Coalition COIN Academy Needs Book Donations

Guest Blogger: Scott Kesterson-Donations needed for COIN Reference Library
Posted By Bouhammer on September 5, 2009

The Counterinsurgen​cy Academy is located in Kabul, Afghanistan at the base of the ruins of the Queens castle. The purpose of the Academy is to teach and expand the doctrine of population centric concepts for operations in Afghanistan, and beyond. The contributions the Academy is making to (NATO/ISAF forces commander) Gen. McChrystal’s, strategy can not be understated, nor can the challenges of implementing an expanded doctrine of population centric operations.

In an attempt to support the operations of the Academy, as well as the many soldiers that attend and instruct here, I have developed a “wish list” on Amazon.com of books in hopes of creating an Honorary Counterinsurgency Learning Library made up entirely of donations from our Coalition communities back home. The intent is to further expand the awareness of culture, methods and operations that promote the end goal of national unity, governance and security for the people of Afghanistan.

To find the list, all you need to do is click on Wish Lists
The name of the wish list is: COIN Library – Kabul.

I am continually being asked about donations for soldiers and items of need. This list, though only in the initial phases of development, is something that will have a lasting use and impact on the soldiers here at the Academy and the students of the Academy who eventually take what is learned here and apply the concepts downrange. If the interest is there to support the soldiers by way of donations, I would encourage you become involved in this effort through Amazon.com. The shipping address is listed through the “Wish List.” If you wish to donate another book for the library not listed on the list, or wish to purchase a book from another source other than Amazon.com, the same mailing address applies. For reference, the mailing address here at the academy is listed below:

Scott Kesterson
COIN Academy
Camp Phoenix
APO AE 09320

Thank you all in advance.
Scott Kesterson.

UPDATE: September 10, 2009

To give you some idea who the user community is I quote this paragraph from Blue:

"The Counterinsurgency Training Center – Afghanistan is growing, and its role in propagating the doctrine of counterinsurgency, or COIN, across many organizations is growing. Students of counterinsurgency from every branch of the United States Military, all NATO and Coalition allies, and most importantly Afghans from government, the Afghan Military, Afghan National Police and even non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) are being trained in counterinsurgency every week. Some of this training is conducted on site at the CTC-A, while other training is carried directly to the units and organizations in the field.

Read more about the Academy, including curriculum here

Also KY Woman has more information about The Counterinsurgency Training Center – Afghanistan, plus a video here