Army Casualty

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

Chief Warrant Officer Deric M. Rasmussen, 33, of Oceanside, California, died May 11, in Mazar E Sharif, Afghanistan, as the result of a non-combat incident.

He was assigned to the Company C, 1st Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

For more information, media may contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at 254-287-9993.

Army Casualty

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

Pfc. Daniela Rojas, 19, of Los Angeles, California, died May 3, in Homburg, Germany, due to a non-combat related illness.

She was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.

For more information, media may contact the Fort Carson public affairs office at 719-526-7525/4143 or after duty hours at 719-526-5500.

Dempsey Calls Election ‘Turning Point’ for Afghan Forces

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, May 2, 2014 – The Afghan election last month marked a turning point for Afghanistan’s national security forces, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.

The success of the April 5 presidential election boosted the confidence of members of the Afghan force, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said following a meeting with senior U.S. leaders.

It was Dempsey’s second visit here in as many months. “I wanted to come over this time because I had read about the elections and I’d heard about how well the [Afghan forces] had performed,” he said during an interview. “I wanted to … learn more about what that really means.”

The chairman said one of the generals he spoke with used a sports analogy to describe what U.S. forces in Afghanistan did the day of the election. American forces, the general told him, got up, got ready, warmed up and then sat on the bench. They didn’t have to get into the game.

“Stated another way, the Afghan security forces managed the entire thing,” the chairman said. “They transported the ballots, they protected the polling places, they fought off the attempts of the Taliban to disrupt it. So for me … that election seems to be a turning point in the confidence of the [Afghan security forces].”

The Afghan forces proved they could “peak” for a momentous occasion, the chairman said. “They were able to plan, they were able to prepare, they were able to execute a big momentous event,” he added.

Afghan forces should be proud of the achievement, Dempsey said. “I think where they still require work is in the mundane -- the day-to-day things of paying and feeding and resupplying and maintaining,” he said.

Afghan forces have proved they can fight. No one questions that. But the enablers -- maintenance, logistics and intelligence -- are lacking. “I think where they need our assistance for some period of time is at the institutional level, so all of this that they’ve accomplished becomes sustainable over time,” the chairman said, acknowledging that this will take time.

Producing an intelligence analyst who has the intuitive knowledge of what’s important and -- just as important -- who needs it, is a tasking years in the making. Having personnel who can maintain trucks or helicopters in a country with literacy problems is a long pole in the tent of Afghan forces.

While it will take time, “that doesn’t mean we have to be out there walking the paths in their foothills or through their villages,” Dempsey said. “This is about helping them develop systems. That’s really what our recommendation has been for the post-2014 presence.”

The chairman said he cannot shed any light on when President Barack Obama will announce his decision on the U.S. post-2014 footprint -- a question seemingly on the lips of every service member at this sprawling base. “We’ve made our recommendations,” he said. “We’ve refined them based on changes on the ground, such as the successful elections. The decision will involve not only what’s in U.S. interests, but the interests of NATO, because this is a NATO mission.

“Would I like a decision sooner rather than later? Of course,” he continued. “There is some uncertainty in the ranks. Young men and women who serve, and their families, would like to know whether they are going to deploy or not deploy, or for how long they are going to deploy.”

For now, the mission goes on, and what’s more important than what happens in 2015 is making sure efforts in 2014 count, the chairman said. “The real strong theme today in Afghanistan is we need to make 2014 matter,” he said. “We need to use it.”

The bilateral security agreement remains crucial to the post-2014 U.S. presence. “We could make a conditional decision -- meaning if we get a BSA, here is what we will do,” Dempsey said. “But clearly, we need a willing partner to have a sustained and somewhat enduring presence here. The BSA is critical.”

While the Afghan security forces did well in the election, it was “the culmination of 12 years of effort,” by young American men and women who came to Afghanistan because the United States had been attacked by al-Qaida operating out of Afghanistan, the chairman noted.

“From that moment forward, we’ve had a very clear eye on what we had to accomplish and that is the defeat of al-Qaida, the disruption of that network and the establishment of a stable nation that would no longer be a safe haven for al-Qaida,” he said.

American Units Adapting to New Missions in Afghanistan

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, May 2, 2014 – As you walk into the headquarters for Regional Command East here, you see a photo of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Underneath the photo is an inscription: “Never again.”

“Our soldiers understand why they are here,” said Army Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, the commander of Regional Command East and of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division. “International terrorists will never use this country to launch attacks on the United States or our allies again.”

Townsend spoke during a break in meetings with Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is visiting here to confer with senior leaders.

But the mission American and coalition service members perform has changed from one in which Americans did the combat operations to one in which U.S. and coalition forces train, advise and assist Afghan forces.

When he does battlefield circulations, Townsend said, he tells the U.S. and coalition service members that the mission is to “get the Afghan national security forces stood up, so we can stand down.”

This, the general said, is the biggest change he has seen since his last deployment to Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, American and coalition forces conducted about 95 percent of the operations. A few Afghan soldiers accompanied them, he said.

“Now, it’s exactly the opposite, with 95 percent of the operations led by the Afghans,” he said. “In fact, between 80 and 85 percent of those operations are Afghan unilaterals. There’s nobody from the coalition with them at all.”

This does not mean that American and coalition forces are out of danger. Last week, two 10th Mountain Division soldiers were killed conducting force-protection patrols.

Veterans of multiple deployments understand what is happening, Townsend said. “They are very happy to advise the Afghans and help train them and encourage them as they leave the gate on a mission,” he said. “They stand by as part of a quick-reaction force if needed.”

But they understand that “victory has an Afghan face,” the general said.

The mantra now is to train the trainer. U.S. forces train Afghan officers and sergeants, who in turn train Afghan privates. “That’s the only way we can build an institution that can sustain itself,” Townsend said.

The effort also is transitioning from unit-based security force assistance to functionally based assistance. In the past, American soldiers have been covering down on Afghan kandaks, or brigades, to train all aspects of what that unit needed to function effectively. “Now we are shifting our lens to functions -- critical functions,” he said.

Logistics and intelligence are two of these critical functions. Training now strives to connect kandaks through the chain of command to the Afghan Defense Ministry. “A lot of the Afghan units are functioning just fine,” Townsend said. But they do need things from outside the unit to perform best, he added.

Spare parts, replacements and intelligence sharing are examples of functions outside a unit that are critical to the unit’s success, he explained. “We’re trying to get the Afghans to push their intelligence down through channels to the unit that needs it,” he said. “We’re trying to make that pipe work.”

With logistics, the Afghans have no historical data to forecast what spares will be needed. As a result, they are still buying bulk parts. This is inefficient, the general said, because “you end up buying too many of one widget and too few of another.”

“They don’t have enough money to be inefficient and wasteful,” he added. “They have to be very efficient. We’re trying to help them maximize their bang for the buck.”

When Townsend speaks with U.S. and coalition troops, he said, they ask him about the status of the bilateral security agreement that would allow a continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan beyond this year. They also ask if the United States will leave a residual force in Afghanistan, and what it will do. “They may operate at the foxhole-and-rifle squad level, but they think at a national level,” he said.

The general said he believes Americans should know about the work his troopers are doing here.

“We lost a soldier, … and I read a post on the Internet from an American that said, ‘I thought we were out of there,’” Townsend said. “The American people need to know we are still here and doing the nation’s mission.”

Dempsey Arrives in Afghanistan for Meetings, Consultations

By Jim Garamone

American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, May 1, 2014 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived here tonight for a series of meetings with senior U.S. and coalition leaders and with American service members.

This is Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey’s second visit to Afghanistan in as many months.

His visit comes on the heels of the release of the semiannual Report of Security and Stability in Afghanistan. The report says that Afghan security forces did an excellent job in securing the April 5 presidential election in the country.

However, the report also said Afghan forces lack crucial capabilities: air support, the intelligence enterprise, special operations, and security ministry capacity.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is planning for its mission to end Dec. 31 and transition to Operation Resolute Support. This, however, is contingent upon Afghan leaders signing the bilateral security agreement with the United States.

The already negotiated and agreed-to pact would be a blueprint for other NATO and partner nations. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign it means uncertainty for what follows the end of the ISAF mission. No coalition country can forecast its post-2014 presence, and the Taliban are trying to capitalize on the absence of an agreement to instill fear among Afghans.

The two top vote-getters in Afghanistan’s April 5 election will face off in a run-off election. Both candidates have said they will sign the security agreement.

While NATO planning has been for a post-2014 force of 8,000 to 12,000 troops to train and advise the Afghans, President Barack Obama has not yet decided on the number of U.S. troops that may be kept in Afghanistan if the Afghan government signs the agreement.