THE number of Australian troops in Afghanistan will be slashed over the next 12 months, and most will be pulled out within two years, under a plan being worked on within the Defence Force.
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The Age has been told by Defence sources that the pace of withdrawal from Oruzgan province will accelerate rapidly as the government looks to extricate itself from the decade-long war, and that Australia's main contribution will end a year earlier than the government has previously signalled.
The moves come weeks after the mentoring taskforce commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Smith, said government-imposed deadlines made his job harder - a view supported by a number of soldiers who spoke to The Age in Afghanistan.
But Defence sources said a brigadier stationed in the Middle East was working on plans for the main contingent of Diggers to be withdrawn by 2013, rather than the 2014 deadline the government has flagged until recently.
In the last few weeks, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Defence Minister Stephen Smith have hinted at the possibility of an earlier withdrawal.
The sources said the fifth group of Australian mentors, due to arrive in Afghanistan a year from now, will comprise only about 150 soldiers. About 900 are now training the Afghan National Army.
The planned cut has raised some concerns. ''Why don't they leave a full complement of people there until the mentoring is completed to provide security for the Afghan and Australian forces?'' one source said. ''The only reason I can think of is that it's politically expedient, and I just think that's unacceptable.''
The early withdrawal will also intensify concerns among aid workers whose security is provided by Australian troops when they venture outside the main base at Tarin Kowt.
Australian troops have already withdrawn from most bases in the province, leaving them in Afghan hands. But they have found that Afghan troops left to fend for themselves are reluctant to patrol or to take the fight to insurgents.
At a briefing for journalists this week, Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant-General Ash Power said a plan for the handover of responsibility to Afghan forces would be made public early next year.
Sources also said the American contingent operating alongside Australian troops would probably be withdrawn before the end of next year.
General Power said only that the US had guaranteed Australian forces in Oruzgan would have access to aeromedical evacuation services, front-line medical facilities at the base at Tarin Kowt and fire support until at least the end of next year.
A scramble for the exit appears to be developing among coalition countries with troops in Afghanistan. British reports this week suggest Prime Minister David Cameron is considering an accelerated withdrawal.
