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Afghan Army

January 26, 2023

The Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Pashto: د افغانستان د اسلامي امارت اردو, Də Afğānistān Də Islāmī Imārat Urdu), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Hotak dynasty was established in Kandahar followed by Ahmad Shah Durrani's rise to power. It was reorganized in 1880 during Emir Abdur Rahman Khan's reign.[2] Afghanistan remained neutral during the First and Second World Wars. From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the Afghan Army was equipped by the Soviet Union.[3]

Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
د افغانستان د اسلامي امارت اردو
Founded1722; 301 years ago (1722)
CountryAfghanistan
TypeArmy
RoleLand warfare
Part ofAfghan Armed Forces
HeadquartersKabul
Commanders
Army ChiefQari Fasihuddin (from 2021)[1]

After the resignation of President Najibullah in 1992, the army effectively dissolved. In 1996 the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban regime) took power, creating their own army, which lasted until United States invasion of Afghanistan in October–November 2001.

By 2016, most of Afghanistan came under government control.[4] However over the next few years the government slowly lost territory to the Taliban and eventually collapsed, with Kabul falling to the Taliban in 2021. The majority of training of the ANA was undertaken in the Kabul Military Training Centre. In 2019, the ANA had approximately 180,000 soldiers out of an authorized strength of 195,000.[5] Despite its significant manpower on paper, in reality a significant portion of the Afghan National Army manpower were made up of ghost soldiers.[6]

Following the withdrawal of U.S. and allied troops from Afghanistan in the Summer of 2021, in the face of a rapid Taliban offensive, the Afghan National Army largely disintegrated.[7][8] Following the escape of President Ashraf Ghani and the fall of Kabul, remaining ANA soldiers either deserted their posts or surrendered to the Taliban.[9] Some ANA remnants reportedly joined the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front of Afghanistan in the Panjshir Valley (see Republican insurgency in Afghanistan).[10]

History

See also: Military history of Afghanistan and List of wars involving Afghanistan

The Royal Afghan Army

 
Afghan royal soldiers of the Durrani Empire

Historically, Afghans have served in the army of the Ghaznavids (963–c.1187), Ghurids (1148–1215), Delhi Sultanate (1206–1527), and the Mughals (1526–1858).[11] The Afghan National Army traces its origin to the early 18th century when the Hotak dynasty rose to power in Kandahar and defeated the Persian Safavid Empire at the Battle of Gulnabad in 1722.[12]

When Ahmad Shah Durrani formed the Durrani Empire in 1747, in general, tribes were responsible for providing troops to the king. The only national army that existed during Ahmad Shah's time consisted of small groups that functioned as royal bodyguards.[13] The Afghan Army fought a number of battles in the Punjab region of India during the 19th century. One of the famous battles was the 1761 Battle of Panipat in which the Afghan army decisively defeated the Hindu Maratha Empire.[14] The Afghans then fought with the Sikh Empire, until finally, the Sikh Marshal Hari Singh Nalwa died and Sikh conquests stopped. In 1839, the British successfully invaded Afghanistan and installed the exiled Shah Shujah Durrani into power. Their occupation of Afghanistan was challenged after Dost Mohammad's son, Wazir Akbar Khan and the forces he led revolted against the occupying British. By October 1841 disaffected Afghan tribes were flocking to the support of Wazir Akbar Khan in Bamian.[15] The success of Akbar Khan's uprising led to the 1842 retreat from Kabul where the Afghan army decimated British forces, thanks to effective use of the rugged terrain and weapons such as the Jezail.

 
Afghan infantry soldier in 1890

At the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80), Ali Ahmad Jalali cites sources saying that the regular army was about 50,000 strong and consisted of 62 infantry and 16 cavalry regiments, with 324 guns mostly organized in horse and mountain artillery batteries.[16] Jalali writes that '..although Amir Shir Ali Khan (1863–78) is widely credited for founding the modern Afghan Army, it was only under Abdur Rahman that it became a viable and effective institution.'[17] The Library of Congress Country Study for Afghanistan states that when Abdur Rahman came to the throne [c.1880]:[2]

"..the army was virtually nonexistent. With the assistance of a liberal financial loan from the British, plus their aid in the form of weapons, ammunition, and other military supplies, [Abdur Rahman] began a 20-year task of creating a respectable regular force by instituting measures that formed the long-term basis of the military system. These included increasing the equalization of military obligation by setting up a system known as the hasht nafari (whereby one man in every eight between the ages of 20 and 40 took his turn at military service); constructing an arsenal in Kabul to reduce dependence on foreign sources for small arms and other ordnance; introducing supervised training courses; organizing troops into divisions, brigades, and regiments, including battalions of artillery; developing pay schedules; and introducing an elementary (and harsh) disciplinary system.

 
Afghan Army soldiers in the 1950s, wearing the iconic Stahlhelm

Further improvements to the Army were made by King Amanullah Khan in the early 20th century just before the Third Anglo-Afghan War. King Amanullah fought against the British in 1919, resulting in Afghanistan becoming fully independent after the Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed. It appears from reports of Naib Sular Abdur Rahim's career that a Cavalry Division was in existence in the 1920s, with him being posted to the division in Herat Province in 1913 and Mazar-i-Sharif after 1927.[18] A military academy was in existence by Amanullah's reign.[19] The Army fought the Soviet Union in 1925–1926.[citation needed] In 1927 Afghanistan invited Turkey to send a military advisory mission, resulting in a strengthening of Afghan divisions and brigades, "augmenting each echelon headquarters with supporting staff;" and "regularizing the officer corps."[20] The Afghan Army was expanded during King Zahir Shah's reign, starting in 1933.

From 1949–1950 to 1961, Afghanistan-Pakistan skirmishes took place along the frontier, culminating in fighting in Bajaur Agency in September 1960.[21] This led to a breakoff in diplomatic relations between the two countries in September 1961.[22]

In 1953, Lieutenant General Mohammed Daoud Khan, cousin of the King who had previously served as Minister of Defence, was transferred from command of the Central Corps in Kabul to become Prime Minister of Afghanistan.[23] The Central Corps was headquartered at Amanullah's Darulaman Palace.[24] On the opening day of Parliament in October 1965, a violent student demonstration among which Babrak Karmal was at the forefront forced Zahir Shah's new prime minister Yousef to resign. Two students were killed when the new corps commander, General Abdul Wali, sent in troops to restore order.[25]

From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the Afghan Army received training and equipment mostly from the Soviet Union. In February – March 1957, the first group of Soviet military specialists (about 10, including interpreters) was sent to Kabul to train Afghan officers and non-commissioned officers.[26] At the time, there seems to have been significant Turkish influence in the Afghan Armed Forces, which waned quickly after the Soviet advisors arrived. By the late 1950s, Azimi describes three corps, each with a number of divisions, along the eastern border with Pakistan and several independent divisions.[27]

In the early 1970s, Soviet military assistance was increased. The number of Soviet military specialists increased from 1,500 in 1973 to 5,000 by April 1978.[28] The senior Soviet specialist at this time (from 29 November 1972 until 11 December 1975) was a Major General I.S. Bondarets (И.С. Бондарец), and from 1975 to 1978, the senior Soviet military adviser was Major General L.N. Gorelov. Before the 1978 Saur Revolution, according to Jacobs, the army included three armored divisions; infantry divisions .. averaging 4,500 to 8,000 men each; "two mountain infantry brigades, one artillery brigade, a guards regiment (for palace protection), three artillery regiments, two commando regiments, and a parachute battalion, which was largely grounded. All the formations were under the control of three corps level headquarters. All but three infantry divisions were facing Pakistan along a line from Bagram south to Khandahar."[29] There were 570 medium tanks plus more Soviet T-55s on order.

Socialist Afghanistan

See also: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan § Military
 
In 1989, the Soviet Union transferred the tactical ballistic missiles, the Scud, as seen in the footage in 2004.

On 27 April 1978 the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, led by Nur Mohammad Taraki, Babrak Karmal and Amin overthrew the regime of Mohammad Daoud, who was killed the next day, along with most of his family.[30] On 1 May, Taraki became President, Prime Minister and General Secretary of the PDPA. The country was then renamed the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA), and the PDPA regime lasted until April 1992.

The army lost much of its strength during the early stages of PDPA rule. One of the main reasons for the small size was that the Soviet military were afraid the Afghan army would defect en masse to the enemy if total personnel increased. There were several sympathisers of the mujahideen within the military.[31] Even so, there were several elite units under the command of the Afghan army, for instance, the 26th Airborne Battalion, 444th, 37th and 38th Commando Brigades. The 26th Airborne Battalion proved politically unreliable, and in 1980 they revolted against the PDPA government. The Commando Brigades were, in contrast, considered reliable and were used as mobile strike forces until they sustained excessive casualties. Insurgents ambushed and inflicted heavy casualties on the 38th Commando Brigade during the Second Battle of Zhawar in Paktika Province in May 1983.[32] After sustaining heavy casualties the commando brigades were turned into battalions.[33]

Most soldiers were recruited for a three-year term, later extended to four-year terms in 1984.

The Afghan Army 1978[34]

After the PDPA seizure of power, desertions swept the force, affecting the loyalty and moral values of soldiers. There were purges on patriotic junior and senior officers, and upper class Afghan aristocrats in society. On March 15, 1979, the Herat uprising broke out. The 17th Division was detailed by the regime to put down the rebellion, but this proved a mistake, as there were few Khalqi faction soldiers in the division and instead it mutinied and joined the uprising.[36] Forces from Kabul had to be dispatched to suppress the rebellion.

Gradually the Army's three armoured divisions and now sixteen infantry divisions dropped in size to on average around 2,500 strong, quarter strength, by 1985.[37] One of the first series of defections occurred in the 9th Division, which, Urban wrote, defected by brigades in response to the Soviet intervention. It lost its 5th Brigade at Asmar in August 1979 and its 30th Mountain Brigade in 1980.[38] After Soviet advisors arrived in 1977, they inspired a number of adaptations and reorganisations.[39] In April 1982, the 7th Division was moved from the capital. The division, which was commanded by Khalqi Major General Zia-Ud-Din, had its depleted combat resources spread out along the Kabul-Kandahar highway.[40] In 1984–1985, all infantry divisions were restructured to a common design. In 1985 Army units were relieved of security duties, making more available for combat operations.

During the 1980s Soviet–Afghan War, the Army fought against the mujahideen rebel groups. Deserters or defectors became a severe problem. The Afghan Army's casualties were as high as 50–60,000 soldiers and another 50,000 soldiers deserted the Army. The Afghan Army's defection rate was about 10,000 soldiers per year between 1980 and 1989; the average deserters left the Afghan Army after the first five months.[41]

Local militias were also important to the Najibullah regime's security efforts. From 1988 several new divisions were formed from former Regional Forces/militias' formations: the 53rd Infantry Division – the "Jowzyani militia" of Abdul Rashid Dostum, the 55th, 80th, 93rd, 94th, 95th, and 96th, plus, possibly, a division in Lashkar Gah.[42][43][44]

As compensation for the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, the USSR agreed to deliver sophisticated weapons to the regime, among which were large quantities of Scud surface-to-surface missiles.[45] The first 500 were transferred during the early months of 1989, and soon proved to be a critical strategic asset. During the mujahideen attack against Jalalabad, between March and June 1989, three firing batteries manned by Afghan crews advised by Soviets fired approximately 438 missiles.[46] Soon Scuds were in use in all the heavily contested areas of Afghanistan. After January 1992, the Soviet advisors were withdrawn, reducing the Afghan Army's ability to use their ballistic missiles. On April 24, 1992, the mujahideen forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud captured the main Scud stockpile at Afshur (Afshar, Kabul?). As the communist government collapsed, the few remaining Scuds and their Transporter erector launchers were divided among the rival factions fighting for power. However, the lack of trained personnel prevented a sustained use of such weapons, and, between April 1992 and 1996, only 44 Scuds were fired in Afghanistan.[46]

1992 and after

In spring 1992, the Afghan Army consisted of five corps – 1st Corps at Jalalabad, 2nd at Khandahar, 3rd Corps at Gardez,[47] 4th Corps at Herat, and 6th Corps at Kunduz – as well as five smaller operations groups, including one at Charikar, which had been 5th Corps until it was reduced in status. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Corps, and the operations groups at Sarobi and Khost, nearly completely disintegrated in 1992.[43][48] Formations in and around Kabul joined different mujahideen militias while forces in the north and west remained intact for a longer period. Forces in the north and west were taken over by three major commanders: Ismael Khan, Ahmed Shah Masoud, and Abdul Rashid Dostam.

On 18 April 1992, the PDPA garrison at Kunduz surrendered to local mujahideen commanders.[49] The 54th Division base at Kunduz was handed over to the overall military leader of Ittehad in the area, Amir Chughay. Dostum and commanders loyal to him formed Junbesh I-Melli, the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan.[50] The NIM grouped the former regime's 18th, 20th, 53rd, 54th, and 80th Divisions, plus several brigades.[51] By mid-1994 there were two parallel 6th Corps operating in the north. Dostum's 6th Corps was based at Pul-i-Khumri and had three divisions. The Defence Ministry of the Kabul government's 6th Corps was based at Kunduz and also had three divisions, two sharing numbers with formations in Dostum's corps.[44] By 1995 Masoud controlled three corps commands: the Central Corps at Kabul, the best organised with a strength of 15–20,000, the 5th Corps at Herat covering the west, and the 6th Corps at Kunduz covering the northeast.[52][43]

By 1996 the Taliban Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan seized the country, aiming to control it by Islamic Sharia law. The Taliban's army and commanders placed emphasis on simplicity;[53] some were secretly trained by the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence and Pakistani Armed Forces around the Durand Line. After the removal of the Taliban government through the United States invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, private armies loyal to warlords gained more and more influence. In mid-2001, Ali Ahmed Jalali wrote:[54]

The army (as a state institution, organized, armed, and commanded by the state) does not exist in Afghanistan today. Neither the Taliban-led "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" nor the "Islamic State of Afghanistan" headed by the ousted President Rabbani has the political legitimacy or administrative efficiency of a state. The militia formations they command are composed of odd assortments of armed groups with varying level of loyalties, political commitment, professional skills, and organizational integrity. Many of them feel free to switch sides, shift loyalties, and join or leave the group spontaneously. The country suffers from the absence of a top political layer capable of controlling individual and group violence. ... Although both sides identify their units with military formations of the old regime, there is hardly any organizational or professional continuity from the past. But these units really exist in name only ... [i]n fact only their military bases still exist, accommodating and supporting an assortment of militia groups.

Formations in existence by the end of 2002 included the 1st Army Corps (Nangarhar), 2nd Army Corps (Kandahar, dominated by Gul Agha Sherzai), 3rd Army Corps (Paktia, where the US allegedly attempted to impose Atiqullah Ludin as commander), 4th Army Corps (Herat, dominated by Ismail Khan), 6th Army Corps at Kunduz, 7th Army Corps (under Atta Muhammad Nur at Balkh[55]), 8th Army Corps (at Jowzjan, dominated by Dostum's National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan) and the Central Army Corps around Kabul.[56][16][57] In addition, there were divisions with strong links to the centre in Kabul. These included the 1st in Kabul, 27th in Qalat, 31st in Kabul, 34th in Bamiyan (4th Corps),[58] 36th in Logar, 41st in Ghor, 42nd in Wardak, 71st in Farah, and 100th in Laghman.[59]

The International Crisis Group wrote:[60]

New divisions and even army corps were created to recognise factional realities or undermine the power base of individual commanders, often without regard to the troop levels normally associated with such units. For example, the ministry in July 2002 recognised a 25th Division in Khost province, formed by the Karzai-appointed governor, Hakim Taniwal, to unseat a local warlord, Padshah Khan Zadran, who was then occupying the governor's residence. At its inception, however, the division had only 700 men – the size of a battalion.

Even by December 2004 Human Rights Watch was still saying in an open letter to Karzai that: "Abdul Rabb al-Rasul Sayyaf, the head of the Ittihad-i Islami faction and the Daw'at-e Islami party [should be curbed]. Sayyaf has no government post but has used his power over the Supreme Court and other courts across the country to curtail the rights of journalists, civic society activists, and even political candidates. He also controls militias, including forces recognized as the 10th Division of the Afghan army, which intimidate and abuse Afghans even inside Kabul. We ask that you express public opposition to Sayyaf's activities, explicitly state your opposition to such misuse of unofficial authority, and move expeditiously to disarm and demobilize armed forces associated with Ittihad-i Islami and other unofficial forces."[61][62]

 
Emblem of the Afghan National Army (2002–2021)

Afghan National Army (2002–2021)

Main article: History of the Afghan Armed Forces (2002–2021)
 
The first batch of graduates of the new Afghan National Army (ANA) in 2002

During the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan in early December 2001, President Hamid Karzai issued a decree reestablishing a unified army, the Afghan National Army.[63] The decree set a size target of 70,000 (by 2009) and laid out the planned army structure. There had been significant disagreement over the size of the army that was needed. A Ministry of Defense-issued paper said that at least 200,000 active troops were needed.[64] The Afghan Ministry of Defence loudly objected to the smaller, volunteer, nature of the new army, a change from the previous usage of conscripts.[65] The US also blocked the new government from using the army to pressure Pakistan.

The first new Afghan kandak (battalion) was trained by British Army personnel of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), becoming 1st Battalion, Afghan National Guard.[66] Yet while the British troops provided high quality training, they were few in number. After some consideration, it was decided that the United States might be able to provide the training. Thus follow-on kandaks were recruited and trained by 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group.[67] 3rd SFG built the training facilities and ranges for early use, using a Soviet built facility on the eastern side of Kabul, near the then ISAF headquarters.

Recruiting and training began in May 2002, with a difficult but successful recruitment process of bringing hundreds of new recruits in from all parts of Afghanistan.[68] Training was initially done in Pashto and Dari (Persian dialect) and some Arabic due to the very diverse ethnicities. The original US target in April 2002 was that of 12,000 men trained by April 2003, but it was quickly realised that this was too ambitious, and the requirement reduced to only 9,000, to be ready by November 2003. The first female Afghan parachutist Khatol Mohammadzai, trained during the 1980s, became the first female general in the Afghan National Army in August 2002.[69] The National Military Academy of Afghanistan, a West Point analogue and part of the Marshal Fahim National Defense University based in Qargha Garrison, was also established to produce officers. The NMAA administered a four-year military and civil training programme with the aim of preparing the prospective officer for the long-term. The NMAA taught four major foreign languages, vital to developing the relationship between the ANA and foreign armies.

The U.S. Army's major objectives for the ANA in October 2002 were:[70]

  • Ensure activation of Central Corps headquarters and its three Brigades by 1 October 2003
  • Develop and begin implementation of Afghan MoD/General Staff reform plan
  • Establish ANA institutional support systems including officer and NCO schools, ANA training and doctrine directorate, and garrison support elements
  • Design and build Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan (OMC-A) ..consisting of US/Coalition military, contractor, and Afghan civilian and military personnel capable of managing the ANA building program as it increases in scope and complexity
  • Increase international and Afghan domestic support for and confidence in ANA through the maintenance of quality within the force and the conduct of effective information operations.

The first deployment outside Kabul was made by 3rd Kandak ANA to Paktika Province, including Orgun, in January 2003.[71] By January 2003 just over 1,700 soldiers in five Kandaks (battalions) had completed the 10-week training course, and by mid-2003 a total of 4,000 troops had been trained. Approximately 1,000 ANA soldiers were deployed in the US-led Operation Warrior Sweep, marking the first major combat operation for Afghan troops. Initial recruiting problems lay in the lack of cooperation from regional warlords and inconsistent international support. The problem of desertion dogged the force from the outset: in the summer of 2003, the desertion rate was estimated to be 10% and in mid-March 2004, an estimate suggested that 3,000 soldiers had deserted. Some recruits were under 18 years of age and many could not read or write. Recruits who only spoke the Pashto language experienced difficulty because instruction was usually given through interpreters who spoke Dari.

The Afghan New Beginnings Programme (ANBP) was launched on 6 April 2003 and begin disarmament of former Army personnel in October 2003.[72] In March 2004, fighting between two local militias took place in the western Afghan city of Herat. It was reported that Mirwais Sadiq (son of warlord Ismail Khan) was assassinated in unclear circumstances. Thereafter a bigger conflict began that resulted in the death of up to 100 people. The battle was between troops of Ismail Khan and Abdul Zahir Nayebzada, a senior local military commander blamed for the death of Sadiq.[73] Nayebzada commanded the 17th Herat Division of the Afghan Militia Forces' 4th Corps. In response to the fighting, about 1,500 newly trained ANA soldiers were sent to Herat in order to bring the situation under control.

 
Construction of Camp Zafar for the ANA in Herat Province (2005)

In addition to the fighting units, establishment of regional structures began when four of the five planned corps commanders and some of their staff were appointed on 1 September 2004. The first regional command was established in Kandahar on September 19; the second at Gardez on September 22, with commands at Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat planned.[74] The Gardez command, also referred to in the AFPS story as the 203 Corps, was to have an initial force of 200 soldiers. Kandahar's command was the first activated, followed by Gardez and Mazar-e-Sharif. The Herat command was seemingly activated on 28 September. The next year, the ANA's numbers grew to around 20,000 soldiers, most of which were trained by the United States Army. In the meantime, the United States Army Corps of Engineers started building new military camps for the fast-growing army.

In 2003, the United States issued guidelines to ensure the army's ethnic balance.[75] By late 2012, the ANA was composed of 43% Pashtuns, 32% Tajiks, 12% Hazaras, 8% Uzbeks, and the rest were smaller ethnic groups of Afghanistan.[76] However, the army did not track the actual ethnic composition of the officer corps. There were no quotas for the enlisted soldiers.[77]

By March 2011, a National Military Command Center had been established in Kabul, which was being mentored by personnel from the Virginia Army National Guard.[78]

Costs and salaries

Under the US–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement, the United States designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally and agreed to fund the ANA until at least 2024. This included soldiers' salaries, providing training and weapons, and all other military costs.

Soldiers in the Army initially received $30 a month during training and $50 a month upon graduation, though the basic pay for trained soldiers later rose to $165. This starting salary increased to $230 a month in an area with moderate security issues and to $240 in those provinces where there was heavy fighting.[79] About 95% of the men and women who served in the military were paid by electronic funds transfer.[80] Special biometrics were used during the registration of each soldier.[81]

Training and International Partnerships

 
A British brigadier gets a brief ahead of a training exercise
 
Newly trained ANA soldiers recite the oath ceremony of the first term bridmals (NCOs) at the Ghazi Military Training Center in Kabul province.

Task Force Phoenix was the initial U.S. and allied force training organisation in 2002. This program was formalized in April 2003, based near the Kabul Military Training Center. Coalition efforts were initially overseen by OMC-A, then Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan, then from 2006 to 2009, by the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A), a three-star level multi-national command headquartered in downtown Kabul.[63] On the Afghan side, by 2011 all training and education in the Army was run by Afghan National Army Training Command, a two-star command which reported directly to the Chief of the General Staff. All training centers and military schools were under this command.

Individual basic training was conducted primarily by Afghan instructors and staff at the Kabul Military Training Center, situated on the eastern edge of Kabul. The United States Department of Defense assisted in basic and advanced training of enlisted recruits, and also ran the Drill Instructor School which ran basic training courses for training NCOs. Basic training had been expanded to include required literacy courses for illiterate recruits. A French Army advisory team oversaw the training of officers for staff and platoon or toli (company) command in a combined commissioning/infantry officer training unit called the Officer Training Brigade (OTB). OTB candidates in the platoon and company command courses were usually former militia and mujaheddin leaders with various levels of military experience. The United Kingdom also conducted initial infantry officer training and commissioning at the Officer Candidate School (OCS). OCS candidates were young men with little or no military experience. The British Army also conducted initial and advanced Non-Commissioned Officer training as well in a separate NCO Training Brigade.

The Canadian Forces supervised the Combined Training Exercise portion of initial military training, where trainee soldiers, NCOs, and officers were brought together in field training exercises at the platoon, toli (company) and kandak (battalion) levels to certify them ready for field operations. In the Regional Corps, Coalition Embedded Training Teams continued to mentor the kandak's leadership, and advised them in the areas of intelligence, communications, fire support, logistics and infantry tactics.

During the ISAF era, advisers in the US Embedded Training Teams and NATO Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams acted as liaisons between the Afghan Army and coalition forces. The teams coordinated planning and ensured that ANA units received U.S./Coalition support.[82]

Formal education and professional development was conducted at two main ANATC schools, both in Kabul. The National Military Academy of Afghanistan, located near the Kabul International Airport, was a four-year military university which produced degree second lieutenants in a variety of military professions. NMAA's first cadet class entered its second academic year in spring 2006. A contingent of US and Turkish instructors jointly mentored the NMAA faculty and staff. The Command and General Staff College, located in southern Kabul, prepared mid-level ANA officers to serve on brigade and corps staffs. France established the CGSC in early 2004, and a cadre of French Army instructors continued to oversee operations at the school.

Sizable numbers of Afghan National Army Officers were sent to be trained in India either at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, the National Defence Academy near Pune or the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. The Indian Military Academy which had been in existence since 1932, provided a four-year degree to ANA army officers, while the National Defence Academy provided a 3-year degree after which officers underwent a one-year specialization in their respective service colleges. The Officers Training Academy provided a 49-week course to Graduate officer candidates. In 2014 the number of Afghan officers in training in India was nearly 1100.[83]

In October 2007, ANA international partners said they had seen progress and were pleased with Afghan performance in recent exercises. Colonel Thomas McGrath estimated that the ANA would be capable of carrying out independent brigade-size operations by the spring of 2008.[84] Despite high hopes, four years after McGrath's estimated date for independent brigade-sized operations, not a single one of the ANA's 180 kandaks could carry out independent operations, much less an entire brigade.[85] On July 30, 2013, US Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Lavoy told reporters in Washington, D.C., according to Jane's Defence Weekly, that '... a residual [US] force would be needed to help the ANSF complete more mundane tasks such as logistics, ensuring soldiers get their paychecks, procuring food, awarding fuel contracts, and more.'[86][87] Lavoy noted that the Afghans were still developing those skills and it would be "well beyond the 2014 date" before they were expected to be capable.

An increasing number of female soldiers joined. By early 2013, reports stated that there were 200,000 ANA troops. However, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in January 2013 that "Determining ANSF strength is fraught with challenges. US and coalition forces rely on the Afghan forces to report their own personnel strength numbers. ..[T]he Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan.. noted that.. there is "no viable method of validating [the ANA's] personnel numbers."[88] It was reported in 2016 that the Afghan National Army had close to 1,000 officers with the rank of general, more than the number of generals in the United States Army.[89]

Ineffectiveness

 
An ANA soldier of the 201st Corps using a PSL rifle

The ANA was plagued by poor cohesion, illiteracy, corruption and abuse. A quarter of ANA troops were reported to have deserted in 2009 with many troops hiding in the heat of battle rather than engaging the enemy.[90][91] It was reported that approximately 90% of ANA troops were illiterate and there were widespread instances of corruption with the ANA manpower consisting a high percentage of ghost battalions.[92][93] Another significant problem for the ANA was a high level of drug abuse amongst its soldiers. The Special Investigator General for Afghan Reconstruction reported the number of ANA soldiers using drugs was "at least 50 percent" and may be as high as 75 percent of all Afghan soldiers, according to some reports.[94]

Many officers held loyalties with particular political factions. The endemic corruption of those officers eroded the army's morale.[95]

Theft and a lack of discipline plagued many elements of the ANA. US trainers reported missing vehicles, weapons and other military equipment, and outright theft of fuel provided by the US to the ANA.[96] Death threats had been leveled against some US officers who tried to stop Afghan soldiers from stealing. Some Afghan soldiers often found improvised explosive devices and snipped the command wires instead of marking them and waiting for US forces to come to detonate them. The practice allowed insurgents to return and reconnect them.[96] US trainers frequently had to remove the cell phones from Afghan soldiers hours before a mission for fear that the operation would be compromised by bragging, gossip and reciprocal warnings.[97]

At times ANA troops attacked their own troops and foreign troops of ISAF.[98] Fragging had worsened enough to the point where two decrees were issued by the Department of Defense in the summer of 2012 stating that all American personnel serving in Afghanistan were told to carry a magazine with their weapon at all times, and that when a group of American troops were present and on duty with ANA forces, one American serviceman had to stand apart on guard with a loaded weapon ready.[99] In addition to fragging, a report by a US inspector general revealed 5,753 cases of "gross human rights abuses by Afghan forces", including "routine enslavement and rape of underage boys (Bacha bazi) by Afghan commanders".[100] The ineffectiveness of the ANA became most apparent during the 2021 Taliban offensive; thousands of ANA troops surrendered to the Taliban en masse, with many cities falling to the Taliban unopposed.[101]

Structure 2002–2021

Main article: List of Afghan Armed Forces installations

A January 2011 NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan information paper described the ANA as being led by the Chief of General Staff, supervising the Vice Chief of the General Staff, the Vice Chief of the Armed Forces (an Air Force officer), the Director of the General Staff, himself supervising the General Staff itself, and seven major commands.[102] The ANA Ground Force Command, under a lieutenant general, directed the regional ground forces corps and the 111th Capital Division. Amongst support facilities was the Chimtallah National Ammunition Depot.[103]

Corps and other major commands
 
Soldiers of the 209th Corps in Balkh Province
 
Soldiers of the 215th Corps in Helmand Province

At its largest the Afghan National Army had seven corps; each corps was responsible for an area of the country. Establishment of the corps started when four regional commands were established with some staff in September 2004. For a period the Afghan National Army Air Corps was also among the corps, before being split off as a separate air force. Each corps had three to four subordinate brigades, and each brigade had four infantry Kandaks (battalions) as basic fighting units. Each infantry kandak was assigned a specific area for which it is responsible for; the Kandak's mission was to secure its area from internal and external threats.

Originally, the four outlying corps were assigned one or two brigades, with the majority of the manpower of the Army based in Kabul's 201st Corps. This was superseded by a buildup in which each corps added extra brigades. Originally, the 2008 Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan size target was for a total of 14 brigades: 13 infantry, one mechanized, and one commando.

In 2019–2021 the regionally focused corps were as follows:

  • 201st Corps (Kabul) – 1st Brigade was based at the Presidential Palace. 3rd Brigade, at Pol-e-Chakri, was to be a mechanised formation including M-113s[104] and Soviet-built main battle tanks (T-62s).[105] In early 2008 LongWarJournal.org placed most of the 3rd Brigade at Jalalabad, 2nd Brigade at Pol-e-Charkhi, and only a single kandak of 1st Brigade at the Presidential Palace.[106] The corps area of responsibility included Eastern Afghanistan, including Kabul, Logar, Kapisa, Konar, and Laghman provinces. This included Kabul as well as vital routes running north and south, and valleys leading from the Pakistani border into Afghanistan.
  • 203rd Corps (Gardez) The original Gardez Regional Command was established on 23 September 2004.[107] As of 2009, First Brigade, Khost, Second Brigade, Forward Operating Base Rushmore, Sharana, Paktika Province, Third Brigade, Ghazni. On 19 Oct 2006, as part of Operation Mountain Fury, two ETTs (Embedded Training Teams) mentored and advised a D30 artillery section from Fourth Kandak, Second Brigade, 203rd Corps, to conduct the first artillery missions during combat operations with harassment and indirect fires.[108] Three days later, they successfully conducted counterfire (with assistance from a US Q-36 radar) that resulted in ten enemy casualties, the highest casualties inflicted from artillery fire in ANA history.[citation needed] The corps is supported by the Gardez Regional Support Squadron of the AAF, equipped with 8 helicopters: 4 transport to support the corps' commando kandak, two attack, and two medical transport.[109]
  • 205th Corps (Kandahar) – oversaw the provinces of Kandahar, Zabul, and 4th Brigade Urozgan under Brigadier General Zafar Khan's control.[110] It consisted of four brigades, a commando kandak and three garrisons. The corps had integrated artillery and airlift capacity, supplied by a growing Kandahar Wing of the Afghan Air Force.[111]
  • 207th Corps (Herat) – 1st Brigade at Herat, 2nd Brigade at Farah, and elements at Shindand (including commandos).[112] The corps was supported by the Herat Regional Support Squadron of the AAF, equipped with eight helicopters: four transport to support the corps' commando kandak, two attack, and two medical transport aircraft.[109]
  • 209th Corps (Mazar-i-Sharif) – Worked closely with the German-led Regional Command North, and had 1st Brigade at Mazar-i-Sharif and, it appears, a Second Brigade forming at Kunduz. An Army Corps of Engineers solicitation for Kunduz headquarters facilities for the Second Brigade was issued in March 2008.[113] The corps was supported by the Mazar-i-Sharif Regional Support Squadron of the AAF, equipped with eight helicopters: four transport to support the Corps' commando kandak, two attack, and two medical transport helicopters.[109] In October 2015, as a response to the fall of Kunduz, reports came that a new division would be formed in the area.[114]
  • 215th Corps (Lashkar Gah) – In 2010, the Afghan government approved a sixth corps of the Afghan National Army – Corps 215 Maiwand – to be based in the Helmand capital of Lashkar Gah. The 215th was developed specifically to partner with the Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Helmand.[115] On 28 January 2010, Xinhua reported that General Sayed Mallok would command the new corps.[116] The corps will cover all parts of Helmand, half of Farah and most parts of southwestern Nimroz province. The corps was formally established on 1 April 2010. 1st Bde, 215th Corps, is at Garmsir, partnered with a USMC Regimental Combat Team.[117] Elements of 2nd Brigade, 215th Corps, had been reported at Forward Operating Base Delaram, Farah Province. 3rd Bde, 215th Corps, partnered with the UK Task Force Helmand is at Camp Shorabak.[118]
  • 217th Corps (Headquarters Kunduz) In 2019, the 20th Division, which was formerly part of the 209th Corps, became the 217th Corps. The corps was given responsibility for Kunduz Province, Takhar, Baghlan, and Badakhshan provinces.[119] In August 2021, the Taliban seized control of the corps headquarters and Kunduz as part of the 2021 Taliban offensive.[120]
  • 111th Capital Division – in late 2008 it was announced that the 201st Corps' former area of responsibility would be divided, with a Capital Division being formed in Kabul and the corps concentrating its effort further forward along the border. The new division, designated the 111th Capital Division, became operational in April 2009.[121] It had a First Brigade and Second Brigade (both forming) as well as a Headquarters Special Security Brigade.

Most of the corps were retained, with their existing numerical designations, but renamed, in November 2021, after the Taliban seized power.[122][123]

Other commands included:

  • ANA Special Operations Command – from mid-2011, the ANA began establishing a Special Operations Command to control the Commando Brigade and the ANA Special Forces. Its headquarters was established at Camp Moorehead in Wardak Province, ten kilometres (six miles) south of Kabul.[124][125] In July 2007 the ANA graduated its first commandos. The commandos underwent a grueling three-month course being trained by American special forces. They were fully equipped with US equipment and had received specialized light infantry training with the capability to conduct raids, direct action, and reconnaissance in support of counterinsurgency operations; they also provided a strategic response capability for the Afghan government.
  • Army Support Command, the ANA Recruiting Command, the Headquarters Security and Support Brigade (HSSB), and the Detainee Guard Force (as of 2011).[102]
  • The ANA Ground Force Command was active c. 2009 to 2015. Under a lieutenant general it directed the regional ground forces corps and the 111th Capital Division. The Inspector General of the Department of Defense expressed concerns with the ANA Ground Force Command in these terms in March 2013, as the U.S. and allies:[126] "began developing the Ground Forces Command in April 2009 and it is scheduled to achieve full operational capability for command and control of ANA forces by October 2012. However, it may take longer for the Ministry of Defense, General Staff, and some Corps Commanders to embrace this new organization. Several ANSF stakeholders expressed their belief that GFC was an unnecessary, intermediate layer of bureaucracy. A number of Afghan security officials conveyed doubts about the long-term existence of the GFC HQ after 2014." .."General Staff reluctance to identify and divest authorities and responsibilities to the GFC inhibited the timely development of the Ground Forces Command. Afghan and Coalition officers also reported widespread, lukewarm support among senior level Ministry of Defense and General Staff officers for the establishment of the GFC. Operationally, some Afghan Corps commanders and staff members considered the GFC unnecessary and a redundant headquarters." The command was eventually disbanded in 2015; it was seen "by many as a redundant and unnecessary bureaucratic layer" between the General Staff and the regional corps.[127]
Kandaks (battalions)

The basic Afghan National Army unit was the kandak (battalion), consisting of 600 troops.[citation needed] Kandaks were made up of four companies (toli).[128] Although the vast majority of kandaks were infantry, at least one mechanized and one tank kandak had been formed. Every ANA Corps was assigned commando kandaks.

Seven Quick Reaction Forces (QRF) kandaks were created in 2012–13, one kandak for each of the ANA's corps and divisions. They were created by converting existing infantry kandaks into QRF kandaks at the NMAA Armour Branch School. The QRF kandaks were trained and fielded in 2012 and 2013. The QRF kandaks were the first major ANA users of armoured vehicles.[129]

As the ANA grew, the focus changed to further developing the force so that it could become self-sustaining. Development of Combat Support Kandaks [Battalions] (CSK) was vital to any self-sustainability. The CSK role includes motor fleet maintenance, specialized communications, scouting, engineering, and long range artillery units. While most ANA brigades had a CSK, they were underdeveloped and did not fit the requirements of a growing army. Eventually one fully developed CSK was planned to be assigned to each of the 24 army combat brigades.[129] Each CSK included an Intelligence toli (company) called a Cashf Tolai. Each company was responsible for collecting information about the surrounding area and Taliban activities.[130] The members of the unit interacted closely with the local residents in an effort to deny the enemy control over the surrounding area.[131]

Combat service support was also vital. In order to enable the ANA to be self-sufficient, a Corps Logistics Kandak was to be formed which was to be responsible for providing equipment to the 90 infantry kandaks. The CLK was responsible for the maintenance of the new heavier equipment including APCs.[129] In the 215th Corps area, the US Marine Combat Logistics Battalion 1 announced in January 2010 that the training of the ANA 5th Kandak, 1st Brigade, 215th ANA Corps Logistics Kandak has gone very well and that the unit was capable of undertaking the majority of day-to-day activities on their own.[132] The ANA never achieved self-sufficiency and after losing logistical and air support from the U.S, the ANA fell apart during the 2021 Taliban offensive, making a series of negotiated surrenders.[8]

Other forces

The Afghan Border Force (ABF) was responsible for the security of Afghanistan's border area with neighboring countries extending up to 50 kilometres (30 mi) into the interior.[133] In December 2017, most of the Afghan Border Police (ABP) personnel of the Afghan National Police were transferred to the Afghan National Army to form the ABF.[134]| The Afghan National Police retained 4,000 ABP personnel for customs operations at border crossings and international airports.[135] The ABF consisted of seven brigades.[136]

The Afghan National Civil Order Force (ANCOF) was responsible for civil order and counterinsurgency.[133] In March 2018, most of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) personnel of the Afghan National Police were transferred to the Afghan National Army to form the ANCOF with their role remaining the same.[137] The remaining 2,550 ANCOP personnel in the Afghan National Police formed the Public Security Police (PSP).[136] The ANCOF consisted of eight brigades.[138] In June 2020, the ANCOF brigades began to be disbanded with personnel to be integrated into the Afghan National Army.[133]

Collapse to Taliban in 2021 and reorganization

Following the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, in addition to a rapid offensive conducted by the Taliban, the Afghan National Army largely disintegrated,[139] due to devastatingly low morale and massive corruption, with large numbers of ANA soldiers abandoning their posts or surrendering en masse to the Taliban,[8] allowing the Taliban to capture large quantities of US-provided military equipment, vehicles and aircraft.[140] Soon, all the regional forces of the ANA had dissolved, with the exception of the 201st Corps and the 111th Capital Division, both of which were headquartered in Kabul, which was now surrounded by the Taliban. On 15 August 2021, the Taliban entered the outskirts of Kabul from multiple directions, beginning the fall of Kabul. On the same day, President Ashraf Ghani fled the country to Dubai.[141] It was reported that ANA soldiers were fleeing to neighbouring countries in droves, some on foot and others onboard Afghan Air Force aircraft. At 8:55 pm local time, Taliban forces seized the Arg and raised their flag, soon afterwards declaring the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Following the fall of Kabul, the remaining forces of the ANA either deserted their posts or surrendered to the Taliban.[142] Some remnants of the ANA regrouped in the Panjshir Valley, where they joined the anti-Taliban National Resistance Front of Afghanistan.[10] Around 500–600 remaining Afghan troops, made up mostly of Afghan Commandos, were reported to have refused to surrender to the Taliban in Kabul, and instead joined up with US forces in at Kabul International Airport, helping them secure the outer perimeter of the airport during the evacuation in August 2021. According to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, the US will evacuate these remaining Afghan troops to safety if they wish to leave Afghanistan when the evacuation operation ends.[143]

Since the Taliban took control, there has been more than 100 former Afghan security forces who either disappeared, or were extrajudicially executed.[144] These figures only cover four provinces, meaning the real number of former Afghan security forces disappearing or being executed may be much higher.[citation needed] Taliban soldiers have hunted down former Afghan security forces in the aftermath of the withdrawal.

As of October 2021 the Islamic Emirate Army is subdivided into eight corps, mostly superseding the previous corps of the Afghan National Army. They are listed below.[145] In November 2021 Mullah Yaqoob, Acting Minister of Defense, announced the new names of the corps.[122]

Army Corps
Corps Headquarters Superseded Corps Commander(s) Ref(s)
313 Central Corps Kabul Maulvi Naqibullah "Sahib" (Chief of Staff)
Maulvi Nasrullah "Mati" (Commander)
Maulvi Nusrat (Deputy Commander)		 [146][123]
201 Khalid Ibn Walid Corps Laghman 201st Corps Abdul Rahman Mansoori (Chief of Staff)
Abu Dujana (Commander)
Ibrahim (Deputy Commander)		 [123]
203 Mansoori Corps Gardez 203rd Corps Ahmadullah Mubarak (Chief of Staff)
Mohammad Ayub (Commander)
Rohul Amin (Deputy Commander)		 [123]
205 Al-Badr Corps Kandahar 205th Corps Hizbullah Afghan (Chief of Staff)
Mehrullah Hamad (Commander)
Wali Jan Hamza (Deputy Commander)		 [123]
207 Al-Farooq Corps Herat 207th Corps Abdul Rahman Haqqani (Chief of Staff)
Mohammad Zarif Muzaffar (Commander)
Abdul Shakur Baryalai (Deputy Commander)		 [147][123]
209 Al-Fatah Corps Mazar-i-Sharif 209th Corps Abdul Razzaq Faizullah (Chief of Staff)
Attaullah Omari (Commander)
Maulvi Amanuddin (Deputy Commander)		 [123]
215 Azam Corps Helmand 215th Corps Maulvi Abdul Aziz "Ansari" (Chief of Staff)
Sharafuddin Taqi (Commander)
Mohibullah Nusrat (Deputy Commander)		 [146][123]
217 Omari Corps Kunduz 217th Corps Mohammad Shafiq (Chief of Staff)
Rahmatullah Mohammad (Commander)
Mohammad Ismail Turkman (Deputy Commander)		 [123]

Army size

 
Fourteen female ANA soldiers marching into their graduation ceremony at the Kabul Military Training Center

A table of the size of the Afghan army over time is listed below.[148]

Head of state Year Total Trained/regular
Dost Mohammad Khan 1857 25,000 7,400
Sher Ali Khan 54,900
Abdur Rahman Khan 88,400 88,400
Habibullah Khan 20,000 4,000
Amanullah Khan 10,000 10,000
Habibullāh Kalakāni 20,000 4,000
Mohammed Nadir Shah 72,000 70,000
Mohammad Hashim Khan 82–92,000 80–90,000
Mohammed Zahir Shah 82,000 80,000
Mohammad Najibullah 1988 160,000 101,500
Burhanuddin Rabbani 1995 70,000
Taliban period 100,000
Hamid Karzai 2003 49,000 4,000

Ranks

Following the return of the Taliban into power, the Islamic Emirate Army continue to use the rank insignia of the Afghan National Army.

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group General/flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
  Islamic Emirate Army                          
مارشال
Marshal
Marshal 		ستر جنرال
Setar jenral
General 		ډگرجنرال
Dagar jenral
Lieutenant General 		تورن جنرال
Turan jenral
Major General 		برید جنرال
Brid jenral
Brigadier General 		ډگروال
Dagarwal
Colonel 		ډگرمن
Dagarman
Lieutenant Colonel 		جگرن
Jagran
Major 		جگتورن
Jag turan
Captain 		تورن
Turan
Junior Captain 		لمړی بريدمن
Lomri baridman
First Lieutenant 		دوهم بریدمن
Dvahomi baridman
Second Lieutenant 		دریم بریدمن
Dreyom baridman
Third Lieutenant
Rank group General/flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted
  Islamic Emirate Army           No insignia
سرپرگمشر قدمدار
Serebergemser qadamdar
Sergeant First Class 		معاون سرپرگمشر قدمدار
Maawan serebergemser qadamdar
Staff Sergeant 		سرپرگمشر
Serebergemser
Sergeant 		معاون سرپرگمشر
Maawan sarpargamshar
Corporal 		پرگمشر
Pregmesher
Private First Class 		جندي
Jondi
Private
Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted

Equipment

Main article: List of army equipment of Afghanistan
 
Humvees of the ANA

The Afghan Army was equipped with the Soviet AK-47 as its main service rifle from the 1970s. As a major non-NATO ally of the United States, Afghanistan continued to receive billions of dollars in military assistance and the American M16 rifle joined the AK-47 as the service rifle. In addition, various U.S. rifles, bulletproof vests, night vision goggles, trucks and Mine Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles entered service. The ANA previously had a contract with International Trucks that would provide a fleet of 2,781 trucks which could be used for transporting personnel, water, petroleum and as a recovery vehicle.

Besides NATO, Afghanistan had increasingly turned to its regional allies, India and Russia for military aid and supplies. Both countries supported the Northern Alliance, with funding, training, supplies and medical treatment of wounded fighters, against the Taliban for years prior to the US-led intervention in 2001.

After the removal of the Taliban government in late 2001, India invested several billion dollars in infrastructure development projects in Afghanistan, besides the training of Afghan officers in India. But India was unwilling to provide military aid unless under an UN-authorised peacekeeping mission. In 2014, India signed an agreement with Russia and Afghanistan where it would pay Russia for all the heavy equipment requested by Afghanistan instead of directly supplying them. The deal also includes the refurbishment of heavy weapons left behind since the Soviet war.[83][149] Following the end of the 2021 Taliban offensive, much of the Afghan National Army's arsenal, including much of its U.S. military hardware, ended up in the hands of the Taliban.[150]

See also

Notes

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References

  • Amtstutz, J. Bruce (1986). Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation (PDF). Washington, DC.: National Defense University. (PDF) from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  • Azimi Nabi (2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963–1993. AuthorHouse (English edition). [1] Self published English version of originally "Persian" work; see translator's note.
  • Bhatia, Michael; Sedra, Mark (2008). Afghanistan, Arms and Conflict: Armed groups, disarmament, and security in a postwar society. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-47734-5.
  • Davis, Anthony (1994). "The Battlegrounds of Northern Afghanistan". Jane's Intelligence Review (July 1994). (pages 323 onwards)
  • Davis, Anthony (1993). "The Afghan Army". Jane's Intelligence Review (March 1993).
  • United States. Department of Defense (December 2020). Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan (PDF). 7-653B15D. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  • United States. Department of Defense (June 2018). Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan (PDF). D-F54BED1. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  • Antonio Giustozzi (2016). The Army of Afghanistan: A Political History of a Fragile Institution. London: C. Hurst & Co. ISBN 978-1-84904-481-3. 288 pp.; £35.00. Due to its 'simplicity, which matched low technology and basic organization found among the human resources available' the Taliban's army from 1996 to 2001 was perhaps the most successful national army for Afghanistan (p. 121).
  • Giustozzi, Antonio (March 2007). "Auxiliary Force or National Army: Afghanistan 'ANA' and the COIN Effort 2002–2006". Small Wars and Insurgencies. 18 (1). doi:10.1080/09592310601173220. S2CID 143669542.
  • Giustozzi, Antonio (Spring 2004). "The Demodernisation of an Army: Northern Afghanistan, 1992–2001". Small Wars & Insurgencies. 15 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1080/09592310410001676970. S2CID 143469209.
  • Giustozzi, Antonio (2000). War, Politics, and Society in Afghanistan. Hurst. ISBN 978-1-85065-396-7.
  • Grau, Lester W.; Jalali, Ahmad (2001). "The Campaign for the Caves:The battles for Zhawar in the Soviet‐Afghan war". Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 14 (3): 69–92. doi:10.1080/13518040108430488. S2CID 144936749.
  • Lalzoy, Najibullah (8 November 2021). "Taliban retitles all military corps in Afghanistan". The Khaama Press News Agency.
  • Lead Inspector General (20 August 2019). "Operation Freedom's Sentinel: Lead Inspector General Report to the United States Congress, April 1, 2019 – June 30, 2019" (PDF). Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  • Isby, David (1986). Russia's War in Afghanistan. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85045-691-2.
  • Jacobsen, Annie (2019). Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
  • Jalali, Ali A. (2002). "Rebuilding Afghanistan's National Army". Parameters. U.S. Army. 32 (3).
  • Jalali, Ali A. (2001). . Parameters. U.S. Army (Spring 2001): 85–98. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  • Janes (26 April 2001). "SS-1 'Scud' (R-11/8K11, R-11FM (SS-N-1B) and R-17/8K14)". Jane's Information Group. from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2008.</ref>
  • Kelly, Terrence K.; Bensahel; Oliker, Olga (2011). Security Force Assistance in Afghanistan: Identifying Lessons for Future Efforts. RAND Corporation.
  • Lieven, Anatol (16 August 2021). "Opinion: Why Afghan Forces So Quickly Laid Down Their Arms". Politico.
  • Nyrop, Richard F.; Seekins, Donald M. (January 1986). Area Handbook Series: Afghanistan: A Country Study. Fort Belvoir, VA: Defense Technical Information Center.
  • Sedra, Mark (3 November 2016). Security Sector Reform in Conflict-Affected Countries: The Evolution of a Model. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-39080-0.
  • Tomsen, Peter (2011). The Wars of Afghanistan. Public Affairs.
  • Urban, Mark (1988). War in Afghanistan. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan Press. pp. 12–14. ISBN 978-0-333-43263-1.
  • Zaloga, Steven (2006). Scud Ballistic Missile Launch Systems 1955–2005. Illustrated by Jim Laurier and Lee Ray. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-947-9.

Further reading

  • Kenneth Conboy, 'Elite Forces of India and Pakistan,' – also covers Afghanistan, including post 1978 coup creation of 26th Parachute Regiment from two previous commando units.
  • Yuri V. Gankovskii, Istoriia Vooruzhennykh Sil Afganistana: 1747–1977, Moscow: Nauka (also reported as Institut Vostokovedeniya), 1985.
  • Antonio Giustozzi, 'Shadow Ownership and SSR in Afghanistan,' Chap. 11 in Tim Donnais (ed.) 'Local Ownership and Security Sector Reform,' DCAF/Lit Verlag, Zurich/Berlin, 2008 'Local Ownership.' Portrays a varying level of vested interest/warlord subversion of reform among the various security agencies; little local ownership at the MOD/ANA despite several attempts to seize more local control and subvert the foreign process by not proving enough personnel, imposing different officers, and wanting a conscript force. The army is financially unsustainable even at 70,000 strong and not being trained for combat in small units.
  • Antonio Giustozzi, War, politics and society in Afghanistan, 1978–1992
  • James Hardy, 'British MP urges changes to Afghan forces,' Jane's Defence Weekly, v.48, no.35, August 31, 2011, p. 15 (ISSN 0265-3818).
  • Lieutenant Colonel Gavin Keating, 'Living in the Twilight Zone: Advising the Afghan National Army at the Corps Level' 2019-08-05 at the Wayback Machine, Australian Army Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 3, Summer 2011.
  • Maloney, Sean M. (2005), Enduring the Freedom: A Rogue Historian in Afghanistan, Washington, DC: Potomac Books, ISBN 1-57488-953-2
  • Edward A Olsen, Stephen Jurika, The Armed Forces In Contemporary Asian Societies, Taylor and Francis, 2020.
  • Robinson, Colin D. (2018). "What explains the failure of U.S. army reconstruction in Afghanistan?". Defence and Security Analysis. 34 (3): 249–266. doi:10.1080/14751798.2018.1500756. S2CID 158846498.
  • U.S. Army Area Handbook: Afghanistan, 1969, revised 1973
  • 'US seeks to halve ANSF funds by 2014,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 5 October 2011. Reporting comments by Lt Gen Caldwell, Commander NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A), 26 September 2011.

External links

  Media related to Afghan National Army at Wikimedia Commons

  • Official website
  • US Department of Defense, June 2018 'Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan' report

January 26, 2023
afghan, army, army, islamic, emirate, afghanistan, pashto, افغانستان, اسلامي, امارت, اردو, afğānistān, islāmī, imārat, urdu, also, referred, islamic, emirate, army, land, force, branch, armed, forces, islamic, emirate, afghanistan, roots, army, afghanistan, tr. The Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Pashto د افغانستان د اسلامي امارت اردو De Afganistan De Islami Imarat Urdu also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Hotak dynasty was established in Kandahar followed by Ahmad Shah Durrani s rise to power It was reorganized in 1880 during Emir Abdur Rahman Khan s reign 2 Afghanistan remained neutral during the First and Second World Wars From the 1960s to the early 1990s the Afghan Army was equipped by the Soviet Union 3 Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistanد افغانستان د اسلامي امارت اردوFounded1722 301 years ago 1722 CountryAfghanistanTypeArmyRoleLand warfarePart ofAfghan Armed ForcesHeadquartersKabulCommandersArmy ChiefQari Fasihuddin from 2021 1 After the resignation of President Najibullah in 1992 the army effectively dissolved In 1996 the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Taliban regime took power creating their own army which lasted until United States invasion of Afghanistan in October November 2001 By 2016 most of Afghanistan came under government control 4 However over the next few years the government slowly lost territory to the Taliban and eventually collapsed with Kabul falling to the Taliban in 2021 The majority of training of the ANA was undertaken in the Kabul Military Training Centre In 2019 the ANA had approximately 180 000 soldiers out of an authorized strength of 195 000 5 Despite its significant manpower on paper in reality a significant portion of the Afghan National Army manpower were made up of ghost soldiers 6 Following the withdrawal of U S and allied troops from Afghanistan in the Summer of 2021 in the face of a rapid Taliban offensive the Afghan National Army largely disintegrated 7 8 Following the escape of President Ashraf Ghani and the fall of Kabul remaining ANA soldiers either deserted their posts or surrendered to the Taliban 9 Some ANA remnants reportedly joined the anti Taliban National Resistance Front of Afghanistan in the Panjshir Valley see Republican insurgency in Afghanistan 10 Contents 1 History 1 1 The Royal Afghan Army 1 2 Socialist Afghanistan 1 3 1992 and after 1 4 Afghan National Army 2002 2021 1 4 1 Costs and salaries 1 4 2 Training and International Partnerships 1 4 3 Ineffectiveness 1 4 4 Structure 2002 2021 1 4 4 1 Corps and other major commands 1 4 4 2 Kandaks battalions 1 4 4 3 Other forces 1 5 Collapse to Taliban in 2021 and reorganization 2 Army size 3 Ranks 4 Equipment 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory EditSee also Military history of Afghanistan and List of wars involving Afghanistan The Royal Afghan Army Edit Afghan royal soldiers of the Durrani Empire Historically Afghans have served in the army of the Ghaznavids 963 c 1187 Ghurids 1148 1215 Delhi Sultanate 1206 1527 and the Mughals 1526 1858 11 The Afghan National Army traces its origin to the early 18th century when the Hotak dynasty rose to power in Kandahar and defeated the Persian Safavid Empire at the Battle of Gulnabad in 1722 12 When Ahmad Shah Durrani formed the Durrani Empire in 1747 in general tribes were responsible for providing troops to the king The only national army that existed during Ahmad Shah s time consisted of small groups that functioned as royal bodyguards 13 The Afghan Army fought a number of battles in the Punjab region of India during the 19th century One of the famous battles was the 1761 Battle of Panipat in which the Afghan army decisively defeated the Hindu Maratha Empire 14 The Afghans then fought with the Sikh Empire until finally the Sikh Marshal Hari Singh Nalwa died and Sikh conquests stopped In 1839 the British successfully invaded Afghanistan and installed the exiled Shah Shujah Durrani into power Their occupation of Afghanistan was challenged after Dost Mohammad s son Wazir Akbar Khan and the forces he led revolted against the occupying British By October 1841 disaffected Afghan tribes were flocking to the support of Wazir Akbar Khan in Bamian 15 The success of Akbar Khan s uprising led to the 1842 retreat from Kabul where the Afghan army decimated British forces thanks to effective use of the rugged terrain and weapons such as the Jezail Afghan infantry soldier in 1890 At the outbreak of the Second Anglo Afghan War 1878 80 Ali Ahmad Jalali cites sources saying that the regular army was about 50 000 strong and consisted of 62 infantry and 16 cavalry regiments with 324 guns mostly organized in horse and mountain artillery batteries 16 Jalali writes that although Amir Shir Ali Khan 1863 78 is widely credited for founding the modern Afghan Army it was only under Abdur Rahman that it became a viable and effective institution 17 The Library of Congress Country Study for Afghanistan states that when Abdur Rahman came to the throne c 1880 2 the army was virtually nonexistent With the assistance of a liberal financial loan from the British plus their aid in the form of weapons ammunition and other military supplies Abdur Rahman began a 20 year task of creating a respectable regular force by instituting measures that formed the long term basis of the military system These included increasing the equalization of military obligation by setting up a system known as the hasht nafari whereby one man in every eight between the ages of 20 and 40 took his turn at military service constructing an arsenal in Kabul to reduce dependence on foreign sources for small arms and other ordnance introducing supervised training courses organizing troops into divisions brigades and regiments including battalions of artillery developing pay schedules and introducing an elementary and harsh disciplinary system Afghan Army soldiers in the 1950s wearing the iconic Stahlhelm Further improvements to the Army were made by King Amanullah Khan in the early 20th century just before the Third Anglo Afghan War King Amanullah fought against the British in 1919 resulting in Afghanistan becoming fully independent after the Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed It appears from reports of Naib Sular Abdur Rahim s career that a Cavalry Division was in existence in the 1920s with him being posted to the division in Herat Province in 1913 and Mazar i Sharif after 1927 18 A military academy was in existence by Amanullah s reign 19 The Army fought the Soviet Union in 1925 1926 citation needed In 1927 Afghanistan invited Turkey to send a military advisory mission resulting in a strengthening of Afghan divisions and brigades augmenting each echelon headquarters with supporting staff and regularizing the officer corps 20 The Afghan Army was expanded during King Zahir Shah s reign starting in 1933 From 1949 1950 to 1961 Afghanistan Pakistan skirmishes took place along the frontier culminating in fighting in Bajaur Agency in September 1960 21 This led to a breakoff in diplomatic relations between the two countries in September 1961 22 In 1953 Lieutenant General Mohammed Daoud Khan cousin of the King who had previously served as Minister of Defence was transferred from command of the Central Corps in Kabul to become Prime Minister of Afghanistan 23 The Central Corps was headquartered at Amanullah s Darulaman Palace 24 On the opening day of Parliament in October 1965 a violent student demonstration among which Babrak Karmal was at the forefront forced Zahir Shah s new prime minister Yousef to resign Two students were killed when the new corps commander General Abdul Wali sent in troops to restore order 25 From the 1960s to the early 1990s the Afghan Army received training and equipment mostly from the Soviet Union In February March 1957 the first group of Soviet military specialists about 10 including interpreters was sent to Kabul to train Afghan officers and non commissioned officers 26 At the time there seems to have been significant Turkish influence in the Afghan Armed Forces which waned quickly after the Soviet advisors arrived By the late 1950s Azimi describes three corps each with a number of divisions along the eastern border with Pakistan and several independent divisions 27 In the early 1970s Soviet military assistance was increased The number of Soviet military specialists increased from 1 500 in 1973 to 5 000 by April 1978 28 The senior Soviet specialist at this time from 29 November 1972 until 11 December 1975 was a Major General I S Bondarets I S Bondarec and from 1975 to 1978 the senior Soviet military adviser was Major General L N Gorelov Before the 1978 Saur Revolution according to Jacobs the army included three armored divisions infantry divisions averaging 4 500 to 8 000 men each two mountain infantry brigades one artillery brigade a guards regiment for palace protection three artillery regiments two commando regiments and a parachute battalion which was largely grounded All the formations were under the control of three corps level headquarters All but three infantry divisions were facing Pakistan along a line from Bagram south to Khandahar 29 There were 570 medium tanks plus more Soviet T 55s on order Socialist Afghanistan Edit See also Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Military In 1989 the Soviet Union transferred the tactical ballistic missiles the Scud as seen in the footage in 2004 On 27 April 1978 the People s Democratic Party of Afghanistan led by Nur Mohammad Taraki Babrak Karmal and Amin overthrew the regime of Mohammad Daoud who was killed the next day along with most of his family 30 On 1 May Taraki became President Prime Minister and General Secretary of the PDPA The country was then renamed the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan DRA and the PDPA regime lasted until April 1992 The army lost much of its strength during the early stages of PDPA rule One of the main reasons for the small size was that the Soviet military were afraid the Afghan army would defect en masse to the enemy if total personnel increased There were several sympathisers of the mujahideen within the military 31 Even so there were several elite units under the command of the Afghan army for instance the 26th Airborne Battalion 444th 37th and 38th Commando Brigades The 26th Airborne Battalion proved politically unreliable and in 1980 they revolted against the PDPA government The Commando Brigades were in contrast considered reliable and were used as mobile strike forces until they sustained excessive casualties Insurgents ambushed and inflicted heavy casualties on the 38th Commando Brigade during the Second Battle of Zhawar in Paktika Province in May 1983 32 After sustaining heavy casualties the commando brigades were turned into battalions 33 Most soldiers were recruited for a three year term later extended to four year terms in 1984 The Afghan Army 1978 34 Central Corps Kabul 7th Division Kabul 8th Division Kabul 4th and 15th Armoured Brigades Republican Guard Brigade 2nd Corps Kandahar 7th Armoured Brigade 15th Division Kandahar 35 3rd Corps Gardez 9th Division Chugha Serai 11th Division Jalalabad 12th Division Gardez 14th Division Ghazni 17th Division Herat 35 18th Division Mazar i Sharif 20th Division Nahrin 25th Division Khost After the PDPA seizure of power desertions swept the force affecting the loyalty and moral values of soldiers There were purges on patriotic junior and senior officers and upper class Afghan aristocrats in society On March 15 1979 the Herat uprising broke out The 17th Division was detailed by the regime to put down the rebellion but this proved a mistake as there were few Khalqi faction soldiers in the division and instead it mutinied and joined the uprising 36 Forces from Kabul had to be dispatched to suppress the rebellion Gradually the Army s three armoured divisions and now sixteen infantry divisions dropped in size to on average around 2 500 strong quarter strength by 1985 37 One of the first series of defections occurred in the 9th Division which Urban wrote defected by brigades in response to the Soviet intervention It lost its 5th Brigade at Asmar in August 1979 and its 30th Mountain Brigade in 1980 38 After Soviet advisors arrived in 1977 they inspired a number of adaptations and reorganisations 39 In April 1982 the 7th Division was moved from the capital The division which was commanded by Khalqi Major General Zia Ud Din had its depleted combat resources spread out along the Kabul Kandahar highway 40 In 1984 1985 all infantry divisions were restructured to a common design In 1985 Army units were relieved of security duties making more available for combat operations During the 1980s Soviet Afghan War the Army fought against the mujahideen rebel groups Deserters or defectors became a severe problem The Afghan Army s casualties were as high as 50 60 000 soldiers and another 50 000 soldiers deserted the Army The Afghan Army s defection rate was about 10 000 soldiers per year between 1980 and 1989 the average deserters left the Afghan Army after the first five months 41 Local militias were also important to the Najibullah regime s security efforts From 1988 several new divisions were formed from former Regional Forces militias formations the 53rd Infantry Division the Jowzyani militia of Abdul Rashid Dostum the 55th 80th 93rd 94th 95th and 96th plus possibly a division in Lashkar Gah 42 43 44 As compensation for the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989 the USSR agreed to deliver sophisticated weapons to the regime among which were large quantities of Scud surface to surface missiles 45 The first 500 were transferred during the early months of 1989 and soon proved to be a critical strategic asset During the mujahideen attack against Jalalabad between March and June 1989 three firing batteries manned by Afghan crews advised by Soviets fired approximately 438 missiles 46 Soon Scuds were in use in all the heavily contested areas of Afghanistan After January 1992 the Soviet advisors were withdrawn reducing the Afghan Army s ability to use their ballistic missiles On April 24 1992 the mujahideen forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud captured the main Scud stockpile at Afshur Afshar Kabul As the communist government collapsed the few remaining Scuds and their Transporter erector launchers were divided among the rival factions fighting for power However the lack of trained personnel prevented a sustained use of such weapons and between April 1992 and 1996 only 44 Scuds were fired in Afghanistan 46 1992 and after Edit In spring 1992 the Afghan Army consisted of five corps 1st Corps at Jalalabad 2nd at Khandahar 3rd Corps at Gardez 47 4th Corps at Herat and 6th Corps at Kunduz as well as five smaller operations groups including one at Charikar which had been 5th Corps until it was reduced in status 1st 2nd and 3rd Corps and the operations groups at Sarobi and Khost nearly completely disintegrated in 1992 43 48 Formations in and around Kabul joined different mujahideen militias while forces in the north and west remained intact for a longer period Forces in the north and west were taken over by three major commanders Ismael Khan Ahmed Shah Masoud and Abdul Rashid Dostam On 18 April 1992 the PDPA garrison at Kunduz surrendered to local mujahideen commanders 49 The 54th Division base at Kunduz was handed over to the overall military leader of Ittehad in the area Amir Chughay Dostum and commanders loyal to him formed Junbesh I Melli the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan 50 The NIM grouped the former regime s 18th 20th 53rd 54th and 80th Divisions plus several brigades 51 By mid 1994 there were two parallel 6th Corps operating in the north Dostum s 6th Corps was based at Pul i Khumri and had three divisions The Defence Ministry of the Kabul government s 6th Corps was based at Kunduz and also had three divisions two sharing numbers with formations in Dostum s corps 44 By 1995 Masoud controlled three corps commands the Central Corps at Kabul the best organised with a strength of 15 20 000 the 5th Corps at Herat covering the west and the 6th Corps at Kunduz covering the northeast 52 43 By 1996 the Taliban Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan seized the country aiming to control it by Islamic Sharia law The Taliban s army and commanders placed emphasis on simplicity 53 some were secretly trained by the Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence and Pakistani Armed Forces around the Durand Line After the removal of the Taliban government through the United States invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001 private armies loyal to warlords gained more and more influence In mid 2001 Ali Ahmed Jalali wrote 54 The army as a state institution organized armed and commanded by the state does not exist in Afghanistan today Neither the Taliban led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan nor the Islamic State of Afghanistan headed by the ousted President Rabbani has the political legitimacy or administrative efficiency of a state The militia formations they command are composed of odd assortments of armed groups with varying level of loyalties political commitment professional skills and organizational integrity Many of them feel free to switch sides shift loyalties and join or leave the group spontaneously The country suffers from the absence of a top political layer capable of controlling individual and group violence Although both sides identify their units with military formations of the old regime there is hardly any organizational or professional continuity from the past But these units really exist in name only i n fact only their military bases still exist accommodating and supporting an assortment of militia groups Formations in existence by the end of 2002 included the 1st Army Corps Nangarhar 2nd Army Corps Kandahar dominated by Gul Agha Sherzai 3rd Army Corps Paktia where the US allegedly attempted to impose Atiqullah Ludin as commander 4th Army Corps Herat dominated by Ismail Khan 6th Army Corps at Kunduz 7th Army Corps under Atta Muhammad Nur at Balkh 55 8th Army Corps at Jowzjan dominated by Dostum s National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan and the Central Army Corps around Kabul 56 16 57 In addition there were divisions with strong links to the centre in Kabul These included the 1st in Kabul 27th in Qalat 31st in Kabul 34th in Bamiyan 4th Corps 58 36th in Logar 41st in Ghor 42nd in Wardak 71st in Farah and 100th in Laghman 59 The International Crisis Group wrote 60 New divisions and even army corps were created to recognise factional realities or undermine the power base of individual commanders often without regard to the troop levels normally associated with such units For example the ministry in July 2002 recognised a 25th Division in Khost province formed by the Karzai appointed governor Hakim Taniwal to unseat a local warlord Padshah Khan Zadran who was then occupying the governor s residence At its inception however the division had only 700 men the size of a battalion Even by December 2004 Human Rights Watch was still saying in an open letter to Karzai that Abdul Rabb al Rasul Sayyaf the head of the Ittihad i Islami faction and the Daw at e Islami party should be curbed Sayyaf has no government post but has used his power over the Supreme Court and other courts across the country to curtail the rights of journalists civic society activists and even political candidates He also controls militias including forces recognized as the 10th Division of the Afghan army which intimidate and abuse Afghans even inside Kabul We ask that you express public opposition to Sayyaf s activities explicitly state your opposition to such misuse of unofficial authority and move expeditiously to disarm and demobilize armed forces associated with Ittihad i Islami and other unofficial forces 61 62 Emblem of the Afghan National Army 2002 2021 Afghan National Army 2002 2021 Edit This section needs to be updated The reason given is The latest information is from 2014 Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information November 2019 Main article History of the Afghan Armed Forces 2002 2021 The first batch of graduates of the new Afghan National Army ANA in 2002 During the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan in early December 2001 President Hamid Karzai issued a decree reestablishing a unified army the Afghan National Army 63 The decree set a size target of 70 000 by 2009 and laid out the planned army structure There had been significant disagreement over the size of the army that was needed A Ministry of Defense issued paper said that at least 200 000 active troops were needed 64 The Afghan Ministry of Defence loudly objected to the smaller volunteer nature of the new army a change from the previous usage of conscripts 65 The US also blocked the new government from using the army to pressure Pakistan The first new Afghan kandak battalion was trained by British Army personnel of the International Security Assistance Force ISAF becoming 1st Battalion Afghan National Guard 66 Yet while the British troops provided high quality training they were few in number After some consideration it was decided that the United States might be able to provide the training Thus follow on kandaks were recruited and trained by 1st Battalion 3rd Special Forces Group 67 3rd SFG built the training facilities and ranges for early use using a Soviet built facility on the eastern side of Kabul near the then ISAF headquarters Recruiting and training began in May 2002 with a difficult but successful recruitment process of bringing hundreds of new recruits in from all parts of Afghanistan 68 Training was initially done in Pashto and Dari Persian dialect and some Arabic due to the very diverse ethnicities The original US target in April 2002 was that of 12 000 men trained by April 2003 but it was quickly realised that this was too ambitious and the requirement reduced to only 9 000 to be ready by November 2003 The first female Afghan parachutist Khatol Mohammadzai trained during the 1980s became the first female general in the Afghan National Army in August 2002 69 The National Military Academy of Afghanistan a West Point analogue and part of the Marshal Fahim National Defense University based in Qargha Garrison was also established to produce officers The NMAA administered a four year military and civil training programme with the aim of preparing the prospective officer for the long term The NMAA taught four major foreign languages vital to developing the relationship between the ANA and foreign armies The U S Army s major objectives for the ANA in October 2002 were 70 Ensure activation of Central Corps headquarters and its three Brigades by 1 October 2003 Develop and begin implementation of Afghan MoD General Staff reform plan Establish ANA institutional support systems including officer and NCO schools ANA training and doctrine directorate and garrison support elements Design and build Office of Military Cooperation Afghanistan OMC A consisting of US Coalition military contractor and Afghan civilian and military personnel capable of managing the ANA building program as it increases in scope and complexity Increase international and Afghan domestic support for and confidence in ANA through the maintenance of quality within the force and the conduct of effective information operations The first deployment outside Kabul was made by 3rd Kandak ANA to Paktika Province including Orgun in January 2003 71 By January 2003 just over 1 700 soldiers in five Kandaks battalions had completed the 10 week training course and by mid 2003 a total of 4 000 troops had been trained Approximately 1 000 ANA soldiers were deployed in the US led Operation Warrior Sweep marking the first major combat operation for Afghan troops Initial recruiting problems lay in the lack of cooperation from regional warlords and inconsistent international support The problem of desertion dogged the force from the outset in the summer of 2003 the desertion rate was estimated to be 10 and in mid March 2004 an estimate suggested that 3 000 soldiers had deserted Some recruits were under 18 years of age and many could not read or write Recruits who only spoke the Pashto language experienced difficulty because instruction was usually given through interpreters who spoke Dari The Afghan New Beginnings Programme ANBP was launched on 6 April 2003 and begin disarmament of former Army personnel in October 2003 72 In March 2004 fighting between two local militias took place in the western Afghan city of Herat It was reported that Mirwais Sadiq son of warlord Ismail Khan was assassinated in unclear circumstances Thereafter a bigger conflict began that resulted in the death of up to 100 people The battle was between troops of Ismail Khan and Abdul Zahir Nayebzada a senior local military commander blamed for the death of Sadiq 73 Nayebzada commanded the 17th Herat Division of the Afghan Militia Forces 4th Corps In response to the fighting about 1 500 newly trained ANA soldiers were sent to Herat in order to bring the situation under control Construction of Camp Zafar for the ANA in Herat Province 2005 In addition to the fighting units establishment of regional structures began when four of the five planned corps commanders and some of their staff were appointed on 1 September 2004 The first regional command was established in Kandahar on September 19 the second at Gardez on September 22 with commands at Mazar i Sharif and Herat planned 74 The Gardez command also referred to in the AFPS story as the 203 Corps was to have an initial force of 200 soldiers Kandahar s command was the first activated followed by Gardez and Mazar e Sharif The Herat command was seemingly activated on 28 September The next year the ANA s numbers grew to around 20 000 soldiers most of which were trained by the United States Army In the meantime the United States Army Corps of Engineers started building new military camps for the fast growing army In 2003 the United States issued guidelines to ensure the army s ethnic balance 75 By late 2012 the ANA was composed of 43 Pashtuns 32 Tajiks 12 Hazaras 8 Uzbeks and the rest were smaller ethnic groups of Afghanistan 76 However the army did not track the actual ethnic composition of the officer corps There were no quotas for the enlisted soldiers 77 By March 2011 a National Military Command Center had been established in Kabul which was being mentored by personnel from the Virginia Army National Guard 78 Costs and salaries Edit Under the US Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement the United States designated Afghanistan as a major non NATO ally and agreed to fund the ANA until at least 2024 This included soldiers salaries providing training and weapons and all other military costs Soldiers in the Army initially received 30 a month during training and 50 a month upon graduation though the basic pay for trained soldiers later rose to 165 This starting salary increased to 230 a month in an area with moderate security issues and to 240 in those provinces where there was heavy fighting 79 About 95 of the men and women who served in the military were paid by electronic funds transfer 80 Special biometrics were used during the registration of each soldier 81 Training and International Partnerships Edit A British brigadier gets a brief ahead of a training exercise Newly trained ANA soldiers recite the oath ceremony of the first term bridmals NCOs at the Ghazi Military Training Center in Kabul province Task Force Phoenix was the initial U S and allied force training organisation in 2002 This program was formalized in April 2003 based near the Kabul Military Training Center Coalition efforts were initially overseen by OMC A then Office of Security Cooperation Afghanistan then from 2006 to 2009 by the Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan CSTC A a three star level multi national command headquartered in downtown Kabul 63 On the Afghan side by 2011 all training and education in the Army was run by Afghan National Army Training Command a two star command which reported directly to the Chief of the General Staff All training centers and military schools were under this command Individual basic training was conducted primarily by Afghan instructors and staff at the Kabul Military Training Center situated on the eastern edge of Kabul The United States Department of Defense assisted in basic and advanced training of enlisted recruits and also ran the Drill Instructor School which ran basic training courses for training NCOs Basic training had been expanded to include required literacy courses for illiterate recruits A French Army advisory team oversaw the training of officers for staff and platoon or toli company command in a combined commissioning infantry officer training unit called the Officer Training Brigade OTB OTB candidates in the platoon and company command courses were usually former militia and mujaheddin leaders with various levels of military experience The United Kingdom also conducted initial infantry officer training and commissioning at the Officer Candidate School OCS OCS candidates were young men with little or no military experience The British Army also conducted initial and advanced Non Commissioned Officer training as well in a separate NCO Training Brigade The Canadian Forces supervised the Combined Training Exercise portion of initial military training where trainee soldiers NCOs and officers were brought together in field training exercises at the platoon toli company and kandak battalion levels to certify them ready for field operations In the Regional Corps Coalition Embedded Training Teams continued to mentor the kandak s leadership and advised them in the areas of intelligence communications fire support logistics and infantry tactics During the ISAF era advisers in the US Embedded Training Teams and NATO Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams acted as liaisons between the Afghan Army and coalition forces The teams coordinated planning and ensured that ANA units received U S Coalition support 82 Formal education and professional development was conducted at two main ANATC schools both in Kabul The National Military Academy of Afghanistan located near the Kabul International Airport was a four year military university which produced degree second lieutenants in a variety of military professions NMAA s first cadet class entered its second academic year in spring 2006 A contingent of US and Turkish instructors jointly mentored the NMAA faculty and staff The Command and General Staff College located in southern Kabul prepared mid level ANA officers to serve on brigade and corps staffs France established the CGSC in early 2004 and a cadre of French Army instructors continued to oversee operations at the school Sizable numbers of Afghan National Army Officers were sent to be trained in India either at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun the National Defence Academy near Pune or the Officers Training Academy in Chennai The Indian Military Academy which had been in existence since 1932 provided a four year degree to ANA army officers while the National Defence Academy provided a 3 year degree after which officers underwent a one year specialization in their respective service colleges The Officers Training Academy provided a 49 week course to Graduate officer candidates In 2014 the number of Afghan officers in training in India was nearly 1100 83 In October 2007 ANA international partners said they had seen progress and were pleased with Afghan performance in recent exercises Colonel Thomas McGrath estimated that the ANA would be capable of carrying out independent brigade size operations by the spring of 2008 84 Despite high hopes four years after McGrath s estimated date for independent brigade sized operations not a single one of the ANA s 180 kandaks could carry out independent operations much less an entire brigade 85 On July 30 2013 US Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Lavoy told reporters in Washington D C according to Jane s Defence Weekly that a residual US force would be needed to help the ANSF complete more mundane tasks such as logistics ensuring soldiers get their paychecks procuring food awarding fuel contracts and more 86 87 Lavoy noted that the Afghans were still developing those skills and it would be well beyond the 2014 date before they were expected to be capable An increasing number of female soldiers joined By early 2013 reports stated that there were 200 000 ANA troops However the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in January 2013 that Determining ANSF strength is fraught with challenges US and coalition forces rely on the Afghan forces to report their own personnel strength numbers T he Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan noted that there is no viable method of validating the ANA s personnel numbers 88 It was reported in 2016 that the Afghan National Army had close to 1 000 officers with the rank of general more than the number of generals in the United States Army 89 Ineffectiveness Edit An ANA soldier of the 201st Corps using a PSL rifle The ANA was plagued by poor cohesion illiteracy corruption and abuse A quarter of ANA troops were reported to have deserted in 2009 with many troops hiding in the heat of battle rather than engaging the enemy 90 91 It was reported that approximately 90 of ANA troops were illiterate and there were widespread instances of corruption with the ANA manpower consisting a high percentage of ghost battalions 92 93 Another significant problem for the ANA was a high level of drug abuse amongst its soldiers The Special Investigator General for Afghan Reconstruction reported the number of ANA soldiers using drugs was at least 50 percent and may be as high as 75 percent of all Afghan soldiers according to some reports 94 Many officers held loyalties with particular political factions The endemic corruption of those officers eroded the army s morale 95 Theft and a lack of discipline plagued many elements of the ANA US trainers reported missing vehicles weapons and other military equipment and outright theft of fuel provided by the US to the ANA 96 Death threats had been leveled against some US officers who tried to stop Afghan soldiers from stealing Some Afghan soldiers often found improvised explosive devices and snipped the command wires instead of marking them and waiting for US forces to come to detonate them The practice allowed insurgents to return and reconnect them 96 US trainers frequently had to remove the cell phones from Afghan soldiers hours before a mission for fear that the operation would be compromised by bragging gossip and reciprocal warnings 97 At times ANA troops attacked their own troops and foreign troops of ISAF 98 Fragging had worsened enough to the point where two decrees were issued by the Department of Defense in the summer of 2012 stating that all American personnel serving in Afghanistan were told to carry a magazine with their weapon at all times and that when a group of American troops were present and on duty with ANA forces one American serviceman had to stand apart on guard with a loaded weapon ready 99 In addition to fragging a report by a US inspector general revealed 5 753 cases of gross human rights abuses by Afghan forces including routine enslavement and rape of underage boys Bacha bazi by Afghan commanders 100 The ineffectiveness of the ANA became most apparent during the 2021 Taliban offensive thousands of ANA troops surrendered to the Taliban en masse with many cities falling to the Taliban unopposed 101 Structure 2002 2021 Edit Main article List of Afghan Armed Forces installations A January 2011 NATO Training Mission Afghanistan information paper described the ANA as being led by the Chief of General Staff supervising the Vice Chief of the General Staff the Vice Chief of the Armed Forces an Air Force officer the Director of the General Staff himself supervising the General Staff itself and seven major commands 102 The ANA Ground Force Command under a lieutenant general directed the regional ground forces corps and the 111th Capital Division Amongst support facilities was the Chimtallah National Ammunition Depot 103 Corps and other major commands Edit Soldiers of the 209th Corps in Balkh Province Soldiers of the 215th Corps in Helmand Province At its largest the Afghan National Army had seven corps each corps was responsible for an area of the country Establishment of the corps started when four regional commands were established with some staff in September 2004 For a period the Afghan National Army Air Corps was also among the corps before being split off as a separate air force Each corps had three to four subordinate brigades and each brigade had four infantry Kandaks battalions as basic fighting units Each infantry kandak was assigned a specific area for which it is responsible for the Kandak s mission was to secure its area from internal and external threats Originally the four outlying corps were assigned one or two brigades with the majority of the manpower of the Army based in Kabul s 201st Corps This was superseded by a buildup in which each corps added extra brigades Originally the 2008 Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan size target was for a total of 14 brigades 13 infantry one mechanized and one commando In 2019 2021 the regionally focused corps were as follows 201st Corps Kabul 1st Brigade was based at the Presidential Palace 3rd Brigade at Pol e Chakri was to be a mechanised formation including M 113s 104 and Soviet built main battle tanks T 62s 105 In early 2008 LongWarJournal org placed most of the 3rd Brigade at Jalalabad 2nd Brigade at Pol e Charkhi and only a single kandak of 1st Brigade at the Presidential Palace 106 The corps area of responsibility included Eastern Afghanistan including Kabul Logar Kapisa Konar and Laghman provinces This included Kabul as well as vital routes running north and south and valleys leading from the Pakistani border into Afghanistan 203rd Corps Gardez The original Gardez Regional Command was established on 23 September 2004 107 As of 2009 First Brigade Khost Second Brigade Forward Operating Base Rushmore Sharana Paktika Province Third Brigade Ghazni On 19 Oct 2006 as part of Operation Mountain Fury two ETTs Embedded Training Teams mentored and advised a D30 artillery section from Fourth Kandak Second Brigade 203rd Corps to conduct the first artillery missions during combat operations with harassment and indirect fires 108 Three days later they successfully conducted counterfire with assistance from a US Q 36 radar that resulted in ten enemy casualties the highest casualties inflicted from artillery fire in ANA history citation needed The corps is supported by the Gardez Regional Support Squadron of the AAF equipped with 8 helicopters 4 transport to support the corps commando kandak two attack and two medical transport 109 205th Corps Kandahar oversaw the provinces of Kandahar Zabul and 4th Brigade Urozgan under Brigadier General Zafar Khan s control 110 It consisted of four brigades a commando kandak and three garrisons The corps had integrated artillery and airlift capacity supplied by a growing Kandahar Wing of the Afghan Air Force 111 207th Corps Herat 1st Brigade at Herat 2nd Brigade at Farah and elements at Shindand including commandos 112 The corps was supported by the Herat Regional Support Squadron of the AAF equipped with eight helicopters four transport to support the corps commando kandak two attack and two medical transport aircraft 109 209th Corps Mazar i Sharif Worked closely with the German led Regional Command North and had 1st Brigade at Mazar i Sharif and it appears a Second Brigade forming at Kunduz An Army Corps of Engineers solicitation for Kunduz headquarters facilities for the Second Brigade was issued in March 2008 113 The corps was supported by the Mazar i Sharif Regional Support Squadron of the AAF equipped with eight helicopters four transport to support the Corps commando kandak two attack and two medical transport helicopters 109 In October 2015 as a response to the fall of Kunduz reports came that a new division would be formed in the area 114 215th Corps Lashkar Gah In 2010 the Afghan government approved a sixth corps of the Afghan National Army Corps 215 Maiwand to be based in the Helmand capital of Lashkar Gah The 215th was developed specifically to partner with the Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Helmand 115 On 28 January 2010 Xinhua reported that General Sayed Mallok would command the new corps 116 The corps will cover all parts of Helmand half of Farah and most parts of southwestern Nimroz province The corps was formally established on 1 April 2010 1st Bde 215th Corps is at Garmsir partnered with a USMC Regimental Combat Team 117 Elements of 2nd Brigade 215th Corps had been reported at Forward Operating Base Delaram Farah Province 3rd Bde 215th Corps partnered with the UK Task Force Helmand is at Camp Shorabak 118 217th Corps Headquarters Kunduz In 2019 the 20th Division which was formerly part of the 209th Corps became the 217th Corps The corps was given responsibility for Kunduz Province Takhar Baghlan and Badakhshan provinces 119 In August 2021 the Taliban seized control of the corps headquarters and Kunduz as part of the 2021 Taliban offensive 120 111th Capital Division in late 2008 it was announced that the 201st Corps former area of responsibility would be divided with a Capital Division being formed in Kabul and the corps concentrating its effort further forward along the border The new division designated the 111th Capital Division became operational in April 2009 121 It had a First Brigade and Second Brigade both forming as well as a Headquarters Special Security Brigade Most of the corps were retained with their existing numerical designations but renamed in November 2021 after the Taliban seized power 122 123 Other commands included ANA Special Operations Command from mid 2011 the ANA began establishing a Special Operations Command to control the Commando Brigade and the ANA Special Forces Its headquarters was established at Camp Moorehead in Wardak Province ten kilometres six miles south of Kabul 124 125 In July 2007 the ANA graduated its first commandos The commandos underwent a grueling three month course being trained by American special forces They were fully equipped with US equipment and had received specialized light infantry training with the capability to conduct raids direct action and reconnaissance in support of counterinsurgency operations they also provided a strategic response capability for the Afghan government Army Support Command the ANA Recruiting Command the Headquarters Security and Support Brigade HSSB and the Detainee Guard Force as of 2011 102 The ANA Ground Force Command was active c 2009 to 2015 Under a lieutenant general it directed the regional ground forces corps and the 111th Capital Division The Inspector General of the Department of Defense expressed concerns with the ANA Ground Force Command in these terms in March 2013 as the U S and allies 126 began developing the Ground Forces Command in April 2009 and it is scheduled to achieve full operational capability for command and control of ANA forces by October 2012 However it may take longer for the Ministry of Defense General Staff and some Corps Commanders to embrace this new organization Several ANSF stakeholders expressed their belief that GFC was an unnecessary intermediate layer of bureaucracy A number of Afghan security officials conveyed doubts about the long term existence of the GFC HQ after 2014 General Staff reluctance to identify and divest authorities and responsibilities to the GFC inhibited the timely development of the Ground Forces Command Afghan and Coalition officers also reported widespread lukewarm support among senior level Ministry of Defense and General Staff officers for the establishment of the GFC Operationally some Afghan Corps commanders and staff members considered the GFC unnecessary and a redundant headquarters The command was eventually disbanded in 2015 it was seen by many as a redundant and unnecessary bureaucratic layer between the General Staff and the regional corps 127 Kandaks battalions Edit The basic Afghan National Army unit was the kandak battalion consisting of 600 troops citation needed Kandaks were made up of four companies toli 128 Although the vast majority of kandaks were infantry at least one mechanized and one tank kandak had been formed Every ANA Corps was assigned commando kandaks Seven Quick Reaction Forces QRF kandaks were created in 2012 13 one kandak for each of the ANA s corps and divisions They were created by converting existing infantry kandaks into QRF kandaks at the NMAA Armour Branch School The QRF kandaks were trained and fielded in 2012 and 2013 The QRF kandaks were the first major ANA users of armoured vehicles 129 As the ANA grew the focus changed to further developing the force so that it could become self sustaining Development of Combat Support Kandaks Battalions CSK was vital to any self sustainability The CSK role includes motor fleet maintenance specialized communications scouting engineering and long range artillery units While most ANA brigades had a CSK they were underdeveloped and did not fit the requirements of a growing army Eventually one fully developed CSK was planned to be assigned to each of the 24 army combat brigades 129 Each CSK included an Intelligence toli company called a Cashf Tolai Each company was responsible for collecting information about the surrounding area and Taliban activities 130 The members of the unit interacted closely with the local residents in an effort to deny the enemy control over the surrounding area 131 Combat service support was also vital In order to enable the ANA to be self sufficient a Corps Logistics Kandak was to be formed which was to be responsible for providing equipment to the 90 infantry kandaks The CLK was responsible for the maintenance of the new heavier equipment including APCs 129 In the 215th Corps area the US Marine Combat Logistics Battalion 1 announced in January 2010 that the training of the ANA 5th Kandak 1st Brigade 215th ANA Corps Logistics Kandak has gone very well and that the unit was capable of undertaking the majority of day to day activities on their own 132 The ANA never achieved self sufficiency and after losing logistical and air support from the U S the ANA fell apart during the 2021 Taliban offensive making a series of negotiated surrenders 8 Other forces Edit The Afghan Border Force ABF was responsible for the security of Afghanistan s border area with neighboring countries extending up to 50 kilometres 30 mi into the interior 133 In December 2017 most of the Afghan Border Police ABP personnel of the Afghan National Police were transferred to the Afghan National Army to form the ABF 134 The Afghan National Police retained 4 000 ABP personnel for customs operations at border crossings and international airports 135 The ABF consisted of seven brigades 136 The Afghan National Civil Order Force ANCOF was responsible for civil order and counterinsurgency 133 In March 2018 most of the Afghan National Civil Order Police ANCOP personnel of the Afghan National Police were transferred to the Afghan National Army to form the ANCOF with their role remaining the same 137 The remaining 2 550 ANCOP personnel in the Afghan National Police formed the Public Security Police PSP 136 The ANCOF consisted of eight brigades 138 In June 2020 the ANCOF brigades began to be disbanded with personnel to be integrated into the Afghan National Army 133 Collapse to Taliban in 2021 and reorganization Edit Following the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 in addition to a rapid offensive conducted by the Taliban the Afghan National Army largely disintegrated 139 due to devastatingly low morale and massive corruption with large numbers of ANA soldiers abandoning their posts or surrendering en masse to the Taliban 8 allowing the Taliban to capture large quantities of US provided military equipment vehicles and aircraft 140 Soon all the regional forces of the ANA had dissolved with the exception of the 201st Corps and the 111th Capital Division both of which were headquartered in Kabul which was now surrounded by the Taliban On 15 August 2021 the Taliban entered the outskirts of Kabul from multiple directions beginning the fall of Kabul On the same day President Ashraf Ghani fled the country to Dubai 141 It was reported that ANA soldiers were fleeing to neighbouring countries in droves some on foot and others onboard Afghan Air Force aircraft At 8 55 pm local time Taliban forces seized the Arg and raised their flag soon afterwards declaring the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Following the fall of Kabul the remaining forces of the ANA either deserted their posts or surrendered to the Taliban 142 Some remnants of the ANA regrouped in the Panjshir Valley where they joined the anti Taliban National Resistance Front of Afghanistan 10 Around 500 600 remaining Afghan troops made up mostly of Afghan Commandos were reported to have refused to surrender to the Taliban in Kabul and instead joined up with US forces in at Kabul International Airport helping them secure the outer perimeter of the airport during the evacuation in August 2021 According to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby the US will evacuate these remaining Afghan troops to safety if they wish to leave Afghanistan when the evacuation operation ends 143 Since the Taliban took control there has been more than 100 former Afghan security forces who either disappeared or were extrajudicially executed 144 These figures only cover four provinces meaning the real number of former Afghan security forces disappearing or being executed may be much higher citation needed Taliban soldiers have hunted down former Afghan security forces in the aftermath of the withdrawal As of October 2021 update the Islamic Emirate Army is subdivided into eight corps mostly superseding the previous corps of the Afghan National Army They are listed below 145 In November 2021 Mullah Yaqoob Acting Minister of Defense announced the new names of the corps 122 Army Corps Corps Headquarters Superseded Corps Commander s Ref s 313 Central Corps Kabul Maulvi Naqibullah Sahib Chief of Staff Maulvi Nasrullah Mati Commander Maulvi Nusrat Deputy Commander 146 123 201 Khalid Ibn Walid Corps Laghman 201st Corps Abdul Rahman Mansoori Chief of Staff Abu Dujana Commander Ibrahim Deputy Commander 123 203 Mansoori Corps Gardez 203rd Corps Ahmadullah Mubarak Chief of Staff Mohammad Ayub Commander Rohul Amin Deputy Commander 123 205 Al Badr Corps Kandahar 205th Corps Hizbullah Afghan Chief of Staff Mehrullah Hamad Commander Wali Jan Hamza Deputy Commander 123 207 Al Farooq Corps Herat 207th Corps Abdul Rahman Haqqani Chief of Staff Mohammad Zarif Muzaffar Commander Abdul Shakur Baryalai Deputy Commander 147 123 209 Al Fatah Corps Mazar i Sharif 209th Corps Abdul Razzaq Faizullah Chief of Staff Attaullah Omari Commander Maulvi Amanuddin Deputy Commander 123 215 Azam Corps Helmand 215th Corps Maulvi Abdul Aziz Ansari Chief of Staff Sharafuddin Taqi Commander Mohibullah Nusrat Deputy Commander 146 123 217 Omari Corps Kunduz 217th Corps Mohammad Shafiq Chief of Staff Rahmatullah Mohammad Commander Mohammad Ismail Turkman Deputy Commander 123 Army size Edit Fourteen female ANA soldiers marching into their graduation ceremony at the Kabul Military Training Center A table of the size of the Afghan army over time is listed below 148 Head of state Year Total Trained regularDost Mohammad Khan 1857 25 000 7 400Sher Ali Khan 54 900Abdur Rahman Khan 88 400 88 400Habibullah Khan 20 000 4 000Amanullah Khan 10 000 10 000Habibullah Kalakani 20 000 4 000Mohammed Nadir Shah 72 000 70 000Mohammad Hashim Khan 82 92 000 80 90 000Mohammed Zahir Shah 82 000 80 000Mohammad Najibullah 1988 160 000 101 500Burhanuddin Rabbani 1995 70 000Taliban period 100 000Hamid Karzai 2003 49 000 4 000Ranks EditFollowing the return of the Taliban into power the Islamic Emirate Army continue to use the rank insignia of the Afghan National Army Commissioned officer ranksThe rank insignia of commissioned officers Rank group General flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet Islamic Emirate Army مارشال Marshal Marshal ستر جنرال Setar jenral General ډگرجنرال Dagar jenral Lieutenant General تورن جنرال Turan jenral Major General برید جنرال Brid jenral Brigadier General ډگروال Dagarwal Colonel ډگرمن Dagarman Lieutenant Colonel جگرن Jagran Major جگتورن Jag turan Captain تورن Turan Junior Captain لمړی بريدمن Lomri baridman First Lieutenant دوهم بریدمن Dvahomi baridman Second Lieutenant دریم بریدمن Dreyom baridman Third LieutenantRank group General flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadetOther ranksThe rank insignia of non commissioned officers and enlisted personnel Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted Islamic Emirate Army No insigniaسرپرگمشر قدمدار Serebergemser qadamdar Sergeant First Class معاون سرپرگمشر قدمدار Maawan serebergemser qadamdar Staff Sergeant سرپرگمشر Serebergemser Sergeant معاون سرپرگمشر Maawan sarpargamshar Corporal پرگمشر Pregmesher Private First Class جندي Jondi PrivateRank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs EnlistedEquipment EditMain article List of army equipment of Afghanistan Humvees of the ANA The Afghan Army was equipped with the Soviet AK 47 as its main service rifle from the 1970s As a major non NATO ally of the United States Afghanistan continued to receive billions of dollars in military assistance and the American M16 rifle joined the AK 47 as the service rifle In addition various U S rifles bulletproof vests night vision goggles trucks and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles entered service The ANA previously had a contract with International Trucks that would provide a fleet of 2 781 trucks which could be used for transporting personnel water petroleum and as a recovery vehicle Besides NATO Afghanistan had increasingly turned to its regional allies India and Russia for military aid and supplies Both countries supported the Northern Alliance with funding training supplies and medical treatment of wounded fighters against the Taliban for years prior to the US led intervention in 2001 After the removal of the Taliban government in late 2001 India invested several billion dollars in infrastructure development projects in Afghanistan besides the training of Afghan officers in India But India was unwilling to provide military aid unless under an UN authorised peacekeeping mission In 2014 India signed an agreement with Russia and Afghanistan where it would pay Russia for all the heavy equipment requested by Afghanistan instead of directly supplying them The deal also includes the refurbishment of heavy weapons left behind since the Soviet war 83 149 Following the end of the 2021 Taliban offensive much of the Afghan National Army s arsenal including much of its U S military hardware ended up in the hands of the Taliban 150 See also EditEthnic groups in AfghanistanNotes Edit ملا حسن اخوند وزیر اعظم اور ملاعبدالغنی نائب وزیراعظم ہوں گے افغانستان میں عبوری حکومت کا اعلان Mullah Hassan Akhund will be the Prime Minister and Mullah Abdul Ghani will be the Deputy Prime Minister the announcement of the interim government in Afghanistan 7 September 2021 How Are the Taliban Organized www voanews com Voice of America a b Nyrop amp Seekins 1986 p 290 291 Giustozzi 2016 Bomb blast hits Afghanistan on security handover day Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle 19 June 2013 Retrieved 23 June 2013 and Karzai announces Afghan security handover Agence France Presse Global Post 18 June 2013 Archived from the original on 22 June 2013 Retrieved 23 June 2013 Lead Inspector General 2019 p 26 Engel Rasmussen Sune Afghanistan s ghost soldiers thousands enlisted to fight Taliban don t exist The Guardian Retrieved 18 August 2021 Sriram Akash Ghost soldiers emblematic of a problem that has plagued Afghanistan s security for decades corruption Deccan Herald Retrieved 18 August 2021 Shinkman Paul D 18 August 2021 From 300 000 to a Few Hundred What Happened to Afghanistan s Army U S News amp World Report Robertson Nic 24 June 2021 Afghanistan is disintegrating fast as Biden s troop withdrawal continues CNN Retrieved 15 August 2021 Chaturvedi Amit Choppers rifles humvees What Taliban captured during Afghanistan blitzkrieg Hindustan Times Retrieved 18 August 2021 a b c Lieven 2021 Sanger David E Cooper Helene 14 August 2021 Taliban Sweep in Afghanistan Follows Years of U S Miscalculations The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 a b Northern Alliance flag hoisted in Panjshir in first resistance against Taliban Hindustan Times 17 August 2021 Retrieved 18 August 2021 Houtsma M Th 1993 E J Brill s first encyclopedia of Islam 1913 1936 BRILL pp 150 51 ISBN 978 90 04 09796 4 Retrieved 24 September 2010 AN OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF PERSIA DURING THE LAST TWO CENTURIES A D 1722 1922 Edward G Browne London Packard Humanities Institute pp 29 31 Retrieved 24 September 2010 Nyrop amp Seekins 1986 p 289 Nyrop amp Seekins 1986 p 17 18 Nyrop amp Seekins 1986 p 29 a b Jalali 2002 Jalali 2002 p 76 Frank Clements Conflict in Afghanistan A Historical Encyclopedia 2 3 Giustozzi 2016 p 9 Samuel Chan Sentinels of Democracy The Afghan National Army Military Review January February 2009 p26 writes that this occurred from 1937 Giustozzi 2015 p9 says Turkish mission arrived in 1927 Gartenstein Ross Daveed Vassefi Tara March 2012 The forgotten history of Afghanistan Pakistan relations PDF Yale Journal of International Affairs 7 38 45 Archived from the original PDF on 3 February 2017 Angelo Rasanayagam Afghanistan A Modern History 2005 36 Tomsen 2011 p 90 Tomsen 2011 p 80 Tomsen 2011 p 102 AFGANISTAN 1919 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Making London School of Economics p 12 S2CID 54592886 India to pay Russia for arms ammo it sells to Afghanistan The Indian Express 18 April 2014 Retrieved 11 May 2015 Keller Jared Here s all the US military equipment that likely ended up in Taliban hands Task amp Purpose Retrieved 19 August 2021 References EditAmtstutz J Bruce 1986 Afghanistan The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation PDF Washington DC National Defense University Archived PDF from the original on 8 February 2015 Retrieved 8 February 2015 Azimi Nabi 2019 The Army and Politics Afghanistan 1963 1993 AuthorHouse English edition 1 Self published English version of originally Persian work see translator s note Bhatia Michael Sedra Mark 2008 Afghanistan Arms and Conflict Armed groups disarmament and security in a postwar society Abingdon Routledge ISBN 978 0 415 47734 5 Davis Anthony 1994 The Battlegrounds of Northern Afghanistan Jane s Intelligence Review July 1994 pages 323 onwards Davis Anthony 1993 The Afghan Army Jane s Intelligence Review March 1993 United States Department of Defense December 2020 Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan PDF 7 653B15D Retrieved 28 August 2021 United States Department of Defense June 2018 Enhancing Security and Stability In Afghanistan PDF D F54BED1 Retrieved 28 August 2021 Antonio Giustozzi 2016 The Army of Afghanistan A Political History of a Fragile Institution London C Hurst amp Co ISBN 978 1 84904 481 3 288 pp 35 00 Due to its simplicity which matched low technology and basic organization found among the human resources available the Taliban s army from 1996 to 2001 was perhaps the most successful national army for Afghanistan p 121 Giustozzi Antonio March 2007 Auxiliary Force or National Army Afghanistan ANA and the COIN Effort 2002 2006 Small Wars and Insurgencies 18 1 doi 10 1080 09592310601173220 S2CID 143669542 Giustozzi Antonio Spring 2004 The Demodernisation of an Army Northern Afghanistan 1992 2001 Small Wars amp Insurgencies 15 1 1 18 doi 10 1080 09592310410001676970 S2CID 143469209 Giustozzi Antonio 2000 War Politics and Society in Afghanistan Hurst ISBN 978 1 85065 396 7 Grau Lester W Jalali Ahmad 2001 The Campaign for the Caves The battles for Zhawar in the Soviet Afghan war Journal of Slavic Military Studies 14 3 69 92 doi 10 1080 13518040108430488 S2CID 144936749 Lalzoy Najibullah 8 November 2021 Taliban retitles all military corps in Afghanistan The Khaama Press News Agency Lead Inspector General 20 August 2019 Operation Freedom s Sentinel Lead Inspector General Report to the United States Congress April 1 2019 June 30 2019 PDF Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General Retrieved 12 October 2019 Isby David 1986 Russia s War in Afghanistan Osprey Publishing ISBN 978 0 85045 691 2 Jacobsen Annie 2019 Surprise Kill Vanish The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies Operators and Assassins New York Little Brown and Company Jalali Ali A 2002 Rebuilding Afghanistan s National Army Parameters U S Army 32 3 Jalali Ali A 2001 Afghanistan The Anatomy of an Ongoing Conflict Parameters U S Army Spring 2001 85 98 Archived from the original on 10 December 2016 Retrieved 7 February 2015 Janes 26 April 2001 SS 1 Scud R 11 8K11 R 11FM SS N 1B and R 17 8K14 Jane s Information Group Archived from the original on 15 December 2007 Retrieved 12 February 2008 lt ref gt Kelly Terrence K Bensahel Oliker Olga 2011 Security Force Assistance in Afghanistan Identifying Lessons for Future Efforts RAND Corporation Lieven Anatol 16 August 2021 Opinion Why Afghan Forces So Quickly Laid Down Their Arms Politico Nyrop Richard F Seekins Donald M January 1986 Area Handbook Series Afghanistan A Country Study Fort Belvoir VA Defense Technical Information Center Sedra Mark 3 November 2016 Security Sector Reform in Conflict Affected Countries The Evolution of a Model Routledge ISBN 978 1 317 39080 0 Tomsen Peter 2011 The Wars of Afghanistan Public Affairs Urban Mark 1988 War in Afghanistan Houndmills Basingstoke Hampshire Macmillan Press pp 12 14 ISBN 978 0 333 43263 1 Zaloga Steven 2006 Scud Ballistic Missile Launch Systems 1955 2005 Illustrated by Jim Laurier and Lee Ray Osprey Publishing ISBN 1 84176 947 9 Further reading EditKenneth Conboy Elite Forces of India and Pakistan also covers Afghanistan including post 1978 coup creation of 26th Parachute Regiment from two previous commando units Yuri V Gankovskii Istoriia Vooruzhennykh Sil Afganistana 1747 1977 Moscow Nauka also reported as Institut Vostokovedeniya 1985 Antonio Giustozzi Shadow Ownership and SSR in Afghanistan Chap 11 in Tim Donnais ed Local Ownership and Security Sector Reform DCAF Lit Verlag Zurich Berlin 2008 Local Ownership Portrays a varying level of vested interest warlord subversion of reform among the various security agencies little local ownership at the MOD ANA despite several attempts to seize more local control and subvert the foreign process by not proving enough personnel imposing different officers and wanting a conscript force The army is financially unsustainable even at 70 000 strong and not being trained for combat in small units Antonio Giustozzi War politics and society in Afghanistan 1978 1992 James Hardy British MP urges changes to Afghan forces Jane s Defence Weekly v 48 no 35 August 31 2011 p 15 ISSN 0265 3818 Lieutenant Colonel Gavin Keating Living in the Twilight Zone Advising the Afghan National Army at the Corps Level Archived 2019 08 05 at the Wayback Machine Australian Army Journal Vol VIII No 3 Summer 2011 Maloney Sean M 2005 Enduring the Freedom A Rogue Historian in Afghanistan Washington DC Potomac Books ISBN 1 57488 953 2 Edward A Olsen Stephen Jurika The Armed Forces In Contemporary Asian Societies Taylor and Francis 2020 Robinson Colin D 2018 What explains the failure of U S army reconstruction in Afghanistan Defence and Security Analysis 34 3 249 266 doi 10 1080 14751798 2018 1500756 S2CID 158846498 U S Army Area Handbook Afghanistan 1969 revised 1973 US seeks to halve ANSF funds by 2014 Jane s Defence Weekly 5 October 2011 Reporting comments by Lt Gen Caldwell Commander NATO Training Mission Afghanistan NTM A 26 September 2011 External links Edit Media related to Afghan National Army at Wikimedia Commons Official website US Department of Defense June 2018 Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan report Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Afghan Army amp oldid 1135652087, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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