Developing a Self-Sustaining Afghan National Army

The United States' (US) invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the subsequent removal of the Taliban regime are considered monumental successes. In the wake of this success remained the challenge of developing an Afghan National Army (ANA) in order to defend the democratically elected Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA). This monograph proposes that international assistance, the development of internal Afghan industrial capacity and improved strategic level mentorship are the critical components in forming a self-sustaining ANA. The approach to analyzing ANA development centered on four areas within this research. ANA logistics culture was studied by reviewing the current, past and a desired logistics system to determine its potential for self-sufficiency. Regional neighbors were analyzed to identify their relationships with Afghanistan that could enhance partnered efforts in order to improve internal capacity. The analysis then explored the role of US advisors in Afghanistan as they seek to train and mentor Afghan leaders for the purpose of planning and executing strategic level logistics operations. Finally, the US success in developing a self-sustaining Greek National Army (GNA) following World War II offered some lessons learned that could be applied to the ongoing advisory effort in Afghanistan.