Video Tele Conference

With B.G. Kurt Pedersen
(Director, Directorate for
ANA Training and Equipment Support)

MODERATOR:  General, the floor is yours. 

B.G. KURT PEDERSEN (Director, Directorate for ANA Training and Equipment Support):  Thank you very much and good morning again.  I hope that the weather is nice for you guys:  blue skies and no rain in Brussels as normal.  My name is Brigadier General Kurt Pedersen.  I'm the director of Directorate for Afghan National Army Training and Equipment Support, also shortened DATES.  So I will try to use DATES from now on. 

I will talk you about DATES, how it was established and why, what we are doing.  And I'll also give a message that we see a very good progress in the education and training of ANA and also the increased interest from NATO nations to support the development of a sustained and sustaining ANA. 

In a nutshell, our governments have asked us to gather... NATO needs support to the development for ANA.  We do so in close cooperation with G8 lead nations responsible for developing Afghan National Security Forces which is ANA and also the ANP combined.  Responsible for doing this, the responsible command is the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan, also known as CSTC-A shortened. 

I thank you for coming this morning and I hope you will use the opportunity to ask some questions during this session.  But before that, please allow me to provide some information, some facts on what we are doing from DATES.

DATES was established on 1 November of this year.  So actually we are 22 days old.  DATES is designed to ensure that the NATO support to the development of ANA is given sufficient attention.  The directorate has about 15 positions.  We started about as allied transformation command in theatre team, mostly focussed on education support. 

With the former establishment of DATES on 1 November we also merged with the Operational Mentoring Liaison Team program, the OMLT program. 

Hence of our work, we also had the three men pillars that into links and also interdependent.  Those are institutional training support, equipment to nations and the OMLT program.  In other words, DATES' focus is on ANA in accordance with NATO's mandates.

I will not touch upon the ANP, the Afghan National Police; nor will I touch upon operational issues which is for others to answer.

ANA is showing good signs of maturing.  And the education and training is evolving positively as we speak.  NATO-ISAF is intensifying efforts to provide equipment's report and more training though the provision of OMLT to ANA units and headquarters.

Eventually, ANA will be Afghanistan's tool to guarantee own security.  Therefore, our real focus is to pit together coherent programs, to professionalize and equip ANA appropriately to their tasks.  This includes assisting and developing a self-sustaining ANA.

I'm very pleased to see that the international community feels strongly about helping the Afghan people into a secure situation with is a prerequisite for other factions for the society to flourish.

I would also like to refer to the situation by NATO Chief of Defence on Afghanistan recently.  I know we've heard it before.  The Military Committee Chairman General Henault says the following:  "Our focus demands on providing security to allow the extension of Afghan government authority across the country and to allow the sustainable reconstruction and development effort to take hold." 

So what we are doing is to try to help the Afghan National Army to come up on their own feet and take care of own security in own country.  So this is... DATES' organization is totally committed to the training and equipment support in the development of a self-sustaining ANA. 

COMISAF is focussing too on NATO's increased training and equipment.  And I again our three main pillars are the institutional training, the equipment donations part, and the OMLT side. 

If you allow me I will use just a few more minutes to touch those three pillars.  On equipment donations, in short, NATO donations go from the nations through the chain of command and then arrive in Afghanistan after inspection.  The developed ANA equipment requirements they are fed up the chain the same chain of command through SHAPE, through the NMRs and then out to the nations. 

On the trainings report we have multiple initiatives in place already.  A NATO engagement is foreseen to be increased.  With training support, I include institutional training, crash school development and some out-of-country training. 

Successful training of ANA is essential to the further progress in the security sector of the security reconstruction development triad.

There has been a very good progress on the training side with the resources available, albeit it's true that with more trainers we could do more faster.  That is a welcome indication from nations that had promised more support to training efforts already in 2008.

The OMLTs are vital to the professionalization of ANA units.  The method is that military personnel at approximately equal age and speciality coaches, teaches and mentors and operators alongside ANA colleagues.  The transfer of experience is regarded as a very effective way of learning.  There are also very recent indications from several nations to fill more on those positions. 

Therefore, I expect an increased NATO engagement in near future.  And this also go through some PFP countries.  So the filling  of more OMLTs remains a key priority.

And finally... a precondition for a prosperous and thriving economy and society development is an established and maintained security for the people.  We are making solid steps in the right direction.  The aim is to grow the Afghan capability of attaining and maintaining own security. 

Many players are into the important business of helping Afghanistan.  Other part... DATES' part is to assemble and organize NATO support to ANA.  Our work requires close coordination within the borders of Afghanistan.  That is with CSTC-A, with ANA General Staff and Ministry of Defence and abroad with NATO chain of command, NATO and PFP nations in our plans to make sure ANA's operational requirements are properly considered in the development of the security area. 

We're aiming at an ANA that is self-sustained and force generating are taking care of the security of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.  For this reason, we are working everyday to ensure that nations are continuously committed to offer NATO donations and supports that fits to the requirements. 

Again, the OMLTs are equally important as the contribution to already feeded units provides real-life mentoring for ANA units.  I'm finishing this.  This method of mentoring has proved to be very productive, hence we are pushing hard to get more OMLT personnel into Afghanistan. 

And I think this good enough for a start to give you a flavour of what DATES is supposed to work on, very closely with CSTC-A in-theatre.  And we are pretty young in COMISAF headquarter but we have a good focus on the pillars of building up ANA into self-sustaining army.  So I'm all to you, Gentlemen and Lady. 

MODERATOR:  General, indeed, thank you very much for this very useful introduction into what is a newborn body within the ISAF structure.  To whom may I pass the floor?  Christophe?

Q:  Yes, I would like to have background information.  How many soldiers have been trained?  How many ANA soldiers have been trained so far?  And also how much are in a position to combat now?

PEDERSEN:  Figures are always interesting.  And what I'm going to tell you now is figures that are based on the statistics and the tracking of students done by CSTC-A.  But trained today is approximately 40,000 soldiers.  Now, at any time, not all soldiers are available for the operational life, or the operational fight.  That is closer to 24,000 soldiers at the time being. 

Q: Sorry, gentleman, when you say 40,000 soldiers are being trained, can you just explain to us what that means.  How long...?  They're, obviously, obviously undergoing some tuition or training.  How long have they done so? For what have you...?  What have they taught them?  So what this training consist of and how long does it take?  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  There is an institutional training school in Afghanistan which is called Kabul Military Training Centre.  And the Kabul Military Training Centre is running basic military training for the soldiers.  And Kabul Military Training Centre also has four regional training centres of the regions contributing to the same job of educating soldiers.  Those are satellites from KMTC which is the shortened form for Kabul Military Training Centre.  And they give the same curricula at all places.

Now, the education:  basic skills, individual common core skills if you want goes over 10 weeks.  So when the 10 weeks are over, they are being assigned to different Kandaks.  Another important message there is that the students graduating they are assigned to conducts so we ensure a sound mix of ethnic... ethnicity in the different conducts.  There is no conduct with just one group of people.  Now, they are mixed together and they learn to live together; they learn to respect each other.  And they learn to fight together.  And they have a common cause in that: to secure the Afghan security.

Does this answer you question? 

Q: Yes, Brooks Tigner, Jane's.  Two questions if I may - unrelated really -  just a minor one.  How many ISAF personnel are involved in training ANA troops?  It's another number question.  And secondly, what kind of equipment has been donated so far, major equipment by the Allies to the ANA and what is still needed?  Thank you. 

PEDERSEN:  I will start with the equipment side first and actually, with probably last question what is most needed, right now.  And that is vehicles that are armoured, and vehicles that will increase the mobility of ANA.  No matter, how you look at it.  This is a very important part of the donations that we are looking forward to.  And we also see some positive progress in.  And if you... if you ask for samples of donations, I would like to highlight the latest contribution from the Czech Republic which is substantial because it will increase the ANA's ability to transport soldiers across Afghanistan and during operations and also finally to do some medevacs and also operational tasks.

Czech Republic has offered and also donated... It was a ceremony yesterday... six MI-17 helicopters and six  MI-24 helicopters which will be a very good add-on as I said for ANA air corps. 

In addition to that, we've also received a very gracious offer from the same country with regard to training.  Czech Republic is offering trainers for maintenance, logistics people, but also with regard to pilot training.  And this is an offer that has not been finalized, staffed yet.  But it is very welcomed and we will see it in Afghanistan maybe next year. That is one example.  And I can give you more.  But then I would have to continue.  I can... I can also answer how many ISAF soldiers do we have dealing with education and training. 

Actually, now, I told you, in ISAF, we have 15 officers in DATES dealing with the programming, the... the coordination with CSTC-A and that work that the needs to be done to feed the requirements of the chain of command and then get the equipment back.  I understand, of course, that you are most interested in equipment, so I mentioned that specifically.

We have many countries already in different organizations and different places in Afghanistan dealing with education and training and the exact number I can't give you now.  Thank you.

Q:  I have two follow-up questions please.  One is... just out of curiosity.  What is the Afghan air corps right now?  What are they flying?  What do they have?  And secondly, some months ago we talked to one of your colleagues who works along similar lines; and the issue of standards came up.  These donations, how important is it important for you, for the ANA rather in your opinion, that all of these donations be NATO standard.  And are they NATO standard?  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  Thank you for the question.  Well, when you talk about the ANA air corps, they have so-called assistance today.  And that is a few fixed wing, transport, smaller transport aircrafts, AM-32 and AM-26.  The also have the MI-17.  And they have pilots that can fly them.  So that is good.  We also a little bit fewer MI-35.  And that is about it on the air force side.  What we see that we can build on the experience that is already resilient in the country.  The students that we have at Air Corps are given extensive English training because in the aviation world as you know, we need to use the common language which is English.  And they're doing fine with that.  Not...  A very few of them spoke English before so this is a big lift when you are doing this training.  It is a plan laid out by the combined air power transition force.  This is a part of CSTC-A.  And the plan goes currently to 2011 and it is all about to get the ANA Air Corps into support their army in operations, do the transportation, do the medevacs firstly and then we will see what will happen.  On the longer term, it is true that the airframes, the MIs and the NAs they will meet the entire life cycle.   And they might be supportable with the maintenance parts and so forth.  So then we are looking at newer airframes to come in.  So nothing has been decided on that.  That's why I'm not mentioning specific airframes after that.

You mentioned another interesting and very important thing which is the standardization.  It is very important for NATO to ground our efforts through one channel.  This is the only way we can make sure that we standardize all our training, our equipments and other tactics and procedures that are being taught.  I'll give you one example on standardization.  We have... we have recently sent out to NATO an ANA doctrine that was first based the US Army doctrine.  And then it was taken to Afghanistan.  It was corrected for the environment we have here, the threats we have here and all the element that is specific for Afghanistan and the culture and everything.  So you might say the doctrine has been afghanized.  It has been approved by the MOD and General Staff and is now being taught at the different schools that ANA has.  So the standardization part is very important and we're doing... putting a whole lot of effort into that piece.  Thank you.

Q:  Very briefly, a follow-up.  For example, countries sending Afghanistan Kalashnikovs, I mean is that useful in the long-term thank you?

PEDERSEN:  Yes, that is an example. And it's a common question that we get.  Now, when we provide the Afghan National Army with weapons and with training we need to do that in a timely manner.  What is already in country is Kalashnikovs.  That is all they know.  And this is... was the only... if you talk about hand weapons, small arms, that was available and this has been therefore used in a transition period. 

It's no problem with that because this is a transitional period and come later out we will be able to provide more modern weapons, western-like weapons if you want.  But this is a transition period and it will keep the speed up on the training of the soldiers and I see no problems with that.

Q:  Yes, Brooks Tigner, Jane's.  General, I'd like to come back to another equipment aspect.  General Votel of Operation Enduring Freedom told us last week that the Taleban is... is getting in tensed zones  increasingly sophisticated ground weaponry for attacks on units here and there and that they have to respond tactically to deal with that.  So I'm wondering what kind of implication does that have for the ANA?  Are they getting the kind of defensive encounter... counter-defensive weaponry that they need to train with?  It's not just... It's fine they're learning English.  It's fine they're going through 10 week doctrine-based training.  But at some point they need to put their hands on weaponry; they have to train with equipment.  And they've got to have the equipment they can use autonomously in the future from ISAF.  So are the nations aiming to give them that kind of weaponry such as counter IED training and counter IED equipment whatever that may be.  Thank you.

PEDERSEN: As I try to say it is an incremental approach.  And yes you mentioned IEDs.  The IED bit and the counter-IED.  The counter IED is internal part of the training we provide to the soldiers.  It is also part of the mentoring that OMLTs provide to the Afghan National Army and colleagues.  So it is already in there.  Now, getting newer and better equipment it is always a cat-and-mouse play.  We will eventually get there.  And the new equipment will come in.  And I will also like to mention on this aspect of protection that... that one country, for example Luxembourg has provided substantial amount of money for kevlar and for body armour protection which is also part of the protection against search threats.  And you'd also know that we are so far dealing with operations where we have the Afghan soldiers together with the ISAF soldiers.  So they're not doing things alone.  Yes.

Q:  Yes, I remember a few years ago.  Soldiers were trained at ANA and then they were hired by the Taleban because they got a better salary with the Taleban.  Is this still the case now?

PEDERSEN:  This is a difficult question because I don't think I have the answer to that.  But I also remember the stories about this.  I don't think I can give you an answer to this.  I'm sorry about that. 

Q:  I have two more numbers question if possible.  One, you said 40,000 men being trained; 24,000 are available for operations.  If memory serves, then its all-figure is 70,000 and then at 70,000 the ANA should then be able to secure the country.  I wonder if you have notion as to how long that might take to get the extra 30,000 men trained in the entire force up and running. 

And secondly OMLTs, again if I have understood correctly, I think you have 30 or just under 30 now...  You need 46 I think.  But how many do you need to actually account to actually account the entire complement of 70,000 men.  How many OMLTs?  What is the maximum figure?  Thank you. 

PEDERSEN:  Figures are always difficult to provide.  But I will give you one example to put it into perspective.  If you assume 70,000 is the "end-state" for ANA, 70,000 soldiers that does not mean that 70,000 to fight with at any time.  It actually means that you're having a little bit less than 40,000 to fight it at any time.  And if you see that compared to the 24 I mentioned earlier we are not bad off at all.  I think they are almost on the mark with regard to that.

On the OMLT side, we have 27 validated, about 27 in theatre.  24 of them are validated doing their jobs along the ANA soldiers, doing a very good job.  And once the OMLTs come in they will actually relieve their embedded training teams that will again go and educate and train the ANP that I told you I would not mention.  But this is important part of it, because NATO nations and PFP eventually come in and fill in for the ETTs (Embedded Training Teams).  Then we will have resources to speed up the training of the police.  I think this is why I'm looking very positively on the signals we get from nations that more and more nations will support with OMLT personnel. 

One example?  Germany has told us that they will triple their contribution to the OMLT work which is very good, that many other nations are coming in as well, not in that magnitude but they're coming in.  I hope this answers your question.  Thank you.

Q:  Sorry, it didn't quite answer my question.  It wasn't my intention to criticize anyone's work or to say that the training process is going badly.  But I would like to know how long do you think it would take on present evidence to get to the 70,000 figure of which I accept only 40,000 will be available operationally at any given time.  Why I'm asking is this obviously crucial in the South where wherever you talk to on the ISAF side will tell you that eventually the ANA will take over.  And therefore it's very important to know when the ANA might be in that position.  So that's why I'm asking.

And secondly, the OMLTs again, you've got 24 or 27 working.  But how many would you need for these 70,000 ANA        soldiers to be available in whatever timeframe you have.  I mean, are you saying that the 27 are all you need or do you need more.  If yes, then how many do you need?  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  Okay, we can discuss the OMLT part first.  And if we didn't need more we would not have asked for more.  This is certainly... certainly the most important or the key element of training to fill units as I already told you. 

How long we'll want... or will the OMLT program be here?  I would like to explain that you.  The ANA is evaluated for skills and equipment and how they cooperate, how they collectively work together.  And they're given... put into certain categories after that.  So the first category is called "capability milestone four"; and then it goes three, two and one.  And as long as we have capability milestone one and down to four, the OMLT will still be there in support of ANA.  I cannot go into details or what that means.  I know why.  Because this is tactics and so forth.  But when they have left "capability milestone one", they come up about that and they will be mission capable.  And this is when we don't need to have OMLTs there anymore.  I think I lost you on the second question.  If you can repeat that.

Q:  I'm not sure which was the second question then.  I think... still, I don't have...  You didn't give me a figure on the OMLT teams but I'm assuming you need more.  I think 46 is one figure being bandied around and somebody said 100 may be needed for the entire ANA.  But obviously you cannot tell us.  But the other question is why I'm asking you, at the ANA, what it might be sort of you know up to its full complement of 40,000 men it's because it is important apparently in ISAF strategy when the ANA has the number of men it requires it will be able to save global security for the country in the South.  That means it will be able to leave... properly relieve ISAF forces.  That's why I'm asking when you will get to the 70,000 headline figure for these 10 years, ahead of it.  I think it's a valid question.  I hope.  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  Yes, of course, any question is valid, no problem with that.  The... But remember again, when we reach the 70,000 ceiling, that is not when the ANA is fully operational with all its corps.  So that's why we continue with the .... in the field training and mentoring, coaching with the OMLT program.  If you are on schedule, on the mark, on reaching the 70,000 December 08 that you have heard before, I think it will be there in December 08.  But again, that does not mean that we can pull out other forces.  I hope I answered to your question now.  Thank you.

Q:  Yes, can you give us a recent example where the Afghan National Army has taken the lead in fighting the Talebans and where NATO was just supporting the Afghan Army?

PEDERSEN:  I told you initially that since I'm not directly dealing with operations I do not answer questions on that.  I'm sorry.

Q:  Thanks.  General Pedersen, I'd like change subject a little bit if I could over to the use of private security companies in Afghanistan.  Here I'm thinking of 6 November bombing of the Baghlan sugar factory which killed so many people.  There have been a lot of reports about exactly what took place there and after the explosion.  I doubt there were ANA soldiers there, maybe they were.  But there certainly were police and a lot of private security companies, some of whom may have been hired by the Afghan MOD.  We don't know yet. But it was handled very badly.

And I'm wondering two things.  Do you see any evidence of ANA soldiers profiting from your training, courses, etc.  and then hopping up with private security companies?  That's one question.  And what is the relationship between private security companies that may be hired by the government and the ANA itself?  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  On the private security part, I know as much as I read in the newspapers.  I don't deal with any private companies on that.  But I can answer one of your questions in there.  That has to do with:  Do we see that the training is working?  And the answer is yes.  And this is the feedback because we need to know if the... we need to know if the training is efficient, if they are providing relevant and current training to the soldiers.  And that's why the feedback input into our educational training of the soldiers to make it always the best we can give.  I cannot answer anything to the private security companies because I don't know anything about it.  I'm sorry about that.

Q:  Well, I'm sorry.  But I will have to come back with another security question.  Let me clarify.  My question was:  "Have you seen any evidence that any of you ANA trained soldiers be they with OMLTs or whatever are switching over to private security companies?"  You need to track the statistics.  And it would seem to me a bit remiss if you weren't aware of whether you were losing fairly well trained ANA soldiers to the private security sector.  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  We have no record of using ANA soldiers trained people into the private security companies. 

Q:  Yes, could you tell us what is the average salary of an ANA soldier?

PEDERSEN:  Yes, the answer is around 70 dollars a month.

Q:  Yes, Brooks Tigner, Jane's again.  Taking off your soldiers and just putting on your citizen's common-sense thinking hat, we do know that private security soldiers or people working for private security companies earn considerably more than 70 dollars a month, wouldn't common sense suggest it would be awfully tempting for ANA soldiers once they got the training, thanks to ISAF which is doing the good thing, to jump right over to a private security company?  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  This is very speculative question.  I don't think I will answer that. 

Q:  Ahto Lobjakas, Radio Free Europe.  A couple of months ago, one of your colleagues told us that ISAF was having difficulty locating the Asian officers within the ANA Office, sufficient in quality to be stationed at the regional headquarters, apparently the problem was that most of them didn't speak English and some of them didn't even... weren't even literate in their own languages.  I wonder this is something you've been able to sort out in the meantime.  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  This is a very important question for us.  And you're quite right the illiteracy.  I cannot give you the percentage.  But it is very high.  So there are a lot of military officers that do not even read or write in their own Pashtoun language.  It is important.  And I think this is a long-term issue that cannot be solved overnight.  I would say we have barely started with that.  And with so many years under Taleban rule with no education, this is the result.  And we have to deal with it and start education at all levels. 

Now, therefore, it is also true that part... this is part of the reason that very few officers speak English.  We have a few officers that speak English.  And they are used to the maximum extent. 

I told you one educational push that we have on the ANA air corps.  They've being given intensive English training.  They also have as you mentioned the project that intends to integrate ANA officers into the staff of HQ ISAF but also the regional commands.  We believe this is another type of mentoring that is very important.  It's good for bonding with the ANA.  And it's good for the exchange of experience and learning while at work.  So this is something that we're working on and we are trying to get hold of officers with a certain minimal of English to start staff training and then come back to our staff.  This gives me the opportunity to tell about another training offer that has been worked on for a while.  Canada will offer two classes a year in Afghanistan with 30 students and they will teach English.  Now, after that, they have also offered a long course, staff course for the same... the same students that are picked for being integrated with other staff: HQ ISAF staff and the regional staffs.  So this offer is going to start... I think we will see the first course in spring of next year. And then if you are doing a good job with that we will see the first ISAF... excuse me the ANA officers in other staffs in the spring of 09.  This is a very good project.  But I told you the hurdles we have to work with.  But it's something that we can work and this is a very exciting project for us.  We think it's very good for the Afghans as well.  Thank you for asking that question.

Q:  Yes, Brooks Tigner, Jane's again.  Regarding training how many Afghan officers or trainers regarding doctrinal and tactical training are qualified to teach Afghans themselves?  Or are you relying wholly on foreign personnel to do this right now?  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  Thank you for your question.  The way it is done is that we have mentors...  And when I say "we" very often I mean CSTC-A and the NATO Air Force together because they work so closely down there.  But they are at the military educational training institutions.  We have mentors, advisers at the schools, in classrooms during planning.  And all that needs to be done before a class happens.  And also during the classes we have the mentors available.  But this is how we try to qualify more and more military instructors to the work that they are set to do.  Thank you.

Q:  Yes, if I may, a side question.  How is the weather in Kabul?  Are you entering the winter pause?  And also is the training continuing during the winter?

PEDERSEN:  Thank you for the question.  Weather is blue skies.  It has been since May I have been told.  And the mornings and nights are a little bit cooler than they used to be in August.  It's sometimes down to freezing level.  But it is dry.  I like it very much.  It has no influence on the training actually.  The training continues with the same force.  We have a good momentum.  And we will keep that.  And I hope that answered your question. Thank you.

Q: Another possibly incidental question stemming from something you said earlier.  You said these soldiers who have been through your training course go into conducts.  You're making sure that these conducts are ethnically mixed.  I was just wondering the chief of the Southern Corps I forgot his name, I forget the precise numerical designation of that corps 20 something at Kandahar told us... some journalists who were there a couple of months ago that it was ANA policy to send non-Pashtouns to the South and Pashtouns to the North.  And if you have ethnically mixed units that becomes a problem.  I was wondering if there have been a change of policy, or if you were working possibly or impossibly at a cross-purpose with ANA?  Thank you. 

PEDERSEN:  First of all, this is the matter of the sovereign country of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.  And currently there is an attempt to mix the conducts as I said earlier on to get the right mix, to learn and to teach the young soldiers to live together, because this is all about Afghanistan and create a security for its people.  And I think that is all I can say.  If some conducts had a majority of one ethnic group than the other that might happen.  But the issue is to mix as best as we can.

Q:  If I can also elaborate on this attempt to mix Kandaks, what does that mean?  Is it policy?  I mean, are all conducts mixed or are you moving in that direction and it's not fully policy?  Just to understand what's going on.  Thank you.

PEDERSEN:  This is what is happening right now:  that we are trying to mix the ethnicity of the conducts. 

Q:  Yes, General, I have to come back to my training question.  You mentioned that at military training institutes that ISAF has mentors, advisers and planners.  That's clear.  And I assume that those are all foreign.  So I return to my question which is a very concrete and easily quantifiable one.  There should not be any confusion over the question.  It's not a criticism.  It's just simply to know:  "Have we reached a point yet where there are any Afghan trainers at the military institutes who are qualified to teach doctrine and tactics? And if not, when will the system start producing natives who can teach other natives those techniques?"  Thank you. 

PEDERSEN:  Thank you for the question.  Yes, the Afghan instructors are also teaching on those matters as we speak.  The exact numbers I do not have for you.  That there is a good group of people in Afghan National Army that is doing that today.

MODERATOR:  General, well I guessed that this will now conclude our dialogue of the day.  Again, I would like to thank you very much for these very frank exchange that you accepted to have with us on such critical issues as training, language but also this NATO standards issue when it comes to your equipment donation to the ANA.  I guess if there is one field where we are making progress, although we haven't reached our final objective yet is ANA training.

I hope my journalists haven't been too harsh on you.  It's been quite a long dialogue today.  And on this word, I would like to thank you for your time.  I wish you good luck for your future endeavours in this new directorate with ISAF structure and wish you a nice afternoon.

PEDERSEN:  Thank you very much.  No, they have not been harsh at all.  It's been a good experience for me.  Just want to finalize with that, ANA, they really continue to develop into professional force and they're doing so they are rebuilding... (END OF RECORDING)