In the fall of 2003, the new commander of American forces in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. David W. Barno, decided on a new strategy. Known as counterinsurgency, the approach required coalition forces to work closely with Afghan leaders to stabilize entire regions, rather than simply attacking insurgent cells.

But there was a major drawback, a new unpublished Army history of the war concludes. Because the Pentagon insisted on maintaining a “small footprint” in Afghanistan and because Iraq was drawing away resources, General Barno commanded fewer than 20,000 troops.

As a result, battalions with 800 soldiers were trying to secure provinces the size of Vermont. “Coalition forces remained thinly spread across Afghanistan,” the historians write. “Much of the country remained vulnerable to enemy forces increasingly willing to reassert their power.”

That early and undermanned effort to use counterinsurgency is one of several examples of how American forces, hamstrung by inadequate resources, missed opportunities to stabilize Afghanistan during the early years of the war, according to the history, “A Different Kind of War.”

This year, a resurgent Taliban prompted the current American commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, to warn that the war would be lost without an infusion of additional troops and a more aggressive approach to counterinsurgency. President Obama agreed, ordering the deployment of 30,000 more troops, which will bring the total American force to 100,000.

But as early as late 2003, the Army historians assert, “it should have become increasingly clear to officials at Centcom and D.O.D. that the coalition presence in Afghanistan did not provide enough resources” for proper counterinsurgency, the historians write, referring to the United States Central Command and the Department of Defense.

“A Different Kind of War,” which covers the period from October 2001 until September 2005, represents the first installment of the Army’s official history of the conflict. Written by a team of seven historians at the Army’s Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and based on open source material, it is scheduled to be published by spring.

The New York Times obtained a copy of the manuscript, which is still under review by current and former military officials.

The Defense Department could start tracking sexual assault cases among civilians and contractors downrange if the Pentagon follows the recommendation of an inspector general’s report due out early this year.

The DOD’s current database tracking sexual assaults only follows cases involving servicemembers; assaults involving only contract workers downrange are not included in DOD statistics.

This may soon change.

The Pentagon’s Inspector General is finishing a two-year evaluation of how the military responds to sexual assaults in combat areas.

“They actually looked at the issue of expanding our policy to contractors and civilians, especially in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Dr. Kaye Whitley, director of the DOD’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Reporting office. “I have had a pre-brief from that report, and it appears that is going to be a recommendation.”

In advance of the final recommendations, the Army is launching a pilot program in Europe this year to include civilian employees in sexual assault reporting. The program, which will not include contract workers, is meant to function as a test project “so we can see what works with our policy and what doesn’t when it’s applied to civilians,” Whitley said.

The military’s definition of sexual assault has been expanded since a change to the Uniform Code of Military Justice went into effect two years ago.

Article 120, formerly known as “rape and carnal knowledge” is now titled “rape, sexual assault and other sexual misconduct” and includes less violent offenses categorized as “wrongful sexual contact,” according to Lt. Col. Jeff Simpson, the sexual harassment/assault response program manager in Iraq.

He said there are about two or three reported cases of sexual assault in Iraq per week. About one-quarter of the assaults in Iraq are committed by contract workers, Simpson said, including local national and third-country national (non-Iraqi, non-U.S.) employees.

Bases downrange have implemented practical measures to reduce incidents of assault such as the installation of more secure locks in living facilities and improved lighting. Also, individuals are told to use the buddy system, and not walk around alone, Simpson said.

HOLYOKE - Paul Maywald, a Cold War veteran who served on the Czech border in the 1950s, has bum knees, bad hearing, and an enlarged prostate. Now, he has a new worry: Maywald and 2,200 other veterans can no longer visit the outpatient clinic at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.
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Governor Deval Patrick’s decision to close the clinic, which provides medical care with no out-of-pocket costs, has outraged the staff, thrown state officials on the defensive, and upset veterans who must find an alternative to a place they cherish for its comfort and camaraderie.

“This is our home, the Soldiers’ Home,’’ said Maywald, 72, of Granby, as he waited to see a doctor at the clinic. “Now, I’ll have to look around and find someone to take me on with all my problems.’’

State officials say the closing makes unfortunate economic sense at a time when budget efficiencies must be found everywhere. But nurses and veterans at the clinic, perched on a hill with a spectacular view of the Connecticut River Valley, say the $555,000 annual savings is a paltry slice of the Massachusetts budget and a slap in the face to veterans, many of them elderly, who deserve the accessibility of this care.

“I think somehow the state has misunderstood what this clinic is about,’’ said Elaine Peetz, the supervisor. “I don’t know where you get this care somewhere else.’’

Under the state’s plan, veterans who use the outpatient clinic for routine medical visits and specialty care will be steered toward US Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Springfield and Northampton, both of which are near Holyoke. As an alternative, veterans who carry insurance can opt to use private physicians, and the uninsured will receive help to enroll in MassHealth, a state-run insurance plan for the needy.

“It’s unfortunate that during tight fiscal times, the administration and the governor have to make choices that are not always the easiest choices to make,’’ said Coleman Nee, undersecretary of the state Department of Veterans’ Services. However, Nee added, “we really can’t be paying for care for people who are carrying private insurance’’ or are eligible for VA health benefits.

Nee said he believes the outpatient clinic, which is separate from the long-term, in-patient care that is the core mission of the Soldiers’ Home, is the only one of its kind in the nation. Another clinic at the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home, which also is closing, primarily treats veterans already staying at its facilities.

The clinic closed officially Dec. 1, following Patrick’s veto of legislative approval of $500,000 to keep the facility open through the end of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. To help veterans with appointments scheduled after that date, the clinic will be open once more this month and four times in January.

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