WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new report shows a substantial number of Afghan security personnel have gone Absent Without Leave, or AWOL, while training within the U.S.
The report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction found that 152 Afghan trainees have gone AWOL since 2005, representing nearly half of all the foreign military trainees that went AWOL.
Of the AWOL Afghan trainees, 70 fled to other countries, 39 obtained legal status such as asylum, 27 were either deported, arrested or awaiting processing for removal and 13 remain unaccounted for. Three returned to their U.S.-based training.
The SIGAR report said the high AWOL rate among Afghan trainees may have negative consequences for both Afghanistan and the U.S.
'The increasing instances of AWOL since 2015 may have had a negative impact on operational readiness of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) units and the morale of fellow trainees and home units, and posed security risks to the United States,' SIGAR said.
SIGAR said it was not aware of any acts of terrorism or similarly serious acts involving Afghan trainees who have gone AWOL.
However, the Afghan trainees are still considered high risk because they are militarily trained individuals of a fighting age who have demonstrated a 'flight risk' and have little or no risk of arrest and detention for absconding from training.
In response to the report, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he is pressing the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to explain lapses in the screening and tracking of Afghan trainees.
'There are so many problems here, it's hard to know where to start,' Grassley said. 'This is bad for national security, bad for Afghan military readiness, and bad for U.S. taxpayers.'
He added, 'If the U.S. government can't keep tabs on foreign military trainees, maybe the training shouldn't take place in the United States.'
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX