CZECHS ON TRACK FOR MARCH PRT DEPLOYMENT TO LOGAR,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000017 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2013 TAGS: PREL NATO AF MARR MASS EZ EUN SUBJECT: CZECHS ON TRACK FOR MARCH PRT DEPLOYMENT TO LOGAR, AFGHANISTAN REF: A. 07 PRAGUE 1282 ¶B. 07 PRAGUE 1177 ¶C. 07 PRAGUE 1144 ¶D. 07 PRAGUE 968 PRAGUE 00000017 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POLEC Counselor Michael Dodman for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Czech government is moving forward with sustained enthusiasm and great attention to detail in advance of the Czech Provincial Reconstruction Team's (PRT's) March deployment to Logar, Afghanistan. This January and February the Czechs have several training programs planned for their 203 PRT personnel, as well as the initial deployments of personnel and equipment. Several outstanding issues remain (see paragraphs 5-7),but none appear likely to jeopardize the GOCR's stated intention for PRT Logar to be fully operational by March 21. End Summary. -------------- Next Steps - Training and Deployments -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) Following the December 7 establishment of the four person National Support Element (NSE) co-located with the Czech Military Field Hospital at Kabul International Airport (KIAI),the next major deployment will be the ten person communication team, which is set to arrive in Afghanistan on January 12. This team will move to forward operating base (FOB) SHANK in Logar province to establish the Czech PRT's communications and computer network. Meanwhile, the Czech personnel who will staff the PRT will spend January 14-18 on an army course and select personnel will soon attend ISAF PRT training in Oberammergau, Germany. By the end of February, the Czech MFA plans to offer a course specifically for the civilian team covering project management, and media training. As well, the MFA and Embassy Prague are working together to bring USDA representative Ramiro Rojas, who just completed his tour at PRT Gardez, to the Czech Republic for a week of consultations at the end of January. On February 11, the Czechs plan to deploy their advance team of 50 personnel to work with PRT Gardez on the handover of Logar province. -------------- Getting to Full Strength - March 2008 -------------- ¶3. (C/NF) The Czechs plan to be fully deployed (203 personnel) and operational by March 21. Given their current planning and preparation, they appear to be on track. The staff includes two infantry platoons (34 personnel each),a ten person civilian expert section and an expanded intelligence section, which includes a SIGINT intercept team. -------------- Taking over Reconstruction Projects -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Czech civilian expert section, which will be led by the newly appointed Vaclav Pecha, who has worked with the UN in Afghanistan as well as Mercy Corps and IOM in other parts of the world, is expected to arrive in Afghanistan in early March. His team of ten will include three engineers, an agricultural expert, a veterinarian, and three support staff with accounting and management expertise. The Czechs plan to assume some of the PRT-related reconstruction projects from U.S.-led PRT Gardez, which has been responsible for conducting activities in Logar. Initially the Czechs plan to take over projects initiated (but not finished) during last year's construction season in the education and health fields. They then hope to branch into the agricultural field. The substantial road construction projects throughout the province commenced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will remain with the Army Corps. Currently the Czechs have allocated approximately 5M USD in funding for reconstruction activities in 2008 in Logar. The Czechs have approached the European Commission regarding financing some rule of law projects, and the GOCR is optimistic that the PRT will receive this funding once it formally submits proposals. -------------- Requests of USG - Financial Support, Personnel, and Equipment -------------- ¶5. (C) Financial Requests: The Czechs submitted a Coalition Operational Needs Statement (CONS) to US CENTCOM on November 6, 2007, followed by a letter from Deputy Minister of Defense Martin Bartak on January 4 to Undersecretary of Defense Edelman. These documents raise a number of issues, primary PRAGUE 00000017 002.2 OF 002 among them are requests for financial assistance and equipment. While an Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) Implementing Arrangement, which outlines the types of supplies and services the USG will provide the Czech PRT and how the Czechs will reimburse us, was worked out this fall, the Czechs have yet to sign the agreement. The Czechs are balking at signing until they have a more detailed list of how these costs (estimated at 700-800,000 USD per month) are calculated. Bartak also raised the issue of the costs associated with the construction of PRT Logar facilities (a one time cost estimated to be around 800,000 USD). The Czechs tell Embassy Prague that while they can pay for use of facilities, their law does not allow them to "purchase" facilities and they have requested that the USG assume these costs. Currently the DoD OSD Comptroller is investigating options to find a payment solution that is permissible under Czech law. ¶6. (SBU) Personnel Requests: Following discussions late last year with USG officials in Kabul and Prague, we anticipate that the Czechs will formally request in writing that a USAID representative be assigned to the Czech PRT in Logar by early summer. They appear less inclined to ask for a USDOS representative, due to the composition of their civilian expert team. ¶7. Equipment Status: In the November 6 "CONS" request, the Czechs asked the USG for 26 up-armored Humvees. (Note: The majority of these Humvees are for use by the Czech PRT, although six are for use by the Czech Special Police Detachment in Helmand.) The Czechs also requested anti-IED jammers and AN/VRC-110 vehicle-mounted radios. To date 25 humvees have been delivered to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Following some required preparation (for instance, Czech weapons will be adapted so they can be used on the vehicle's turrets),the humvees will be delivered to FOB SHANK in early February. With regard to the radios, CENTCOM did not concur with the Czech request due to the non-availability of these particular radios. OSD, CENTCOM and CJTF-82 are all working to identify viable alternatives. ¶8. (C) Comment: The Czechs have been working in close contact with DoD and State officials in Kabul, Washington and at Embassy Prague. With the Czech MoD leading the charge on PRT negotiations and preparations, the MFA has particularly engaged on preparing the civilian team for this deployment. The GOCR attention to detail in advance of this deployment to Logar, as well as the experienced leadership on both the civilian and military sides of the PRT command, should stand them in good stead once they hit the ground in March. Graber