Afghanistan - 20 years on

Rroff said:
US pulled their mechanics and support staff awhile back, and banned the purchase of Russian helicopters for Afghanistan despite there being significant complications with getting skills and suitable maintenance in place for using the US ones, then they delayed delivery of newer US stuff anyhow probably due to the intention to withdraw - so largely they were left with what was still operational of their older Russian helicopters and a few basic prop jobs (some of which they were also still reliant on foreign contractors to maintain to any significant level).

Despite Biden's claims of "Making sure their air force functions and is operable".



To be fair anyone who has spent significant time with a proper flight simulator would stand a chance of at least basic flight - someone who has just played video games and maybe casual simulator use, etc. in reality quite unlikely without proper supervision.
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I'm pretty sure having hurricanes and spitfires would be better than no air cover at all.

Same as having old tanks would be better than no tanks at all.

As for the afgan army having little experience? They've had 20 years of experience. And that 20 years has been at constant battle ready.

It's not like they were taken from Woodstock and plonked onto a battlefield and told to defend against the taliban push with no field teaining. They have basically been prepping for this their whole lives.
 
The Running Man said:
As for the afgan army having little experience? They've had 20 years of experience. And that 20 years has been at constant battle ready.
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Was that in reply to something in my post or a general comment?

The Running Man said:
I'm pretty sure having hurricanes and spitfires would be better than no air cover at all.

Same as having old tanks would be better than no tanks at all.
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Doesn't help when your older stuff is increasingly becoming non-functional though.
 
Having equipment is great, but there is the long chain of maintenance and logistics behind it. This is what the US assisted with quite a bit, take that away, which they did a while back and you got a lot of pointless metal laid about.
 
mrk said:
If there was ever an example of why the Afghan army didn't put up a fight then this is it: https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFrea...esting_insight_into_the_abysmal_state_of_the/

Given how disciplined the taliban training appears to be, they stood no chance.
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Quite an old video - but probably still true for a good number of the regular forces. Many were just there for the money while they got paid, etc. there were a reasonable number of special forces and so on who were much better though by this point.
 
Rroff said:
Probably 7 out of every 10 at the top were just there for the money, power or prestige. Many lacked sufficient experience according to reports. (There is suspicion at least 1 in 3 were paid off by #someone# to hand the country over to the Taliban as well - but that is rumour).

Ultimately the Afghan armed forces were spread out trying to hold large parts of the country without sufficient supplies, equipment and in many cases unpaid in months and often exhausted - their position quickly became untenable.
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Just watched a Vice News youtube clip, where they said they were committed to protect, especially the elite forces of the Afghan's. Their leaders though made a deal with the Taliban, so they put down their weapons, gave them all the heavy equipment etc. So in short, leadership ******** them.
 
iamtheoneneo said:
Or more that the leaders were fudging the books claiming to have staff when none existed...an army of 100,000s didn't just evaporate overnight. It was never there to begin with
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That is the reality on the ground - US estimates were ~96K IIRC actually existing out of 180-190K on the books - in reality it was more like ~70K from all forces who didn't just disappear at the first chance once the fighting started and only about 20-30K actually had the experience, equipment and organisation to stand a chance against the Taliban.
 
woppy101 said:
It comes under the marksmanship principles, feel free to google it
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Fallujah

Thank you. Came across this website while diving down the rabbit hole that details the different positions for the trigger finger when resting quite an interesting read.

Some shooters will make physical contact with the frame of their gun using the pad of their trigger finger. Other shooters will keep their trigger finger completely extended, resting alongside the gun's frame but without any contact.

I prefer having physical contact with the frame of my pistol. When I feel the frame with the pad of my trigger finger, I know, without a doubt, that my finger is not on my trigger or within the trigger guard. I know I'm maintaining proper trigger discipline.

In contrast, if one's finger is extended and floating along the frame of a firearm, who knows what might happen under stress, e.g., one might accidentally clinch their shooting hand, and one's finger might find its way into the trigger guard.
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https://tacticalhyve.com/ultimate-guide-to-trigger-discipline-and-trigger-control/#ftoc-heading-3


For some reason there are men in a white van pulled up outside my house. Maybe i'm just thinking too much about it.


Puzzled said:

How long until we are sending these guys in to fight our battles. Can take out a group of Taliban fighters and even do a back flip to celebrate.

This sort of tech must be getting interest from the US Military, the cost of US lives is too high politically but they still need a force to put on the ground when needed.
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If these become a common thing in war, expect war to be nothing more than a video game. All the hours in CoD might actually prove useful.

One thing that makes war scary and a deterrent is the loss of life and with that gone, why not go to war. this world leader snubbed your handshake, best send the death bots to teach him to put some respect on your name.

Nasher said:
They were never that disciplined before. They would have it slung over their shoulder or holding it with one hand, or at their waist. They have been properly trained by someone.

When western forces invaded the Taliban were terrible fighters and didn't really communicate between themselves. Almost all of the NATO soldiers killed were from IEDs, not face to face fighting. There was an instance where a single Gurkha killed 30 of them, he yeeted one of them off a roof.
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Hell house of Fallujah (NSFL explicit with images some may find disturbing)

I think you underestimate the taliban. They at least have some understanding of how to fight, see my link if you choose to click.

Not sure how true this is but apprently before the invasion the taliban soldiers were fighting gureilla wars outside of their borders in neighbouring territory. They are bit more organised than you seem to imply.

mrk said:
If there was ever an example of why the Afghan army didn't put up a fight then this is it: https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFrea...esting_insight_into_the_abysmal_state_of_the/

Given how disciplined the taliban training appears to be, they stood no chance.
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The taliban have a promotion system based on merit. Not something i would have considered but makes sense.
 
Have people actually thought that maybe the people actually want to be ruled by the Taliban?

After all the original Afghan invasion was a knee jerk reaction to Osama bin Laden as America couldn't sit back and do nothing. The Afghans never wanted the Americans in the first place.

The people I feel sorry for are the young Afghans who have been westernised over the past twenty years who are more than likely going to suffer now.
 
adam cool dude said:
Have people actually thought that maybe the people actually want to be ruled by the Taliban?

After all the original Afghan invasion was a knee jerk reaction to Osama bin Laden as America couldn't sit back and do nothing. The Afghans never wanted the Americans in the first place.

The people I feel sorry for are the young Afghans who have been westernised over the past twenty years who are more than likely going to suffer now.
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It's possible, but looking at the scenes at the airport, I'm not so sure that a majority of them think like that. Maybe just enough of them to make the invasion a walk in the park.
 
adam cool dude said:
Have people actually thought that maybe the people actually want to be ruled by the Taliban?

After all the original Afghan invasion was a knee jerk reaction to Osama bin Laden as America couldn't sit back and do nothing. The Afghans never wanted the Americans in the first place.

The people I feel sorry for are the young Afghans who have been westernised over the past twenty years who are more than likely going to suffer now.
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But many of them have grown up with the US being there over the past 20 years.

The Taliban coming to town is going backwards 200 years, they have never known that life. It isn't their way of life anymore especially in the main cities. Kabul looked very different thanks to western investment, the place was cleaned up a lot and modernised.
 
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adam cool dude said:
Have people actually thought that maybe the people actually want to be ruled by the Taliban?

After all the original Afghan invasion was a knee jerk reaction to Osama bin Laden as America couldn't sit back and do nothing. The Afghans never wanted the Americans in the first place.

The people I feel sorry for are the young Afghans who have been westernised over the past twenty years who are more than likely going to suffer now.
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There are a good number who support the Taliban but especially in the cities it is nothing like it used to be. Especially those in the north of the country tend to be either neutral towards or anti-Taliban.

Chuk_Chuk said:
It's possible, but looking at the scenes at the airport, I'm not so sure that a majority of them think like that. Maybe just enough of them to make the invasion a walk in the park.
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Just along the runway it was like nearly 3 miles long, 200+ people deep crowd wanting to get out and that doesn't include the rest of the area or those trying to get in.
 
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