The Congressionally-mandated Commission on Wartime Contracting held a hearing Friday on the issues that arise due to paid contractors training Afghani police and military forces. During the question and answer period, the issue of responsibility was one that neither the United States nor Afghanistan could claim to own, at least according to the witnesses.
During the hearing, Defense Department Assistant Inspector General Kenneth Moorefield said that contractors bring important skill sets to Afghan soldier training, but admitted that because of the current model of service, contractors may not be providing as much help as they could.
“It was our view then [September 2009], and our recommendation in the report, that tour lengths be extended to a minimum of one year for all military services,” Moorefield said, in reference to a DoD report on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“In addition, I noted in my remarks that contracting representatives had been serving only three to six month tours, which created less than stability in their carrying out their oversight responsibilities.”
Moorefield added that the value of “getting to know your counterparts is a very challenging process... and developing a relationship is everything.”
Developing relationships has been a problem Moorefield said, particularly because of cultural and competency differences between Afghani and U.S. troops.
The assistant inspector said that members of the Afghani police and the Afghanistan National Security Forces don't share the same sense of responsibility as U.S. military servicemen do, and emphasized that the learning methods aren't the same, which he says, is a recipe for training difficulties.
The U.S. capacity to train the Afghan police was also questioned, particularly because of the previous resource emphasis placed on the Afghan military.
The responsibility of managing contracted military services, as far as those committed to training Afghan police, is in the process of switching hands, moving from the State Department to the Department of Defense.
David Johnson, the assistant secretary of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement said the success of a full transition between the the DoD and State Department will be largely dependent on who is awarded the next contracting agreement, but added, "I think the plan is largely in place, but in order to have a plan where one partner is handing a task to another, you have to have another partner... but all of the things have been done to prepare, the inventories and things of that nature."
Contractors In Afghanistan May Need More Time, New Teaching Models
The Congressionally-mandated Commission on Wartime Contracting held a hearing Friday on the issues that arise due to paid contractors training Afghani police and military forces. During the question and answer period, the issue of responsibility was one that neither the United States nor Afghanistan could claim to own, at least according to the witnesses.
During the hearing, Defense Department Assistant Inspector General Kenneth Moorefield said that contractors bring important skill sets to Afghan soldier training, but admitted that because of the current model of service, contractors may not be providing as much help as they could.
“It was our view then [September 2009], and our recommendation in the report, that tour lengths be extended to a minimum of one year for all military services,” Moorefield said, in reference to a DoD report on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“In addition, I noted in my remarks that contracting representatives had been serving only three to six month tours, which created less than stability in their carrying out their oversight responsibilities.”
Moorefield added that the value of “getting to know your counterparts is a very challenging process... and developing a relationship is everything.”
Developing relationships has been a problem Moorefield said, particularly because of cultural and competency differences between Afghani and U.S. troops.
The assistant inspector said that members of the Afghani police and the Afghanistan National Security Forces don't share the same sense of responsibility as U.S. military servicemen do, and emphasized that the learning methods aren't the same, which he says, is a recipe for training difficulties.
The U.S. capacity to train the Afghan police was also questioned, particularly because of the previous resource emphasis placed on the Afghan military.
The responsibility of managing contracted military services, as far as those committed to training Afghan police, is in the process of switching hands, moving from the State Department to the Department of Defense.
David Johnson, the assistant secretary of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement said the success of a full transition between the the DoD and State Department will be largely dependent on who is awarded the next contracting agreement, but added, "I think the plan is largely in place, but in order to have a plan where one partner is handing a task to another, you have to have another partner... but all of the things have been done to prepare, the inventories and things of that nature."