Afghan National Engineer Brigade: Despite U.S. Training Efforts, the Brigade is Incapable of Operating Independently
Abstract
To improve the Afghan National Armys (ANA) effectiveness, U.S. ForcesAfghanistan (USFOR-A) determined that the ANA should have a National Engineer Brigade (NEB) equipped with engineering equipment and vehicles. As a result, the NEB was established in December 2013 and envisioned as the ANAs natural disaster emergency response unit with the capability to, among other things, build bridges and dig freshwater wells. As of November 2014, the NEB consisted of about 950 ANA soldiers. USFOR-A had responsibility for training the NEB, while the Combined Security Transition CommandAfghanistan (CSTC-A) had responsibility for ordering the brigades equipment and vehicles. In addition, U.S. sub-commands, including Joint Task Force (JTF) Trailblazer, JTF Sapper, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 25, and NMCB 28, trained the NEB in such areas as plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, masonry, and the operation of heavy equipment. Plans called for the NEB to receive at least $29 million in engineering equipment and vehicles. USFOR-As original goal was to establish a fully capable NEB for the ANA by October 1, 2014. However, in May 2014, USFOR-A lowered its goal to that of establishing only a partially capable NEB by December 31, 2014. The objectives of this audit were to assess the extent to which USFOR-A achieved its goal of training the NEB to a partially capable level by December 31, 2014, and to identify any challenges that USFOR-A faced in achieving that goal. SIGAR is not making any recommendations in this report.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1002089
Entities
People
- John Sopko
Organizations
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction