Bureaucratic obstacles…

Posted By: Erica

I’ve shared several stories so far about those who have benefitted from the USAID-funded Afghan Civilian Assistance Program (ACAP), such as Masood and Hazi. As mentioned before, though, this is not the only program benefitting civilians in Afghanistan. In late 2006, several NATO countries chipped in to fund the Post-Operations Humanitarian Relief Fund (POHRF) – a fund providing emergency relief to civilian victims of ISAF operations. This is huge in terms of signaling the importance of making amends, helping where you’ve harmed. But this fund would carry a lot more weight if it were supported by all NATO member countries in Afghanistan. So far it is only supported by nine countries: Australia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Iceland and the United States.

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The ISAF Conference

Posted By: Erica

On Monday I attended an ISAF-sponsored conference focused on Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT). The three-day conference is designed to orient a new rotation of PRT commanders to Afghanistan, and to allow existing commanders to touch base with ISAF leaders, government officials, or other organizations relevant to their work. They reserve one day of the three-day conference for “civilians” to attend. Topics discussed ranged from protecting historical sites, to infrastructure building techniques, to how PRTs can be involved in developing Afghanistan’s energy capacity.

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Ft. Belvoir, VA:  Civilian and military cooperation

Posted By: Marla B.

Today, with Jon Tracy, I visited Ft. Belvoir to participate in one of their training sessions. A satellite campus for the Army’s Command and General Staff College, Ft. Belvoir supports the CGSC’s mission to educate and develop leaders for full spectrum joint, interagency and multinational operations. It reminded me once again of the importance of dialogue between civilian and military folks.

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