They may be some of America's most elite troops. But these days, even U.S. special operations forces are relying on guns for hire in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, U.S. Special Operations Command announced that it was looking for Afghan security contractors to guard commando encampments, from the tiniest of outposts to the biggest of the superbases. And those private guards need to be ready to work ASAP. The command is planning on issuing contracts next Friday, April 15th.
Using guns for hire to patrol Afghan bases is nothing new. For years, the U.S. military has employed the contractors, to free up American troops for frontline fighting and nation-building.
This case is unusual, for several reasons. Not only has SOCOM issued these calls for contractors just as Afghan president Hamid Karzai is threatening to tax the private security forces out of existence. But, at least in one instance, the special operators want these guards to watch the backs of a small handful of American troops. And that involvement could undermine the special operators' mission.
One of the two requests for proposals, issued Wednesday, ask for private guards at Village Security Platform Darvishan, a micro-outpost in the Khakrzez district of Kandahar province. Typically, these "VSPs" are where a 12-man "A-Team" of special operations forces train local townspeople to keep an eye on their community. These are tiny, temporary positions, meant for troops who are used to living off of the land. Often, they're no bigger than a single house or two.
An American "statement of work" calls for private forces who can man "perimeter towers" and "entry control points," while conducting "surveillance and counter-surveillance of the installation perimeter, avenues of approach, likely indirect-fire locations and vicinity from designated Perimeter Defensive Positions."
More likely, it'll just be a couple of guys watching the U.S. forces' gear while they're out training the locals. As a "fragmentary order" from U.S. Force-Afghanistan notes, "the intent of these contracted services is to 'free' joint forces to conduct military operations."
But add too many guns for hire to one of the commandos' nanoscale outposts, and it undermines the very point of their existence. A light footprint becomes heavy with private security logistics.
"Ideally, they would contract for local security guards, train them and employ them," one Special Operations Forces officer tells Danger Room. "If they are going to contract with the larger PMCs [private military contractors], then that can become problematic. Those kind of contracts take on a life of their own."
That's why these contractual terms -- used in every private security proposal request -- are better suited for guards at bigger bases. For instance: the ones SOCOM wants at the sprawling American facility at the Bagram Air Field. There, guards armed with M-16s or AK-47s are authorized to "employ appropriate force to neutralize any threat from unauthorized individuals illegally attempting to enter the installation."
Which sounds straightforward enough. In practice, however, the contractors' behavior has made things more... complex, shall we say. Afghan civilians have been killed, thousands of rifles intended for the Afghan police have been stolen. And let's not even get into the hookers, booze, and exposed nether-regions.
"Contractors must understand," the request for proposal adds, "that the Afghan Security Guards SHALL NOT aim or point their weapons at U.S., Coalition, or Afghanistan National Security Forces."
You'd hope that this was the kind of thing that went without saying. But let me add: it'd be especially unwise to point your gun at one of these special operators.
Photo: CJSOTF-A
