PRT/TARIN KOWT - DUTCH PREPARING FOR ISAF

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 KABUL 001769 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS, SCA/PAB, S/CT, EUR/RPM, EUR/UBI STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG NSC FOR MO'SULLIVAN, AHARRIMAN, KAMEND CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76 POLAD TREASURY FOR D/S KIMMITT, APARAMESWARAN, AJEWELL REL NATO/ISAF/AS/NZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/18/2016 TAGS: MARR PTER PREL ASEC SNAR AF NL AS SUBJECT: PRT/TARIN KOWT - DUTCH PREPARING FOR ISAF DEPLOYMENT TO URUZGAN PROVINCE KABUL 00001769 001.2 OF 004 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ANGUS SIMMONS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (S) SUMMARY: The Dutch deployment to Uruzgan province is getting underway. Under NATO'S ISAF Stage III expansion into southern Afghanistan, the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Uruzgan will transfer from U.S. to Dutch-NATO command on or about July 31, 2006. In recent months, several Dutch advance and recon teams have visited Uruzgan, and now their Deployment Task Force is setting in motion the complicated logistics and construction that must occur in the coming months. The Dutch footprint in Uruzgan will be much larger than that of the U.S., with roughly five times the number of personnel and vehicles. Even after July 31, U.S. Special Forces will remain in the province under CJSOTF command as part of OEF, partnered with Afghan National Army units. By mid-May, an advance contingent of over 200 Dutch troops will be in Tarin Kowt building their base and planning their future activities outside the wire. We have already established a good working relationship with the Dutch that should ensure a smooth handover on or about July 31. END SUMMARY. CURRENT DEPLOYMENT OF COALITION FORCES IN URUZGAN -------------- -------------- ¶2. (S) Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan is currently under US command as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The coalition now has a presence at four bases in the province: a) Forward Operating Base (FOB) Ripley in the provincial capital of Tarin Kowt. FOB Ripley is a large facility enclosing several internal compounds: -- the current US PRT base with about 130 personnel (command, civil affairs, force protection, State Dept and USAID, medical, police mentors, MPAT police trainers, Tigershark UAV, aircraft refuelers, etc.). -- US Special Forces base. -- Australian Special Forces base. -- Afghan National Army (ANA) base with one battalion (total ANA presence in Uruzgan is two battalions with about 450 men). -- a base for the Afghan contract security guards who man FOB Ripley's outer perimeter. -- FOB Ripley also encloses the only fixed-wing airfield in Uruzgan, capable of landing C-17s. -- a forward aerial refueling and rearming point for rotary wing aircraft. -- firing ranges, detention facility, etc. b) Firebase (FB) Tycz, in Uruzgan's western district of Deh-Rawod, which currently houses a US Special Forces unit and a US Army Civil Affairs team, plus two companies of Afghan National Army. c) FB Cobra, in Uruzgan's northwestern district of Cahar Cineh (sometimes called Shahidi-Hass),housing a US Special Forces unit and a US Army Civil Affairs team, plus two companies of Afghan National Army. KABUL 00001769 002 OF 004 d) FB Anaconda, in the eastern district of Khas- Uruzgan, housing a US Special Forces unit and a US Army Civil Affairs team, plus two companies of Afghan National Army. FOB Ripley, which is on the semi-improved Tarin Kowt-Kandahar road, and FB Tycz can be supplied by truck and air. Because of security threats and poor infrastructure, FBs Cobra and Anaconda can only be safely reached by helicopter. TASK FORCE URUZGAN - UNDER ISAF -------------- ¶3. (S) On or about July 31, 2006, NATO will expand into southern Afghanistan as part of ISAF Stage III. At that point, there will be a Transfer of Authority (TOA) as the Netherlands takes over command of FOB Ripley and the Uruzgan AOR. There will also be an Australian element within the PRT. The Dutch "Task Force Uruzgan" will comprise more than 1,200 personnel. The Dutch are now beginning construction on a new, larger PRT base within FOB Ripley. TF Uruzgan will continue the current PRT's mission to extend the legitimacy and influence of the GOA, assist the development of Afghan security forces, promote good governance in Uruzgan, and foster an environment for development. ¶4. (S) With its much larger staffing, TF Uruzgan will engage in activities that the U.S. PRT is not able to undertake, such as: manning FOB Ripley's 5km-long outer wall with Dutch troops rather than Afghan contract guards; positioning four Apache helicopters at the PRT's airstrip (additionally, two more Apaches, six Cougar transport helicopters and eight F-16 aircraft will be stationed in Kandahar); including Nesh district within its AOR (Nesh is nominally a part of neighboring Kandahar province, but is geographically and politically more linked to Uruzgan). The Dutch will bring hundreds of ground vehicles, including at least 53 APCs (YPRs and Patrias),artillery, engineers, Special Forces, a reconstruction team, and humanitarian/medical personnel to work with the local population. ¶5. (S) The Dutch will also take over FB Tycz and greatly expand it to over 300 personnel, to include Special Forces and reconstruction/humanitarian assistance teams. At the same time, one US Special Forces ODB with five ODA teams will remain in the province under CJSOTF command as part of OEF, with all the units colocated with their partnered ANA units. In addition, Australian Special Forces will remain in Uruzgan, operating under CJSOTF command, until at least October 1, 2006. ¶6. (S) The Australian contingent in the PRT will number about 200 personnel; about half of them force protection and the other half military engineers who will carry out provincial reconstruction projects. They will be housed on FOB Ripley, but in a separate internal compound from the Dutch. KABUL 00001769 003 OF 004 US PRESENCE IN ISAF PRT -------------- ¶7. (S) The Dutch have stated they are willing to host the U.S. civilian personnel (one State Department rep and one USAID rep),though the modalities of the day-to-day relationship must still be worked out. The Dutch will have their own MFA Polad in the PRT and another, regional Polad in Kandahar. The Australians will also have a Polad in the PRT, likely an MoD civilian. We have also begun discussions with the Dutch about hosting the INL- contracted Police Mentors (currently four in Tarin Kowt, but slated to expand in the coming months) on the PRT. ¶8. (S) The US PRT is currently engaged in a range of reconstruction and assistance projects basically funded from two pots of money: USAID and military CERP funds. USAID projects will continue under the Dutch PRT, supervised by the USAID rep and presumably dovetailed in some fashion with Aussie and Dutch projects as they come on line. The CERP funds will dry up when ISAF takes over the PRT, but projects will be phased out through January 2007, allowing time for the Dutch/Aussies to pick projects that fit their own priorities. Separately, the INL- funded projects (Police Mentors and Poppy Elimination Program) will also continue under the Dutch PRT. GETTING TO AUGUST - DEPLOYMENT TASK FORCE -------------- ¶9. (S) Starting on or about July 31, the Dutch deployment will be "Task Force Uruzgan." In the meantime, construction of the Dutch base and other advance work will be carried out by their Deployment Task Force (DTF). In recent months, several Dutch and Australian advance and recon teams have visited Tarin Kowt. Currently there are approximately 50 Dutch Special Forces flying the flag at their site on FOB Ripley, but otherwise the engineering work is just getting underway. On April 12, a group led by Dutch Lieutenant Colonel Joe Dubbeldam -- Deputy Commander of the DTF -- conducted a series of in- depth briefings with U.S. and Australian officials here, and we began to sort through logistical details in earnest. Lt. Col. Dubbeldam provided the following timeline: -- 24 April. 50-person DTF advance group of engineers, logisticians, and force protection arrives in Tarin Kowt. They will begin receiving contracted cargo trucks ("jingle trucks") loaded with construction materials from Kandahar and will prepare for the arrival of the main DTF. -- 28 April. Main body of DTF (about 200 more personnel) arrive in Kandahar, where they will have orientation and planning for about two weeks. -- Mid-May. DTF deploys to Tarin Kowt, construction of Dutch PRT base. TF Uruzgan will take over the KABUL 00001769 004 OF 004 Uruzgan AOR on or about July 31, but some components of the PRT base will remain under construction through October, at which time the final DTF elements will pull out. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (S) We realize that the Dutch may have different priorities and ideas in Uruzgan than the U.S. PRT, and with five times the assets on the ground they should be able to take on broader and deeper engagement and reconstruction. We welcome their enthusiasm and are interested to see the effectiveness of their approach. At the same time, the past two years have taught us some hard lessons about what works and does not work here, and we have modified our projects and methods accordingly. We are happy to share our experiences with the incoming Dutch and Australians and are pleased to see that their advance teams are soaking up information and engaging with us --not only about security, local politics, and reconstruction activities-- but also on the nuts and bolts logistics of running a PRT in such a challenging environment. The good working relationships we are developing now should ensure a smooth handover on July 31. This is a time of transition both inside and outside the wire. The U.S. PRT units are rotating out in May, as is, separately, the PRT Commander. This turnover will cost us institutional memory and create some logistical challenges in the countdown to July 31. There is also a new governor in Uruzgan, opening possibilities for more progress outside the wire. So despite all the transitions of personnel, we need to carry out an active agenda with the provincial authorities and hand over a full plate of projects to the Dutch and Australians. The next few months promise to be a busy and exciting time in Uruzgan. Norland