This probably has something to do with the fact that Khost simultaneously got a new maneuver commander and new PRT commander. Though they were thoroughly briefed by their predecessors in a thirty day “relief in place” procedure, both could not be expected to have the same knowledge base as the outgoing commanders. Custer and Adams readily admit that there is a steep learning curve. Moreover, Colonel Custer served fifteen months in Afghanistan and such long deployments are a real aid to effective counterinsurgency. Indeed, the brevity of British deployments in Afghanistan – their troops serve a mere six months – may well have undermined their mission.

Commander Adams remains optimistic that the principles of presence plus projects with Afghan government accountability are sound. He regrets not having moved the PRT to downtown Khost City, to be closer to the people and the Governor and other officials. But he says all the PRT commanders that the Navy is sending are good officers who will figure it out.

All of the twelve American-led PRTs in Afghanistan are commanded by Navy or Air Force officers, because the Army is stretched thin in Iraq. But this command is considered a crucial, career-building assignment. “The Chief of Naval Operations pays a lot of attention to who goes to Afghanistan. Only officers who are selected for future Navy commands are eligible. Adams, one of the few Americans to graduate the UK’s top of the line Perisher submarine command course, will take command of the USS Santa Fe, a nuclear attack submarine, in the summer of 2009.