Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in - United States ...

Afghan Government authorizations and implementing mechanisms. A key to this relationship is
Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan’s (CFSOCC-A)
Village Stability National Coordination Center (VSNCC) and its interagency affiliates. Through
the VNSCC’s Provincial Augmentation Teams and District Augmentation Teams, direct support
is facilitated from the national level to the village level, and local feedback is then returned to
ISAF and the Afghan Government.
VILLAGE STABILITY OPERATIONS
The Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A) initiated VSO in
2010. VSO are a bottom-up COIN initiative that establishes security areas around rural villages
to promote local governance and development. VSO rely on embedded U.S. Special Operations
Forces (USSOF) and ANASF to improve security, governance, and development in communities
where the ANSF and ISAF have limited presence. VSO success has contributed to the
significant growth of the program; VSO initially encompassed only eight districts, but have since
expanded to include 5,200 CJSOTF-A personnel working in more than 100 communities in 58
districts throughout Afghanistan.
Overall security has improved in most villages as a result of VSO. Kinetic activity around the
Village Stability Platform (VSP) generally increases immediately before a USSOF team embeds
in the “shape” phase, and peaks during the “hold” phase, which is the month that the team
embeds. From that point, the security situation generally improves and kinetic activity gradually
drops below pre-shaping levels after approximately 15-18 months.
In VSP districts, governance activity is generally higher than throughout the rest of Afghanistan,
both among local villages and between villages and district authorities. Villages near a VSP
attended an average of 58 percent of bi-weekly Community Development Councils (CDCs)
during the reporting period. This attendance figure represents a decline over the previous
reporting period. Local villages and district authorities interacted an average of three times
during every two-week period in the reporting period; visits by district representatives to villages
supported by the VSO program accounted for nearly half of these interactions. This continued
governance activity is noteworthy, given the broader struggles in local governance throughout
Afghanistan.
AFGHAN LOCAL POLICE
As the principle component of the VSO initiative, the ALP are village-based security forces
administered by the MoI. The program utilizes USSOF to train Afghans in rural areas to defend
their communities against threats from insurgents and militant groups, in support of ISAF’s
COIN strategy.
The MoI has approved 99 districts for ALP units; of these, 58 have been validated by their local
shura and the MoI, a 21 percent increase from the previous reporting period. The total force of
12,660 ALP represents a 56 percent increase from the previous reporting period. The Afghan
Government has authorized an end-strength of 30,000 ALP. However, ALP growth in the south
and east – the main focus areas of the program – continues to be challenged by insurgent
intimidation efforts and tribal infighting.
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