PITTING it all together - thoughts on the Kabul Airlift

 

The UK evacuation operation in Afghanistan, known as OP PITTING, has concluded. The final departure of UK troops brings to an end 20 years of presence in this troubled nation. It is hard to see how their departure is anything other than a tactical victory amid the wreckage of a strategic defeat.

Much will be written in the weeks and months to come about the operation, policy and outcomes. It is worth reflecting briefly though on the ‘hot takes’ that have emerged from the last few weeks, and what this means for the British Armed Forces and Whitehall at large.

A key positive of the operation is that it highlighted once again the strength and flexibility of the British ability to conduct strategic airlift. That multiple aircraft were quickly made available and able to operate in challenging conditions at very short notice is testament to the capability of the RAF airlift force.

It is not easy to be able to sustain a large airbridge without both airframes and also wider support chains. That the aircraft kept flying, and thousands of Afghans were successfully evacuated really is testament to the RAF ability to keep aircraft in the air. This is no small achievement, and while much of the attention is paid to the aircrew, we should also reflect on the enormous efforts by the teams of engineers, logistics staff, movers and others who all played a crucial role in ensuring the aircraft kept flying.

Another key factor in the success of the operation was the diverse global network of RAF bases, in a number of countries around the world. Being able to draw on access to a variety of locations made it much easier to stage out of these sites, in turn making the evacuation easier. Very few countries have a similar global footprint, or an ability to quickly reprofile their forward operating locations and use them in this way – it isn’t just as simple as landing and taking off. There are all manner of complex legal and policy issues linked to this sort of operation, so being able to set it up smoothly is testament to the enduring ability of the FCDO and others to make the difficult possible.

One very positive take on top of this is that the operation highlighted the strength and capability of the UKs rapid reaction forces, and the ability to sustain them in the field. It is no mean feat to quickly turn around and deploy well over a thousand troops on the ground, some three thousand miles from home, and then sustain them there. This operation reminds us that the British Army is exceptionally capable at being able to step up in a crisis and put people on the ground when required.

Overall this operation really helps remind us that for all the constant ‘doom and gloom’ merchants proclaiming that Britain doesn’t have a military anymore, it really does. The fact that at practically no notice, it could generate the second largest relief effort, putting multiple aircraft, over 1000 troops and the necessary force protection on the ground, and then sustain them while ensuring they met their mission as best they could is testament to the sheer capability of the armed forces.

In a similar manner the command and control of the mission speaks to an element of competence that is often overlooked in the rush to criticise. To be able to successfully set up, co-ordinate and exercise command and control, particularly during a main leave season, is a reminder of the enduring success that is UK joint operations. This sort of operation is not easy – it required a lot of different areas to come together from the force protection teams at the airport, all the way through to the civilian reception teams taking care of Afghan welfare on arrival in the UK.

Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright

Along the way there were all manner of supply chain, logistics, legal and other issues in play, and this was being done against the backdrop of an incredibly tense and difficult situation. Frankly, this operation serves as a good reminder of the ability of Whitehall to take charge in a crisis and work together jointly to resolve issues.

Again this is not something that should be taken for granted – many nations struggle to get their own government departments to talk effectively to each other internally, let alone work together to resolve a crisis in the summer holidays. We should reflect on the huge amount of work done in London, and at military bases around the UK like RAF Brize Norton, to ensure that things worked as smoothly as they did.

To give a sense of the accomplishment, at practically no notice, the UK has deployed well over 1000 military personnel to relocate the population of a small town and rehouse in them in the UK via a high risk airbridge, and with hugely challenging social welfare needs, and helped give them a new home – all in 10 days. That is an accomplishment that we should rightly be proud of, even as we are frustrated at the fact that not everyone was able to get out.

One area where people have raised concerns is on whether the UK/US relationship is in peril. There have been a range of articles this week suggesting that the relationship no longer works, or that the US is a less reliable partner than before. Others suggest that for political reasons the link between the PM and the President are not as effective as they could be.

The problem with these sorts of articles is that while they make good copy (after all, what editor would commission an article saying ‘nothing to worry about here’), they perhaps reflect a snapshot in time, not a deeper trend. From a practical perspective, the UK and US have been exceptionally close military allies for 80 years.

Over this time there have been periods where they disagreed or did things differently – Suez and Vietnam being two good examples. Being a close ally does not mean automatically doing the same thing at the same time. It is also dangerous to assume that because your policy interests align, they are always going to be in alignment.

What Afghanistan has reminded us is that we enjoy a particularly close and privileged relationship with the US, particularly in the field of defence and national security issues. This is not dependent on how often the PM and President speak, but is driven by the closeness of daily working links, the level of information sharing and the ability at desk level to co-ordinate and effectively overcome challenges. This blog has written before on the peril of assuming that the UK/US alliance depends on how often the President and PM speak.

For all the brouhaha about whether the PM and President are falling out, there is precious little evidence to suggest that the engine room where the relationship really matters, which is working level, is suffering. This continues to work, and work well and will continue to do so regardless of which administration is in power in either country.

While there are many positives to draw from this operation, there are too some areas of mild, potentially growing, concern. The first is that PITTING highlighted the importance of the C130J as a key part of the RAF toolbox. The fact that this aircraft will leave service shortly, without replacement, some 10 years earlier than planned is of growing concern. It is reasonable to say that on current plans, in 2-3 years time, the RAF could not repeat the success of PITTING using its currently planned force.

To ensure this can be done in future means substantially increasing the availability of, and range of work that can be done by the A400M fleet. This is feasible, but will require a lot of work to be done quickly to ensure the A400M force is able to carry out the full range of missions. It increasingly looks like a compelling case can be made for the retention of a small number of C130 for some time to come, if only to ensure future missions can be effectively carried out.

Another area of concern is the way that the Whitehall machinery of government is structured. It is 20 years since 9/11 and in theory at least, there should be an entire generation of Afghanistan experts present in both the military and Civil Service with a deep and intimate understanding of the country, and the associated challenges. Entire careers could, and should have been built around this country and moving to posts of ever greater seniority.

Instead there does not appear to be any form of Afghan cadre out there. While there is plenty of individuals with some experience of the country present across the civil service, it seems to be a happy accident if they were in an Afghan related post at the time. The current civil service career structure of essentially advertising jobs and appointing people based on who applies and is best at interview, regardless of if their work experience is credible or not, seems increasingly unhelpful at building up a real cadre of expertise.

It should be the subject of some concern that there is no ready pool of Afghan experts that can be called on to take on roles, or to draw on their knowledge, skills and experience to help. It is also concerning that there is no clear pathway to say as a newly joined graduate, that you could focus on a career across departments where you over time become a deep expert – the system prioritises bland competence based evidence over subject matter expertise. The time is surely approaching where there needs to be a comprehensive rethink on how the Civil Service approaches staffing of posts, to ensure that careers can be made in thematic areas, not just by chance and luck at interview.

The final area of concern is the way in which social media can be abused on an operation to distract attention from saving lives. This author is absolutely clear in his view that the conduct of Pen Farthing was despicable, and the grandiose posturing for some dogs and cats, and the (allegedly) expletive ridden demands for attention distracted people at all levels from focusing on saving human life.

The worrying lesson here for others is that in a crisis, they know that if they shout loudly enough, and if they can convince the nation that they have something that looks cute on social media, then they should get priority attention. That the British public lost their collective shit over trying to get some stray dogs out of the country, forcing time to be wasted on this subject almost certainly meant that less Afghans who we wanted to rescue were able to escape as a result.

Perhaps the core lesson here is that the first principle of war (selection and maintenance of the aim) is vulnerable to manipulation by effective use of social media. Being able to focus on successful delivery of a mission, even when being distracted by special pleading is not easy, but needs to be done. Unfortunately the MOD was damned if it did, and damned if it didn’t in this case.

The final observation is that this operation highlighted again the sheer strength, resilience and compassion of the British service person and civil servant. Men and women from all three services and the wider civil service served in hugely stressful, extremely challenging and at times incredibly traumatic situations and conducted themselves with immense dignity.

They are often relatively young and inexperienced, some barely out of school or university, thrust into a complex modern version of hell and witnessing scenes of immense suffering. They have at all times exemplified that magnificent combination of British military values – selflessness, dignity and a wicked sense of humour.

We must not forget that many will have seen and witnessed things that will be with them for many years to come. Our short term gratitude is essential, but our long term debt and  commitment to ensuring proper decompression, recognition and mental health support too, must also be paid in full.

For all the constant moaning by tedious dinosaurs about ‘wokery’ or how ‘allowing women into the military is bad for operational ability’, or how its ‘all gone to the dogs since the PC nonsense started and we don’t have a real military anymore’ OP PITTING served as another reminder that these dinosaurs should, rightly, be extinct. It showed us the very finest example of our nation and our values at work, and we should all be incredibly proud of how they acted.

Image by Ministry of Defence; © Crown copyright

It also highlighted throughout the chain the ‘can do’ mentality to ensure that lives were saved. The willingness to stretch rules to the limit, push the capacity of aircraft beyond previously imagined points, or to work incredibly long hours to ensure serviceable airframes in the UK or beyond all tells a story. It reminds us that we are fortunate to be defended by people with a mature, pragmatic approach to life that focuses on achieving mission success, not necessarily sticking to the rulebook.

Without doubt OP PITTING showed us that our current generation are, as always, our finest generation.