1 in 4 elite Army officers Afghanistan-bound

[unhappycamper]

1 in 4 elite Army officers Afghanistan-bound
By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Dec 2, 2009 16:36:13 EST

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — One-quarter of the officers graduating this week from the Army’s School for Advanced Military Studies are soon to be in Afghanistan.

Thirty officers will graduate Thursday from the school at Fort Leavenworth after a year of study in military arts and sciences. The program focuses on planning and carrying out operations, ranging from conventional war to counterinsurgency and peacekeeping missions.

President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he will send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, with the first to join the fight by Christmas. Two of Thursday’s graduates will be working directly with the training of Afghanistan’s security forces, a key component of Obama’s new strategy.

Majs. Grant Martin and Joe Jackson have orders to report to Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV, the former Fort Leavenworth commander who was tapped by Obama to lead the new NATO training mission.

Jackson was in Afghanistan in 2007 and worked on the training plans that have been in place to build Afghan police, army and border patrol units. He said that plan will be revised to fit the new strategy but that the overall plan for Afghanistan can’t rely solely on the military, requiring significant economic and diplomatic efforts.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/ap_army_leavenworth_graduates_afghanistan_120209w/

[Captain Hilts]

1. The NYT had an interesting article a couple of years ago how the students at this school -

who had been to Iraq/Afghanistan were strongly disagreeing with instructors about what they were being taught. It would be interesting to have a follow up article.