Ghost soldiers

Some officers in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War retained soldiers who had been killed or deserted on their rolls as "ghost soldiers". As units were allocated a set amount of rice for each soldier monthly, this allowed the officers to sell the excess rice for their own profit.[3] ARVN officers also sometimes stole the pay allocated to these non-existent soldiers. This corruption was sufficiently widespread that it led to a significant over-estimation of the size of the army.[4]

During the First and Second Chechen War in the Caucasus and the era in between them, there were reports of Russian soldiers being listed on the payroll of the Army, who either did not exist or had deserted from their military duty while their commanding officers pocketed their pay. There were also reports of conscripts not being paid at all, being worked as slaves by their commanding officers while these same officers stole the soldiers' salaries.

Tangri and Mwenda (2006),[5] in a study of Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF), estimate its ghost soldiers to 30% of its force.[2] Efforts to launch anti-corruption investigations by the Inspector General of Government on the UPDF have not been permitted "because sizable amounts obtained from corrupt military procurement and the phenomenon of 'ghost' soldiers were available for building political support for President Yoweri Museveni".[2]

The presence of ghost soldiers and battalions have been cited as a key reason for the chain of rapid and disastrous collapse and defeats by the Iraqi army against ISIS in its early, 2013-2014 offensives.[1] Cases of army officers and soldiers splitting the soldier's salary in exchange for not having to show to the military barracks, works, and training are documented. The soldiers are then free to return to their civilian profession and routine, but have to return periodically to renew various certificates under the protection of his officer.[1] The practice also provided Iraqi soldiers the possibility to retire after 10 years of such ghost service.[1]

The military under Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki administration was known for its corruption,[6] Maliki was Minister of National Security affairs, Minister of the Interior and Prime Minister up to September 8, 2014. When ISIS increased its activity in the first part of the 2013–2017 War in Iraq, the Iraqi army went through several spectacular debacles, including the June 2014 northern Iraq offensive which saw the catastrophic collapse of the army in that region and the fall of Mosul, where an army of 1,500 ISIS militants routed away over 60,000 declared Iraqi soldiers.

It bestowed his successor, Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, to fight this corruption.[6] After investigation, Abadi publicly announced in late November 2014 the discovery 50,000 ghost soldiers,[7][1] for an estimate yearly lose of 380 millions US$ due to approximate 600$ monthly salary.[7][6] Some suggested the lose could be 3 times larger.[7][6] Abadi has retired dozens of officers accused corruption and of promoting their sub-officers based on loyalty rather than merit.[7]

In 2016, at least 40% of the soldiers in the Helmand province were found to be ghost soldiers.[8][9] In a report, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) claimed “neither the United States nor its Afghan allies know how many Afghan soldiers and police actually exist, how many are in fact available for duty, or, by extension, the true nature of their operational capabilities”.[8][10]

The situation of ghost soldiers is related to deep-rooted structural corruption with various effects.[8] In Helmand, one base of 100 soldiers was left with only 50 soldiers; the other half were ordered to go back home while the commanding officer pocketed their salaries.[8] When another base officially manned by 300 soldiers was attacked, only 15 soldiers were actually present.[8] Officers do not report up their troops' desertions, deaths or departures, in order to hide failures and pocket the ghost soldiers' allowances.[8]

Meanwhile, actual troops on isolated rural outposts and the front lines face low morale and harsh living conditions, with poor nutrition such as simple rice and tea.[8] Troops engage in smuggling drugs for additional income and using drugs, which can be reported to hostile forces and initiate an attack when soldiers are still under the influence of those drugs.[8] Border patrol staff, which are not combat units, have to fill the gaps and defend positions when needed.[8] While the US-led coalition's military might and airstrikes provided decisive military advantages, long-term socio-economic solutions were needed to reinforce Afghan's military forces.[8]

In early 2019, at least 42,000 ghost soldiers were removed from the Afghan army's payroll.[11]

Until shortly before the August 15, 2021 takeover by the Taliban, the ANSF was on paper an army of 300,000 trained soldiers supported by a local Air Force, built over the previous two decades by US and NATO efforts. Over the course of weeks it was routed by a much smaller Taliban force, with most provincial capitals falling with little or no resistance.[12] The lack of a solid, uniform national army and its rapid losses in front of the Taliban offensive have been partially attributed to the presence of ghost soldiers. Within the Afghan army there were officers who siphoned salaries for "tens of thousands of 'ghost soldiers', whose names were on the books, but who never materialised".[13]