| Tango01 | 07 Aug 2015 10:09 p.m. PST |
Like them…
From main page
link Amicalement
Armand |
| Jamesonsafari | 08 Aug 2015 2:59 a.m. PST |
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 Legion 4   | 08 Aug 2015 6:37 a.m. PST |
Nice models and paint jobs. They should make some ASF with their hands up …  |
| Lou from BSM | 08 Aug 2015 1:53 p.m. PST |
I remember those guys in blue… as we ran towards the walls to fend off an attack, they were running past us in the opposite direction!!! |
| Jamesonsafari | 08 Aug 2015 2:09 p.m. PST |
Yeah my Canadian TF isn't expecting much help from the ANP. The ANA I think maybe a crap shoot. Some units were pretty good and others not so much. But they have to be there to "put an Afghan face on the mission" etc. |
| Legion 4 | 08 Aug 2015 3:28 p.m. PST |
I remember those guys in blue… as we ran towards the walls to fend off an attack, they were running past us in the opposite direction!!!
LOL ! Why does that not surprise me ?!?  |
| BobGrognard | 08 Aug 2015 4:30 p.m. PST |
Bit like all French being cheese eating surrender monkeys I guess. Can we really lump all members of the ANP and ANA into one category? |
| Howler | 08 Aug 2015 8:35 p.m. PST |
I remember those guys in blue… as we ran towards the walls to fend off an attack, they were running past us in the opposite direction!!! They were trying to create a diversion… |
| Legion 4 | 09 Aug 2015 7:11 a.m. PST |
Can we really lump all members of the ANP and ANA into one category? From my understanding … the short answer would be – Yes … What do you think Lou ? |
| Lou from BSM | 09 Aug 2015 8:26 a.m. PST |
@Bob To be fair, and to your point, no, they can not all be lumped together. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them are one step shy of utterly useless. Keep in mind, the ANP (Afghan National Police) are generally older men who did not meet the requirements for inclusion in the ANA (Afghan National Army). (I befriended one such member of the ANP, an older man who proudly stated that he fought against the Soviets in his youth. He and I had several philosophical discussions, ultimately leading to the question 'why do you stay here'? His answer was simply, 'these are the lands of my family'). Many of the ANP took the job because it was simply A JOB!!!
Some of them joined up because it was the right thing to do, out of a sense of national pride, or out of vengeance for some act committed against their family or tribe. However, when the poop hit the fan, many of them did in fact turn and run the other way. I was told later on (after I returned stateside) that the Tallies would 'attack' in order to identify the ANP members so that they could then commit an act of violence on their families or village. Many of them ran so that they wouldn't be seen. They seldom manned the walls or towers (often they guarded the gates, from within the perimeter). Ultimately the solution was to recruit them locally and then transfer them to some distant part of the country, far removed from their families and villages. I suspect the Tallies began to infiltrate their ranks soon after that policy was enacted (if not before). |
| Lou from BSM | 09 Aug 2015 8:38 a.m. PST |
Regarding the ANA, I suspect they were very much like the ARVN. I was a Radioman, serving in the eastern part of the country. We had some ANA forces assigned to us. Some were competent, others, not so much. We tried to keep them in front of us to avoid 'blue on green' incidents, since we knew they were heavily infiltrated. I know the Vietnam vets among you will be shaking your heads up and down. My dad shared stories with me about his time in the Central Highlands. He was an RTO (Radioman) with the 4th Division in Dak To. He saw some $**t. Most of the ARVN in his area were useless, although he did speak highly of a particular ARVN Ranger unit and some Montangard tribals in his area. Same thing for us I suppose. The rank and file ANA were disinterested, or at the very least, suppressed, while the specially trained forces ranged from mediocre and competent to pretty damn good. Generally though, the ANA approached operations in a very lackluster method and would start to melt away as we approached a hot area. That was always a clear indication that the poop was about to hit the fan… |
| Legion 4 | 09 Aug 2015 9:51 a.m. PST |
Great information Lou ! Much of what you say I have heard or read about before. I was an Infantry Officer '79-'90. So my experiences in Panama and the ROK were a very different situation. But most of Vietnam Vets I was trained by and served with echoed what you stated. As well as some of the Iraq and A'stan vets I know and talk to today … |
| Tango01 | 09 Aug 2015 12:59 p.m. PST |
Congrats Jamesonsafari!!!! I like them a lot!. Amicalement
Armand |
