Mohammad Azam Karimi

General Sher Mohammad Karimi (born 11 November 1945) is an Afghan retired military officer who last served as Chief of the General Staff of the Afghan National Army from 2010 to 2015. An ethnic Pashtun, Karimi was born in Khost Province of Afghanistan.

Biography An ethnic Pashtun, Karimi was born on 11 November 1945 in Khost Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan. He joined the Afghan Army around 1967, and attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1968, becoming its first Afghan graduate.

After the 1978 Saur Revolution in Afghanistan, Karimi was arrested and incarcerated by the Khalq faction of the PDPA communist party because of his Western education. He was employed as a director during Dr. Mohammad Najibullah Government in ministry of defence. Unlike many of his communist colleagues and the majority of the Afghan officer corps, Karimi had never received training in the Soviet Union. He was eventually forced into exile in Pakistan until the removal of the Taliban government in late 2001.

In 2003, Karimi returned to the country to help establish the Afghan National Army of the new U.S.-backed government.

Education National Military Academy of Afghanistan in Kabul Kabul Commando Course (C) Kabulst CGSC (Staff Course A) Kabul Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom Fort Bragg in North Carolina Infantry Advance Course, Ranger course, Special Forces Course. Airborne Course (USA) Counter Insurgency and Intel Courses (India) NDC (India) Commando Course (Egypt) Near East and South Asia Strategic Studies. NESA.NDU (USA) Assignments: Platoon Commander, Commando BN, Company Commander, XO Battalion Battalion Commander Adjutant Guard Brigade G3 Division DG2 Central Corps DCS for Mobilization and Organization Special Assistant to CoS and head of the Advisory Board Deputy Chairman for DDR G3 ANA – Chief Operations