Commander: Maintaining Afghan Security Forces Could Cost Less Than Expected

Lt. General William Caldwell, the U.S. officer in charge of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, told reporters Monday that supporting Afghan security forces could cost less than the projected $6 billion each year.

“$6 billion would be the max … this force that we’re currently building, once it’s fully fielded and operational, would need for long-term sustainment,” Caldwell, appearing remotely from Afghanistan, said during a press briefing at the Pentagon.

However, Caldwell said, the cost could be significantly lower if factors on the ground change.

“We, in fact, do expect the level of insurgency to go down. We do, in fact, expect us to still find more efficiencies in how we do things,” Caldwell said, noting that the U.S. has already taken a number of steps to lower Afghan force’s price tag, including buying boots and uniforms from local manufacturers and purchasing fans instead of costly air conditioning units.

The funding is expected to come from the U.S., the international community and the Afghans themselves, according to Caldwell.

Although Caldwell reported that efforts to bolster Afghan participation in providing security have been succeeding, with 8,000 new recruits applying in September alone, he also acknowledged that only two battalions of trained Afghans are currently operating independently. The U.S. is scheduled to transfer security responsibilities in 2014.