Afghanistan: The SEALs Get Ready to Go Back
The Navy is seeking outside help -- complete with fake mullahs and warlords -- to train them
By Mark Thompson @MarkThompson_DCAug. 21, 2013
For the past year, the U.S. military’s wholesale pullout from Afghanistan after 12 years of war – the current U.S. combat mission ends in 16 months — has been big news.
But it’s not a one-way street: elements of SEAL Team 2 are heading back.
But they need some practice, first. So, despite more than a decade of war in Afghanistan, the SEALs are seeking outside help for 10 days of training next month, including:
– Execution of scripted scenarios to include Key Leader Engagements, Casualty Evacuations, Troops in Contact, Improvised Explosive Devices, and tribal disputes.
– Subject Matter Experts shall coordinate Role Players, Opposing Force (OPFOR) activities, and other activities required to support SEAL Team 2 and Naval Special Warfare Group 2 objectives.
– Provide ethnic Afghan Role Players to simulate three (3) Afghan Villages in support of the Village Stability Operations training.
– The numbers of role players shall not exceed 35 personnel and be conversant in Pashtu and English.
– Role players shall be able to fulfill the following roles: interpreters, Mullahs, Maliks, Elders, Chief of Police, Afghan Local Police, and female Pashto speakers.
– The Subject Matter Experts shall observe all Key Leader Engagements and provide instruction and insight based on personal experience regarding cultural issues, tribal dynamics, working with interpreters, and dealing with Afghan Maliks, Elders, or Warlords.
– Provide Opposing Force (OPFOR) leadership, to include organizing, coordinating, and leading Government provided OPFOR personnel in conducting simulated night attacks or other simulated events on Village Stability Operations sites.
http://swampland.time.com/2013/08/21/afghanistan-the-seals-get-ready-to-go-back/