International Herald Tribune

FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2006

In the period film "Master and Commander," Russell Crowe plays a naval captain possessed of the qualities of an archetypal Napoleonic-era leader: fearlessness, compassion, daring and intelligence.

In today's dizzyingly fast-paced, media-driven, multinational military world, is this still the right stuff?

The NATO mission in Afghanistan offers a case in point. This is the most demanding operation undertaken by NATO in its 58-year history. The outcome will determine its future as a military alliance.

In two stages over the next few months, the International Security Assistance Force will assume control of the volatile south and then the east of Afghanistan from U.S. forces.  To do so, the 36-nation force, led by NATO,  will double its numbers to 18,000, while the Americans reduce from 19,000 to 16,500.   

ISAF's commander is a British general, David Richards, 54. Being at his headquarters has allowed me a first-hand glimpse of what it takes to command a modern multinational force on a dangerous and complex mission.

The first challenge of ISAF's commander in Afghanistan is no different from that of Crowe's character:   instill discipline and earn the respect of your troops.  

This may be straightforward on a ship, but not when the troops are spread - thinly - over an area the size of Texas.

And the commander needs to ensure that morale remains high, whether at headquarters in Kabul, where soldiers can be confined for long stretches owing to security fears, and in the remote Provincial Reconstruction Teams, where they can be stationed for up to 12 months.

So the commander must be well briefed. He must be open to information that contradicts received wisdom and have the confidence to encourage a questioning attitude among his staff.

When you're at the peak of any hierarchical organization, everybody wants a slice of you. Successful commanders know how to delegate and manage their time strategically. But they cannot be invisible.  

Their presence is essential to maintaining what is known in military parlance as "battle rhythm" - a constant tempo of activity that keeps a large and diverse organization focused on the mission.  

They must ensure that the seemingly endless meetings and administrative tasks do not paralyze the organization.

There are easier places to do this than Afghanistan, with its extremes of blazing heat and swirling dust in the summer and freezing temperatures and impassable roads in the winter months.  

And there is the emotional sap from seeing abject poverty on a daily basis in a country where one- quarter of children die before the age of five.

Afghanistan can expose shortfalls in a commander's energy and commitment in an instant.

The multinational make-up of ISAF means that a commander can't just be a commander; he has to be a diplomat, too.   National caveats, political interference and contrasting military cultures are part and parcel of any NATO operation.  Keeping contributing nations on board and the mission focused can be more difficult than the war- fighting.   

Last, there is the news media. Today it is more than just part of the commander's job; at times it seems like the job itself. A modern general has to be as comfortable in front of a microphone as he is looking down the sights of a rifle.  

Is General Richards up to these challenges? Born into a military family, Richards has 35 years of leadership experience from an early start as head boy of his school.   At headquarters in Kabul, and elsewhere in Afghanistan, he finds the time to talk to everyone from private to general. He treats them with the same warmth and respect. He takes two meals a day with the rank-and-file and plays volleyball with soldiers half his age.

Every soldier and politician likes to be near a "winning general," and Richards is a winner. When all seemed lost in the West African nation of Sierra Leone in 2001, his actions as commander of the British task force proved decisive in stabilizing the war-torn country.

The complexity of the task in Afghanistan demands a quick wit and agility, a capacity to grasp fleeting opportunities where ISAF might use its security assets to best developmental effect.

These operations are not only a mix of virtual and actual war, but a balancing act between security and development and between doing it for Afghanistan and allowing Afghans the space to do it themselves.

I have heard people say that Richards was the only commander for this tough job. I don't know if this is so, but I do know NATO is lucky to have him.

(Greg Mills, head of the Brenthurst Foundation in Johannesburg, is in Kabul as a special adviser to ISAF.)