VZCZCXRO0322
RR RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #2522/01 2370800
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 250800Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1076
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002522 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
USFOR-A FOR POLAD, USDA FAS FOR MICHENER 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT PGOV AF
SUBJECT:  LOGISTICAL SUPPORT REQUESTED FOR CIVILIAN UPLIFT AND THE 
NEW INTERAGENCY PROVINCIAL AFFAIRS OFFICE 
 
¶1.  This is an action request.  See sections 5,8,9,10 and 11. 
 
¶2.  As Embassy Kabul prepares to quintuple the number of U.S. 
civilians working in the field with the military at the cutting edge 
of our stabilization, governance and development efforts, we would 
like to streamline and synchronize our management processes in 
Washington and Kabul.   We want to ensure that our new colleagues - 
many of whom are coming from outside the U.S. government - are 
trained and processed through the system in the most efficient and 
customer-service oriented way, so they arrive ready to contribute. 
 
¶3.  In order to deploy the required number of personnel in the 
limited time available, Embassy Kabul will need interagency support 
from Washington.  Currently, there appear to be four pre-deployment 
systems in place:  1) State FSOs; 2) the State Department 
Orientation and In-Processing (OIP) office in-processing of the 
State Department's 3161, TDY, and LNA personnel destined for field 
positions; 3) USAID ; and 4)USDA.   This cable outlines our request 
to integrate the process in Washington and in Kabul. 
 
Required services for in-processing 
-------------------- 
¶4.  There are a number of key required services that need to be 
completed in Washington before new civilian employees depart for 
Kabul to allow them to function quickly without administrative 
delays: 
-- Complete training, consultation and travel schedule prior to 
departure from Washington 
-- One-year Afghan visas for all civilians 
-- Establish uGov.gov email account 
-- An on-line time and attendance reporting system for 3161s, 
similar to what exists for State FSOs 
-- Issuance and completion of Embassy Kabul in-processing forms 
prior to departure 
--Transfer of OpenNet and (if needed) ClassNet accounts from 
previous post and verification of Cyber Security Awareness course 
completion 
-- Military Common Access Cards (CAC) to all personnel deploying to 
the field outside Kabul 
-- Diplomatic Security clearance verification letter for USG 
civilians (Note: USAID will send security verification 
electronically through their security office) 
-- DOD's Information Awareness (IA) test and print the IA 
certificates for civilians. 
 
¶5.  We understand that currently OIP processes only State department 
employees and new hires.  Given the common needs and high priority 
of getting civilians to the field quickly and efficiently, we ask 
Washington to consider having the OIP office provide interagency 
in-processing services to all USAID and USDA incoming personnel as 
well as State employees, to unify the process and make sure all 
employees receive the right information and complete the 
requirements before arriving in Afghanistan.  Action requested: we 
ask that OIP work with USAID and USDA to ensure they direct their 
employees to complete in-processing through OIP before arriving at 
Post or to assign additional staff in Embassy Kabul's IPA office to 
assist with in-processing here. 
 
¶6.  In Kabul, we have already completed an analysis of our 
in-processing procedures and have initiated a reorganization of our 
dedicated management office to streamline the process and integrate 
the support for all civilian personnel in the field, including 
officers from State, USAID and USDA.  We have subdivided the 
management section into: 1) a Personnel / Information Unit that 
tracks the in-flow of personnel headed to the field and their 
progress through pre-deployment in-processing, 2) a Logistics Unit 
responsible for equipment and transportation support, and 3) a 
Forward Support Unit that works with the military units to ensure 
they are ready to receive the assigned civilian personnel. 
 
Staffing needs 
-------------- 
¶7.  We also analyzed the workload the IPA Management Division will 
face while supporting 365 civilian personnel in the field.  This is 
a greater number of personnel than are currently working in the 
majority of U.S. embassies around the world, and these employees 
will be living and working in remote locations scattered throughout 
Afghanistan.  As just one example of the workload, the management 
division will need to coordinate more than 3650 flights each year to 
support air transport between Kabul and field locations.  The 
increased workload will not be short-term.  In fact, next year we 
will again face a near doubling of the workload, as the 365 officers 
deployed this summer rotate out of Afghanistan while another 365 
replacements arrive and deploy.  Further, we plan to add another 52 
field positions through summer 2011, bringing the total number in 
the field to 417. 
 
KABUL 00002522  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶8.   In Kabul, we currently have an IPA management section of three 
State FSOs, two EFM, and two local staff.  A USAID FSO will be 
joining the team shortly.  USAID does not currently have any 
additional administrative staff to second to the management section. 
 USAID has requested two (2) EFM and two (2) LES positions to 
support the increased workload caused by the up-lift.  These 
positions would join the IPA management team and are critical to our 
ability to support the mission in the field.  Action request: we 
request Washington's support in authorizing and filling these four 
positions as soon as possible. 
 
¶9.  To enable Post to meet our critical manpower shortages, we have 
also requested from the Department the authority to bring in LES 
from other posts for long-term TDY.  Action request: we urge the 
Department to expedite the approval process for the establishment of 
this LES TDY authority for Embassy Kabul.  The integrated IPA 
Management Section will need at least 5 LES/EFM positions to manage 
the increased workload through the State Department, even if all the 
requested measures in para 3 are implemented. 
 
¶10.  Action request: we also request the Department's assistance in 
establishing a consolidated web-based database that will track a 
wide range of work-related data about personnel, including arrival 
and departure dates, position, location, experience, skills, 
training, and educational background.  This information will assist 
Embassy IPA in planning for staff training and placement.  We have 
identified approximately forty-five (45)fields of information we 
would like to include in the database and can provide this 
information to Washington. 
 
New arrival procedures 
---------------------- 
¶11.  To increase efficiency, IPA Management will begin in-processing 
personnel in groups of up to 15.  Action request: we request that 
all field personnel arrive in Kabul on Fridays, Sundays, and 
Tuesdays, rather than individually and randomly, and we ask that 
Washington tailor their training schedules (to the extent possible) 
and travel plans to ensure personnel arrive as requested by Post. 
Upon arrival in Kabul, IPA will: 
-- Complete internal embassy administrative in-processing (HR, FMO, 
Medical unit, RSO) 
-- Conduct orientation on field work and responsibilities, best 
practices, and arrange consultations with relevant agencies 
-- Issue equipment necessary for the field 
-- Arrange in country travel to assignment sites 
-- Communicate staffing and personnel decisions back to Washington 
in a timely fashion to keep the personnel pipeline flowing. 
 
¶12.  Embassy Kabul recognizes that greatly increasing the number of 
civilians in the field will create strain on Washington as well as 
the Embassy.  We would like to thank Washington in advance for 
securing the necessary resources to minimize this stress and enable 
us to achieve our civilian uplift targets in partnership with the 
Afghan government.  Getting talented civilians to the field as 
quickly as possible will help us meet the key U.S. foreign policy 
objective of building a successful civilian-military 
counterinsurgency effort. 
 
EIKENBERRY