When Major Tim Kniefel was non-voluntarily assigned to be an AFPAK Hand in 2016, he was not happy.  “I went kicking and screaming into the program,” he recalled, “I thought it was a career-killer and it was terrible being forced into two year-long deployments. Why would we do this to anybody?”  Perspectives like these have hampered the AFPAK Hand program since it stood up in 2009.  However, recent changes by the Air Force offer encouraging signs of the service’s commitment to the concept and the future careers of officers selected as ‘Hands’.

In an interview with Air Force Major Bryce Benson, an AFPAK Hand policy officer working at the Pentagon, the service announced that aircrew assigned as "Hands" will now be able to operate aircraft with their Afghan counterparts.  This year, five pilots in the AFPAK program will commence operations in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, MI-17 helicopters and Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.  This is a welcome change for flyers who were previously officers were limited to working with partner forces in various Afghan ministries and staff positions on the ground. 

Additionally, Air Force AFPAK officers will now have the opportunity to earn a master’s degree at a prestigious military school as part of a fellowship program.  According to Major Benson, after the ‘Hand’ completes their first tour in Afghanistan “they have either a year to work in the Afghanistan-related environment, or they can be selected to go the National Defense University or National Intelligence University.” Moreover, the service has announced that AFPAK Hands will now receive in-residence credit for the school on their personnel files. Having in-residence school annotated on promotion records an essential factor in selection to higher grades.

When coupled with the existing benefits, such as the foreign language training and its associated incentive pay, an opportunity to receive credit for a career-enhancing joint tour, and three desirable duty locations in Washington DC, Tampa FL and Fort Walton Beach FL, the Air Force believes the program will be far more attractive to personnel.

These new initiatives are welcome changes for AFPAK officers.  Stood up in 2009 by Admiral Mike Mullen, then Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the program was to provide “a cadre of military and senior civilian experts specializing in the complexities of Afghanistan and Pakistan – the language, culture, processes and challenges.”[1]  The intent is for selected personnel to complete a four-five assignment in the program, with two of those years served as year-long deployments in Central Asia.

Each service handled the program individually disarray in its implementation and a patchwork of standards.  Many officers reported problems with the concept, and it has a poor reputation among personnel from all of the services.

With the Air Force facing a  critical shortage of aviators, undesirable programs such as AFPAK Hands pose a significant problem.  It is hoped that these initiatives may help alleviate some of the fears of Air Force personnel, but problems still exist.  Many advisors reported being used improperly while deployed.  Instead of leveraging their language and culture skills by working directly with partner forces, they have been stuck doing staff work on U.S. installations.

Furthermore, though the Air Force promises AFPAK Hand officers that they will “optimize their next assignment” based on developing their career and accounting for their wishes, there is no guarantee that an officer will not be forced into an undesirable assignment at the completion of their 4-5 year tour.

And perhaps the most daunting part of the assignment, the two-year-long deployments to Afghanistan, is something that the Air Force can do nothing about. Major Erik Todoroff, an Air Force pilot who left active duty for the reserves, noted the anxiety that combat tours produce for a family saying “I would have stayed in [the Air Force] but wasn’t willing to risk a 365-day deployment”.

Major Kniefel agreed that the combat tour is challenging, “people aren’t used to deploying for a year at a time.  It’s just something most Air Force people don’t do.” Nevertheless, he observed that in other assignments, officers typically would have to execute other unplanned deployments and TDYs.  Personnel in the AFPAK Hands have the advantage of knowing when and where their deployments will be. And when coupled with the ability to keep his family in one place for half a decade, he observed, “it’s a pretty good lifestyle that I wouldn’t have been able to have in anywhere else.”

It remains to be seen if the changes will alter the negative perspective that many Air Force personnel have towards the AFPAK Hands program. Major Todoroff responded that the new initiatives “wouldn’t be motivators for my family or me, but I could see more people considering it.”  Overall, he remains suspicious with Air Force resolve and believes that leadership tries to “sell the program as a good deal or a good career move” when the rumors suggest otherwise.

As for Major Kniefel, he needs no further convincing as he readies for his second deployment to Afghanistan. “After seeing the benefits and seeing the effect and young major can make,” he noted, “the job satisfaction that I have garnered as an AFPAK Hand has been much higher than I ever expected.”

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David Max Korzen is a writer based in Washington, D.C.  He is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a graduate of Harvard University’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

Notes:

[1] http://archive.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66671