Pentagon Struggles to Wean Afghan Military Off American Air Support

They did... They got the A-29 Super Tucano airframes and have already started using them. They also have a good amount of MD-530F attack helicopters. There have even been several reports of Indian assistance to restore serviceable Soviet era platforms. The A-29, which is a pretty good airframe, has it's limitations and the Afghan AF made several unwise decisions against the recommendations of the US advisors on how to allocate their air assets. This could bite them in the ass in the end as many Afghan leaders believed the only way to control Afghanistan is through control of Kabul. They always seemed less concerned about establishing national presence. I left Shindand AB on the west side of Afghanistan in Feb 2013 (and the US left at the end of that year), I hear the AAF pulled out shortly after this. Shindand was essentially their equivalent of Air Education and Training Command.

Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin - Good to know, I was there in 2014 never made it out to the west side, we worked out of Kandahar our HQ was in BAF, I inspected fuel sites all over most of the country some were small COB's others were fairly large.

I was an advisor at Shindand AB. We were training the AAF on how to run an Air Force base, how to fly, how to maintain the aircraft, and then some. Most of the Afghans there were very receptive and appreciative of our efforts. Others were complete morons. Their Security Forces commander was both an ass and a coward. He refused to work with well with each of the advisors, and he rarely allowed himself or his people patrol outside the wire.

I only went through Kandahar like most people, as a transient home or into Shindand.
Hated that place! Other than that, I went up to Herat every now and then. Of course, all this was the second tour. My first was back in Bagram in 2002, when it was still bare bones. I spent my time then supporting our A-10 units, Medivac, and Special Tactics.

Maj Kevin "Mac" McLaughlin - We had contact with leatherneck helping some Marines with their fuel lab but I never got out there, my LT did make a trip out there. Most of the bases I inspected were small. I believe Jalalabad (spelling) was the biggest I went to, we had a second team based in BAF that covered the northern part of the country. It was just Myself, a 1st LT and a Sgt down in KAF.