203rd Corps (Afghanistan)

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203rd Corps
Active23 September 2004
[1]–August 2021[2]
Country Afghanistan
BranchAfghan National Army emblem.svg Afghan National Army
TypeCorps
HeadquartersGardez, Paktia Province, Afghanistan[3]
Nickname(s)Tandar (Thunder)[3]
EngagementsWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)

The 203rd 'Tandar' (Thunder) Corps was a corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA), headquartered in Gardez. The last corps commander was Brigadier General Harab Khanullah Shuja.[4] The original Gardez Regional Command was established on 23 September 2004.[1]

Early in 2006, the formation carried out the very first of the reborn Afghan Army's .Medical civic action programs, providing medical assistance to the civilian population, in Khost Province.[5] On 19 October 2006, as part of Operation Mountain Fury, two Embedded Training Teams (ETTs) supervised a D30 artillery section from Fourth Battalion, Second Brigade, 203rd Corps, as it fired its first combat artillery missions, harassing the enemy with indirect fires.[6] Three days later, the battalion successfully conducted counterfire (with assistance from a US Q-36 radar).[citation needed]

Major General Abdul Khaliq, the corps commander, took operational command of Operation Maiwand in Andar district, Ghazni Province, a reported Taliban stronghold, in July 2007. This was reported as the first large-scale mission the ANA had planned and executed.[7] Maiwand involved over 1,000 Afghan and 400 United States Army personnel.

As of 2009, the corps consisted of the First Brigade (Khost), Second Brigade (Forward Operating Base Rushmore, Sharana, Paktika Province), and Third Brigade (Ghazni). As of 30 November 2011, Brig. Gen. Zamaray Khan was listed by Jane's Defence Weekly as commander of the Second Brigade, 203rd Corps.[8]

The corps was supported by the Gardez Regional Support Squadron of the Afghan Air Force, equipped with eight helicopters: four transport, to support the corps' commando battalion; two attack; and two medical transport.[9] In 2017, the 203rd Corps and 303rd Police Zone demonstrated a high level of cooperation not seen across Afghanistan according to Colonel Matthew J. Van Wagenen, commander of Task Force Southeast.[10]

In August 2021, during the 2021 Taliban offensive, the entire corps was encircled by the Taliban, and subsequently surrendered. It no longer has any active service personnel.[11][12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Afghan National Army activates second regional command Archived 2010-08-30 at the Wayback Machine, September 23, 2004, AFPS
  2. ^ "Taliban encircling Afghan capital Kabul, prepping final assault through east | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 14 August 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b https://www.longwarjournal.org/multimedia/ANSF%20OOBpage4-ANA.pdf
  4. ^ "US forces apologize for Wardak civilian deaths". Pajhwok Afghan News. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  5. ^ Dan Huvane, ANA, Combined Task Force Devil Team Up for MEDCAP, Desert Devil Dispatch, 82nd Airborne Division, 15 February 2006, accessed at http://www.bragg.army.mil/82dv/desert%20devil%20dispatch, via Samuel Chan, "Sentinels of Afghan Democracy," at https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/2009-Archive/.
  6. ^ (First to Fire, "FA Journal", Jan/Feb 2007)
  7. ^ Chan, "Sentinels of Afghan Democracy," 2009, p.36
  8. ^ JDW 30 Nov 11, p.34
  9. ^ "Afghan National Army Air Corps: February 2009 Update | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. February 20, 2009. Archived from the original on February 11, 2011.
  10. ^ Dennis, Christopher (July 13, 2017). "Task Force Southeast PART 2 of 5 -- Who we TAA, the 203rd Corps and 303rd Police Zone".
  11. ^ "Hundreds of Afghan forces surrender in Kunduz as Taliban consolidates hold on country's north". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  12. ^ "Twitter - Tahir Agha786 Status Update". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
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