How to Get the Best from Your Partnered Force

By Maj Sean Brady RM

Imagine yourself in the following situation. You have been deployed to fight a counterinsurgency campaign a long way from home in the most dangerous part of your country, you have been there for over three years; you have sustained numerous casualties; you only get leave irregularly and you do not often get the opportunity to phone home; and possibly most frustratingly every six months the force that you are partnered with changes over and you have to start all over again in building up a relationship and understanding with a new set of foreign soldiers.

In simple terms, this is the situation the ANA in the SANGIN AO find themselves in. The warriors of the ANA have seen 7 separate battle groups operate in SANGIN and each one will have come in operating at a high tempo determined to deliver success in their 6 month tour. All of this presents problems for the ANA who are in this for the long haul and they struggle to operate at this tempo as they will remain long after the current battle group leaves. They know the ground and the insurgent very well and they have seen many of the smart ideas to deliver success before and they know what is likely to work and importantly what is likely to not work.

This is therefore the baseline from which I and the other company commanders have to work and plan from, and the question of how to put the counter insurgency struggle in SANGIN on a campaign footing is a key one to answer.

Read the full story here

Tweet This

Share on Facebook