Future
According to statements made by Colonel Thomas McGrath on October 19, 2007 the coalition supporting the build-up of the ANA has seen progress and is pleased with the Afghan performance in recent exercises. McGrath estimated that the ANA should be capable of carrying out independent brigade-size operations by the spring of 2008. However, as of October 1, 2011, four years after McGrath's estimated date for independent brigade-size operations, not a single one of the ANA's 180 battalions can carry out independent operations, much less an entire brigade.
The Czech Republic and Hungary have announced they will donate advanced air medic choppers to the Army and National Police, as well as more new trucks for border security in the Afghan-Pakistan frontier to defend it from Pakistani Taliban incursions.
Greece is donating at least 13 M60A3 main battle tanks to help bolster Afghan tank platoons. Greece may increase this number to almost 50 tanks, within the alliance’s efforts for equipping and training Afghan military forces. On November 12, 2009, the Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff Walter Natynczyk declared the Afghan National Army will not receive the Canadian Leopard 1 as anticipated by Abdul Rahim Wardak in 2007. General Walter Natynczyk declared the Afghan National Army maybe have access to surplus supplies and also M-113 recently modernized. The reason for the reversal of delivery of tanks is probably connected to Long War Journal reports that the single Afghan tank and mechanised battalions are operating as infantry due to inadequate heavy equipment maintenance.
According to Marin Strmecki, a member of the Defense Policy Board and a former top Pentagon adviser on Afghanistan in a speech to the United States Senate, "the Afghan Army should increase to 250,000 soldiers and the National Police Force should add more than 100,000 officers. Only when Afghan security forces reaches those numbers would they achieve the level necessary for success in counterinsurgency." On March 19, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama called for an expansion of the Afghan National Army to 260,000 soldiers. The cost would reach $20 billion dollars and would beef up Afghan manpower as well as inject the army with more modern equipment.
Sales of US Arms to Afghanistan alone totaled nearly $20 billion for fiscal years 2009 through 2011.
Read more about this topic: Afghan National Army
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