Imran Khan
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Army Gen. John Campbell said he blames the high attrition rate on a lack of leadership that gives young Afghan soldiers and police little choice but to go home and never return to the Afghan military. (AP Photo)
Afghans lose 4,000 soldiers per month, most going AWOL
By Jacqueline Klimas • 8/4/15 5:26 PM
Afghan National Security Forces are losing about 4,000 soldiers per month, but the majority of those come from soldiers abandoning their jobs, not from casualties in battle, the commander of U.S. operations in Afghanistan said Tuesday.
Army Gen. John Campbell said he blames the high attrition rate on a lack of leadership that gives young Afghan soldiers and police little choice but to go home and never return to the Afghan military.
"It's because you have young soldiers and police who have been fighting in Helmand [Province] for two or three years, they haven't had a break. They're maybe not getting the right food they deserve. They might not have an opportunity to train," Campbell said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. "When you're fighting all the time, when you need to take a break and you have no other way, you go back home and you don't come back."
The U.S. is working with Afghan officials to build military leadership that knows how to take care of its soldiers, something the U.S. military takes for granted, Campbell said.
Despite high attrition, Campbell, who has spent much of his career in Afghanistan during the 14 years of war, said the Afghan troops get "better and better" each time he goes back to the country.
"They have challenges, they have issues," he said. "But, again, I see them continue to progress and continue to be very, very resilient."
Many cities and the roadways around them in Afghanistan are as secure as they've ever been, Campbell said. While terrorists continue to attack throughout the country, Afghan forces are able to regain any lost land much quicker than even a year ago, he said.
As an example, it could take Afghan soldiers up to a week to regain control of a remote district center captured by terrorists this time last year, he said.
"Today what you see is as soon as one of those district centers, within hours most of the time the Afghan Security Forces are taking it back," he said. "I think that's a sign of progress as they move forward."
