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Krajeski News from Kabul, 4 April 2007 |
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Written by Paul Krajeski
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Saturday, 05 May 2007 |
Nine USMA alumni celebrated West Point Founder's Day on March 25th with the cadets, staff, and faculty of the National Military Academy of Afghanistan. Founder's Day is an annual event, celebrated wherever there are West Pointers, recognizing President Jefferson's signature that authorized the United States Military Academy on March 16, 1802. The celebration included speeches by the NMAA Commander and MG Bob Durbin ('75), a traditional Afghan lunch, and a memorial tree planting in honor of the four West Pointers who have died in Afghanistan. LTC Herman Asberry ('85) and I had the privilege of planting a tree with an Afghan cadet in honor of our classmate, LTC Mike McMahon. The "Kabul Chapter" celebration was another infusion of West Point's DNA into the young Afghan academy.
Most NMAA faculty were trained and educated under a Soviet-influenced model, which tends to be rigid, lecture-based, and not particularly rigorous. Perhaps cadets have not been pushed to their intellectual limits the past two years, despite West Point faculty mentoring efforts. . . . Enter Kabul University adjunct professors teaching a USMA Civil Engineering core course to all third year cadets. Many young Afghan eyes are being opened and fear for graduation is becoming a theme of discussion. Time to start burning the midnight oil! Welcome to college, cadets!
The Academy just hired its first female member of the faculty. Her name is Homaira. She is 23, shy, and the bravest person on campus. There were better qualified men, but the Dean and I expressly wanted to hire a woman. After she accepted the job offer, I congratulated her with the customary hand shake. She looked down when I grasped her hand. It took four repetitions before she made eye contact! I'm reminded of a question I posed to an Afghan interpreter: "Does President Karzai appear in public with his wife?" His answer: "No, there would be a revolution!" The status of women in this country will change one woman (and one man) at a time. NMAA is doing its part.
My greatest source of frustration in Afghanistan is with ministerial level bureaucracy. Visits with Ministry of Defense and Higher Education officials end with smiles and sometimes a scheduled follow on meeting. . . . Repeat. Reform is happening, but more rapidly at the lower levels of government. While NMAA strives for academic excellence, MoD orders multiple rehearsals for the Independence Day Parade, dismissing the academic schedule and exhausting the cadets. While we at NMAA press for inclusion in the Afghan university system, MoHE officials remain wedded to a system of centralized control that is increasingly unmanageable. The upper echelons of the Afghan Government must adopt a culture of change ASAP.
By the way, the Spring Offensive is underway, Operation ACHILLES, led by US Army General Dan McNeill. I saw him at mass on Palm Sunday at the Italian Embassy Chapel. He probably added a few prayers to the Coalition arsenal. There's a lot going on in Afghanistan's southern provinces.
Paul
Paul C. Krajeski, Ph.D.
Lieutenant Colonel, US Army
Chief, National Military Academy Afghanistan (NMAA)
Implementation Team
Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 05 May 2007 )
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