Report shows 152 Afghan trainees have gone AWOL in US since war against Taliban began
Nearly all those who fled since 2005 were officers, who were ‘company grade’ – the rank of lieutenant or captain
At least 152 Afghans sent to the United States for military training during the course of the war against the Taliban have gone AWOL, and the problem, which worsened last year, is unlikely to improve soon, US inspectors said on Friday.
AWOL Afghans are considered a security risk in the US because they have military training and are of fighting age, and relatively few are ever arrested or detained, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
The relatively high AWOL rate among Afghan trainees, particularly since 2015, also has undermined the combat readiness and morale of Afghan military and police units, the report said.
The AWOL rate among Afghans is far higher than for other foreign national trainees. Of 2,537 Afghan trainees brought to the US since 2005, 152, or 6 per cent, have gone absent without leave, the report said. The rate for trainees from all other countries in that period was less than 1 per cent.
Far more Afghan trainees have gone AWOL in the United States than trainees from any other nation
Nearly all the Afghans who fled since 2005 were officers. Most were what the military calls “company grade” officers, meaning they were at the rank of lieutenant or captain. The report said the prevalence of this group to abandon training posts is “particularly alarming”, given the officers’ important role in maintaining the overall readiness of the Afghan military.