User:Annwp/ANCOP

Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP)

Mission: Provide civil order presence patrols, prevent violent public incidents, and provide crisis and anti-terror response in urban and metropolitan environments.

Like the Afghan Border Police (ABP), ANCOP is under the control of the Afghan National Police (ANP), which is under the Ministry of the Interior.

ANCOP’s 5,365 authorized strength is commanded by a Major General. ANCOP is divided into four Brigades, each commanded by a Brigadier General. These brigades are stationed in Kabul, Paktya, Kandahar, and Herat. ANCOP’s Kabul brigade is specially trained in SWAT and urban combat.

Practically speaking, ANCOP performs a function roughly similar to the United States National Guard. ANCOP backfills for over-tasked ANP and ANA units in particularly restive provinces throughout Afghanistan.

Given they undergo 16 weeks of training and have a higher literacy rate than the ANP or ANA they backfill, ANCOP are considered a more elite force than the regular ANP that oversees them. They are the most deployable force of the ANP.

References:

(1) Afghan National Security Forces Order of Battle, The Long War Journal, CJ Radin, Nov 2008 (2) ANCOP Graduates 321 New Officers, Petty Officer 2nd Class Paul Dillard, CSTC-A Public Affair, 1 July 2009 (3) United States Plan for Sustaining the Afghanistan National Security Forces, Report to Congress, 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (Section 1231, Public Law 110-181), June 2008