SS Advisor

You may read this post as the incoherent grumblings of an individual. Or hopefully you can read this post and understand why I know the Army still has a long, long way to go in the process currently used to select members for advisory duty. I hope other SWJ members can appreciate how me venting this frustration is only partly a sign of my discontent. Please know that I remain faithful to our Army and will do whatever is required of me.

Now, on to why I have placed this thread...

Four months ago I was told that since I had 36 months TRADOC time, I needed to get back out into the real Army. I carefully weighed my options. This is the first time in 15 years I had the opportunity to make a major career decision without it being made for me. What to do? Go back to Bragg, Campbell, Korea? I was just coming off of three years as an O/C learning about effects, EOF, COIN. I am an OEF three vet and have already done my line time. What to do?

I called RGR branch and volunteered for Advisory duty in Afghanistan. After I convinced my branch manger I was serious they gladly cut my orders. (I am going to leave out report dates etc, because of the openness of this forum.) Needless to say I had several months to prepare. 45 days out from my report date I get a call from HRC. They stood up a NG unit to fill this assignment, and I would now have to change my report date and AOR.

Lets review....

No one called my number, no one made me go. I volunteered. I didnt try to sham out at AC/RC or another erroneous assignment. I wanted to take the experience's I have at observing and improving units, to include experiences in that same country and apply it to make a kandak better. I am now replaced by a NG Soldier who is being sent. (Anybody at HRC ever read Galula or Sepp?) Look at Nagl's NAS study on building an Advisor Corps. Is this the quality people we are selecting? Taking Soldiers who dont want to be an Advisor over those who do? I have no bones against the NG, they are warriors too. But as a whole organization I dont put the NG on the same par as AD.

I explained to HRC that I had been on this assignment for two and a half months. Already had the knock down fight with the wife that I was going back into theater, and I had my clearing papers. They relented and said to stay with my orders.

Unfortunately, that has only put me in a worse position, I will now show to Riley without being on a team. I called them this morning and they arent tracking my arrival at all. I have had a hard copy of orders since May. Anybody ever read Kilcullen, the building of the Advisory team is the first key to success.

I realize this post has probably not enlightened anyone, (however it is good therapy for me to type it out.) I would offer this as a first hand testimony as to how the Advisory effort is truly going. Bullets arent flying, people arent dying and we cant get an assigment for a Soldier straight.

I feel that I am the S.S. Advisor and I see a little assignment iceberg in front of me.

In Service
Arh

It reminds me of the time in boot camp when a DI told me and a couple of other guys we had the job of using the plunger on any and all clogged toilets. He said we looked like plumbers.

Hey Tony !

There was a MILPERCEN message in April announcing an immediate special NCO HUMINT recruiting program for 97E (E6 and E7) to cover severe shortages. Two of my SF friends transferred in June. Supposedly language training, bonuses, etc. (BEAR).

Can you spell HUACHUCA :eek:

One of these E7s is already in language training and headin for Afghanistan this year. Less than 3 months...That's quick !

Not exactly what you were going for, but something to consider.

This was an unclas message under the Army's retention program.

Regards, Stan

Stan,
In retrospect that is exactly what I should have done. Unfortuantley it is probably to late now that I am already on orders. As a update I have been at Riley for a week now and they still have not figured out what they are going to do. Basically they said this class was "overbooked". Here I thought I was learning to be an Advisor not trying to book a flight to Hawaii. They said "they" would have an answer from HRC by friday. I guess they meant to say friday after next because a friday came and went already. Oh well thats what I get for trying to manage my own career and do something good for the Army. If they screw up this assigment anymore I might ask about doing the 97E thing.

In Service
arh

Tony,

The Army moves in mysterious ways unknown to itself. I know that does not help; hang in there,

Best

Tom

Boss,
Thanks you still have a way of setteling me down. I finally have a team, although I am slightly dissapointed/but excited. I will be conducting a VTT Validation Training Team (Theres your new acronym for the day!) I will throw you some details in your .mil account when I figure some more out. However, as the name implies we will assist ETT's in validation\ readiness assessment of their respective units. I think the high side will be helping higher headquarters understand the capabilites and limitations of individual ANA Battalions. The down side is I will not have a consistant counterpart to Coach, Teach, Mentor as I bounce around form unit to unit. Thanks for you calm leadership and helping me get a better grip on the Advisor piece.

In Service,
arh

Hey Tony !
Glad to see things are going well in the end. Sounds intriguing and may actually be rewarding. You're well aware that an Army career often means you meeting 'it' at least half way.

I am however concerned about your previous boss... hmmm ...'settling'. Was he ever behind the wheel with you in the 'same' vehicle :eek:

Dunno if I would start with 'settling', but I've got a few other expressions that come to mind :D

Good Luck, Stan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anthony Hoh

Boss,
Thanks you still have a way of setteling me down. I finally have a team, although I am slightly dissapointed/but excited. I will be conducting a VTT Validation Training Team (Theres your new acronym for the day!) I will throw you some details in your .mil account when I figure some more out. However, as the name implies we will assist ETT's in validation\ readiness assessment of their respective units. I think the high side will be helping higher headquarters understand the capabilites and limitations of individual ANA Battalions. The down side is I will not have a consistant counterpart to Coach, Teach, Mentor as I bounce around form unit to unit. Thanks for you calm leadership and helping me get a better grip on the Advisor piece.

In Service,
arh

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Tony

Good for you! Like Stan said, this may be a great thing for you. More diverse and more interesting. I expect to see you down here as part of a rotation. :D

Best

Tom

As a current member of a MiTT, I feel your pain on this, Anthony. Our team was formed 'out of hide' from the Brigade. They basically took all the guys that had just checked in the unit, a few guys that had pissed off the wrong people, and then a few like me who were the only possible choices (not too many intel whackers running around an infantry battalion, right?)

We even had a few guys that weren't around when the team stood up, they were still on convalescent leave.

Dusty,
Thanks for chimming in. Unfortunatley this seems to be more the norm than the exception.

To anyone browsing the thread. Had a cultural emmersion class today that ended in four hours with Les Grau.

For those of you not familiar with Les he wrote The bear went over the mountain. A must read for any SGT through BDE CDR going to Afghhanstan. We even got a free bonus copy of The other side of the Mountain. ( Yes Tom I snagged you an extra copy incase you didnt already have one.;) ) He gave some great first hand perspective on motivations behind the Mujahideen, and a detailed account of operation Anaconda. Not to mention a few personal insights about how the rebuilding effort is going so far. I wish a few more folks would listen to that guy.

One great take away to share... In his opinion and I agree we are rebuilding Afghanistan in the wrong manner. We have this large unemployed population. And we are contracting the building of road networks out to private contractors with buldozers. :eek: He proposes we use LEP's with pick axes and shovels to do the work. I think it is a sound idea and would welcome anyones insight before I put it in the "possible CERP project box." It will have its own chalanges wth fraud, waste, delay... ButI would rather you feed your family by building a road than growing poppy or shooting a rocket at me. If anyone else could show me adown side let me know.

In Service

arh

Les is a national treasure when it comes to Afghanistan.

He once got lost between my house in DeRidder and Fort Polk for some 3 hours--went almost over to Beaumont and then Alexandria. :wry: Something of a record I think.

I got your award--need snail mail address. Send it via PM or email. And yes I want someone there to present it so it cannot be your address...:D

Best

Tom

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tom Odom

Les is a national treasure when it comes to Afghanistan.

He once got lost between my house in DeRidder and Fort Polk for some 3 hours--went almost over to Beaumont and then Alexandria. :wry: Something of a record I think.

Best

Tom

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I read several of his FMSO/CALL publications. One of my favorites was Artillery and Counterinsurgency: The Soviet Experience in Afghanistan

That said, seems funny that an individual who wrote in grave detail about Soviet arty got lost finding your house.

For anyone else interested, there's a virtual ton of FMSO/CALL products here

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tom Odom

I got your award--need snail mail address. Send it via PM or email. And yes I want someone there to present it so it cannot be your address...:D

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Tony,
Congrats on the award ! Tom was always kinda like that with award presentations - It's like he can tell you're squirming in your seat :D

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That said, seems funny that an individual who wrote in grave detail about Soviet arty got lost finding your house.

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He found my house. Getting back to Polk proved difficult.

Hell sometimes I can't find my a$$ or so the wife says. :wry:

Personally I never get lost--I always know where I am cause that's where I am standing. Now the "where" part can be difficult but I am a long time student of the big-hand, little map technique.

Tom

Hi Tony,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anthony Hoh

One great take away to share... In his opinion and I agree we are rebuilding Afghanistan in the wrong manner. We have this large unemployed population. And we are contracting the building of road networks out to private contractors with buldozers. :eek: He proposes we use LEP's with pick axes and shovels to do the work. I think it is a sound idea and would welcome anyones insight before I put it in the "possible CERP project box." It will have its own chalanges wth fraud, waste, delay... ButI would rather you feed your family by building a road than growing poppy or shooting a rocket at me. If anyone else could show me adown side let me know.

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Darned good idea. As an adjunct to it, consider using the same type of workforce in local planning and rebuilding as well, especially at the village level. On the poppy issue, there are some pretty clear indications that the Taliban are forcing some local farmers to grow them so that NATO forces will come in to take them out and appear like occupiers. Try and contact the local doctors who practice Islamic Medicine (it's actually derived from Greek medicine via Alexander) and find out what their needs are for poppies and their byproducts. This should give you some type of figure for local medical consumption.

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Originally Posted by marct

Darned good idea. As an adjunct to it, consider using the same type of workforce in local planning and rebuilding as well, especially at the village level.

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This approach to things is the first lesson I learned when I hit the ground in Kurdistan in 1994, having left the Army and begun working for USAID. It was hardly a new concept then, and is a mainstay in the relief and development arena. I'm sure Stan can attest that demining programs in a number of dicey countries have been huge employers, keeping guys who are often local military (or militia or paramilitary or what-have-you) veterans gainfully employed and thinking about something other than why they're not able to feed, clothe and shelter their families (both immediate and extended).

It has been very worrisome to me since both Afghanistan and Iraq began that our own government chose to go the "big corporate" route, often with way too many human resource imports. My boss in Kurdistan was very proud of the fact that we contracted with LOCAL contractors to execute many large-scale jobs, keeping the majority of the capital flowing in the local economy. We had pretty good luck clearly explaining that US contracting regulations required X, Y, and Z, and if they wanted to do business with us, they'd need to meet the criteria. We had some death threats and the like from contractors who didn't make the cut, or whose bids were outside the acceptable range, but that goes with the territory. Also, we faciltated the rebuiding of tens of thousands of village homes using materiel procurred through local contractors (and purchased either inside Kurdistan, or in immediate neighbor countries) and engaged the returning villagers in the re-building process.

I'm way out of the loop on how things work at the senior command levels these days (not that I understood it when I was in, either), but there should be some serious push-back from the commanders on the ground when so many projects and programs are out-sourced as has been the case since 2001.

The same holds true for importing "hot" techincal solutions to problems, from replacement parts for electric turbines to manufacture of prosthetic limbs - the quick, sexy imports may solve some short-term problems, but it is wiser to seek long term solutions that can be sustained locally. A high-tech wheelchair from the US doesn't last very long on the streets of an Iraqi village, and then what's the guy got? A high-tech door stop.

We're long past the point where these critical little tidbits should be being rediscovered with each passing conflagration.

Cheers,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by marct

Hi Tony,



Darned good idea. As an adjunct to it, consider using the same type of workforce in local planning and rebuilding as well, especially at the village level. On the poppy issue, there are some pretty clear indications that the Taliban are forcing some local farmers to grow them so that NATO forces will come in to take them out and appear like occupiers. Try and contact the local doctors who practice Islamic Medicine (it's actually derived from Greek medicine via Alexander) and find out what their needs are for poppies and their byproducts. This should give you some type of figure for local medical consumption.

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You know, this is a good point. But besides local medical consumption, why can't the pharmaceutical companies-that produce opiate based pain medication-buy their poppy from these farmers? I must admit that I'm clueless when it comes to the production of opiate based pain killers, but I'm pretty sure the poppy plant is the main ingredient? The Pharm companies could offer a better price for the poppy than the drug smugglers and this would also increase the price of heroin, which would lead to a drop in demand.

Just a thought?

Ratzel: Under international treaty, there are (from what I understand) exactly two countries legally authorized to produce opium for medicinal use - Turkey and India, IIRC.

Those countries fairly strictly control the planting and cultivation of poppy, and are required to track it every step of the way.

I don't recall the financials, but I don't think Afghanistan would be very likely to have the sort of governmental infrastructure, or border control, required to be placed inside that system. (Simply authorizing production is a bad idea - illicit diversion is already a problem.)

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Originally Posted by Penta

Ratzel: Under international treaty, there are (from what I understand) exactly two countries legally authorized to produce opium for medicinal use - Turkey and India, IIRC.

Those countries fairly strictly control the planting and cultivation of poppy, and are required to track it every step of the way.

I don't recall the financials, but I don't think Afghanistan would be very likely to have the sort of governmental infrastructure, or border control, required to be placed inside that system. (Simply authorizing production is a bad idea - illicit diversion is already a problem.)

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Ya, I thought so. And I'm pretty sure that wherever the poppy is grown in India and Turkey its not cultivated by "Joe Farmer." Its most likely a big Agro-operation or even a state owned entity. Thank you for this information, I always wondered where the Pharmaceutical firms got the poppy.

Okay scratch that idea!.

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with the thread but my training is over and I am now here in Kabul. I still appreciate the wisdom of Les Grau in wanting to use local contractors in rebuilding the infrastructure, but let me throw out two quick observations that have put a wet blanket on this idea.

1. My team is destined to work at the Afghan National Army Training Command (ANATC), since we are a new organization our living quarters have not been completed. Yes we used a local contractor to complete the building; he was supposed to be done by the beginning of Jan. Here comes the issue, he doesn't work when it snows, anyone ever been near the Hindu kush in January? Needless to say progress has been slow at best. We are hoping to have a place to live by mid February.


2. We have a beautiful new modern structure for the ANATC HQ's. It was built by local contractors. A.) They initially did not install a heating system and ANA Soldiers were building fires inside the building to stay warm. B.) One of my teams first tasks will be to acquire office space for us and our counterparts. Currently, the Director of ANA Doctrine will move out of his private office and in with his staff, so we will have a place to work. I am sure that will score us big points in the rapport building category.

I still agree that using local hires is the right answer. However when done haphazardly we are left without our proverbial spoons and napkins. Just some thoughts

In Service
arh