The Advisor Mission in Afghanistan

[Randy Brown]

Will send the link to two contacts who have served there and try to get their comments.

Good technique! I, too, have forwarded Helmer's article for comments from both outbound and inbound ETT personnel within my organization, and will look forward to passing along any relevant revelations, reactions, and/or reality-checks.

As an armchair analyst--one charged with trying to make sense of Afghanistan through the insights of others--I had thought that the CSTC-A had been eliminated and transitioned to yet another structure. In fact, last week at Fort Leavenworth I had coffee with a CSTC-A alumn who swore he'd helped turn off the lights. Yet, a quick fact-check indicates that it's alive and well on the World Wide Web.

I'm confused. Perhaps, however, this in itself speaks to the author's point about the need to simplify the chain of command ...