The Afghan National Army Special Operations Command (ANASOC) was the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special warfare operations component commands of the Afghan National Army, established in 2011. It eventually became a three-star command, equal in rank to the regular ANA regional corps commanders, and oversaw the Commandos (analogous to the U.S. Army Rangers), the Special Forces (analogous to the U.S. Army Special Forces), and the Special Missions Wing of the Afghan Air Force (analogous to the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Wings). The command was disbanded after the fall of Kabul.
History
During its existence it was stated that the ANA Special Operations Command comprised "only seven percent of the Afghan defence and security forces." But this represented the total of the ANASOC according to the Afghan Tashkil, the Table of Organisation and Equipment - the official number of people funded for the Armed Forces. So this could have been a wishful exaggeration. The real number could've been as high as 40 percent, since the problem of ghost soldiers was rampant in the Afghan National Army, with the some estimates putting the ANA at at least a 40 percent manpower deficit. One Afghan lawmaker claimed "When we say we have 100 soldiers on the battlefield, in reality it is just 30 or 40. And this creates the potential for huge catastrophes when the enemy attacks." Afghanistan's ex-finance minister Khalid Payenda told the BBC that most of the 300,000 troops and police on the government's books did not exist, stating that the real size of the ANA could've been as low as 50,000 men and women.
This reality puts major pressure on ANASOC, which is stated to have fought in 70 percent to 80 percent of the fighting during the War in Afghanistan.
Predecessors
Creation of the Commandos In November 2006, a battalion of soldiers from the Afghan Army's 201st Corps was selected to be the first to go through commando training, because it had high morale compared to other units. The battalion was led by Lt. Col. Mohammad Farid Ahmadi.
In July 2007, the ANA graduated its first commandos, intended to form a battalion. The commandos underwent a grueling three-month course being trained by the United States Army Special Forces ("Green Berets"). They were fully equipped with U.S. equipment, and received specialized light infantry training with the capability to conduct combat and patrolling in urban areas, commando style raids, defusing and disposal of bombs and land mines, fast tactical shooting, hand-to-hand combat, infiltrate the area with a helicopter, reconnaissance, SERE, small unit tactics for fighting in desert and mountain terrain, and tactical emergency medical. They also provided a centrally held rapid reaction force (RRF) for the Afghan government.
Training was conducted at the Morehead Commando Training Center (Rish Khor camp), a former Taliban training compound located south of Kabul. The camp was reported as being in either Wardak Province or Kabul Province. Supply, logistics and operations training was conducted by mentors from Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, United States Special Operations Forces, French Special Forces, and ANA Commando personnel themselves.USA Today, France to withdraw 200 special forces from Afghanistan The first ANA Commando Kandak graduated on July 24, 2007, with Colonel Fareed Ahmadi as the Kandak commander.
The unit drew personnel from all over Afghanistan from various Afghan Army units, taking in prospective Pashtuns, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek and Turkmen to prevent forms of tribal allegiance and bias.
3rd Special Forces Group and 7th Special Forces Group rotated responsibility to train and advise in Afghanistan.
Graduating classes
The 1st Commando Kandak (Battalion) - graduated on July 24, 2007 - stationed with the 201st 'Selab' (Flood) Corps.Military Times, "SF team sgt. lauds Afghan aid in Shok Valley", October 6, 2009. The 203rd (2nd) Commando Battalion - Colonel Ggulam Nabi - graduated on October 16, 2007 - stationed with the 203rd 'Tandar' (Thunder) Corps of the Afghan National Army. The 3rd Commando Kandak - graduated on January 30, 2008 - stationed with the 1st Brigade (Kandahar) of the 205th 'Atal' (Hero) Corps. The 4th Commando Kandak - graduated on May 8, 2008 - stationed with the 1st Brigade (Herat) of the 207th 'Zafar' (Victory) Corps. The 5th Commando Kandak - graduated in October 2008 - stationed with the 209th 'Shaheen' (Falcon) Corps. The 6th Commando Kandak - graduated in May 2009, stationed with the 1st Commando Brigade The 7th Commando Kandak - graduated on January 21, 2010, stationed with the 215th 'Maiwand' (Battle) Corps. The 8th Commando Kandak "Lamer & Sun" - graduated on May 6, 2011, stationed with the ANA's 1st Commando Brigade. The 9th Commando Kandak "Cobra" - graduated on August 17, 2010, stationed with the ANA's 1st Commando Brigade.
Operations The first ANA Commando Kandak conducted its first operation, a two-day mission, in September 2007, southwest of Jalalabad in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province. There they captured two large weapons caches, over 80 kg of opium and detained Haji Shir Khan, a known improvised explosive device maker.United States Department of Defense, Afghan Commandos Nab Taliban Leader in First Raid
November 2007: 3rd Toli, 1st Commando Kandak (201st Corps), conducted an air-assault raid at dawn on the compound of a high-level Taliban facilitator, kicking off a four-day offensive operation named Operation Commando Fury in the Tag Ab Valley, Kapisa Province, from November 10–14, 2007. A joint effort by the Afghan National Police and other ANA forces assisted the Commando kandak in disrupting the Taliban hold on the Tag Ab Valley.Combined Joint Task Force 82, Elite Afghan force continues to neutralize Taliban insurgents
December 2007: The second ANA Commando Kandak, originally from the 203rd Corps, conducted a series of raids throughout the Sabari district in Afghanistan's Khowst Province, Dec. 27–28, 2007. During the operation, the force arrested a suspected major insurgent facilitator primarily associated with the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan terrorist organization and believed to have ties to the Haqqani network terrorist group, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The combined Afghan force conducted the two-day operation without a shot being fired.Black Athem, Afghan Led Combined Force Arrests Suspected Taliban Leaders
January 2008: The Third ANA Commando Kandak, originally from the 205th Corps, along with Coalition forces, conducted a four-day operation to disrupt insurgents activity in the volatile Tag Ab Valley of Kapisa Province January 19–23, 2008. The Third Commando Kandak patrolled the Naghlu Reservoir to the village of Jangali in order to disrupt insurgent activities in the center of the valley as the combined force moved north. This operation served as a graduation exercise to providing confidence in the abilities of the newly formed Commando Kandak.Combined Joint Task Force - 82, Afghan commandos make presence known in volatile Tag Ab Valley
February 2008: The second ANA Commando Kandak (203rd Corps), along with Coalition forces, captured a key insurgent facilitator in Khost Province February 9, 2008. The Ministry of Defense announced that ANA forces captured a known Taliban commander, Nasimulla, during a combined operation in the Dand Faqiran area of Yaqubi District.Combined Joint Task Force - 82, ANA Commandos capture key Taliban IED facilitator
February 2008: 1st Toli of the First ANA Commando Kandak (201st), conducted a night air-assault raid in Helmand Province to capture the Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Bari. Bari was one of the top remaining Taliban field commanders able to launch deadly attacks in Helmand and Uruzgan province. He led Taliban operations against the British in northern Helmand province in the Kajaki, Musa Qala, and Baghran districts. Bari was the former governor of Helmand under the Taliban regime.
The operation, named "Say Laab", meaning flood, utilized multiple helicopters and put over 100 commandos onto four separate targets simultaneously. The operation captured 11 combatants as well as destroying six enemy vehicles containing thousands of pounds of weapons and munitions, as well as nearly $8 million of illegal narcotics. Bari and 29 Taliban fighters were killed during the five-hour-long operation. The exact date of the operation wasn't given, but was reported to media by the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force 82 on March 1, 2008.Combined Joint Task Force 82, Afghanistan's elite fighting force neutralize Taliban insurgents
April 2008: one Commando Kandak (unknown designation) conducted operations in Nuristan Province on April 6, reportedly netted several members of the terrorist group Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG). The mission led to a coalition airstrike that, along with the ground fighting, left as many as 20 insurgents dead.The Christian Science Monitor, AMERICANS BUILD ELITE AFGHAN COMMANDO FORCE
By the end of 2008, the six ANA commando battalions were stationed in the southern region of Afghanistan assisting the Canadian forces.
Creation of Special Forces A special operations unit was first conceptualized in 2009 and established in 2010.Afghan special forces expanded to handle night raids, delicate missions, but training took time. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2012-01-01.
The first Special Forces team, whose soldiers were selected from the ANA Commandos (this practice was discontinued later to preserve commando capability), finished training in May 2010. The organization was based on the US Army Special Forces.Kirk Putnam Afghan National Army Graduates First Elite Special Forces Unit Afghanistan’s First Special Forces Team Graduates. NTM-A.com. May 13, 2010 Initially all the Special Forces candidates were planned to come from the Commando Kandak (Commando Battalion), only requiring 10 weeks of training. However, after the initial period it was planned that Special Forces recruiting was to be conducted throughout the Army, and initial Special Forces training was to be 15 weeks. Commando graduates of the special forces course would retain their 'commando' tab and would also have a 'special forces' tab on top of the commando tab in addition to receiving a tan beret. These candidates were normally selected after serving four years as a Commando.
In May 2010 the first class of the ANA Special Forces graduated from their 10-week qualification course and moved on to the operational portion of their training. In November 2010, the ANA Special Forces Class 1 received their tan berets in a ceremony at Camp Morehead after completing 26 weeks of on-the-job training partnered with US Special Forces. The initial selection involved taking the 145 commandos who volunteered, putting them through a one-week qualification process (similar to the one used in the United States), and finding, as in the US, that only about half (69) passed. These Special Forces soldiers formed the first four A-Teams (of 15 men each). Some of the just-graduated special forces soldiers used to help US Special Operations Forces train the 2nd class of candidates.Special Operations: Afghanistan Grows Its Own Special Forces. Strategypage.com (2010-11-12). Retrieved on 2011-12-27. Special Forces were trained to focus on interacting with the population through jirgas with village elders, but capable of unilateral operations.DVIDS – News – ANA special forces soldiers receive berets in ceremony. Dvidshub.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-27. A second ANA Special Forces class completed training in December 2010.DVIDS – News – Afghan special forces receive berets in ceremony. Dvidshub.net. Retrieved on 2011-12-27.