Military Review English Edition January-February 2015 | Page 22

becoming operational-level responsibilities rather than
tactical ones. As with the Resolute Support headquarters, a great deal of coordination with ISAF, NATO, and
others went into sourcing the unique manning requirements for these new platforms. Transfers of authority at
the levels of regional command, brigade, and battalion,
as well as troop-contributing nation ends of operation
and ends of mission, exacerbated the complexity of the
dynamic security environment.
The transition to TAACs involved major changes for
the regional commands and the ANSF. This transition
fundamentally changed the nature of advisory support.
For example, force-manning limitations prevented
coalition forces from maintaining a persistent presence
in Helmand and the region south of Kabul. During
Resolute Support, they would only provide periodic
advising to ANSF in these regions.
Before the end of these advisory missions, the ISAF
Joint Command, in conjunction with the Afghan
National Army General Staff, executed combined staff
assistance visits to the Afghan National Army’s 215th
and 203rd Corps (based in Helmand and the area
south of Kabul, respectively) to assess their capabilities
and advise them on ways to improve their institutional systems and processes. The ISAF Joint Command

also established Advise and Assist Cells Southwest
and Southeast within ISAF headquarters to maintain
ministerial support from Kabul after the lift-off of
advisory support from these corps. Later, the ISAF Joint
Command (and subsequently ISAF) executed combined-staff assistance visits to the remaining Afghan
corps.

Supporting Afghan Transitions
The year 2014 was marked by political and security
transitions, with the Afghans undergoing their own
changes parallel to the ISAF Joint Command. There
were two presidential elections—general elections in
April (which included Provincial Council elections) and
a run-off in June. This latter election took place between
Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah after no candidate
received more than the required 50 percent of the vote
in the first round. Ashraf Ghani, declared the winner
after a run-off and a drawn-out audit, was sworn into
office as president of Afghanistan on 29 September 2014.
Afghan elections. The ISAF Joint Command supported the ANSF’s efforts to secure the elections with
advisory assistance during planning; air weapons teams
and airlift support fo r the movement of ballot material; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance,

(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Frances Johnson)

Cpl. Andrew Harris, a UH-1Y Huey crew chief with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, performs a weapons check before an
aerial assault support mission for ground convoys 3 May 2014 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
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January-February 2015  MILITARY REVIEW