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NATO Confirms It Has 130 Generals and Admirals in Afghanistan 1 for every 1,000 soldiers
NATO has confirmed to this author that it has 130 Generals and Admirals in Afghanistan. For NATO, that amounts to one General for every 1,000 soldiers, a stunningly high number of senior officers. In contrast, the U.S. military has a total of 650 Generals and Admirals to manage a combat force of 1,420,000. That amounts to one General for every 2,185 soldiers. If NATO were to adopt the American model, it would have no more than 55 Generals in Afghanistan. Even that number is far too high. Officially, the NATO mission, which operates under the acronym ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), has about 120,000 troops, supported by an additional 20,000 American troops that operate separately. ISAFs Internet site lists 26 Generals and Admirals in leadership positions; twelve generals in Kabul, an additional six in Regional Commands and eight in Training Command. The balance of 104 Generals and Admirals apparently do not occupy leadership positions or even senior staff positions. It is not clear what they do. ISAF spokeswoman Navy Lieutenant Nicole R. Schwegman told this author that comparing the current war with other conflicts was like comparing apples to oranges. She went on to say that: Each conflict presents its own set of challenges and thus requires a different approach to using our leadership. . . . Many of our senior level flags are schooled in more than just warfare. Almost all have a broad range of experience in many areas of governance and development and many have also served as mentors to the Afghan Army and Police Force while they are building up their capacity. In short, every flag officer that is here on the ground is helping Afghanistan reach a better and brighter future. ISAF spokesman Lt. Col. John L. Dorrian told this author that General Petraeus believes he had the resources about right now. He also stated that the media environment has changed a great deal in complexity and importance since WWII and, therefore, ISAF devotes more resources to this effort than was done in World War II. The issues which ISAF does not address are cost/benefit, and necessity. The former requires one to evaluate whether the considerable expenses associated with paying, billeting and providing staff to senior officers is outweighed by any benefits they might provide. Most American Generals and Admirals have a base pay in excess of $165,000.00 a year. This amount does not include other pay supplements they can obtain. They can also earn extra if deployed to an overseas combat zone. The latter issue concerns whether 130 Generals and Admirals are needed to oversee a force of only 120,000. Behind both questions is the issue of whether the NATO and Pentagon bureaucracies are simply unloading their surplus Generals and Admirals on Afghanistan. Senior officer assignments are traditionally based more on intra-service politics than on the qualifications of the officer for the position. There is no indication that this tradition has changed regarding ISAF assignments. The evidence is that at least a percentage of these senior officers may be nothing more than unnecessary baggage sitting in Kabul, having meetings with each other, consuming resources and wasting valuable staff time. This author previously reported that on August 29, 2010, in a little noticed event, the Pentagon announced that it had removed Colonel Lawrence Sellin, Ph.D., U.S. Army Reserves, from his position at ISAFs International Joint Command (IJC) in Kabul. Colonel Sellin is a veteran who previously served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was removed after he wrote an article for United Press International in which he described the IJC as staffed with out-of-touch senior officers who spend most of their time in endless conferences with each other. Colonel Sellins report and his description of the inner workings of ISAF would be comical if this issue were not so important. Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-11-15 |
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