The New ANA in the Battle of Kandahar - ADA News July 29th, 2019

[MSgt Falconer]

The “New” ANA in the Battle of Kandahar

ADA News - Dateline 29 July, 2019

 

As reported by a number of new outlets in the recent week the Afghan National Army (ANA) have come under increasing pressure from the resurgent Taliban and ISIS-A forces who have thrown parts of Afghanistan into complete anarchy. The ANA as it stood was fraught with corruption on the higher echelons and poor morale in the lower ones. It was also battling severe problems with desertion, drug abuse and other criminal activity. Despite extensive measures by NATO to train the ANA, the effect was negligible. While certain units of the ANA distinguished themselves both in training and in actual combat situations the majority of the force still faced significant issues despite the large amount of time and money invested by NATO. Now it seems NATOs patience has run out as political pressure on the Afghan government has resulted in Afghanistan ceding control of its army’s recruitment and training programs to the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF).

 

The final straw was the ANA withdrawal from Northern Afghanistan which left the region in complete anarchy as well as the resurgence of the Taliban in Mazar-i-sharif and Kandahar. With a new chief of recruitment in place and under strict ISAF surveillance the requirements for acceptance into the ANA were raised significantly. Mandatory drug screenings were implemented and a more rigorous training plan is followed. Disciplinary measures have been stepped up, both against new recruits and those already in the ANA. It did not take long for these new methods to have a measurable effect.

 

With the Taliban offensive into Kandahar the newly reformed 3rd Brigade was deployed under ISAF supervision and with US Special forces advisors on the ground. In a days fighting the Taliban offensive was blunted, in two it was stopped dead in its tracks, on the third day the brigade began its counterattack and despite the unusually stiff resistance put up by the Taliban the brigade succeeded in driving Taliban forces out of Kandahar, in total the battle lasted five days. Casualties for the 3rd Brigade were low with only 18 dead and around 50 wounded compared to over 300 Taliban fighters killed and around 100 captured. But as is often the case with insurgents defeating them in the field is only the first step. The 3rd Brigade is now firmly entrenched in Kandahar, looking to restore order and hunt down any Taliban who have gone into hiding in the province. 

 

Captain Bahir Khalim briefs his platoon commanders on their new assignment at a Combat Outpost in Kandahar

 

This initial victory does seem to indicate that the new ANA is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Both NATO and ANA personnel report a significant increase in troop morale, discipline and as witnessed in Kandahar, staying power. New defense minister Bardi al-Ghota said in a press conference following the battle “the times when the ANA was dismissed as a third rate force and widely ridiculed are over. We have the foundations of not only a new army, but a new Afghanistan as well, an Afghanistan free of the Taliban, free of ISIS, an Afghanistan that is ready to join the world in the 21st century”.

 

ADA News
Middle East Division

Written by: Simon Tam
Edited by: John Argentina