The Afghan National Army
Subtitle: sustainability challenges beyond financial aspects
By: Dr. Antonion Giustozzi with Peter Quentin
Contributors: Quentin, Peter, author; Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
Publisher: Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Kabul, Afghanistan
Language: eng
Number of pages: 55
Subjects: Operational readiness; Evaluation; Armed Forces; Political aspects; Logistics; Personnel management; Afghanistan. Afghan National Army; Afghanistan
Description: In this report, the authors provide an assessment of the Afghan National Army's organizational resilience and maturity in measuring the likelihoods of its sustainability beyond 2014. The ANA is commonly viewed as one of the post-2001 Afghanistan's strongest institutions, if not the strongest. However, with the imminent withdrawal of international forces, the ANA's ability to stand on its own and successfully confront its enemies faces its first major test. This study shows that crucial weaknesses and flaws continue to undermine the ANA's readiness; these could derail its efforts to contain or defeat the ongoing insurgency. The debate on sustainability of the Afghan armed forces has focused mainly on financial concerns. This paper however, strives to go beyond financial aspects. Although the ANA and Afghan political leadership have some reason to complain about the under-equipping of the ANA, by 2013 it was clear that there was little that could be done about that in the short term. Instead, the ANA would do better to make the best use of what it has and manage it as efficiently as it can in 2015, in order to gain sufficient credibility to persuade external donors to keep investing in it. For the same reason the ANA needs a realistic deployment plan, in order to avoid exposing its greatest weaknesses, including logistics. To speed up the development of components such as logistics and administration, the ANA should devise incentives to attract more high school graduates. Overall, of major challenges that ANA faces in the near future, some are the result of long-term neglect and cannot be quickly rectified. Others, however, are the result of political interference and patronage network building, which could be addressed if there was the political will to do so.
Notes: "AREU Publication Code: 1403E"--Page ii.

"February 2014"--Title page.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 45-53).
Table of contents: title: Executive summary.; title: Introduction.; title: The evolution and impact of attrition rates.; title: Dependence on mentors.; title: The ability to provide sufficient level of combat support.; title: The autonomous logistical capability.; title: The extent of political interference and its disruptive effects.; title: Conclusion.; title: Bibliography.