Transition in Action: Building the Afghan Army from “Boots on the Ground” Up

On June 6, the 21st Century Defense Initiative at Brookings hosted Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell, commander of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, for a discussion of the development of the Afghan army and police as they prepare for the U.S. and NATO troop drawdown that will begin this summer. Lieutenant General Caldwell was joined by Brookings Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon, who recently returned from Afghanistan. Caldwell discussed the progress and challenges of the mission and shared his insights on how the Afghan army and police fit into Afghanistan’s future.

Prior to his current assignment, Lieutenant General Caldwell spent over two years as the commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center in Fort Leavenworth. During that time he led the transformation of U.S. Army doctrine through the development of the Operations, Stability Operations, and Security Force Assistance Manuals. These publications have driven innovation within the Army to address current complex operations in Afghanistan and beyond.

Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon, director of research for Foreign Policy at Brookings, co-author of Toughing It Out in Afghanistan (Brookings Press, 2010) and senior author of the Brookings Afghanistan Index provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion.

After the program, Lieutenant General Caldwell took audience questions.

Watch full event video on C-SPAN »