Partnered Operations in Afghanistan
by Colonel Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr. and Lieutenant Colonel David W. Pendall
edited by Lieutenant Colonel Ed Ledford
Download the full article: The Combined Team: Partnered Operations in Afghanistan
The Combined Team of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan is about protecting the Afghan people -- helping replace fear and uncertainty with a sense of trust and confidence in their security forces and their national, provincial, and district government. The combined team interdependent partnership -- integrated, coordinated, and synchronized -- represents the coalition's renewed commitment to Afghanistan, and the Afghan National Security Force's commitment to the people who populate this remarkable, beautiful, diverse, and incomprehensibly complex nation. Together, we bring to bear the sum of our strengths and bridge the gaps of our limitations.
Building a true combined team is a tremendously challenging proposition for any two nations. Imagine the unmitigated commitment necessary to successfully build a combined team between a forty-three nation coalition and its Afghan National Security Force partners and, then, achieve unity of command and effort. However, this commitment is exactly what we see among the Afghan security forces, exactly the commitment we see across the International Security Assistance Forces to Afghanistan, and exactly the commitment that has to exist, and continues to grow stronger, between the Afghan forces and the coalition forces.
The benefits far outweigh any difficulties -- that is clear to everyone.
As a Combined Team, Afghan and Coalition forces plan, brief, rehearse, and fight together as embedded partners, constantly building operational effectiveness and security capacity. It is the underlying premise of the combined team that our operations will enable the Afghan government, fully supported by the international community, to achieve stability and progress for the people of Afghanistan. So as ISAF and the Afghan Security Forces conduct integrated operations, we collectively appreciate that our efforts are part of a broader civil, government-led effort to meet the myriad requirements of the Afghan people at district level and below. We embrace and are completely dedicated to the notion that the Afghan people, led by a responsive government that meets their needs and places their welfare first, will decide this contest in favor of long-term peace and the opportunity for prosperity and hope for today's and future generations.
That is our asymmetric advantage over the enemy of the Afghan people.
Download the full article: The Combined Team: Partnered Operations in Afghanistan
Colonel Wayne W. Grigsby, Jr., US Army is the director of Future Operations, ISAF Joint Command, in Kabul, Afghanistan. He is a former Brigade Combat Team Commander, graduate of the National War College and the US Army School of Advanced Military Science (SAMS).
Lieutenant Colonel David W. Pendall, US Army, was the deputy director and the lead intelligence planner of Future Operations, ISAF Joint Command. He is in transition to the 1st Cavalry Division to become the Division G2 and is also a US Army School of Advanced Military Science (SAMS) graduate.
Lieutenant Colonel Edward C. Ledford, US Army, is the Chief of the IJC Command Operational Engagement Cell. He is a former assistant professor of English at the United States Military Academy, West Point, and speechwriter for the 34th Chief of Staff of the Army.
