The seasoned commander of Afghan National Army troops in Helmand province has been replaced by another Afghan general from a command in eastern Afghanistan, as Taliban fighting in the war-torn district continues.
Citing Afghan officials, the New York Times reported that Maj. Gen. Sayed Malouk, an officer groomed and mentored for years by Marine officials in Helmand, had been was dismissed Dec. 5 by the ANA 215th Corps in the wake of a temporary Taliban infiltration into its headquarters last month.
But Marine Brig. Gen. Daniel Yoo, who commanded Marines in Afghanistan until they departed the country in October, told Marine Corps Times the leadership shuffle was actually a planned move as Malouk had commanded the 215th Corps in Helmand for about some five years. He's now at ANA headquarters in Kabul, Yoo said, awaiting his next assignment. A spokesman for the 215th Corps did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the personnel shift.
In Malouk's place is Brig. Gen. Dadan Lawang, former commander for the 4th Brigade of the ANA 201st Corps, headquartered near Kabul and responsible for much of eastern Afghanistan. Lawang also previously led the ANA's special operations command and worked closely with U.S. Army officials at both posts.
Since the Marines turned over their Helmand headquarters, Camp Leatherneck, to 215th Corps troops on their departure in late October, the region has been torn by fighting. Media reports indicate more than 1,000 members of the Afghan National Security Forces have been killed in the last six months, as U.S. presence in southern Afghanistan drew down. Malouk acknowledged to UT-San Diego in a December interview that his forces were sustaining more casualties than they had the previous year.
Most notably, between 19 and a few dozen Taliban soldiers fighters overran the Bastion-Leatherneck-Shorabak complex in late November, sustaining the attack for days before the 215th Corps was able to force them out. A spokesman for the provincial governor told media outlets that five ANA soldiers and 26 insurgents were killed in the fighting, while the New York Times reported that as many as 14 soldiers had been were killed.
Yoo praised Malouk's work in quelling the attack, saying he had led the troops well even though it took longer than expected to flush the insurgents out.
"All the generals that served with him, we're not going to say [Malouk is] perfect by any means," Yoo said. "But I've seen in my different rotations a lot of leaders in Afghanistan, and Malouk was not one of the bad ones."
After Malouk relinquished his command, Yoo said, he traveled to several U.S. Marine bases, including Camp Pendleton and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California and Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. He , to discussed his experiences in Helmand, offer an oral history, and provided professional military education to Marines. The at visit was said Yoo, had been planned well in advance of the handoff, Yoo said.
Despite the command change, Yoo said he was optimistic that the 215th Corps would remain stable. Though the ANSF have historically changed leaders rapidly and often, he said in this case, the Ccorps' deputy commander, chief of staff, and senior administrative officers would remain in place following Malouk's departure.
"I think there's continuity of understanding the battle space," he said. "It's now a matter of leadership, confidence and support from Kabul."
