When Afghan soldiers fire upon the coalition forces training them, the damage extends beyond the immediate loss of coalition lives, said Maj. Gen. Tod Wolters, who oversaw Air Force air operations in Afghanistan from May 2011 to May 2012. “When these ‘green-on-blue’ events occur, that makes you look closely at your tactics, techniques, and procedures,” said Wolters during his Aug. 14 talk in Arlington, Va., that AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies sponsored. That same day, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Pentagon reporters that the Afghan National Security Forces have the capacity “to deal a crippling and lasting blow to the [anti-government] insurgency.” For that reason, he continued, “our enemies have attempted to undermine the trust between the coalition and Afghan forces.” This includes the green-on-blue attacks. He said he’s discussed measures to prevent these incidents with Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, who leads US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. “We have not and will not allow this kind of intimidation to undermine our efforts to build up the ANSF,” said Panetta. (Panetta-Dempsey transcript) (For more coverage of Wolters’ talk, read Finding the Right Mix, Keep the Momentum, and Maintaining Requirements during the Drawdown.)
The Space Force welcomed its first officers trained in a way far different from decades of Air Force practice late last month. Eighty-four space professionals graduated from the Space Force’s first Officer Training Course on Aug. 28, a yearlong program in which Guardians were trained in all aspects of the service’s…
