Training and fighting alongside the Afghan Army and Police was beyond frustrating.
There were times their incompetence was laughable. In fact, that was most of the time.
In 2012, at PB 7171, Musa Quala District, I saw an ANA soldier guarding the Afghan Army ECP, while sitting on the ground, smoking weed and drinking tea. He couldn’t see above his sand bags, his machine gun faced the ground, and he was supposedly, “on post.”
That kinda shit set me off until I realized that there was nothing we could do to make these guys give a fuck about their country. So eventually, whenever we saw the ANA and ANP being pathetic we laughed to ourselves and thought, "these guys are gonna die."
In another instance at COP Shirgazi, the Afghan Army company next to us had just received a new HMMVV with a new .50 cal. The ANA were super proud of their new weapons, and we appreciated their enthusiasm.
Later that day we heard gunshots outside the base, immediately a squad of ANA hopped in their trucks and bolted out of the ECP, took a turn way too fast, rolled the HMMVV, broke the .50 cal, and injured the gunner.
All because they heard a couple gunshots and wanted to show off.
What they didn’t have in ability, they made up for in ego, and ego has gotten many men killed.
Donny O'Malley
