US supports billions of dollars, Afghan soldiers still lack shoes

(Baonghean.vn) - Despite receiving up to 68 billion USD in funding from the US over the past 14 years, soldiers in the Afghan army and police still do not have decent shoes.

If the theory that “the first impression of a person is from the feet” is true, then the Afghan security forces are indeed a … ragged and ragged army.

At a recent parade of new recruits, some soldiers wore paper-thin black boots, others wore boots more suited to walking on smooth snow than on rough gravel.

Afghan recruits march during a graduation ceremony at the National Military Academy in Kabul. Photo: AP

The luckier ones got to wear the more cushioned, sand-colored boots that an American general and his entourage wore during a visit to Afghanistan.

In 2012, as the international coalition prepared to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, responsibility for military equipment procurement was transferred to the Afghan government. But due to rampant corruption, poor management, and a preference for the lowest-priced contractors, mainly Chinese suppliers, Afghan soldiers still lack boots.

Thousands of size 12 boots have been supplied to the Afghan army, even though very few soldiers have feet larger than size 10.

There are even pairs…of one size fits all. If the boots fit, they are of such poor quality that they have to be replaced after a short time.

“Many times I have received shoes that were brand new in the box but the soles were cracked, and we had to take them to a cobbler to get them repaired,” said Mohammad Zamman Momozai, a police officer in Parwan.

Due to rampant corruption and poor performance on the Afghan side, the US-led international coalition has had to take over the responsibility of purchasing uniforms and boots for the country's military and police forces.

The coalition is currently trying to send over 1 million pairs of new boots to Afghanistan to ensure that the country’s security forces can move freely on the battlefield. Requests for these new boots were sent out in 2014.

The new boots are worth about $100 million in fiscal year 2016 alone, with a pair costing between $75 and $90. The coalition also plans to spend an additional $215 million on uniforms, boots and other equipment for Afghan security forces in fiscal year 2017. About 80 percent of the total cost will come from U.S. tax revenue.

Shipments of new boots from the United States will be sent to Afghanistan for distribution and storage, so coalition officials remain concerned about whether the boots will ever reach their intended destinations.

Ken Watson, commander of NATO's Security Transition Mission in Afghanistan, estimates that about 10 percent of uniforms and boots are lost, stolen or resold in transit.

Diep Khanh

(The Washington Post)