Pentagon sees training allies as its greatest hope

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http://www.stripes.com/polopoly_fs/1.112905.1280511220!/image/2720791797.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_240/2720791797.jpg

oldiers from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, watch as Afghan troops try to zero their weapons during marksmanship training in Maiwand district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, in this 2009 photo.


Pentagon sees training allies as its greatest hope
By Kevin Baron
Stars and Stripes
Published: July 30, 2010

In an old rock quarry in Jordan, a sprawling $200 million state-of-the-art special operations training center has risen over 25 square kilometers.

It is a hub for the elite troops of the world’s militaries, including Americans, Iraqis and Afghans, to learn cutting edge counterterrorism techniques.

For the Pentagon, it could not come at a better time. As the U.S. finds itself locked into expensive, lengthy and manpower-intensive missions to train Iraqi and Afghan security forces, top U.S. officials hoping to get ahead of the curve elsewhere have put a high priority on ramping up training efforts worldwide.

“Foreign military training is the most important long-term activity our military undertakes in terms of delivering security in this century,” said Adm. James Stavridis, NATO supreme allied commander and head of the U.S. European Command.

It is the way forward — so long as the wars go as planned.