No easy task: Making the Afghan Special Forces

[unhappycamper]

The ANA Commando Brigade color guard during the May 5 ceremony celebrating the establishment of the 8th Commando Kandak at Camp Morehead, Afghanistan.


No easy task: Making the Afghan Special Forces
By Sean D. Naylor - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 18, 2010 10:22:02 EDT

CAMP MOREHEAD, WARDAK PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Here on the outskirts of Kabul, a single Special Forces A-team has been charged with a responsibility unprecedented since the Vietnam era: creating an Afghan Special Forces organization from scratch.

The establishment of the Afghan National Army Special Forces, the first members of which graduated from their qualification course May 13, is part of a larger trend toward a more traditionally “indirect” counterinsurgency approach on the part of elite Afghan units trained by U.S. Special Forces. The 7,000-strong Afghan Commando Brigade — the country’s premier infantry force — is expanding beyond its core “direct action” mission set aimed at killing or capturing insurgents and now conducts disaster relief operations and what the military terms “key leader engagements” with tribal and village elders.

The Commandos and ANA Special Forces are also gaining trained information operations soldiers under the Afghan Information Dissemination Operations program while a plan to develop a special operations civil affairs program is in its infancy.

But it is the ANA Special Forces program — to which Army Times was granted exclusive access — that is the biggest indicator of a strategic shift in the role played by Afghanistan’s burgeoning special operations forces. The establishment of the ANA SF is intended “to create an indigenous special operations force capable of countering enemy efforts head on, at the lowest level possible: the Afghan tribal and family subsystems,” according to a slide briefing given to visitors at Camp Morehead. “These teams will surpass any coalition force in terms of access and placement within the population.” In other words, the ANA SF is being created to deny the insurgents the easy access to the population they currently enjoy in many places.

U.S. and Afghan officials familiar with the program predict that the creation of a force modeled explicitly on its U.S. Army namesake will have a major impact on the war, allowing Afghan troops and their coalition allies to exponentially expand their “village stability operations” (previously referred to as the Local Defense Initiative and the Community Defense Initiative), whereby special operations forces train villagers to defend their own turf against insurgents.



unhappycamper comment: So I was wondering how long this is going to take.


http://www.training.sfahq.com/qualifications.htm

Qualifications


Special Warfare Center and School


Officers and Enlisted

Changes: Articles (READ)

You can now enlist for SF!!

Available To Young Soldiers

Newest Criteria: 14 December 2001

* U.S. citizen
* Airborne qualified
* Score a 229 on the physical fitness test in the 17-21 age group
* Have a GT score of 110 or higher for E-1 to E-3 and a GT score of 100 for E-4 to E-6
* Pass the Special Forces Physical
* Qualify for a secret security clearance
* E-1 through E-3 can only have 11C or 11B as a military occupational specialty.



Previous Criteria

Must for All Applicants

Active Duty Male soldier

U.S. Citizen (Not waiverable)

Airborne Qualified or volunteer for Airborne Training

Swim 50-meters wearing boots and battle dress uniform (BDU), prior to beginning the Special Forces Qualification Course. All soldiers will be given a swim assessment during SFAS to determine whether he has the aptitude to learn to swim

Score a minimum of 206 points on the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), with No Less than 60 points on any event, using the Standards for age group 17-21

Meet Medical Fitness standards as outlined in AR 40-501

Eligible for a "SECRET" Security Clearance (Security Clearance is not required to attend SFAS)

Able to Reclassify from Current MOS or Basic Branch into CMF 18

NOT be currently serving in a restricted MOS or Branch

**************************

Enlisted Applicants

Pay Grade of E-4 to E-7. Successful completion of SFAS is a prerequisite to the SFQC

High School Graduate or have a General Equivalency Diploma (GED)

General Technical (GT) score of 100 or higher

Stabilization of Current Drill Sergeants and Detailed Recruiters will not be broken

Specialists, Corporals, and Sergeants who successfully complete SFAS will normally have their Retention Control Point waived to attend the SFQC

Upon successful completion of SFQC, they will be allowed continued service

Staff Sergeants approaching their RCP will not be allowed to apply

Each Sergeant First Class (SFC) must have no more than 12 years time in service and nine months time in grade when applying for SFAS and must be Either Airborne or Ranger Qualified

SFCs must be able to PCS to the SFQC within six months of selection from SFAS

Soldiers on assignment will not be allowed to attend SFAS without their branch’s prior approval

Soldiers on orders to a short tour area will be allowed to attend SFAS if a deferment is not required. These individuals will be scheduled for the next available SFQC after their DEROS

Volunteers for SFAS prior to receiving Assignment Notification will be deferred to allow SFAS attendance

For SFAS graduates, assignment to the SFQC will take precedence over any assignment conflict

OCONUS-based soldiers may attend SFAS in a TDY and return status anytime during their tour

Upon successful completion of SFAS, soldiers will be scheduled for the next available SFQC provided they have completed at least two-thirds of their overseas assignment obligation and have received PERSCOM approval for curtailment of the remainder of their overseas tour obligation

Soldiers serving on a short tour will not have their assignment curtailed

CONUS-based soldiers may attend SFAS in a TDY and return status anytime during their tour. Upon successful completion of SFAS, soldiers will be scheduled to attend the SFQC ensuring that they will have completed at least one-year time on station prior to PCS

Minimum of 24 Months remaining Time in Service (TIS) upon completion of the SFQC

**************************
Officer Applicants

Secret Security Clearance prior to final packet approval and meet eligibility criteria for Top Secret clearance

Completed the Officer Basic Course and have been successful in your branch assignments prior to application for Special Forces

Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) Score of 85 or higher or a Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) of a minimum of 1/1 reading and listening score

Minimum of 36 Months remaining Time In Service upon completion of Special Forces Detachment Officer Qualification Course (SFDOQC)

**************************

Warrant Officer Applicants

Rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG/E-6) or above.

A Special Forces MOS (18B, 18C, 18D, 18E, 18F, or 18Z).

A minimum of three years rated time on an SFODA.

A Score of 85 or better on the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (or a current 2/2 language rating).

Completion of the Special Forces Operations and Intelligence Course prior to October 3, 1994 or SF Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course (ANCOC).

Letters of recommendation from Commanders at the Detachment, Company, Battalion and Group levels (also recommended is a strong letter of recommendation from another Special Forces Warrant Officer with personal knowledge of the applicants abilities).



**************************

Must Not Be- All Applicants

Barred to Reenlistment

Under suspension of favorable personnel action

Convicted by court-martial or have disciplinary action noted in their official military personnel fiche under the provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Article 15). This provision can only be waived by the Commanding General, United States Army Special Warfare Center and School on a case by case basis

Terminated from Special Forces, Ranger, or Airborne Duty, unless termination was due to extreme family problems

30 days or more lost time under USC 972 within current or preceding enlistment

**************************

[Bigmack]

1. If I read your post correctly....

you think it's going to be a long road to an Afghan elite force.

The contrast with our own elite force qualifications is amazing. Our people must be supermen to begin with... and then they really get good!

I believe the Afghans are tough, and will get a lot tougher and better with specialized training. That worries me because they can be used by whoever is in charge at the moment.

[unhappycamper]

2. "That worries me because they can be used by whoever is in charge at the moment. "

This worries me also Bigmack.