Final evaluation Netherlands participation in ISAF 2006 - 2010

Mercedes Benz terrain vehicle, the Patria, the YPR-765 and, at a laterstage, the Viking) turned out to be vulnerable to these IEDs, and certainadaptations were therefore made to these vehicles to reduce thisvulnerability. In addition, this led to an urgent requirement for vehicles thatwere better protected against IEDs. A so-called Fast Track Procurementprocedure, which was specifically designed for this purpose, ensured theswift acquisition of a number of Bushmaster vehicles. This vehicle has anarmoured and V-shaped underside that gives it very good protectionagainst IEDs. Having these vehicles at his disposal gave the commander ofthe TFU more possibilities for adapting the choice of vehicle to the varioussituations and activities that Dutch units were involved in. The need forincreased and improved reconnaissance capabilities and counter-IEDcapabilities was addressed in a similar fashion. Armoured personnelquarters could also be acquired through the FTP procedure. The FTPensured that new, urgent requirements and lessons learned could beaddressed flexibly and relatively quickly. The FTP procedure turned out tobe a useful method to make adequate materiel available to units inAfghanistan in a quick and diligent manner. It contributed to the securityand flexibility of the TFU. An inherent side-effect of the FTP is that there isless room for allowing competition, which may cause the cost to rise. Forthat reason, the FTP procedure was used only in exceptional and acutecases.5.3.4.2 RedeploymentFor the preparation and implementation of the redeployment of the TFU’smateriel to the Netherlands, a Redeployment Task Force (RDTF) wasformed. The RDTF’s mission was to transport, in principle, all of the Dutchmateriel back to the Netherlands in a controlled and monitored fashion,after which it was to be made operational again as much as possible, andmade available for use again. Since at the time of the RDTF’s formation itwas not clear yet whether and to what extent it would be possible totransfer or sell materiel to partners in the mission area, it was decided toprepare for a maximum personnel requirement. When work started, on 1August 2010, it became clear straight away that considerable quantities ofmateriel could be transferred to partners so that less manpower wasneeded.To ensure that redeployment would proceed in a controlled and monitoredfashion, all of the present materiel had to be listed, quantities had to beverified and compared to the quantities originally provided, and thecondition of the materiel had to be established. The materiel was thentransported to the port of Karachi mainly by road, to be transported to theNetherlands by sea. Because ISAF could temporarily not provideguaranteed air support during convoy operations, it was decided to keepthe Apache attack helicopters in operation for one more month in Uruzgan.Air support for Dutch convoys, as well as for coalition partners, was thusassured during that period too. Specific strategic assets, such as selfpropelledhowitzers, were transferred to the Netherlands directly by air.The final inventory concerning materiel can only be made when theredeployment process has been fully completed.Page 95 of 133