SHAPE BRIEFS NAC ON NATO TRAINING MISSION -

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USNATO 000542 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2019 TAGS: MOPS MCAP MARR PREL PTER NATO PGOV AF SUBJECT: SHAPE BRIEFS NAC ON NATO TRAINING MISSION - AFGHANISTAN Classified By: Political Advisor Kelly Degnan for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d). ¶1. (C/REL ISAF) SUMMARY: At a November 18 NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan (NTM-A) briefing, Brigadier Simon Porter, Allied Command Operations Chief of Plans, told Allies and non-NATO ISAF troop contributors "real progress" has been made in standing up the mission. LTG William B. Caldwell will assume command of NTM-A headquarters on November 21, and the push is on to fill trainer requirements. Porter estimated it would take four years to build a professional Afghan security force, with a one-time stand-up cost of approximately 64 million Euros, and 50 million Euros in annual operational and maintenance costs. Porter reported good coordination with the European Police Mission (EUPOL) and European Gendarmerie Force (EGF),both of which added value to NTM-A police training efforts. Porter addressed the confusion expressed by many nations, like Australia and the UK, over SHAPE's distinction between the role of trainers, mentors, and embedded partners, and discussed efforts to improve retention and recruitment in the army and police. Porter said the December 7 Force Generation Conference format would change to small group sessions instead of one large plenary session. The Secretary General closed the briefing by urging "substantial progress" on NTM-A contributions; anything less would be an "embarrassment." END SUMMARY Establishing the Mission -------------- ¶2. (C/REL ISAF) Brigadier Simon Porter, Allied Command Operations Chief of Plans, briefed Allies and non-NATO ISAF troop contributors November 18 on the NTM-A. NTM-A was activated on October 20, he reported, and LTG William B. Caldwell will assume command on November 21. Nations had bid on 85 percent of NTM-A's HQ billets, with 50 percent of positions already filled. ¶3. (C/REL ISAF) Porter said the current ISAF Combined Joint Statement of Requirements (CJSOR) included resourcing 134,000 Afghan National Army (ANA) and 96,800 Afghan National Police (ANP). The Afghan National Army (ANA) required 179 Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTS) and 475 Police Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (POMLTS) were required for the Afghan National Police (ANP). Porter said OMLTS and POMLTS would be phased into the field over time and linked to a commander's operational plans and needs. He stressed the importance of fulfilling the police requirements in particular, as SHAPE viewed this as the weakest link within the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) development plans. Acknowledging the significant shortage of trainers, Porter said they will use other available resources to fill the gap, adding, "any serviceman in any branch of the military was qualified to be a mentor." Growing to 400,000 -------------- ¶4. (C/REL ISAF) Porter reported that current ANA and ANP mentoring requirements would increase if the ANSF is expanded to 400,000. He said an ANA strength of 240,000 would require 232 OMLTS, a 77 percent increase over the current 179 OMLT requirement. At this point in the planning process, Porter said it was unclear to SHAPE how many POMLTS would be required, but Joint Forces Command - Brunssum would provide a POMLT concept paper on December 1, providing guidance and best practices to train and mentor the police. Overall, the need for both OMLTS and POMLTS would probably exceed ISAF's ability to provide them, according to Porter. How Much Will This Cost? -------------- ¶5. (C/REL ISAF) Brigadier Porter estimated it would take four years to build a professional Afghan security force even with USNATO 00000542 002 OF 003 current NTM-A progress. It would require a one-time stand-up cost of approximately 64 million Euros to build an ANA strength of 134,000 and an ANP target of 96,800, as well as 50 million Euros in annual operational and maintenance costs. Porter noted it would cost $1.7 billion a year to sustain the ANSF, and highlighted the serious need for nations to contribute to the Afghan National Army Trust Fund. Still Confused -------------- ¶6. (C/REL ISAF) Many nations like Australia and the UK asked for SHAPE's distinction between the role of trainers, mentors, and embedded partners. Australia, for example, fully understood the role of the ANA Trust Fund and expressed strong support for it but asked for an offline briefing from SHAPE on the "trainer" role within NTM-A, which Porter agreed to provide. Porter described trainers as the element "behind the wire" training the trainers through formal courses. Mentors would be in the field, providing combat support, advice, and operational enablers. ¶7. (C/REL ISAF) Porter described "embedded partners" as those who would go beyond traditional mentoring duties by living, working, and planning operations with their Afghan partners. Increased embedded partnering could reduce the need for POMLTs and OMLTs by encompassing the mentor role comprehensive package. He was confident that embedded partnering would, eventually, offset the need for mentors in certain regional areas, providing the option for mentors to be reassigned to other geographic areas that lacked them. ¶8. (C/REL NATO) The UK PermRep asked if GEN McChrystal's recommendation for 10,000 ANSF trainers was intended to offset NTM-A requirements. Porter responded that McChrystal's request for 10,000 ANSF trainers was apart of the NTM-A requirement. There was a distinct need for ANSF OMLTS and POMLTS, according to Porter, in addition to trainers. Challenges -------------- ¶9. (C/REL ISAF) Porter reported that the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board had not yet made a decision to expand the ANA and ANP. He said the decision was based upon the Afghan government's ability to recruit, retain, and educate a continual build of Afghan security forces. Canada expressed concern with ANSF retention and recruitment, asking Porter, what was the best way to create a reserve force contributing to society beyond combat capabilities. Porter acknowledged retention was a challenge because police could get better, safer jobs after receiving literacy and other ANP training. The focus is on creating a force with people dedicated to serving their country long-term, he said. The Value of EUPOL and EGF -------------- ¶10. (C/REL ISAF) Porter reported good coordination with EUPOL and the EGF, nothing both forces added value to NTM-A police training efforts. Italy and Sweden stressed the importance to increase personnel and the quality of recruitment within the EUPOL mission. France said its 150 force contribution to the EGF was expected to arrive in December. In response to Sweden's question on the role of the International Police Coordination Board (IPCB) with NTM-A's efforts, Porter said both were complimentary, synching all international efforts. "Your Contribution is Welcome Here" -------------- ¶11. (C/REL ISAF) Turkey asked if bilateral contributions to NTM-A would also count towards the overall ISAF CJSOR USNATO 00000542 003 OF 003 requirements. Porter said the ideal situation for any contribution to NTM-A would be a national contribution to the CJSOR that is flagged to NATO, placing the contribution under the control of GEN McChrystal and his subordinate commanders. Porter said the goal is to streamline the command and control structure of all contributions in order to create the biggest impact on the ground. At the same time, he said that NATO would work with Allies to get contributions in whatever form they could manage. ¶12. (C/REL ISAF) Porter noted the format of the December 7 Extraordinary ISAF Force Generation Conference format would change to small group sessions instead of one large plenary session. This would allow each nation more interaction with the moderator, DSACEUR, on exactly how each contribution would be implemented on the ground. ¶13. (C/REL ISAF) Brigadier Porter's briefing slides will be sent to EUR/RPM once they become available. DAALDER