Afghan National Army soldiers arrive for a ceremony in Mehtar Lam. Reuters
The U.S. Spends $14K Per Afghan Troop Per Year, But Each Earns $1,872 -- The Atlantic
The Obama administration hopes to wind down the long Afghan war by shifting responsibility for securing the country to Afghanistan's nascent army and national police. One thing's for certain: It won't be cheap.
The overall U.S. mission in Afghanistan is already shifting from direct combat to training and mentoring the Afghan forces, which are slated to grow to 352,000 by the end of 2012. Boosting the numbers of capable Afghan forces would carry both human and financial benefits for the U.S, reducing the likelihood of American battlefield casualties and allowing the withdrawal of U.S. troops costing a whopping $1 million each per year to station there.
Read more ....
My Comment: A summary of the costs are the following ....
.... Still, a close look at U.S. military statistics shows that Afghan soldiers and police officers are far more expensive than you'd expect. They are paid an average of just $1,872 a year, but the overall cost of training and fielding a police officer is roughly $30,000 per year, while the cost of each soldier is nearly $46,000 per year. the United States bears virtually all of those costs, adding up to more than $3.5 billion a year.
These numbers are high .... but they are better than the $1 million that it costs to keep a US soldier in Afghanistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment