Should you merge Advisors with PRT's?

[Old Eagle]

Please keep us informed as to how this develops.

Please also introduce yourself over at the hail & farewell section or on the intro thread.

[John T. Fishel]

Would really like to hear more about how it's going and what effect, if any, the changes of command in CENTCOM and Afghanistan have on this matter.

Cheers

JohnT

[Old Eagle]

I am specifically interested in how the PTTs (or whatever they're called in Afgh) are going to function w/PRTs. Do they live on your bases? Do they venture out only as part of the PRT? How do they integrate w/ANP? Over how large an area?

[IntelTrooper]

I am specifically interested in how the PTTs (or whatever they're called in Afgh) are going to function w/PRTs. Do they live on your bases? Do they venture out only as part of the PRT? How do they integrate w/ANP? Over how large an area?

Are you referring to PMTs (Police Mentor Teams)?
In my AO, PMTs were a relatively new entity, and I believe they were living at a separate base than the PRT but their AO encompassed the entire province (which is totally unacceptable, IMO) and covered two separate agencies (ANP and ABP). They ran their own missions although occasionally cooperated with the PRT. And that is one of the huge problems with the PRT system.

The PRT, as it is set up, doesn't have to listen to anyone's advice and there is no system for mentoring teams (either PMT or ETT) to submit requests for projects. The PRT does its own thing, and everyone else does their own thing (which sort of flies in the face of that whole unity of command thing). Obviously through cultivating a good relationship with the PRT folks one could improve their prospects of getting some cooperation but there is no codified system for how these entities are supposed to work. (On second thought, there might be, but where I was nothing worked how it was supposed to.)

I have to admit that we were kind of in the third station of the Heart of Darkness cycle so there may be other provinces where the relationship between mentors and PRTs was more ideal.

[Old Eagle]

Yeah. I was specifically trying to vector in on Merciless9's comments about potential merger.

As I recall, the police teams are referred to as PMTs in Afgh, now that I think about it. Thanks for the memory jog.

Two parts of your response concern me. 1. That the PMTs are over extended and 2. that the PRTs not coordinating activities.

Makes you want to go Hmmm.

[Sylvan]

I just returned from my role as Provincial Lead Mentor for a Southern Afghanistan Province. I had 4 PMTs spread through the key districts, plus several other unmentored districts.
The PRT needs to be completely separate (though coordinate with) the mentor teams. The PRT focuses on being the carrot for the governor. The ETTs are there to watch the ANA in their FOBs. The PMTs are there to be patrolling with the Police and ensuring they aren't robbing the people. The PRTs are usually commanded by a non-Army/Marine guy who thinks he knows ground manuever but doesn't. Nice guys, but the minute they start making tactical decisions its over. They don't need to talk to the mentors to know where to focus. they need to talk with the provincial governor. The PRTs are a decent concept, but their biggest hampering is that the leadership is military and not civilian. We had an intel guy and a pilot commanding the PRT while I was there. Hell of a way to fight a war. that civilian surge briefed well. Lets see some guys step up. Hell, send some USACE with Uniformed Health Services over.

[azl]

Sylvan I agree. PRTs are to aid the civilian reconstruction to better improving their performance a civilian head assissted by the local intel person would greatly enhance their effectiveness. the problem of the locals will be better addresed which in turn would help improve local relations