Military of Afghanistan

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Military of Afghanistan
Emblem of the Afghan National Army
Founded	1880s
Current form	2001
Service branches	Afghan National Army Afghan Air Force Numerous local militias
Headquarters	Kabul
Manpower
Military age	22
Available for military service	4,952,812 males, age 22 to 49, 4,663,963 females, age 22 to 49
Fit for military service	2,662,946 males, age 22 to 49, 2,508,574 females, age 22 to 49
Reaching military age annually
Active personnel	40,000
Expenditures
Budget	$188.4 million
Percent of GDP	2.6%
Industry
Foreign suppliers	Current:  United States  India Historical:  Soviet Union  Pakistan
Related articles
History	Military history of Afghanistan Soviet war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Tanks of the Armored Battalion

The military of Afghanistan is composed of the Afghan National Army and the Air Corps (formerly the Afghan Air Force, with future plans for a separate Air Force once again). It has been built up by the international community following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Despite early problems with recruitment and training it is becoming increasingly effective and able to operate independent from the NATO and United States troops in the country - Combined Forces Command Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force. The President of Afghanistan is Commander in Chief of the military of Afghanistan. It is headquartered at the National Military Command Center in Kabul.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Theaters Of Operations 2 Weapons and vehicles 3 Current organization 4 See also 5 References and footnotes 6 External links

[edit] History

Afghanistan first standing army (in the Western sense) was established during the reign of Amir Sher Ali (1880s).

By the 1960s, certain economic reforms made possible a capable Afghan force through conscription. The Royal Afghan Military became an 80,000 strong Soviet trained mechanized force. After the fall of the Shah of Afghanistan in 1973 the king's cousin Daud Khan made stronger ties with the soviets in signing and accepting two highly controversial military aid packages for Afghanistan's military in 1973 and 1975. For three years Afghan armed forces and police officers received advanced soviet weapons, KGB, and soviet commando training. In 1976 President Daud Khan decided to distance himself from the Soviets and made Afghanistan's ties closer to the broader middle east and the United States. This made Daud decide to enlarge the armed forces to 200,000 strong, fearing a possible invasion by the soviets because of this bold move.

From 1977 to 1978 the Afghan armed forces began joint military training with the Military of Egypt. In April of 1978 there was a coup, known as saur coup, orchestrated by the soviets and members of the government loyal to the khalq and parcham parties. This lead Afghanistan to a full out soviet invasion, dismemberment and desertion of the Afghan Army due to loyalty and moral values of soldiers, purges on patriotic captains, Generals, Commanders, Upper Class Afghans Aristocrats in society. The aftermath was a civil war in the 1980s and 1990s between various groups and factions which the weakened Afghan Army had no control over. After the fall of the Communist Government, Various factions received logistics support from foreign powers including the People's Republic of China, Russia, Pakistan, Canada and the United States.

The Afghan Air Force was a significant force before and during the Soviet intervention, but by the time of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the number of aircraft available was minimal. The United States and its allies quickly eliminated any remaining strength or ability of the Taliban to operate aircraft. With the occupation of airbases by American forces it became clear how destitute the air force had been since the withdrawal of the Soviet Union. Most aircraft were only remnants rusting away for a decade or more.

[edit] Theaters Of Operations

In 1963 then Prime minister Daud ordered the invasion of north Pakistan which is (Waziristan Balochistan including Peshawar) with in 24 hours the residents of North Pakistan were evacuating fearing a Afghan Blitzkrieg which was promised by The Afghan Prime Minister, but by the time the first Afghan infantry crossed the border the King called off the invasion and proclaimed Afghanistan as peaceful country to an alarmed united nations, Iran, and Pakistan because of fears that the Afghan military would try if it could" invade Karachi. This would have enabled Afghanistan to have access to the Persian Gulf which would lead to a possible destabilization of the mid east region and Afghanistan no longer being land locked, annexation of half of South Asia by a Central Asian and Middle-Eastern country for the first time in almost 200 years. Due to these worries he announced the resignation of Prime Minister Daud. (This would lead to animosity between the royal family and Daud would eventually throw a coup against his cousin in 1973.) See: History of Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Government was mainly neutral for most of the cold war during 1950s-1970s. In 1967 Afghanistan was one of many nations who sent peace keeping troops under United Nations mandate after the Six day war between Egypt and Israel in the Sinai Peninsula.

In 1987 to 1990 Pres. Mohammad Najibullah sent combat units to neighboring Tajikistan after requesting from the Afghan government for assistance in fighting guerilla fighters and radical Islamic groups inside the neighboring country and keep the socialist soviet government from falling to Tajikistan's Mujahideen^{[citation needed]}. Moscow only supporting financially because it did not want to be militarily involved due to its past experiences in Afghanistan. The mission was a total disaster after fierce battles and operations, the Afghan military was forced to withdraw after loosing almost 5,000 men (even though the afghan army won almost every battle), rising Islamic factions in Afghanistan who were almost at civil war with each other and were aimed to toppling the Afghan government in Kabul. This combat mission also contributed to weakening the Afghan army^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Weapons and vehicles

During the time of the King in the 1950s and 1960s Afghanistan received moderate quantities of Soviet weapons to keep the military up to date such as RPK machine guns, Sukhoi Su-7, Mig-21 Fighter jets, T-34 light tanks, IS-III battle tanks. After the King was driven into exile, President Daoud made great attempts to create a strong Afghan military in the Middle east and Asia. During Daoud's time (1973-1978) the Soviets supplied far more sophisticated weapons such as large amounts of AK-47 assault rifles, Mi-4, Mi-8 helicopters, Su-22 and Il-28 jets. Large amounts of T-55, T-62, and PT-76 battle tanks were also used. Armored vehicles delivered from 1973 to 1978 included ZIL-35s, BMP-1s, BRDM-2s, BTR-60s, BTR-70s as well as large quantities of small arms and artillery. Under the communist regime(1978-1992), weapon deliveries by the Soviets were greatly increased and included Mi-24 helicopters and Scud launchers[1]. Some of the weapons that were not damaged during the civil war and rule of the Taliban are still being used today, while the remainder have probably been sold on the black market.

[edit] Current organization

Following the fall of the Taliban regime and its replacement by the current government of Hamid Karzai, there has been significant progress toward revitalization of the national military, with two official branches. The Afghan National Army is under control of the government in Kabul, and forms the primary military force for that government. This is nominally to be supported by the Afghan Air Force, although that force currently has very few aircraft. A variety of militias are active around the country, hostile to the government and NATO forces in the country, among them are those still loyal to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The Afghan National Army, trained primarily by the United States, is presently organised into 31 Kandaks, or Battalions, 28 of which are considered combat ready. While some heavy weapons exist, the National Army lacks Tanks or Armoured Vehicles. Some higher echelon formations do exist, but their effectiveness is dubious and most Kandaks operate under American supervision. The National Army's total manpower is around 35,000 (January 2006), with 3000 new personnel being recruited each month. Desertions, a serious problem during the early days of the National Army, are no longer a major issue.

The Afghan Air Force is largely inoperative, however some progress has been made in rebuilding it. A number of Mi-17 and Mi-24 Helicopters and AN-24 cargo planes are operated by the Afghan Air Force and maintenance crews are being trained. The manpower of the Afghan Air Force is around 3600, including 450 pilots, mainly trained during the communist era.

Despite agreements to bring the militias under government control, many militia forces remain under tribal authority while some still operate loyal to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Many militia groups remain known for switching sides depending on numerous factors. Additionally, 10,000 or more foreign fighters opposed to the current government and NATO forces may be within Afghanistan.

As of July 2005, more than 60,000 former militiamen from around the country have been disarmed see www.ddrafg.com. All heavy weapons from Panjshir, Balkh, Nangarhar were seized by the Afghan government. Since 2001, the United States has provided more than two billion dollars in military equipment and facilities to Afghanistan. Another further two billion dollars in military aid was announced in 2006 but will be delivered in 2007, which will include 2,500 Humvees, tens of thousands of M-16 assault rifles and body armoured-jackets. It will also include the building of a national military command center.^[1]

[edit] See also

• Afghanistan
• Afghan National Army
• Afghan Air Force
• International Security Assistance Force
• Provincial Reconstruction Team
• NATO

[edit] References and footnotes

• This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2005 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.

[edit] External links

• Afghanistan Military Guide
• DefenseLINK News: Afghans Enjoy Successful Election Day
• Afghan News - USA to provide $2 billion to Afghan military
• US sets up £215m deal for Afghan arms - from Russia

www.ddrafg.com