| CASE STUDY
Washington Post: "These people have had enough of war. You can see the elation and excitement on their faces," said James Grimshaw, the British manager at the New Beginnings office. "This is not just about collecting weapons. It is about turning people into permanently employable individuals."
As part of the wider Security Sector Reform (SSR) activities in Afghanistan, the Afghan New Beginnings Programme (ANBP) was created to deliver the political management, strategic assessment, operational planning, delivery and ongoing support of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme throughout Afghanistan.
During 2003/2004 the Blue Sky Group Foundation seconded two of their consultants, James Grimshaw and Stephen Romilly to Afghanistan to assist in this project. They were principally involved in the management of the Mobile Disarmament Units (MDU) and ANBP Regional Offices and were pivotal in an extensive programme of works which included:
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Strategic assessment of the operational requirement prior to the deployment of the MDUs and setting up of the Regional Offices. |
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Recruitment, briefing and training of MDU and Regional Office personnel. |
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Continual operational support and management of MDU teams and Regional Office Personnel once deployed in theatre. |
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Liaison with high ranking commanders from the Afghan Military Force. |
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Collection of weapons. |
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Strategic assessment of the demobilisation process and delivery of procedures to disarm Afghan Military Force personnel. |
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Management of long term reintegration programmes for 100,000 demobilised personnel. |
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Provision of security advice and procedures for all deployed ANBP personnel throughout Afghanistan. |
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