This week, President Obama announced the deployment of 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan. Some 5,000 of those troops will be tasked with a specific mission: organizing and training Afghan police officers so they can maintain order in cities and villages after U.S. forces depart the country.
Unfortunately, reports on past efforts to bring Afghans up to speed on modern policing tactics have not been good. This interesting article on the situation states, “Despite the importance of the Afghan police—increasingly seen by counterinsurgency experts and desperate western politicians as vital to gradually bringing conflict in Afghanistan to a close—it is now acknowledged that the international community failed to build an effective and functioning police force.” Commentators spread the blame around, citing German trainers who “vanish into the cesspool” of a nonfunctioning system, to reports of “former U.S. campus security guards” being tasked with training duties for which they are not qualified. Despite the presence of knowledgeable police professionals in the training pool, there are too many, according to analyst Seth Jones, “who don’t have a lot of experience and don’t have any understanding of the culture or history of Afghanistan.”
As we said before, officials would be doing themselves, U.S. and NATO police trainers, and Afghan police recruits a tremendous service by taking the lessons of Bryan Vila’s new book Micronesian Blues to heart.
But don’t take our word for it. Here’s what Ryan Crocker, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, has to say about Micronesian Blues:
“Anyone involved in or concerned about policing in Afghanistan or Pakistan should read Micronesian Blues . . . Bryan’s Vila’s lessons learned apply in these countries as much as they did in Micronesia: make a sustained commitment, choose the right trainers and trainees, understand the language and culture, and above all appreciate that change takes time.”
And Major Joe Hansen, OIF I, OEF VII, former Battery Commander and Civil Military Advisor, 3BCT/10th Mountain Division, Dara Pech district, Kunar Province, Afghanistan:
“Micronesian Blues is the book I wish I had read prior to my deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Vila’s lessons learned are spot on, as are the policy prescriptions that flow from them.”
David H. Bayley, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice at the State University of New York, Albany:
“Micronesian Blues is a must read for every cop and soldier involved in training police abroad.”
David A. Klinger, Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis:
“Bryan Vila’s stories of his experiences doing police work in the South Pacific and his presentation of the lessons he has drawn from them provide intriguing insights into what our nation can do to assist the development of sound police services around the globe .”
For more on Micronesian Blues, see here and here.
The handgun came in a very secure container that required the efforts of several of us to open. This is a good thing: the last thing you want is a potential enemy having easy access to your firearm. In our expert opinion, all gun safes should conform to this design.
Overall, when put through its paces, the Chocolate Glock performed admirably. Practical, tactical, and delicious. Special thanks to Paladin author James Coats for providing the gun.
