Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. My name is Brigadier-General Al Howard. I'm joined by my esteemed colleague here, General Thompson.
I will just say a couple of short words at the front end. I don't think Dennis needs much introduction. He and his troops did some outstanding work down there in Kandahar province, and obviously we'll have a chance to explore that a bit.
I recently returned from a one-year assignment as the assistant commanding general for Afghan National Army development within the Combined Security Transition Command, Afghanistan, known as CSTC-A, and that's how I'll refer to it.
CSTC-A is a U.S. joint command with other nations participating, as negotiated with the U.S. on a bilateral basis. CSTC-A is mandated to plan, program, and implement the generation and development of the Afghan national security forces in order to enable the Government of Afghanistan to achieve security and stability. In U.S. fiscal year 2009, the CSTC-A budget to accomplish its mandate is approximately $5 billion U.S.
As the assistant commanding general for ANA development, my responsibilities included not only designing plans to grow ANA capacity; I also assisted the ANA deputy minister, the chief of the general staff, and all of their subordinates to build a functional headquarters in Kabul and to enable problem-solving at the strategic level.
In spite of all the challenges Afghanistan might face--they certainly do, and we face many challenges there--it's my assessment that the ANA is well on its way to becoming a viable and self-sustaining military force. Growth above 80,000 soldiers, introduction of modern weapons, vehicles, and equipment, and effective involvement in counter-insurgency operations are but three areas of ANA progress that I observed and helped them with during my tour.
Finally, perhaps you'll permit me to deliver one message. After my one year in Afghanistan, it would be the one that the Minister of Defence, General Wardak, delivered to me on a regular basis: Afghanistan is a grateful nation and the Afghans do fully acknowledge and honour the Canadian sacrifices and generosity.
Minister Wardak considers it Afghanistan's patriotic duty and moral obligation to fully utilize an environment of global cooperation to achieve the hopes and dreams of the Afghan people, who have experienced nothing but misery and suffering for decades. While there's no argument there are many challenges there, progress is measurable, and with the ANA, I think that would be an excellent example.
Thank you.