Uncut: Lessons Learned From Six and a Half Years in Afghanistan
David Prugh
Friends in the Coalition,
As I depart, I would like to thank the thousands of fellow members of the Coalition with whom I’ve had the pleasure to serve these past 6 ½ years. I’d also like to pass on a few things for you to consider… for what it’s worth. If you like the observations, make them your own.
This is definitely a stream-of-consciousness effort. I expect, though, that each of you will be able to readily grasp what I’m talking about because each of you has at least partially “seen the elephant”. (More on that elephant later).
You may agree with some points / observations and disagree with others. That’s fine, of course. My main purpose for writing this is to give you something to chew on.
Here are the topics I’ll cover:
- Disclaimer – The Blind Men and the Elephant
- The myth of the Uneducated Afghan
- Don’t worry; your counterpart is getting it.
- Chronic Underestimation
- He who sticks his neck out…
- Building Bridges
- Making Progress
- Cronyism and the Bazaars
- Security thru commerce
- Are Afghan Logistics really the problem??
- The Bright Light Always Shines
- Relax. Take a deep breath.
- Get out and Get Around
- US Officer Development System - a two-edged sword
- Gravitating toward a comfort zone
- A canary in a coal mine
- Long lead-time projects
- The Main Effort is the Reserve??
- Unity of Command, Bizarro Style
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