, would give all participating nations a legal justification for the new mission that would begin Jan. 1, 2015.

On the call, Obama told Karzai that because Karzai has refused to sign the BSA, Obama directed Defense Department leaders to make sure plans are in place to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Dec. 31.

“On the other hand,” Obama said, according to the White House readout, “should we have a BSA and a willing and committed partner in the Afghan government, a limited post-2014 mission focused on training, advising and assisting Afghan forces and going after the remnants of core al-Qaida could be in the interests of the United States and Afghanistan.”

The official said his own concerns about such a delay in plans for 2015 extend first to its impact on Afghan and Afghan security force confidence, then on hedging behavior in the region, coalition cohesion and, only after those considerations, concern about the impact on the physics of the military campaign, which he says military leaders have in control.

“Clearly,” he added, “the political environment as a whole creates concern and uncertainty among the Afghan leadership and the Afghan forces. That’s one of our challenges.”

Whether a BSA agreement is signed or not, the senior U.S. military official said nothing changes for the 2014 NATO ISAF mission until July.

“Regardless of the [decision] for 2015, I would not change the plan that's in place between now and the summer,” the official said.

“In July if we still don’t have a decision … I probably would do some things that would allow us to go either way. Then, as you get to the fall, you start taking a look at whether you're going to empty the theater by the end of December or … set [up] for Resolute Support,” he explained.

The official took a piece of paper and drew a large circle with a smaller circle inside, representing the Resolute Support mission structure.

“In July I will have established the inner circle, [which] is the Resolute Support mission,” he said. “Forces that are deployed this July will [perform] the tasks in the organizational construct of Resolute Support.”

The outside concentric circle represents forces still performing residual ISAF tasks until the end of December, the official said, and gradually over that time will withdraw from the theater.

“The force that's going to deploy in July, even if there's still no [2015] decision, has been trained, organized and equipped to do the Resolute Support task,” he said.

That force, he added, is designed to provide core-level train-advise-assist mission elements.

One of the most important jobs this year for the Afghan national security force is to support the April 5 presidential elections, the senior U.S. military official said.

The Afghans want their election to be inclusive, credible and transparent, he added.

“We largely focus on the inclusivity piece,” the official noted, which includes technical and security elements. That means supporting the Afghans to make sure voters have access to the polls and public information, and providing an environment in which people can believe the vote will make a difference, the official said.

“From a technical and a security perspective I feel pretty good,” he said. “The technical piece [involves] distributing ballot material, building polling sites and assessing security. The security piece is a Ministry of Interior-led effort to ensure security at the polling places.”

The Afghans also want credibility and transparency during the election, and the official thinks these will be the most challenging goals to achieve.

“This is not my specific lane,” he said, “but we’re creating the conditions within which [credibility and transparency] can take place.”

The senior U.S. military official said none of the decisions yet to be made about 2015 affect the last year of the ISAF campaign.

“We have a mandate to do certain things, we have certain authorities, we have certain resources, and I plan on applying those until the very last day of the year,” he said. “No one has suggested that we’re not going to continue to do in 2014 what has been the plan since the [2010] Lisbon Agreement.”

The official said he’s proud of the progress made by the Afghan forces.

“If you ask me today whether the Afghan forces are capable of providing security to the Afghan people, the record speaks for itself,” he said.

But if no BSA is signed and no ISAF troops are on the ground in Afghanistan next year, he added, progress made to date “will not be sustainable.”

Four critical areas still must be addressed, he said. The first involves Afghan security institution capacity -- or MOD (Ministry of Defense) and MOI (Ministry of Interior) capacity building.

In the United States, the Defense Department has people who specialize in acquisition, planning, programming and budgeting, and other people who are experts in managing supplies and identifying requirements.

“There's a big machine in the department that allows forces in the field to be supported,” the military official said.

At the ministerial level in Afghanistan, he said, “we’re only eight or nine months into a concerted effort to develop MOD and MOI capacities. That’s one of the areas of most concern.

“So if you talk about executing a budget,” the military official continued, “the Afghans … aren't capable of executing a complete budget right now, in large part due to a lack of expertise in contracting, acquisition and those kinds of things, and the ability then to project requirements, which is a huge piece of what we do in the Department of Defense.”

In Afghanistan, he said, neither the intelligence nor the aviation enterprises will be mature by the end of 2014. And the special operations capability, he said, inextricably linked with intelligence and aviation, still needs work.

“Those four gaps would be the focus of Resolute Support,” he said.

Without the 2015 mission, he said, “I think we'll see deteriorating security conditions over time as a result of deteriorating Afghan security force capability” caused by simple things like inconsistent distribution of parts, fuel, pay and supplies.

Conditions in the region also affect what ISAF can accomplish in Afghanistan, the official said.

“Uncertainty about 2015 and beyond creates hedging behavior in the region, and all the nations there have to think about how they're going to protect their interests [if] there is no coalition presence at the end of 2014,” he added.

“My sense is that our presence has been and would be a stabilizing presence in the region, allowing some difficult issues to be worked through,” the official said, including complex relationships among Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Critical work also remains in the region involving the more than 2,000-kilometer-long porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“The enemy has sanctuary in Pakistan,” from which operates “the most virulent strain of the insurgency,” the official said.

“To achieve our end-state in the region, we need a comprehensive approach to address extremism that knows no boundaries. My recommendation is for [the United States to take] a broader regional approach,” he added.

The U.S. military recommendation for the region is in the context of a broader whole-of-government approach, the official said, to achieve the end-state the president has identified.

To be successful in Afghanistan, he added, “you have to address the challenges that are in Pakistan.”

Homeland Defense Nominee Prioritizes Terrorist Protection

By Terri Moon Cronk

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2014 – The nominee for assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense told the Senate Armed Forces Committee in a statement he would continue the Defense Department’s policies and improve protection of the United States from a major terrorist attack.

In answers to questions submitted by committee members to Eric Rosenbach before his SASC confirmation hearing Feb. 25, the nominee said he would “continue, and improve the outstanding efforts” of DOD to prevent such an attack.

“I would be particularly focused on preventing an attack using a weapon of mass destruction, and on planning and preparing for the response to catastrophic incidents in the United States, including weapons of mass destruction,” Rosenbach said in his statement.

“One of the most pressing challenges that I would immediately face … would be managing the department’s efforts to help eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons,” he added in his statement.

Rosenbach has been the deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy since 2011.

“Over the last two-and-a-half years at the Pentagon, I gained a deep understanding of the cyber security challenges facing the nation,” he said in his statement.

Rosenbach also noted in his statement that his “substantive background” includes extensive practical and academic work in intelligence, counterterrorism, homeland security and cyber policy.

As a former commander of an Army intelligence unit, he said he has “invaluable experience” in military and intelligence operations, in addition to experience in U.S. counterterrorism and homeland security work as a former Senate Intelligence Committee staff member.

“If confirmed, I look forward to working with you and your staffs, [and] in particular as a former member of the Senate staff, I know that's important. I'll make every effort, if confirmed, to live up to your expectations,” Rosenbach told SASC members during the hearing.

“I see no higher honor than serving as the assistant secretary of defense and focusing in particular on homeland defense and defending our country and working closely with the National Guard, Northern Command, Cyber Command and Strategic Command,” he said.

Guard members from three states perfect the medevac trifecta on Afghan duty

By 1st Lt. Jan Bender
California National Guard

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (2/28/14) - During a nine-month tour in Afghanistan, more than 100 Army National Guard Soldiers from California, Nevada and Washington with Charlie Company, 1-168th General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB) worked together to provide aerial medical evacuation support to all of Regional Command (RC) West and Southwest.

The team logged more than 3,000 flight hours, 683 medevac missions and transported 730 patients.
Following similar deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002 and 2008, this tour marked the third rotation in which these Citizen-Soldiers from across the American West were out kicking up dust and saving lives across Afghanistan. Their historic performance under fire during past deployments set a new standard for Army medevac units and changed the way the entire community trains to deploy.

"The thing that I'm most proud of [on this deployment] is the fact that we brought three states together and pulled everybody into one team," said California Army National Guard (CAARNG) Maj. David Lovett, commander of Charlie Company, 1-168th GSAB. "In true National Guard fashion, we made it happen."

Perfecting the Cal-Nev-Wash trifecta

Composed respectively of six aircraft and crews from California, six from Nevada and three from Washington, the unit made the decision early on to dissolve any state lines.

"From day one, we mixed all three states as a combined joint effort," said Lovett. "There were elements from all three states in the key positions. We completely mixed and matched to ensure we were the strongest we could be, everywhere we went."

Many of the unit's Soldiers had experienced multi-state deployments in the past and were enthusiastic about the cultural decision to structure the company based on performance and merit versus state integrity.

"It all goes back to last deployment … we went out with three very strong states … California, Nevada and Wyoming and they were able to stay pretty much state-centric. From my point of view, that was not the best way to go out the door," said 1st Sgt. Wayne Loader, a Nevada Army National Guard member who has been with the company since 2008 and served as the company first sergeant throughout the deployment. "So when we got word on the next deployment we started bringing all of our detachments together to train, almost two years out."

Charlie Company's Washington detachment was the newest addition to the company, as a result of a new Army mandate to increase medevac companies from 12 to 15 Black Hawks. Formed in late 2011 and nearly fully manned and equipped by mid 2012, the detachment had just one year to ready itself for action overseas.

"Especially with Washington getting thrown into the mix as a brand new unit, we needed to spread the wealth," said Loader. "We didn't want our Soldiers worrying about where they're from, but focused on where the unit is going together."

Washington Army National Guard Maj. Tyler Ranney was selected to serve as the detachment's commander. With his active duty experience as an Army medical officer and his Guard training as a Black Hawk pilot, he led the unit in its evolution from simply being an idea on paper to becoming a combat effective medevac element.

"Coming into this, we had no [real-world] experience deploying as a detachment and so we came in with fresh eyes, looking for what right looked like," Ranney said.

Ranney said from the start he had faith in his people and their abilities as pilots, aircrew and medics, and that only increased as they gelled with the other states and exchanged training throughout the deployment.

Since its initial formation, the Washington detachment's sole focus was on readying for the mission overseas, so upon its return Ranney was eager to offer their combat proven capability to their home state.

"We're ready to stand alone," said Ranney. "With all of the experience, expertise and tools we bring to the table, I'm excited to see how we're going to integrate ourselves into the civilian emergency response and search and rescue arena here at home."

Setting the "DUSTOFF" standard

Charlie Company prides itself in providing "Dedicated Unwavering Service to Our Fighting Forces," or DUSTOFF. Since the Vietnam War when helicopters were first deployed on medevac missions, DUSTOFF has been the call sign that comes across the radio waves when troops need aeromedical rescue in the midst of combat.

"We're aware of all those troops before us that helped to develop the program and all the sacrifices and efforts they made," said California Army National Guard member Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Hughes, a team sergeant with Charlie Company who has been on every deployment with the unit since he joined its ranks in 1997. "We are the result of a long legacy and tradition that we're proud to carry forward."

This deployment, Charlie Company was broken up into small teams and emplaced on forward operating bases throughout RC West and Southwest, picking up and pulling back as the countryside was handed over to Afghan forces. Within the first month of being on the ground, this time Charlie Company experienced some of its toughest rescues of the deployment.

"There was a stretch of two days where we had a couple aircraft get shot up by enemy fire going into hot [landing zones] to pick up wounded. It was early on, so I was like, whoa, this is going to be more challenging than I thought," said Lovett, who served as a platoon leader during the unit's 2008 OEF deployment when their Black Hawks dodged a near daily dose of hot steel. "Fortunately for us, though we faced enemy fire sporadically; we didn't have any aircraft damaged for the rest of the deployment."
Each time Charlie has deployed to Afghanistan the variables have been different, but the heart of the mission has remained the same.

"Our typical launch time was six minutes [from the initial call for help]," said Hughes. "The coverage we provide is a combat multiplier. Before the units we were stationed alongside would roll out on their missions, they would stop by and check out with us. Knowing we were there for them gave them a great since of confidence."

During Charlie's 2002 deployment they recognized the need for greater emphasis on in flight medical care, so they set about making change. When they returned to Afghanistan in 2008 on the eve of the surge they brought with them a level of expertise and experience that far exceeded the active Army standard.

An extensive study later found that Charlie Company was able to keep 66 percent more of its patients alive when compared side-by-side to their active duty medevac counterparts.

The difference: each of Charlie Company's flight medics was a paramedic versus the baseline emergency medical technician (EMT) certification that was the Army standard at the time.

Soon after, the Army charted a course to raise the standard for the entire medevac community, a change that took effect with a new level of schooling for medevac flight medics in 2012.

Ever focused on saving more lives on the battlefield, this time around Charlie Company raised the bar again.

"This go-around we maintained that high level of medical expertise with our paramedics, but on top of that we brought along our own physician's assistant (PA),"  Lovett said . "We pursued a waiver through [the National Guard Bureau] to leverage someone who was already an Army PA and worked full time as a civilian PA in an emergency room, to further enhance our life saving capabilities. We were the first medevac company to ever do that."

Citizen-Soldier edge 

The unit brought a huge capability to the fight that only a National Guard unit can. The medics in active duty units can't compete, said Lovett. It's nearly impossible to simulate the day-to-day real-world experience that Guard Soldiers pick up working their full-time jobs as first responders out in the community.

That breadth and depth of hands-on medical experience is only one aspect of what set Charlie apart.
Charlie Company's pilots and crew also brought a unique cache of experience over from the search and rescue and wildfire fighting hoist missions they execute in the high altitude, rugged and mountainous terrain of their home states; real-world mission experience their active duty counterparts rarely have access to outside of a combat zone.

Another secret to Charlie Company's success is recognizing and grooming talent from a young age.
California Army National Guard Sgt. Cody Weaver joined the unit right out of basic training in 2005. He was an aircraft mechanic and served in that capacity during the unit's 2008 OEF tour. On this last rotation he deployed as a crew chief, and interacting directly with those they rescued left a mark on him.

"Some of these people we rescue are critically wounded and we are quite literally saving their lives," said Weaver. "They'll reach out to us or come find us, sometimes with tears in their eyes, and thank you for saving their life. It's really gratifying to hear that."

Weaver now has his sights set on commissioning as a warrant officer, with hopes that the next time Charlie Company answers the call overseas he'll be in the cockpit.

"I really enjoy the mission and the people that I work with," said Weaver. "For me there is no greater calling."