VZCZCXRO9746
OO RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #0587/01 0740907
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 150907Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7747
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000587 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS USAID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
USFOR-A FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2019 
TAGS: GOV PREL KDEM MOPS NATO PK AF UK
SUBJECT: BRITISH IN HELMAND KEEN TO IMPROVE CIV-MIL 
INTEGRATION 
 
REF: KABUL 567 
 
Classified By: PRT Counselor Valerie C. Fowler, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: British Deputy of Mission in Helmand Kevin 
McGurgan and British Political Counselor Mark Bryson 
Richardson visited the embassy's State PRT section on March 
13 to discuss plans for heightened civilian-military 
cooperation in Helmand.  In light of the impending lay down 
of thousands of U.S. troops across RC-S this summer, they 
expressed a desire to further integrate international 
partners, especially the United States, into the Task Force 
and PRT in Helmand.  The UK has begun revamping the Helmand 
Road Map into a new Helmand Stabilization Plan, which aims to 
be more inclusive of international partners than the 
original Road Map.  A first draft may be distributed for U.S. 
and other international input by early April.  McGurgan and 
Bryson 
said the UK would like to better define the roles of each of 
the USG positions - new and existing - into the summer, and 
provided a non-paper (full text provided in para. 6) and two 
annexes.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) British Deputy in Helmand Kevin McGurgan reported to 
State PRT Director in Kabul on March 13 that the U.S. and UK 
enjoy close civil-military cooperation in Helmand.  McGurgan 
lauded State Department Representative Marlin Hardinger for 
his active, productive participation in the PRT's work. 
Although British civilian-military integration is quite 
advanced, with 55 British military troops and 66 civilians 
working at the PRT, the British want to improve on that model 
by integrating more civilians into the military-dominated 
task force (TF) level, and by making planning less 
U.K.-centric.  With this in mind, the UK Department for 
International Development (DFID) - the British counterpart to 
USAID - has been charged with drafting the revision to the 
Helmand Road Map, to be renamed the Helmand Stabilization 
Plan.  The new Stabilization Plan will be much more inclusive 
of other 
international partners than the Road Map and will continue to 
prioritize joint planning with provincial GIRoA officials. 
McGurgan expects that international partners - including the 
U.S., Denmark, Estonia and the United Arab Emirates - will be 
invited to 
give input to the first draft as early as April. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The current relief in place (RIP) of British troops 
in Lashkar Gah has already started, and the transfer of 
authority (TOA) should be complete by mid-April.  McGurgan 
invited the U.S. Embassy to discuss further planning with the 
British in Helmand before the RIP-TOA. The British have also 
asked that Marlin Hardinger participate in the Second Marine 
Expeditionary Brigade Mission Readiness Exercise (2nd MEB 
MRX) on 29 March to 1 April at Camp Lejeune, to help the new 
unit prepare for its work in Helmand.  We expect to respond 
favorably to this request.  The British are currently 
designing the incorporation of the new MEB into the overall 
Helmand Joint Command Board structure, and suggested they 
would like a civilian to advise the Battalion commander in 
Garmsir, especially on stabilization issues. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On a practical note, McGurgan mentioned that new 
office space at the PRT is almost ready to incorporate 
additional personnel, but beds for new staff could be tougher 
to find until June 2009.  Alluding to the lack of Memorandum 
of Understanding 
for UK-U.S. operations in Helmand, he said the accommodations 
challenge has sparked a debate over cost recovery among the 
British, and he expects this issue to remain a topic of 
discussion in the coming months. 
 
¶5. (C) To better define the British plans for integration in 
Helmand, McGurgan provided a British confidential non-paper 
entitled "Civil-Military Cooperation in RC-South: Measures in 
Hand to Integrate U.S. with UK and other TCNs,"(provided in 
full in para. 6).  Two annexes entitled "U.S. Integration 
into Helmand PRT" and "Parameters for Joining Up: UK/U.S. 
(And Other Players') Governance   R&D Efforts in Helmand" 
serve to better define the roles of U.S. civilian and 
military positions in Helmand and RC-S, and proposed 
approaches to key integration issues.  Post has provided both 
annexes electronically to SRAP and SCA/A. 
 
¶6. (C) Text of "Civil-Military Cooperation in RC-South: 
Measures in Hand to Integrate U.S. with UK and other TCNs" 
Helmand 
 
 
KABUL 00000587  002 OF 002 
 
 
- Principles on Single PRT Structure: to coordinate all 
stabilisation and development business with Helmand 
authorities, Brig. Nicholson has told the RC-S Joint Command 
Board that COMISAF has endorsed this main principle; and both 
Nicholson and Comd MEB have said they like/accept the more 
detailed propositions in the attached annex. 
 
- Current Representation in PRT: State Department officer 
fully integrated into Political Section; USAID representative 
based in shared office with DFID Governance, Health, and 
Education Teams; USMC Civil Affairs LO (liaison with SPMAGTAF 
currently responsible for Now Zad, and with the incoming MEB 
to ensure it has situational awareness of Helmand and of the 
role of PRT); PEF LO (shared with TFH) to coordinate 
eradication operations. 
 
- Additional U.S. Staffing for PRT: 
 
     - MEB to provide U.S. Military Deputy for PRT from 
April.  Overall head of MEB Civil Affairs. (Already agreed by 
Comd. MEB) 
 
     - Attached list of extra PRT slots (e.g. media, CN, 
political/governance, civil affairs StabAds), has been fully 
incorporated in RC-S DCom Stabilisation's formal bid 
(endorsed by U.S. Embassy) for extra U.S. civilian staff (71) 
across the South. 
 
- Garmsir: Agreement in principle between PRT and MEB that UK 
civilian StabAds should continue to lead District 
Stabilization Team until U.S. civilian equivalents available. 
 Precise working relationship with the incoming U.S. 
Battalion's Civil Affairs team of 5-7 (broadly equivalent to 
our MSST) has yet to be pinned down. 
 
- Joint Planning: 
 
    - Helmand Programme Board: Meets fortnightly. 
Coordinates decisions on SAF expenditure with DFID, DN, 
USAID, and CERPs plans. Intent is to involve Governor idc. 
 
    - Helmand Road Map: U.S. Reps (State, USAID, MC) are 
fully involved in its "refresh," which will be shared with 
their respective head offices.  Ambition/intent is for HRM to 
be endorsed by all chains of command (ISAF, national and 
ideally Afghan) as the shared set of detailed stabilisation 
objectives in Helmand. 
 
     - JCB/JEMS: Preliminary agreement with MEB to introduce 
a Joint Effects Management System, and Joint Coordination 
Board, structure and process between the PRT and the two ISAF 
Brigade staffs in Helmand.  This would rotate between LGK and 
Bastion.  Agreement, too, that Comd MEB should join weekly 
private dinner sessions with Governor. 
 
 
RC-S 
 
- Joint Coordination Board(s): Involving all Hds PRTs/Civreps 
and Comd TFs (as well as UNAMA, and ANSF for certain 
sessions).  Monthly, chaired by COM RC-S.  U.S. participates 
fully through Brigadier Nicholson (DCOM STAB), Colonel Duffy 
White (CO, SPMAGTAF), Colonel Sommerskill (Head ARSIC), as 
well as U.S. PolAd and USAID reps. 
- Civ-Mil Cell: Works with Brigadier Nicholson to improve 
coordination of civilian military activities in RC-S. 
Current acting head is the UK StabAd.  Cell has already 
established: 
 
     - Regional Working Group on Roads and Infrastructure; 
 
     - Regional economic development study, building on (and 
filling any cross-provincial gaps in) existing R&D plans for 
Helmand, Kandahar and Oruzgan.  Likely to be a principle 
driver for future CERPs, and possibly USAID, expenditure.  UK 
PRT already working closely with this project, and already 
provided the staff to define its TORs. 
 
- Intelligence: HQ ISAF CJ2 (U.S. Brig. Carr) and Hd of 
U.S.-DIA Afghanistan, visiting LGK on 19/20 February to 
discuss arrangements for developing shared U.S./UK 
intelligence fusion/analysis and targeting. 
 
End Non-Paper. 
WOOD